Photos of my new Legacy (Rossi-Puma) M92

[Buckshot]

............it's chambered 45 Colt.



The case colors are a bit garish in these 2 photos (above) as I had to fiddle with the hue and saturation in order to get them to show up. They're actually much better in person. These kind of have a 'carnival' appearance to them here.



Case colors on the buttplate barely even showed up. Poor lighting I guess. I could see them in the view finder but they were a bit on th shaded side.







The trigger has just a touch of creep in it but it breaks really clean. I'd guess at maybe a 4 lb pull. Not bad. The action is smooth just as it came from the box. I still plan on tearing it down and checking it out. A bit of cratex here and there might not hurt. All in all it's as nice as I had hoped for. Not to see how it shoots next Tuesday!

...................Buckshot

[JDL]

Right nice, Buckshot! How can you wait 'till Tuesday to fire her? -JDL

[454PB]

That's purdy!

I have the plain version in .454 Casull. I hope your's shoots as well as mine.

[9.3X62AL]

I met Buckshot at the same shop when he picked up the rifle--it's just gorgeous, period! I picked up my Glock 21 in 45 ACP soon thereafter, and that pistol sorta looked like a bullhead next to a golden trout on a fish stringer.

[Buckshot]

............I took the big plunge an stripped the rifle all the way down to it's bare essentials this afternoon. I didn't really WANT to , as I had some other stuff I'd druther have been doing, But I knew I had to and wanted to do it before shooting it. I also recalled when shooting buddy Larry had got one for his wife (no really! It was for his wife). It was the stainless version and was kind of rough feeling.

We tore it apart (I didn't remember anything about that operation, this time ) and it was full of pigs ears and tag ends with some loose metal bits floating around inside. I did remember THAT and that's what prompted me today. First of all, I REALLY DO like this rifle. Externally the fit and finish are very good to excellent. None of the screw holes were dished in the polishing operation and there are no waves on the slab sided action.

One thing I didn't care for but it's no big deal was that the barrel wasn't polished. It had a ground finish. Very smooth, sharp corners on the octagon bbl but just not polished. One of these days I may just remove it so I can turn it round, out beyond the handguard and if I do I'll polish it then. The action and the rest of the rifle deserve it.

I finally remembered the screw in the left side of the action, hiding the lever pin through the bolt and got it all taken down.

First of all the trigger felt a bit 'rumbly'. Not gritty or hesitant but not real smooth. This was the trigger spring riding on the trigger. The spring was sharp and the surface on the trigger had whoopties. Kind of small rounded furrows across it. With a Cratex wheel in the Dremel I rounded the pressure end of the spring and smoothed the ledge of the trigger to a mirror finish. While the spring was out I ground it narrower behind the part that bears on the trigger, and back maybe 3/4". That way I could reduce pressure without bending the flatspring.

Next was the trigger. It has no trunnions on either side to position it, and will float from side to side on the pin between the ears of the lower tang. Plus the hole through the trigger isn't perpendicular so the trigger is cocked just a bit. With it's movement, and being cocked a tad, it had a tendancy to drag. I checked and there was a bit more then .020" of room. Easiest to do was to use a washer on one side rather then try and make 2 that were .010" thick or a bit less! I had to make 3 of'em. First one bounced off my hand and went into the swarf tray under the lathe, and the 2nd the Dremel grabbed and shot off like a bullet. Now the trigger is WAY smoother and easier to pull.

The bolt had several little pig's ears and tag ends. These are removed easily by dragging a screwdriver blade along the edge. I also found a few loose bits of metal in corners and slots. I used the Dremel with a Cratex wheel again to 'just' break the sharp edges, and especially on the ends facing where the dual locking lugs ride up.

I noticed one of the lugs had scratches on it's outside edge. Checking out the action, I could see lots of very sharp corners and edges. What was scraping the one lug was the edge of the milled slot for the loading gate flatspring, where it crosses the right lug race. The action is harder then heck, so no screwdriver was going to make it. At that point I decided to finish it up tomorrow. Before quitting I made up a tool to break the sharp edges in the action.

I have some 1/8" dia by 1.5" long carbide rod blanks. I chucked up some 1/4" OD steel rod and drilled it 1/8" ID, 1/2" deep. Cutting the carbide rods in half with a diamond disc. Some Loc-Tite went in each hole and then the carbide piece. Again with the diamond wheel I ground a nice flat surface on the end and then also on the long axis to form a nice sharp corner for scraping. The tool looks like a scribe except the carbide has a broad flat nose for scraping.

.................Buckshot

[C1PNR]

Hooo Boy! After looking at your new toy, I just told SWMBO that I've GOT to get one of them things! And in the .45 Colt, too! What a companion to the .25-20 and the .32-20.

About the only thing you haven't mentioned is how the bore looks. I suppose we'll just have to wait until after the Burrito Shoot on Tuesday to hear the news.

Very nice addition to the Buckshot family!

[Frank46]

Buckshot, do they make them in 32-20??. I have dies, brass, and lyman's 311316 sounds like it all should have something to shoot. Frank

[Buckshot]

............The Rossi (or BrazTech) made ones are in 38/357, 44Spec/44Mag, and 45 Colt. I understand that Uberti, or Pedersoli makes one? Browning has od had some made by Miroku in Japan that were in the original chamberings.

C1PNR, well the bore looks like a mirror, but you'd think it would being new and all . Yup it's be Tuesday before I shoot it.

If I never have to take this thing apart again I'll be a happy camper. Of course doing it without instructions (especially the 'Put it back together' part) is a pain!



So here it is all taken apart. As I mentioned in the other post, the whole idea was to clean it up. Wasn't too bad inside but now that I FINALLY have it back together I'm glad I did it. The trigger turned out REAL nice!



They've modified the rifle by putting a safety on the top rear of the bolt. It wasn't real glaring but my eye kept going to it. The hammer has a half cock notch and that's all the safety that one needs, really. There is also a F (fire) and S (safe) and they put the F in red paint and the S in a day-glo green. A bit of carb cleaner made the paint go away.

The switch is retained by a pin in the bolt and it blocks the firing pin. The switch is retained in either position via a small ball with a spring behind it. I pulled it out and miked the hole (.277" OD) and then turned a piece of W-I to that and parted it off so it would clear the firing pin hole. With the Dremel I ground a slot and put it in the hole, then scriobed around it to get the rounded countour of the top of the bolt. It came out and I ground the top to match the scribed line.

Then I fire blued it and stuck it and it's keeper pin back. The F &S is still there but it's nowhere neare as garish (to my eye) as it was before.



The only other thing was the yellow plastic follower. Plastic? I mean a steel one would have cost what, $3 bucks for them to make? So I made one.



All cleaned up, and showing the inside.



A VERY poor photo. As you can see my camera focused on the bin behind the follower. Anyway I heat blued it, for no good reason as you can't see the blamed thing when the rifle is put together Anyway I feel better about it now!

..................Buckshot

[Cayoot]

That's purdy!

I have the plain version in .454 Casull. I hope your's shoots as well as mine.

How do you like that .454? Does it shoot .45 Colts well? I had a .357 Winchester that would shoot .38s well, but the problem was getting them into the chamber. If I didn't move the lever quite slow (when working the action) it would flip the .38 right out of the receiver and onto the ground.

I've been searching for a .454 Lever.....Is Legacy a Rossi model?

Do you know if they are still in production?

So many questions!

[454PB]

I don't shoot short cases.....38's in .357's, .44 special in .44 magnum, etc., so I can't answer your question. I suspect it would do fine.

Mine is box stock, and I view it as a "fun gun" or short range brush gun. I've had zero problems with mine with around 700 rounds through it. I've read that some of them had problems splitting the stock fore end, and a friend of mine has one that did this. It was warranty replaced, and the replacement also split. He repaired it that time.

In .454, cartridge O.L. is critical for proper feeding. I have to seat my handloads using the Lee 320 gr. G.C. and Lyman 452651 to crimp on the front crimp groove. It shoots these boolits very accurately, and I'm getting around 2000 fps with the 320 gr. boolits using Lil'Gun.

Yes, they are still available, here is a link to the web site:

http://www.legacysports.com/puma/index.htm

[Cayoot]

Thank you! This one sounds like alot of fun!

[steveb]

Buckshot, who is the importer of this Rossi? LSI(Legacy), EMF, Navy Arms? I cussed and spit the first time I had mine taken down. By the time I had it slicked up the way I wanted it I had had it apart 5-6 times(best to go slow ya know) Its a breeze to take down now if ever need be. The modern Rossi 92's rock-n-roll and are the strongest leveraction out there for pistol length cartridges.

http://www.leverguns.com/articles/pa...ltlevergun.htm

Also a little late I know but here is a good tutorial with picts of stripping one down and slicking it up.

http://www.leverguns.com/articles/taylor/rossi.htm

[Poohgyrr]

Congrats on your Rossi. How's load development going??

edited: And congrats on the work you did too.

[Buckshot]

"............It shoots these boolits very accurately, and I'm getting around 2000 fps with the 320 gr. boolits using Lil'Gun."

HA! A baby 45-70. Of course mines a 45 Colt, but I don'tthink I'll be doing much reloading in the top quarter of the spectrum. I figure 1200-1400 fps shouldn't see the slug bouncing off the target paper

steveb, thanks for that info. Duly downloaded and printed off.

Poohgyrr, "Congrats on your Rossi. How's load development going??"

No load development happening at the moment. I have about 250 rounds of 45 Colt loaded up for my Vaquero I'm going to shoot up Tuesday. I tried some and it all cycles fine.

My rifle came from Legacy Sports, BTW. It's slicker'n snot on a greased doorknob now. The trigger has no creep, just increasing pressure drops the hammer. I'd say it's about 3-4 lbs. I don't have a trigger pull gage. Sighting on knots in the paneling, holding and dropping the hammer isn't any problem. Has a nice amount of weight out front. If the 24" octagon barrel comes in 35 cal it'll be a might bit heavier yet!

.................Buckshot

[454PB]

I can understand that you are not going to load at the upper end, but it's reassuring to know that the .45 Colt chambering is surely of the same strength as the .454 Casull chambering. SAAMI specs are 65K average.

[Buckshot]

I can understand that you are not going to load at the upper end, but it's reassuring to know that the .45 Colt chambering is surely of the same strength as the .454 Casull chambering. SAAMI specs are 65K average.

That's true. I was reading on that other site about checking hardnesses and apparently all the Rossi's had checked out well but the ones in the past 5 years have been much more consistany good. Supposedly lots of the old original Winchesters were soft. I don't suppose that's bad, if you loaded the original chambering the way they were supposed to be loaded.

..............Buckshot

[Buckshot]

.................Oh boy I got to shot it today at the range! It's always a very scary deal for me to shoot a new rifle. Is it going to be okay or is it not. And if not, can it be fixed. First of all, the rifle recieved high marks from those who saw it, and also from those who shot it, plus it was a lot of fun.

The only ammo I had loaded up for it was some stuff I'd had for my Ruger Vaquero. I had 50 rounds loaded with the Lee 190gr SWC over 8.0grs of SR7625 and 100 rounds of the RCBS 45-250 over the same charge. I could get 13 in the magazine . It was fun to fire a shot, work the lever and then have that big stack of cartridges go ka-chunk, in the mag tube!

It was shooting about 4" left at 50 yards, and with the rear sight at the lowest setting it was about 3" high at that range. Got the windage right with no issue. Adjusted the rear a tad and also the front a RCH just so one didn't have it all. I fired several 5 round groups at 50 yards and counting all 5 they ran 3 - 3.5". They were all verticly strung. Maybe 1 - 1.5" wide. It'd clump a few.

The loads with the 190gr SWC had fairly well smoked cases. Fire a shot and smoke would come oozing up out of the action, ha! The 250 gr loads did better and maybe 30 % of those had some sooty cases. The boolits had been sized .452". No I hadn't bothered to slug the bore as those were the loads I had on hand and they were getting shot regardless.

I fired a 10 round group offhand at 50 yards and scored an 82, and that included a 7 and a 5. I think I need to see about what the chamber will accept so far as sizing cast lead goes, and I need to 'Hot up' the loads a wee bit. Out of the 150 rounds fired, there was not one single issue or problem. Out at 220 meters up on the berm there was a rock going maybe 14" or so I'd guess. Not much problem for me and a couple other guys to dust it regularly shooting offhand.

Another friend wore out a head sized rock at about 150 yards with a magazine load of ammo and repeated whacks. It was a load of fun and Ihave high hopes for some load development in getting the group size at least cut in half.

.................Buckshot

[steveb]

I think its hook, line , and sinker for Buckshot. It hopeless, theres no need to resist. Just go with it. Congrats again on your new 92!

[Old Ironsights]

It was shooting about 4" left at 50 yards, and with the rear sight at the lowest setting it was about 3" high at that range. ....Buckshot

As far as I can tell that's typical for Rossi's... at least it is on mine.

Having an FP installed from the get-go, I never really used the buckhorns, but I think that, in general, the Rossi front sight is too short.

[jerdog53]

Here is my Puma 92 in 454, I have had this about 5 years and had the wood replaced right off the bat because the fore grip kept cracking.




I really like it and do shoot it with the higher end loadings as well as 45 Colt loads.