Rossi 92 load strength question

[greenmntranger]

Was wondering how stout a load you guys are firing in your Rossi 92's. I know that the same receiver is used for the .454 Casull, but I have read that those guns got a different heat treating.
So what is the stiffest load you guys are running through your 92's?

[Jeff H]

....So what is the stiffest load you guys are running through your 92's?

I don't know about the other guys, but I see a significant enough increase in velocity between pistol length barrels and carbine/rifle-length barrels using book loads with the .357 that I don't need to try to find something above book.

That may be a different story with the .44 mags and/or .45 Colts, but I don't have one of those.

[rbertalotto]

I have two Rossi / Puma 1892 rifles. A 45LC and a 454 Casull. I sure wish we could find out for sure if the 454 has different heat treating. I find it hard to believe they would go to the trouble of only trating certain actions and not all of them............

[Ed Barrett]

Several friends of mine have loaded for their Rossi's in 357 to some hot loads that I won't publish here. My 357 adds an extra 350fps to top pistol loads. Between the longer barrel and no cylinder gap, it's all I need for deer. These loads took 4 deer last year with no problem. I use my .454 for hogs, I don't know if they heat treat the .454's any differently. From what I can see the thickness of the of receiver walls are not different. The design of the 92 and clones show the genius of John Browning, it’s a scaled down 1886 Winchester. The 86 was chambered for some pretty big cartridges for their time. If the action was a bit longer it could take even more powerful cartridges. The .454 is about the max for length.

After all that, all I can say is work the loads up very slowly. remember all the guns can take one proof load, just don't make it a steady diet.

[Gee_Wizz01]

I have two Rossi / Puma 1892 rifles. A 45LC and a 454 Casull. I sure wish we could find out for sure if the 454 has different heat treating. I find it hard to believe they would go to the trouble of only trating certain actions and not all of them............

Since you have one of each, if you could find someone with access to a Rockwell tester, you could have each one tested, you could get a real good idea, assuming both are made from the same steel. Either way you would know if one is harder than the other.

G

[helice]

GMR
I have a stainless LSI Puma in 45 Colt. I've driven a 250 grain J-word with a load of Lil'Gun that was a full grain less than published maximum. The Chrony reported 1850'/s and the butt plate reported that was far enough. The 44 Mag. and 45 Colts can make a 92 no fun to shoot from a bench. I don't see any point in hot-rodding it past Max Published. Every time I take people out to shoot, the M-92 in 357 Mag wins the popularity contest.

[Old Goat Keeper]

I have one of the Rossi 454s and use a sissy pad on it with full tilt loads. It gets pretty rough off the bench. But to stay on subject it was reported on anothe forum that the receivers and bolt for the 454 model DO receive a special heat treatment to take that high pressure. Industry standarrd pressure is 53,000 CUP! And yes the receivers ARE their standard 92 model cept for the extra heat treatment.

T-o-m

[220swiftfn]

Mine gets downright painful with full bore loads...(crescent butt plate) But they take Ruger and TC loads just fine (assuming that you're talking about 45 Colt)

Dan

[Link23]

i load my 44 mag pretty hot, around 1800 FPS and it shoots good, you can def. feel it i do that with the lee 310 big mammas

Link23

[garym1a2]

The .357 takes about all the 2400 you can put in a case. But, I find 6 grain of Unique to be a good all around load and 3 grain of bullseye to be a fun plinker in the 38case.

[greenmntranger]

Thanks for all the input guys. I cross posted this question on a couple sites and have got back the same answer. The Rossi will handle just about everything my shoulder can.

In searching for info on the .454 Casull heat treat question, I found some anecdotal, "I read this on the company web site" statements but nothing conclusive.

GMR

[BAGTIC]

I have two Rossi / Puma 1892 rifles. A 45LC and a 454 Casull. I sure wish we could find out for sure if the 454 has different heat treating. I find it hard to believe they would go to the trouble of only trating certain actions and not all of them............

The difference between the H&R SB1 and SB2 actions is due to the difference in heat treating. They start as the same alloy. Got this from the factory several years ago.

[BAGTIC]

I have one of the .454. I like the recoil pad and also the tube feed. I wish the same gun were available chambered for the .45 Colt.

Anything I am going to shoot could be handled with a heavy .45 load and since my shoulder surgery that is all I want to risk in such a light gun. .45 Colt brass is cheaper, more readily available, and the slightly shorter length would permit ballistically more efficient bullets with longer ogives. IMO the .454 is gilding the lily.

[Doc.Holliday]

Evening;
My stoutest load in my Rossi 92 Trapper ; 45 colt; is 22 gr of 4227 with a CCI 350 primer and 250 gr Dardas RNFP cast bullet. Use this load at your own risk
Works for me and my gun and will dispatch anything I ask it to
I also have a Rossi Ranch Hand using this recipe.
Regards
Doc.

[Snyd]

Thanks for all the input guys. I cross posted this question on a couple sites and have got back the same answer. The Rossi will handle just about everything my shoulder can.

In searching for info on the .454 Casull heat treat question, I found some anecdotal, "I read this on the company web site" statements but nothing conclusive.

GMR

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_5_49/ai_99145185/


"When the Puma .454 arrived, the first thing I did was to call Glen Ruh at Legacy Sports International to ask him how Rossi had been able to adapt the 1892 design to the hot Casull cartridge. Ruh explained that the metallurgy and heat treatment had been modified to handle the high pressure and that the carbine had been thoroughly torture tested by H.P. White Laboratories using standard factory ammunition."

Standard factory 454 ammo is usually 65000psi stuff. I shoot 335-355-425gr at 1800-1700-1500ish.

[Four Fingers of Death]

You will run out of shoulder before the gun runs out of strength.

[pmer]

http://www.leverguns.com/articles/paco/45coltlevergun.htm

Here is a good article on the Rossi and it kinda ranks other lever actions in strength too.

I have one in .45 Colt and it handles 300 grain boolits at 1600 FPS with no trouble. Execpt mine shoots Ruger/TC loads lower than SAA loads.

[greenmntranger]

http://www.leverguns.com/articles/paco/45coltlevergun.htm

Here is a good article on the Rossi and it kinda ranks other lever actions in strength too.

I have one in .45 Colt and it handles 300 grain boolits at 1600 FPS with no trouble. Execpt mine shoots Ruger/TC loads lower than SAA loads.


Thanks for the article. VERY informative. With all the input, I am now confident I can shoot ANY commercial ammo and most any handloads I am willing to mix up

[Four Fingers of Death]

http://www.leverguns.com/articles/paco/45coltlevergun.htm

Here is a good article on the Rossi and it kinda ranks other lever actions in strength too.

I have one in .45 Colt and it handles 300 grain boolits at 1600 FPS with no trouble. Execpt mine shoots Ruger/TC loads lower than SAA loads.

Must be getting out of the barrel quicker or something like that.

[Bret4207]

IME the little Rossi get's rather violent on the back end with full house factory stuff. Even with a recoil pad it's just not fun. I think that will be the limit.

I can't think of anything in the northeast I wouldn't take on with my little Puma 44 and a 260 gr Keith boolit.

[Andy_P]

http://www.leverguns.com/articles/paco/45coltlevergun.htm

Here is a good article on the Rossi and it kinda ranks other lever actions in strength too.

I have one in .45 Colt and it handles 300 grain boolits at 1600 FPS with no trouble. Execpt mine shoots Ruger/TC loads lower than SAA loads.

The notion that the Rossi Puma M92 in 454 Casull has undergone a "special heat treatment", sits clearly in the category of "Gun Folklore". I imagine someone once thought "it must be different from the other Rossi M92's due to the much higher pressure of the 454 Casull" and because upon inspection it appreared identical to one chambered in 45 Colt, it must have the "special heat treatment". That's very commonly used "logic".

[rbuck351]

I have a Puma in 454 and my std load is a 310 gr cast at 1950 with a caseful of Lil Gun. Recoil is a bit stiff. I don't know if anything special is done with the metal in the 454 but what ever they did is working well for me.

[Naphtali]

According to a thread on leverguns.com of several years ago, while dimensions of Rossi 45 Colt and 454 Casull actions are the same, Rossi heat treats its 454 bolt, locking lugs, and receiver differently. When I talked with their tech support several years ago, I discussed that I wanted my 45 Colt Rossi to be able to use the same ammunition I handloaded for my Freedom Arms 97. So long as overall cartridge length is not greater than 1.610 inches, Freedom Arms Model 97 in 45 Colt is rated by them to have identical pressure limitations as old model Ruger Blackhawk 45 Colt revolvers. Braz-tech informed me that my requirement was no problem. I have been doing this for more than seven years without any issues.

Hope this helps.