Rossi 92 Frustration!

[Deep Six]

I bought a Rossi '92 in 44 Mag in summer 2012. This is a blue, round barrel, 20" model. Took it out to shoot it once and had to aim 3 feet to the right at 100 yards. While cleaning it, I noticed that the barrel of my brand new gun was visibly bent to the left, explaining why I had to hold so much to the right. At this point I sent it back to Rossi asking them to replace the barrel. CS assured me that it would be at the front of their 6-week backlog since "it's a brand new gun". After 3 months of calling them every other week they finally told me they were just going to send me a new gun. I told them that was fine so long as they have one of their "gunsmiths" check the barrel before sending it. When it arrived at my FFL, I inspected it closely and the barrel looked OK, so I ate another transfer fee. Finally I would have a working levergun I thought.

This one is better, but it still shoots way left. It is, however, within the adjustment range of the sights so at least I can hit with it. It doesn't suffer from the usual Rossi problems I hear about concerning shooting high or low or the action jamming up and chewing up brass. I even finished the stock in BLO and put a coat of JPW on it (it's probably the nicest finished wood anyone's ever seen on a Rossi). However, the thing shoots shotgun patterns with every load I've tried (you're doing good if you can ring a 16" gong at 100 yards 50% of the time) and the elevation adjustment in the rear sight slips a notch under recoil of anything more than a 200 gr 44 special load, resulting in the next shot going 12" low.

I'm just fed up with this thing. I love the looks, lighweight, and handiness of the '92 design. It is too much to ask of a $500 gun that it shoot to point of aim and hold a group at 100 yards? Does anyone else have an accurate Rossi with a straight barrel? I'm wondering if I may have better luck with a different caliber or stainless barrel or shorter barrel or octagonal barrel (the oct barrel seems to be a much heavier profile... Or if I just need to go to a different make. I picked the Rossi for it's light weight (Henrys are a lot heavier), twist rate (never understood the 1:38 twist on the Marlins), and cost (while nice, the Miroku Winchesters are twice the $ and have their own problems).

Please offer suggestions!

[northmn]

My Rossi 357 was fussy about loads and I ended up taking it apart and loosening the forearm fit and the barrel band. Mine would walk to the right while shooting until I did that. Unfortunately they are not drilled for a peep sight. About the only cure for the rear sight would be to file deeper notches in the elevator. I had to file my rear sight down to hit the paper as it shot very high with mag loads. I picked up a Marlin 32-20 and sold the Rossi. While I finally got it to shoot the Marlin shot just fine with no gunsmithing. While the 92 clone might be nice, I much prefer the 94 Marlin. Most that tell you how they like their Rossi's do so after a little fiddling.

DP

[olereb]

I have several Rossi leverguns and after some work they all run great. Rossi's are great rifles but they do require some work to get them right,first thing I do is take the wood off and blast them with NON chlorinated brake cleaner and let soak over night so everything drains out. Then I take them apart and replace the springs and grind/polish anything that is rough,that makes a world of difference. For accuracy I replace the R92's sights with sights from Steve's Gunz,the rear peep sight works great,after that all I have had to do is work a load that the rifle likes. Assuming you get a straight barrel its really not hard to get them to be great shooters,they just take some work.

[Pb2au]

Cleaning the action is the very first step as stated above. 95% of the time that will take care of any function issues.
As for the accuracy, the forearm is an excellent place to start. The factory really cranks the heck out of the screw securing the barrel band on your model. Check the fit of the forearm wood while you are in there.
Check the fit and the tightness of the tang screw for good measure.
The rest is going to be the usual stuff for finding the load that works well with your rifle. Rossi tends to cut the chambers relatively close to SAAMI specs, but even considering that you should be able to get the right size boolit for the bore. Again as stated above, find the accurate load before reaching for the velocity stars.
Mine had a tendency to shoot to the right as well. I discovered the front sight was not fit properly and was moving. After I cured that, I found joy. Mine is chambered in 45 colt.
The fact is that for the 500$ price point, the rifles shoot quite well. But that 500$ comes with another price, and that is dealing with the gremlins that can occasionally ride up from Brazil with these rifles. Those gremlins are a product of simply a lack of precise hand fitting and QC.

Hang in there, they are good rifles.

[KLR]

Any idea of the percentage of lemons? My daughter ordered a 92 in 357 last week. It will be her first centerfire rifle so I hope it doesn't have to make the trip back. Slicking up the action will be no problem, I just don't want to get something major like the OP's barrel problem.

[Deep Six]

My big question is about the barrels. Are bent barrels the exception or the rule? Did I really get that unlucky that I got two bent barrels in a row? I don't mind doing the usualy Rossi stuff, but a bent barrel is kind of hard to deal with. Will the 3rd one be the charm or do I need to spend more $ if I want a straight barrel?

Maybe 44 and 45 just result in too thin of a barrel wall and they bend easily during assembly and shipping. Perhpas I'd have better luck with a 357...?

[Pb2au]

Visually I have not noticed a bend in my barrel. Mine was shooting about 8" to the right.(@100 yards) This equaled to relatively minute amount of drift on the sights.
To be honest, I never really arrived to a conclusion as to why, unless the barrel long axis is not co linear to the line of sight to the sight picture. This in my mind would be indicative of drift in the boring of the barrel. I am not a barrel maker, so this is supposition backed by a career in building machine tools.
As for a percentage of lemons, I couldn't answer that intelligently. I've shot 4 distinct Rossi's and the accuracy was excellent. In the circles I travel, the 357 M92's can be a little fussy feeding certain types of projectiles, but that can be attributed to a myriad of different things. Again, the first thing to do when you receive the rifle is to remove the buttstock, open the action and spray an entire can of brake cleaner through it. Come to think of it, remove the magazine spring and follower before you do that. The stock follower is made of fantastic plastic, so it might not play well with brake cleaner....
The action is going to be loaded with old transport grease and who knows what else. It is a long trip from Brazil..... Blowing all this goo out and then lubing should go a long way to ensuring good function. Just don't get any brake cleaner on the wood, or bye bye finish.

[KLR]

Thanks for the info. I'll be sure to do that before she shoots it. I'm hoping that this gun will get her interested in shooting.

[Airman Basic]

Well, the stainless 357 I just bought has had nothing at all done to it except shoot it around a 1000 rounds of 38 and 357. Boolits only, no jwords. It shoots and feeds great. The action and trigger are noticeably better now. I hesitate to take it apart. Sometimes I have trouble getting things back together. It was not loaded with packing grease or metal shavings that I saw. Think I'll leave well enough alone for a while, anyway.

[Airman Basic]

BTW, the Rossi shot well with all the loads I had loaded up for my other 357s. Right from the getgo. My Marlins had to find the right charge and bullet diameter before they would shot near as well.

[nhrifle]

Almost sounds to me as if the muzzle needs to be recut and trued. I have seen more than a few rifles that were haphazardly crowned at the factory and wouldn't shoot any better than an 18th century smooth bore. A little time with a crowning tool was all it took, and it's something that could be done at home with a round headed brass bolt and some lapping compound, although doing the job with the proper tools would be preferable.

[Deep Six]

Almost sounds to me as if the muzzle needs to be recut and trued. I have seen more than a few rifles that were haphazardly crowned at the factory and wouldn't shoot any better than an 18th century smooth bore. A little time with a crowning tool was all it took, and it's something that could be done at home with a round headed brass bolt and some lapping compound, although doing the job with the proper tools would be preferable.

That's an interesting thought, but I'm not going to mess with the crown of a bent barrel. I'm thinking maybe I should give up on the round barrel 44 and try either a round 357 or a octagonal 44/45. Both of those should have significantly higher section modulus in the barrel and hopefully be less likely to be bent from the factory. I'm thinking a 16" 357 should balance about the same as my 20" 44, which is perfect in my opinion. If I go with a 20" or 24" octagonal, it's probably going to be too front heavy for my liking. Heck, I may as well just buy the Marlin 45-70 I've always wanted rather than an octagonal barreled 92...

[nhrifle]

If you are going to try an entirely different configuration, doing work to your current rifle wouldn't matter, but you said your replacement barrel was patterning rather than grouping and the crown would be where I would start.

[Deep Six]

Yeah, with the sights centered, it shoots patterns centered about 2 feet left of point of aim. I have both the front and rear windage adjustments about at their limits just to get it to shoot to point of aim. It is better than the original rifle, which was so far left that the windage adjustments couldn't make up for it. Between that and the awful accuracy, I just don't even want to work on this thing.

[fouronesix]

[smilie=b: I'm thinking the answer is glaring and hiding in plain sight.

Since it seems hope springs eternal among the Rossi aficionados sell it at a discount to one of them with the understanding that it has a whole bunch of potential. Call the difference in what it costs vs what is sells for as the price of education. Set aside the proceeds to go toward a replacement and go on the hunt for a decent Winchester 92 or Marlin 94.

[olereb]

Any idea of the percentage of lemons? My daughter ordered a 92 in 357 last week. It will be her first centerfire rifle so I hope it doesn't have to make the trip back. Slicking up the action will be no problem, I just don't want to get something major like the OP's barrel problem.

More than likely with the basic flushing the action out,changing the springs and doing some basic polishing it will be a good shooter.

[olereb]

My big question is about the barrels. Are bent barrels the exception or the rule? Did I really get that unlucky that I got two bent barrels in a row? I don't mind doing the usualy Rossi stuff, but a bent barrel is kind of hard to deal with. Will the 3rd one be the charm or do I need to spend more $ if I want a straight barrel?

Maybe 44 and 45 just result in too thin of a barrel wall and they bend easily during assembly and shipping. Perhpas I'd have better luck with a 357...?

I have several 92's and none had a bent barrel,it happens from what I have heard on the Rossi forum but I wouldn't say its a normal issue with them. If you want to ask people that are really into the Rossi's ask here http://www.rossi-rifleman.com/ If its happened somebody there will know.

[Doc.Holliday]

[smilie=b: I'm thinking the answer is glaring and hiding in plain sight.

Since it seems hope springs eternal among the Rossi aficionados sell it at a discount to one of them with the understanding that it has a whole bunch of potential. Call the difference in what it costs vs what is sells for as the price of education. Set aside the proceeds to go toward a replacement and go on the hunt for a decent Winchester 92 or Marlin 94.

BIG PLUS 1

" No more Rossi for Me "

Doc

[KCSO]

Slug the tube the last one we got in was 432.

[Deep Six]

I think I did and got .430". I've tried bullets ranging from 0.429 to 0.434, jacketed and cast, plain base and gas-checked, 180 gr to 320 gr, and nothing has produced what I would consider a group past 25 yards. I've got numerous revolvers that will outshoot this thing at any distance by a large margin.

[Tackleberry41]

Poor barrels in anything rossi seems to be pretty common. The single shots seem to be really bad. A used matched pair 44mag/20ga I bought not long ago. The 44mag barrel was actually straight, but terribly out of concentric. A good 3mm by my dial indicator. The 20ga barrel, unfired still in the plastic from the factory, has a good but of bow in it.

I bought a 223 barrel off a guy who was ready to throw the whole thing in the trash. Well it had a 19mm muzzle wobble to it, so obviously wasn't going to shoot very well. I wanted the stub for another barrel. Once I cut it off, the barrel itself seems straight, from that point on, maybe the heat from welding the mount to it warped it. It was not an easy task to get it in the chuck and drill it out straight to tap it for another barrel.

Makes you curious as to what sort of machinery they are using to make their weapons. Even those backyard, hand made guns from India, they seem capable of making a barrel straight. Or is there simply no rejection rate on the Rossi line, or dont even check them at all. Still with even remotely modern machinery it can't be that hard to make a straight and concentric barrel.

[jh45gun]

My Ranch Hand shoots great once I put a taller front sight on it. I had one issue with a bad rail guide that Rossi fixed in a timely manner. Lets face it we have threads with bad Remlins and I do not even own a Ruger anymore because of some accuracy issues with some of their handguns. My Marlin 22's shoot better than any 10/22 I had. We see complaints about other brands all the time. Guns are like any other product while it should not happen we do get bad ones once in a while just like you get bad vehicles or electronics and other products. I bought some cheap jeans from Haband and some were good still wearing them. Two of them the fabric was bad and ripped for no reason except for the fabric was bad. I complained and had to send back the bad jeans they sent me a new pair and those ripped like the other pair did. Like many have stated with some tinkering you can get the Rossi's to be good guns. I think a person should not have to do that with a new gun but it seems to be not only with Rossi but a lot of other guns today too.

[rbstern]

Deep Six, sorry you've had so much trouble. I've had good luck with Rossi rifles (a '357 92, and my son's youth 22lr/20ga single shot). The Rossi 92 remains one of my all time favorites, but it did take some effort to get it to run well.

No question, Rossi seems to have consistency issues. The can make a very good gun, but they put out their fair share of clunkers.

[Deep Six]

Yeah like I said I'm giving up on this gun because I don't see the point in slicking it up and adjusting pressure points, etc if I'm starting with what I suspect is a warped barrel. I really like the design though and if I could get one with a straight and true barrel, I wouldn't mind working the rest of the bugs out of it. It's just that after 2 bad ones, I'm not so sure taking a chance on a 3rd is a good idea. If I do, I think it will be a stainless 16" .357. Perhaps they were just having the issues with the machine that makes the blue, round .44 barrels when I got the two I've had. I'm hoping that the shorter barrel, smaller caliber, and different material result in less of a chance of a warped barrel.