Let me get your personal experiences with a Rossi 92 38/357

[Smoke4320]

Let me get your personal experiences with a Rossi 92 38/357
Looking to possibly get a 16" SS for the wife

Is this an unsupported chamber ?
Mainly looking to shoot cast 38 specials

Tell me the the good, the bad, the ugly of what you have seen

Thanks in advance

[AnthonyB]

Smoke:
I have two R92 357s and one 44 Magnum. One 357 has the long barrel, the other has the short one. I haven't fired the short one yet, but will get a roundtoit eventually.
You will definitely want the Steve's Gunz video and replacement spring/follower kit. The video takes you through the modification he makes during his action job, and you can easily do it all in a few hours. The other option is to leave the rifle disassembled on your reloading bench for two months like my 44 currently sits. :) The action job makes a world of difference.
Newer rifles are drilled and tapped for a scout scope base. I will put red dot sights on the short 357 and the 44, the other 357 is not drilled and tapped. I got the replacement safety receiver sight that Steve sells for that one, and it is more fun than a barrel of monkeys. I woulds recommend light loads in Magnum brass to make chamber cleaning easier, and would also recommend no less than 500 rounds for each range trip. That way your wife should get to shoot at least 100 of them.
Tony

[DerekP Houston]

171283

I love mine and my wife does too! It was factory rough but per internet advice I did the same as AnthonyB mentions above.

Mine cycles magnum rounds "best" and RN/SWC feed the smoothest. I owe another member here a copy of that DVD already! I'd buy another in a heart beat if I had the need but it is just a range "plinking" toy to us. I forget how, but make sure you reduce the "kick back" of the empty cartridges. Mine flung them all over the place until I modified that part.

Mine reallllly likes buffalo bore 357 hard cast, dead center at 50yrds with no wind. If I ever take it hunting that will be my load.

[bullseye67]

I have the "mares leg" version in 38/357. I added a regular buttstock and made it into a shoulder shooter. Completely legal where I live. I shoot the Lee 158gr T/L with light(for 357) +/- 1000fps loads. I use the Safety peep replacement and it makes a Huge difference! I can regularly knock golf balls off tees at 25 yards and tennis balls off golf tees at 50 yards. A couple dozen gophers and a coyote DRT. I am considering one or more if I could find a couple priced right. Seems they are not being traded in...leads me to think others like them....Have fun...cheaper than 22LR.

[Artful]

Here's mine shooting 38 special 160 grain

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-knJmz6HE0
Mines older (pre safety) needed a little smoothing up but works well with
357 or 38 special - used the 105 lee swc for a lot of plinking but they
were not subsonic so I loaded up the heavier 160 RNFP.

The good it's light and quick handling and in 357 inexpensive to shoot.
It's strong and a copy of the Winchester 92 J M Browning designed.

The bad the customer service seems to be getting a bad rap, and they have that safety thingy on the bolt.

Compared to a marlin they are a pain to disassemble to clean but
I just started using a boresnake and can of compressed cleaner to spray it out.

They are, in 38 special as cheap to shoot as 22LR now days.
If you want to suppress it you will have to find someone to thread it,
and in my case an extender as I didn't want the magazine tube shortened
and wanted to use my M9 can on it.

[runfiverun]

mine won't feed 38's with swc boolits.
only issue I have ever had with it.
load development was put boolits in cases with powder under them and shoot.
it's main load is 7grs of herco under a 158gr rnfp that may change to BE-86 [shrug]
I have about 3500 more cases to empty before I start looking at that.

[RPRNY]

I have one in 45LC and used to have one in 357/38.

They are good value for money but they aren't finished rifles. They need spring work (hammer and magazine) and work on the loading gate to feed properly. I had frequent feeding problems with the 38/357 and moved it on. Other people have not had that problem.

The 16" 45 Long Colt is about the handiest little camp, truck, and saddle gun that I can imagine. No way would I scope one. The supplied open sights are fine and a Marbles Bullseye rear sight does an awesome job. If you can do a little basic gunsmithing (easy, readily available instructions as per Anthony B above), these are great little rifles.

[DerekP Houston]

The bad the customer service seems to be getting a bad rap, and they have that safety thingy on the bolt.

Compared to a marlin they are a pain to disassemble to clean but
I just started using a boresnake and can of compressed cleaner to spray it out.


That is my same method of cleaning. Occasionally I'll run a wet/dry patch and brush it out, but the bore snake takes care of 90% of it. Especially now that I have better coating methods thanks to this site =).

[jlchucker]

I had mine, a 357 trapper length model, slicked up by an old gunsmith locally. He doesn't have a computer so he didn't see Steve's video, but did all of the same stuff. It came out slick, but if I expect to shoot 38 special ammo, I need to set the Lee RNFP 158 boolit out to the leading edge of the lube groove to make them feed. 357's require no such lengthening, and feed really slick. A lady friend borrowed mine to take on her horse club weekly outings. She's saving up for one for herself.

[eljefeoz]

Following ;)

[Artful]

mine won't feed 38's with swc boolits.
only issue I have ever had with it.

Which SWC mold did you try and what was the OAL?

[2wheelDuke]

Here's mine shooting 38 special 160 grain

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-knJmz6HE0
Mines older (pre safety) needed a little smoothing up but works well with
357 or 38 special - used the 105 lee swc for a lot of plinking but they
were not subsonic so I loaded up the heavier 160 RNFP.

The good it's light and quick handling and in 357 inexpensive to shoot.
It's strong and a copy of the Winchester 92 J M Browning designed.

The bad the customer service seems to be getting a bad rap, and they have that safety thingy on the bolt.

Compared to a marlin they are a pain to disassemble to clean but
I just started using a boresnake and can of compressed cleaner to spray it out.

They are, in 38 special as cheap to shoot as 22LR now days.
If you want to suppress it you will have to find someone to thread it,
and in my case an extender as I didn't want the magazine tube shortened
and wanted to use my M9 can on it.

That's really cool. Tell me more about the extender. I have a Mares leg 45colt that I'd love to get a real stock on, and run a 45 can on it. Since the magazine tube is already so short, I'd hate to shorten it further.

[pietro]

.

I own/shoot/hunt with two Rossi Model 92'a, and both are 16" Big Loop models - an LSI .45 Colt & a BrazTech .38/.357 (Taurus/BrazTech & LSI are US importers).

Both rifles operated smoothly from the get-go, so I modified both by installing a self-made bolt peep sight ILO the bolt top safety on the .45, and a Williams 5D-94AE receiver sight on the .38/.357.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r431/pwawryk/DSCN0478.jpg http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r431/pwawryk/DSCN0385.jpg



Additionally, I swapped another board member my Big Loop lever (only) for his standard loop lever (a drop-in) on the .38/.357, then eventually shortened the magazine to a "button mag" (a complicated job, for telling another time).

In the .45, I shoot Cor-Bon hunting ammo; in the .38/.357, I hunt with 158gr JSP's & plink with .38 Special plain lead RN boolits (shouldered boolits, like the Keith, are difficult to cycle/feed).

The bottom line is that, as long as I stay away from boolits with sharp shoulders, the Model 92's I have cycle/feed smoothly.




.

[fecmech]

I have 2 Braztechs in .357, a carbine and 24" octagon. Both have well over 5K trouble free rounds through them. Both will feed SWC's and wadcutters (if crimped in the middle lube groove) but most accurate is Lee 125 RNFP. Disassembly info is on the net and about half the smoothing process is lowering the spring weight of the ejector and smoothing the ejector shaft where it rubs on the collar. Remove the ejector spring and go to Ace Hardware and get one the same size with about half the wire diameter. That will dramatically smooth up the action and keep your empties in the same zip code. Two of my friends have them and neither has had any problems.

[Lonegun1894]

I have a .357, a .44, and a .45, and bought my girlfriend a .357 when she threatened to steal mine. Mine seem to feed any bullet shape and shoot well, and the only problem I have had is that my .357 will not feed .38s, but my girlfriends .357 feeds both .357s and .38s just fine. Go figure.

[Texas by God]

RPRNY- I agree they are not finished. I've never seen one work right unti they are tuned. That said I love them. I had a 44-40 that droveme nuts until I shoehorned 240gr Lee TLSWC over 6grs of Unique. This odd shape cartridge. Is the only one that would feed correcty. My wifes .357 balks on .357 but is 100percent with any .38 sp except wadcutter. It has a Dockendorff rear and blade front. Last 100yd group was 3" Youl love it! Best, Thomas.

[northmn]

Never had to "tune" mine and have shot it a lot. I guess if I were shooting CB it might be a bit rough. Smoothing can be done or as one old timer said about tuning a Smith and Wesson, go out and shoot the h--- out of it. It feeds most 38 specials and about every 357 I have run through it except a Lee 158 grain RNFP which looks mostly like a wad cutter with a crimp groove. For a variety of reasons, as a hand loader I prefer to load the wimp loads in 357 cases which is probably better for the chamber. Mine did not sight in with 357's until I filed down the rear sight but they may have fixed that as some got a free front sight from the company. They should really D&T for the standard receiver sight but it was no big to do so.
Great little rifle and it sees a lot of use.

DP

[victorfox]

shot a 20" stainless .38 only not long ago brand new from box (owner just received it) and while it worked fine with all loads it had very stiff lever and loading gate (managed to get a finger bitten...). It also had a detachable magazine tube which i dislike and that dreaded safety. Overall pretty gun shot fine and quite well made except for minor internal tuning as others noted. While this was a .38 only it's the same gun as the 357, it's just the kommie brazilian law...

[Artful]

That's really cool. Tell me more about the extender. I have a Mares leg 45colt that I'd love to get a real stock on, and run a 45 can on it. Since the magazine tube is already so short, I'd hate to shorten it further.

My suppressor was threaded for the Beretta M92/M9 in 1/2x28 but not much stick out the back I had the 92 threaded 1/2x28 but the magazine tube interfered with the suppressor (it hit and suppressor couldn't be threaded on all the way) so the gunsmith took some metal turned it down to the same outside diameter as the barrel and threaded the inside 1/2x28 and on the other end threaded it 1/2x28 to fit the suppressor. When installed it effectively lengthens the barrel a little inch or two and allows the suppressor to correctly seat.

[TXGunNut]

I've had one for a little while and it's gone along on almost every range trip since, lots of fun to shoot. I bought the peep and video from Steve but figured out watching the video that this little rifle has already been slicked up. Mine feeds SWC's in .38 cases just fine, maybe even better than .357's. I have lots of .38 cases and old commercial cast boolits lying around so it's almost free to shoot.

[Ithaca Gunner]

Had one in the 80's standard carbine, light, handy, and fun. The pin for the cartridge elevator broke and I replaced it quick enough, after that, no worries.

[rintinglen]

I've had two over the years , a 16 inch Puma and a 20 inch Rossi. The 16 inch had the big loop which looked koool but worked poorly, and it went down the road. The other remains with me and is one of my favorites. Both were rough out of the box but smoothed up with use. Neither ever got quite as smooth as my browning, but neither cost anywhere near as much. My brother has two, a 44 and a 357 and also likes them, in fact he likes them very much.

[shoot-n-lead]

Mine has been GREAT...it will feed and shoot .38...but I don't shoot .38. It cost practically the same to reload .357...so, all it ever sees is 158gr Lee RF on top of 6.5grs of Bullseye. or 13grs of 2400.

[KCSO]

My first one was bought in about 1972 and carried as a patrol rifle as long as I carried a 357. It slicked itself up after about 1000 rounds and when I sold it to get a 44 it would still keep 5 shots on a playing card at 100 yards. It shot a lot of 158 HP and H110 loads with never a case bulge. I currently have a 357 24" barrel Rossi that has been tuned and will shoot as good as I can hold.

I have owned many and worked on more, mostly setting trigger pulls and smoothing the actions, very little actual repairs.

They are a good gun at a good price.

[Lonegun1894]

KSCO,
Glad mine isn't the only .357 that has been used as a patrol rifle. Great minds must think alike!

[CITYREPO61]

I have 3 rossi levers.
2 of the 357/38 - 16 large loop & 20 inch standard loop both in blue
And a 16 large loop in 45 colt.
Love them all.
The 357s shoot 38 special 158 gr SWC and RNFP with no issues
One of the 3 is always with me when I get to the range

[RadarsRUs]

Just spent about 4 hrs. this past weekend taking mine apart (Rossi 92 in .357 \ 38. Color Hardened receiver, 20" Octagon barrel and forend cap.) and giving it the thorough "Slicking-Up" job and making loading gate easier on fingers to press in and not get chewed-on by edges.
Results were Amazing... Now cycles similar to my Henry B-B .44 Mag.

Basically polished (Gun oil and 400 wet paper sanded by hand) ALL side and bottom surfaces of bolt. All areas where there were traces of operation-movement on Lever, Hamer, side of Cartridge Elevator and Trigger to Spring contact. Reassembled with SuperLube Grease (I love this Clear grease for all my pistol, shotgun & rifle actions) and wiped up the rifle of exterior grease.

BEFORE:
Trigger Pull 5.5 lbs.
Cycling Effort to pull all the way Open (with trigger scale) 5.5 lbs.

AFTER:
Trigger Pull, 2.0 Lbs!
Cycling Effort to pull all way Open, 3.0 Lbs.

Whole new animal and very silky to work the lever... Gone is "gritty" feeling and all the razor sharp, machined edges inside the action.

I love my "new" Rossi 92. Now it has manners and refinement whe none before.

[dverna]

The two negatives for me are the safety and the difficulty in putting it back together when you strip it down. The Marlin 1894's and 1873's are so much easier. The 1892's will not be as smooth as the Marlin or 1873 clones but they are less money. If money is not a concern, get the "better" gun.

[jmort]

My safeties have been removed. I will trade ease of disassembly for a stronger action. Noting will be as smooth as a 1873. I have 2 16" Rossi M92s that have been tuned by the best SASS gunsmiths and they run real good.

[Texas by God]

I always wanted Rossi to chamber it in 32-20. Get back to the bottleneck roots and what a fun close range hunting gun that would be! Best, Thomas.

[RadarsRUs]

It is not a "fun" gun to put back together, that is true...;-) The hardest parts are the "holding extractor in place with dummy round into chamber" and the "hammer, Trigger, Spring, pin alignment" drill for the lower tang.
It takes some getting used to. Positively use a pin or bent paper-clip on that main spring guide-rod with hammer-back! Miss that trick and it is a ***** to get back together...(as me how I know)
Still very gratified to have such a huge impact on the gun's manners when cycling and trigger pull.
Now need to get to range, but it fed and fired .357 fine before the tune-up. Quite accurate as well. All rounds from a mag. tube into a 'palm of hand size cluster at 25 yards-offhand. I'm OK with that and eager to see a benched group at 50 yds. or more.

[w5pv]

I have one in the 45C and love it,So far every thing that I have shot with it has fell dead like a rock.

[ironhead7544]

Had 2 pre-Braztec and they were fine. Also a late model 24" that would feed any 38 Special (did not try WC) but refused to feed any 357 load. I could not make it jam with a 38 special load. YMMV. If you send it to Rossi, they can generally get it to feed correctly.