Rossi vs. Cimmaron M-92's

[Blackwater]

I feel myself weakening on getting a M-92 Win. copy in .357. Can anyone give me a synopsis of the differences in the Italian Cimmaron and the South American Rossi? I've handled the Rossi's in both SS and blued, but not a Cimmaron, and I want to know how they compare as to wood fit, finish and type, and how the steels and smoothness and reliability of the actions compare. If anyone can give me some clues to go by, I'd very much appreciate it. It'll be for my youngest grandson who just turned 12. Thanks for any help anyone can provide.

[BigAl52]

Cimarron is Uberti. In my opinion they are way ahead of a Rossi. I know there is a lot of guys who like the Rossi's but I don't. Might take a look at the Henry. They are made in America and are a great gun. Al

[cajun shooter]

I will have to disagree with BIGAL52 on his posting. First I will say that Uberti does make some good guns as I've owned them and shot them but Cimarron Does IIRC sell guns that are also made by Chippa which is known to make guns that are not as good as those made by other Italian makers. In fact, Uberti which I like has made some guns that were terrible. They have by mistake released guns made in 44wcf that are out of spec with over sized bores for one and parts that are prone to breakage.
I have owned several of the Rossi 92's and do now. The early guns had some problems but you will find that when they were imported by companies like Navy, EMF, Interarms, and others that escape my old mind, they were top shelf rifles. They were stocked with American Walnut wood and blued to a very deep blue that was beautiful. The guns have received reviews that stated they were better than the original Winchester rifles they copied. I feel stupid by selling the ones that I've sold over the years. I had a Navy model 357 magnum that had the best walnut stocked rifle that I've ever owned. That rifle would feed and shoot any 357 or 38 spl. that I put in it with great accuracy. The current one that I own now is in 44wcf and it has a correct bore of .427 and shoots the target center out.
You can find a very good Rossi by one of the importers I listed for several hundred dollars less that what they want for some of the Italian model rifles. I paid $450 for my last one and $550 for the one before that.
Look around and be patient and buy one of the models I spoke of. The current made rifles and some made by some bad importers have the cheap Brazilian wood which works but is not nice looking like the Walnut rifles. Good Luck and good shooting, David

[square butte]

And then there was the Rossi 92 trapper in .357 that I bought 6 or 7 years ago. Split every case of factory ammo fired through it. Oversized chamber. Sent it to the east coast repair service center. Took em 2 stinking years to rebarrel it. Let's just say I am not a Rossi fan for multiple reasons. By the way I have a Cimarron/Uberti 1866 in 44 special with an oversize chamber. Have 3 other Ubertis that are miles above any Rossi I have looked at. Pricey though. I am severly underwhelmed by everything Chiapa I have ever looked at. Especially the 1876 Win repro,s and the 1887 Win shotgun gepro's. Just another opinion for ya.

[missionary5155]

Greetings I have two Rossi's in 45 Colt. The first is an old Interarms that is well assembled and has not given me one lick of trouble in all the years it has been with me. The other is a pre safety Rossi that again has not caused me any grief. It does not like a sharp shoulder SWC but that is no problem to me as I shoot the 265 grain lee FNGC far more than any other.
Rifles are like autos.. you get a Monday morning assembly and you are in for a world of hurt. As much as the Cimarrons cost I would think they would be right . A Rossi is about half the price and I think is by far the best value. Fat chambers is a lousy way to build a rifle.
Mike in Peru

[Blackwater]

Well, thanks, guys. I recently handled a SS trapper Rossi in .357, and nearly bought it for the youngest grandboy. It ought to be right up his alley. He really likes to blow stuff up, and some 125's at HV should prove particularly destructive on water bottles. Sure seems to motivate him to hit 'em right smack in the middle! And at 12, motivation can be very important. The little Trapper would kind'a personalize it for him, and a good polish job would make it nice and shiny, which he likes at his stage right now. A refin and slight slenderizing of the grip and forent, and full refin of the wood ought to make it even more personally his as well, and get him interested in the hows and whys of personalizing guns for personal utility and aesthetic satisfaction.

They'd also make a darn fine truck gun for my area, too. Long enough range for most anything I'd want to use it for, good repeat shot speed, and sooner or later good accuracy with SOME load ought to serve anything I'd ever really want to do with it. A behind the seat scabbard should keep it fairly rapidly available, and always present at least. Very neat little guns, and I like the caliber, and that SS action was particularly slick working.

I like the looks of the Marlins a bit better, but they come with a checkered grip, and I'd likely want to refin the wood and slenderize the forend, and that checkered grip makes it more difficult. I also prefer to buy "American," if anything can truly be said to be "American made" any more. Is Marlin making M-94 .357's yet? Last I heard, they were still trying to catch up with the .30/30 market, which is much larger, of course. I quit taking any of the glossy mags except for the Rifleman several years ago, and now, I'm out of the loop where such info circulates. Maybe I need to subscribe to at least one again? Thanks for any info on the M-94 Marlins in .357 availability or projected scheduling for same.

[helice]

Like missionary Mike, I too have a 45 Rossi. Mine is imported by LSI, its Stainless with a not at all pleasing blackish stain on the wood. It has the safety on the bolt which I didn't mind but to get rid of the $0.75 rear sight I went to Stevez Guns and picked up one of his replacement sights. That was a brilliant move which changed the performance remarkably by near doubling the sight radius. I have begun to really enjoy this piece in spite of the stock.
My only comparison is to an old Winchester and a couple of Browning B92s. The Rossi is indeed rougher by far. But when I go out (I admit it may be strange) I usually prefer the Rossi. Its probably the Stevez sight but who knows, when it comes to rifles. There has been a bit of fluff here concerning that Rossi bolt safety, some like it, some have very strong feelings against it. I never much considered it, using it only when I emptied the magazine. It seems as though the lawyers who designed that safety put it there for a near perfect base for a peep sight. Personally, I think we ought to thank them.

[Speedo66]

I also have an old Winchester and Browning, a '73 and a Belgium BLR. My blued Rossi .357 is much lighter than both, and very accurate. It's a fairly recent model, the bluing was very nice, and the stock finish reasonably good.

I wouldn't touch the '73 or the BLR, but I was comfortable messing with the Rossi. I fiddled with the internals, i.e., cleaned it, lubed it, changing springs, etc., and redid the stock finish to where I wanted it. At the price point of the Rossi, and it's utilitarian nature, you don't feel like you're messing with a treasure. If you enjoy playing with a piece of machinery, or have never tried it as I hadn't, it's a good place to start. lol

There's a wealth of info on Rossi's at www.Rossi-Rifleman.com

[Lonegun1894]

I have 4 Rossi's in the house right now, and wouldn't mind making it 5. Like has beensaid, they ,may not be the smoothest out of the box, but they make an excellent gun when you spend a bit of time with them, and all it takes is a few range trips or even sitting down for a couple movies and working the lever a bit. That, and I don't know what twist the Italians use, but the Rossi has a 1:30" twist that is perfect for cast in my opinion.

[cajun shooter]

And then there was the Rossi 92 trapper in .357 that I bought 6 or 7 years ago. Split every case of factory ammo fired through it. Oversized chamber. Sent it to the east coast repair service center. Took em 2 stinking years to rebarrel it. Let's just say I am not a Rossi fan for multiple reasons. By the way I have a Cimarron/Uberti 1866 in 44 special with an oversize chamber. Have 3 other Ubertis that are miles above any Rossi I have looked at. Pricey though. I am severly underwhelmed by everything Chiapa I have ever looked at. Especially the 1876 Win repro,s and the 1887 Win shotgun gepro's. Just another opinion for ya.

My posting stated that the early Rossi rifles were the ones to buy and not the ones by BRAZTECH. I gave a list of the ones that are rock solid guns and sell for half of what Cimarron sells the lever for.
The Rossi rifles imported by LSI also were good guns after you dump the stupid safety on top. The safety on any lever action rifle is the lever, you put a round in the chamber when ready to fire.

[northmn]

Just left the Marlin site. Marlin 357's are very hard to get and some are paying about $1200 at gun shows. I have a 357 Rossi I carry a lot on the tractor and 4 wheeler and the only problem it has given me is with a very flat nosed cast bullet that almost a wad cutter. It has fed the semi wad cutters fine. As I mounted a receiver sight on it I do not use the "safety" I know nothing about the Cimmaron.

DP

[cajun shooter]

If you purchase one of the good Rossi rifles that I referred to in my OP you will have years of good service. If you have one that is a little stiff I will suggest that you purchase the very fine DVD that is sold by Steve's Guns and do the work on your rifle. I would suggest that you change out the plastic in the magazine tube and the spring, your rifle will load much easier and not hang up. In your care don't forget to clean the magazine tube at least once a year, more if exposed to bad conditions. A good

[Hooker53]

I must have bought a Tues or Wed Rossi modl 92 in .357. Feeds well and shoots well. Very pleased with it. I like the fact that you can find mod parts to tune and improve the action. About all I did for my type of shooting is polish some of the parts in it and now has a good feel. Good luck in your quest. A good used Rossi Thundbolt and a model 66 in .357 is next on my list.

Roy
Hooker53

[John Boy]

For starters:
* Cimmaron is a Distributor, not a manufacturer
* Cimmaron does not have imported '92 Winchesters for sale
http://www.cimarron-firearms.com/rep...-rifles-1.html
* Uberti does not make a '92 Winchester
* Taylor's & Co is a Distributor and they sell Chiappa '92 Winchesters ... http://www.taylorsfirearms.com/long-...ollection.html
* Chiappa is the old Armi Sport company. Their quality control went from bad to average. Armi Sport sold their firearms under the name 'IAB' and earned the nickname "It's Always Broke"
http://www.chiappafirearms.com/products/79
* Here's the history of 'Rossi '92 Winchester' that is now the Puma ... http://www.lasc.us/Taylor357Rossi.htm
* EMF Company is a Distributor and they sell the "Rossi Model - Braztec - Puma" ... http://www.emf-company.com/store/pc/...ifles-c123.htm

I have two Winchester 1892's: a "Rossi" without the safety and a "Puma" with the safety. These are not $1000 firearms so the wood is average and the fit to finish is average to above average. Out of the box, the actions are as designed and need to be smoothed out. I did this for both rifles and the actions are now 'slick', I can cock the finger lever with my little finger.

The "Rossi', vintage 2000 bought from EMF, is my favorite CAS rifle. More than 15,000+ black powder reloads down the bore: no mechanical malfunctions and has been field stripped only twice for cleaning

Bottom line: Buy the Rossi Model from EMF!

[Blackwater]

Wow! Great advice. Since I quit taking any of the glossy mags, I've gotten rather out of touch with what's available and the machinations of the various mfgr's, so all the above is a real help. A friend has had an old Rossi .357 and sings its praises, and I got to shoot it a bit a few years ago. That perked my interest right up, but at the time, I didn't think I had any use for a .357 rifle. Now that I've changed my mind, all your comments help a great deal, and I'm pretty well certain to get a Rossi, and likely the SS trapper model for my grandson and as a truck gun for me. Nice and short, and should do just about anything I'll need to do around my parts. Very neat little rifles! Thanks again. You've all been a big help to me in boosting my confidence about what to buy. I'd love to buy American made, but if it's just not to be, I won't let that keep me from getting a good gun, whoever makes it, so long as it's not China!

[rogn]

I can't say much about Uberti or Chiapa except that I saw a Chiapa 22 pistol that broke after 3 boxes of LR ammo. I have SS '92 in 45LC and so does my son. I stoned on hard Arkansas on some flats and loaded the action w/ toothpaste and worked it numerous times while watching the news. Its as slick as a wet clay creek bank and feeds anything Ive put in it as long as you"work" the action. Mostly HPs or SWC of 4 different molds. The chambers of both carbines are oversized, BUT they are within SAAMI specs. Both are from the Legacy era and the the stocks responded well to a rubdown with a wet cloth, then when dry a rubbed oil finish. The results are very pleasing. The safety does make me feel a tad better when unloading the magazine.Additionally both are quite accurate w/ Williams receiver sights. Mine will group 250XTPs in about 1 1/2" @ 100 and most less than full power cast bullets about 2-4". Incidentally if anyone wants an easy handle carry carbine for hikes in big furry carnivore country the 20" carbine will drive 300r bullets a tad over 1700FPs with heavy but not max loads. The biggest negative Ive found is my wife likes it and now I need to find a shorter stock for her.

[tnaz]

"Bottom line: Buy the Rossi Model from EMF!"

Hey John, how do you know if its from EMF? All the ones I see online for sale are Braztech Rossi.

[rondog]

I've got a hankerin' for a '92 in .45 Colt, but I can't seem to find anyplace in the Denver area that has them in stock. Which just might be a good thing, considering I can't afford one.....

Want! Real bad. .45 Colt. Long, octagonal barrel......

[tnaz]

I've got a hankerin' for a '92 in .45 Colt, but I can't seem to find anyplace in the Denver area that has them in stock. Which just might be a good thing, considering I can't afford one.....

Buds gun has several.

[rondog]

Buds gun has several.

I don't want to order one, I want to hold it, fondle it, and say "yeah, THIS one!" If I were buying a Glock or something else with no class or personality, that's different. But a nice levergun that I'll want to be proud of, gotta buy it in person. Just how I am.