That is a great pic and a NICE looking Rifle Dragon, would it be OK if I asked if it was new when you bought it and how much it cost? The costs I've seen of the new Marlingtons has been scaring me to death. No offense intended, I'd LOVE to have one but had to settle for a Rossi which has turned out to be a really nice rifle for me.
Art
”Only accurate rifles are interesting”
——Townsend Whelen
In a time of universal deceit , telling the truth is a revolutionary act
—- George Orwell
It was bought new back in June for right around $600. I did have snap caps for both 38 and 357 to make sure it cycled. The forend is a little chunky compared to the CT rifles but it's not nearly as bad as the early Remington production ones. It's also a hunting rifle and it will get abused so I wasn't to concerned w/ it being a beauty queen.
I could slick up the action but it's perfect for hunting. The actions of the Rossis I played w/ all felt extremely gritty. I was willing to pay more money for one that I didn't need to send out for work.
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I have a Rossi in 16". It is VERY handy. It shoots the LEE 125 RFNs extremely well and that's what I shoot from it most. The others I shoot a lot of are the LEE 158 TL SWC and LEE 158 RFN. I shoot the TL mostly at very low velocity and the RFN at normal magnum velocities. The 125s leave the 16" barrel of the Rossi at about the speed they would a 4" handgun just because that's the way I load them and they are great for "shootin' off the back porch" type of applications. Fecmech was instrumental in my success in load development/bullet selection. Another stellar performer in my Rossi, which he had recommended was the LEE 120 TC bullet for the 9mm. Since the 125 RFN does the same thing I just shoot that one.
Scoping is not a problem. $13 for the mount and I happene to prefer the scope mounted forward in this case. I had a Marlin in .44 mag and they are fine rifles. It's said the 92 is stronger but I don't usually load to full magnum potential, let alone over it so that's a non-issue for me.
Just got home and checked Davidsons Gallery of Guns website. 2 Rossi 92 357, 24" Octagon, Case Colored, in stock. Just locked mine in with a deposit and will be at my dealers on Monday. $490.59 and the tax. I feel like a kid before Christmas!
For those of you that found your Rossis shoot high instead of a taller front sight you might want to try this fix. I did the shaping of the littel notch into a mouth upward "C" using a small jeweler's rat tail round file. Not only did this mod lower the sighting line of the rear sight but it also made it sort of act like a ghost ring. To use it as shown I center the front bead in the middle of the small center "C" opening and it's fine for accuracy out to around 70 yards.
For close in cowboy shooting I still had to remove the elevation wedge since it was still too high even on the lowest setting. That's why it's missing in the picture.
Not to hi-jack 7acres' excellent thread but what are the sight options with the Rossi 92? Is it D&T'd for receiver sights or tang sights? What height 17a for the front sight Baja Traveler?
Endowment Life Member NRA, Life Member TSRA, Member WACA, NRA Whittington Center, BBHC
Smokeless powder is a passing fad! -Steve Garbe
I hate rude behavior in a man. I won't tolerate it. -Woodrow F. Call, Lonesome Dove
Some of my favorite recipes start out with a handful of depleted counterbalance devices.
The Rossi 24" octagon is D&T'd for a tang sight, the 20" carbine is not. Neither is D&T'd for receiver sight and I used the Lyman 17AHB .404" high on my 24" Rossi .357. The 20" carbine is D&T'd for the Rossi scout scope mount under the rear sight assy. All it would take for the carbine tang sight would be D&T one 8-32 hole in the tang, that's what I did on mine and bought one of the $35. Taurus tang sights for it.http://www.taurususa.com/accesories-tangsight.cfmOriginally Posted by TXGunNut
"Masculine republics give way to feminine democracies, and feminine democracies give way to tyrannies.” Aristotle
Thank you for that info Fecmech. I installed a .500 front on mine (same config as yours) and it is just a bit high now (shoot low). I did have the foresight to buy a .431 when I bought the sights so I am going to try that one.
Man I love this little rifle and the price was SOOOO right..........
Art
”Only accurate rifles are interesting”
——Townsend Whelen
In a time of universal deceit , telling the truth is a revolutionary act
—- George Orwell
After all the great feedback I decided to make my first lever gun a Rossi R92 SS 20" round barrel in .357. I feel pretty sure I will want something nicer in the future like a Marlin in .44 magnum, perhaps. But to dip my toe into the lever gun pool I thought it would be prudent to stick to the more affordable R92 especially since there are a lot of aftermarket options and a few forums dedicated to Rossi's. Since I'm on the learning curve with lever guns I'll need to advantage of the wisdom of the masses.
The first accessories I think I'll want is to replace the sights. Thanks for the tips so far. Baja, I'll check out your recommendation of Lyman 17a on the front and a Marbles tang sight on the back. Any others here really happy with their aftermarket sights on their R92 and care to share details?
Excellent choice, I'm torn between that and the color case hardened rifle. Enjoy!
Endowment Life Member NRA, Life Member TSRA, Member WACA, NRA Whittington Center, BBHC
Smokeless powder is a passing fad! -Steve Garbe
I hate rude behavior in a man. I won't tolerate it. -Woodrow F. Call, Lonesome Dove
Some of my favorite recipes start out with a handful of depleted counterbalance devices.
As Fecmech indicated, mounting the scout scope base is easy - the holes are there but hidden under the rear sight. If you mount a tang sight, you may want to get a dovetail slot fille and some plug screws to fill all the voids on the barrel that show when the sight is removed. When I ordered the scope base, the mounting screws were included.
While the carbines are not D/T'd for a reciever sight, a couple 6-48 holes is all that is needed. The flat reciever is easy to set up. This sight was originally for a Remington 740 so I reshaped the back of the base to fit the flat reciever.
EDIT:
I removed the off-center bead from the front sight and soldered in a brass insert to make the front sight a square post too.
Last edited by Jeff H; 12-10-2012 at 01:20 AM.
Very nice Jeff. Very clean install.
Endowment Life Member NRA, Life Member TSRA, Member WACA, NRA Whittington Center, BBHC
Smokeless powder is a passing fad! -Steve Garbe
I hate rude behavior in a man. I won't tolerate it. -Woodrow F. Call, Lonesome Dove
Some of my favorite recipes start out with a handful of depleted counterbalance devices.
Ive got one of those, with a 16 inch barrel, and the Lee 125 gr FP mold. I've mostly used the loading data shown on the Titegroup can--3.8 grains. Not bad, but I'm wondering what other powders to try in 38 special cases. Any ideas for a starting point?
W231/HP-38 and Universal will both work well. You will get a slightly greater velocity at a slightly smaller charge w/ Universal. For the highest velocity you can try AutoComp. I personally use W231/HP-38 for all pistols loads besides magnums.
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Oh Geez Jeff, that is a NICE conversion on that sight -- the holes you had to drill did not interfere with any of the action parts at all? Man that beats a tang sight all to hell............
Art
”Only accurate rifles are interesting”
——Townsend Whelen
In a time of universal deceit , telling the truth is a revolutionary act
—- George Orwell
Thanks!
A tang sight still gives more sight radius, but I like this where it is. No interfereance with the innards. I believe the rear hole ended up being over the lug race and was a through hole and then cleaned up on the inside. The front hole was a blind hole opposite a bolt guide race - actually, centered at the top edge of the bolt guide race, but a blind hole none the less. Would have been a booger to clean up from the inside and I had enough thickness that I didn't have to go through anyway. Been a few months isnce I did it but there was plenty of steel and it wasn't case hardened like the Mausers I am used to so it was pretty easy going.
I did make sure I mounted it forward a fuzz to clear the safety that isn't and there is a threaded post opposite the base that rests on the reciever once dialed in so you don't tweak the beam if you bang it. That had to hit in front of the bolt lug.
I'm partial to Marlins. Made in USA is part of the reason.
My Rossi Ranchhand has not returned form their service department yet. It hit the top of the target with a 6 o'clock hold at 12.5 yards and would not hit the paper at 25 yards( very high in 45 colt) different ammo did not change it. I sent it in September and it is not back yet.( now December) On the other hand, I have a Stainless Chiappa M92 Replica that shoots to point of aim and feeds all handloads. It likes 38 special SWC's as well as any 357 ammo. The front blade is thinner and you can shoot the black out of a rifle target at 25 yards while standing freehold. When I phoned Rossi, they said all rifles are serviced at their Florida site only. The local wholesaler sent mine to a gunsmith in Toronto ( 3500KMs away from the store I bought it at.)
When it comes to powders to use for 38 special, don't overlook the shotgun powders like red dot.@ 3.5 grains which is a light load, you get 2000 shots from a pound of powder. It burns clean and can be used with Winchester white wads to load cast Lee shotgun slugs or trap loads as well. I used to buy bulk powder for 8.00 dollars a pound, but the new price is 35 dollars a pound locally.( read that highway robbery). Red dot burns clean, bullseye and 231 are also excellent choices. For 357 loads I find that Blue dot is cost effective and burns clean. I use red dot for 45 colt loads as well as the unit cost is lower than the historically popular Unique. I bought a pound of HP-38 to try as I love to play at the range and on the loading bench. I have not used it yet, but will try some loads in the near future. In .358, I cast 150 SWC, 148 Wadcutter bevel base. and 160 and 178 round nose bullets for my fun.
i sure like my late production (AE with tang safety) winchester. 20" barrel, pistol grip, shoots as cast 160gr rnfp into 3" at 100 yards with stock crappy sights (blade front).
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| BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
| BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
| BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
| C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
| HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
| PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
| LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
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