Rossi 92 question

[robpete]

I'm in the market for a Rossi 92. Specifically a 24" octagonal case hardened 38/357. Does anybody have one? I'm wondering how the case hardened finish is in person. Also, how's the action on these guys? Can anything be done to improve any short comings? I hate the finish on the wood, but I'm an aspiring stock refinisher(lol), so I'll fix that.

Thanks in advance

[waco]

My late father bought one but his was SS. It was rough like all the others....

[robpete]

I've heard about the roughness. Is there a recommended Smith that has good experience slicking them up? I'm not a huge fan of my local Smiths. They're the reason why I've been learning so much about the workings of triggers and hammers. I've never got into honing and would be afraid of removing too much material. I'm not even sure if the cost of paying somebody would be worth it. I have no clue on the cost, but if it would get me into Henry territory, I'd probably just buck up and hold out for a nice used Big Boy.

[Pigboat]

I spent a year looking for the 24" 45 Colt. Finally Bud's listed one on their site. I ordered it and the next day they were listed "out of stock" so they must have just gotten one or two. I haven't seen any at local shops for over a year.
Maybe I just lucked out but mine wasn't all that rough. I'm still going to get the action job DVD from Steve's guns and slick it up some.

[snaketail]

I saw this one this morning http://www.armslist.com/posts/2162211/kansas-city-rifles-for-sale--rossi-lever-action--357-octagon-barrel
They seem to bring a premium price these days.

M

[Beesdad]

Purchased one last week.... Can not comment on the case hardened finish but I can say action was good right of the box... Great trigger .. Fit and finish was good.

Cycled 38's with no problems and I was able to hit a 9 inch steel plate at 60 yards with no adjustment. Shot 140g SWC lubed w/ Alox without leading.

[robpete]

Purchased one last week.... Can not comment on the case hardened finish but I can say action was good right of the box... Great trigger .. Fit and finish was good.

Cycled 38's with no problems and I was able to hit a 9 inch steel plate at 60 yards with no adjustment. Shot 140g SWC lubed w/ Alox without leading.

Glad to hear it likes SWC's. I didn't want to have to buy another 38/357 mold. lol

[bear67]

I have never had a 38 fail to feed with 3 different molds, but did have a little problem with some 357s loaded with 358 156 GC loaded to correct COL. I bought this Rossi used from a friend, but have never seen a Rossi with this nice a piece of wood. Just cleaned with a little cleaning compound and polished it a little.

[BCRider]

I'd suggest you learn who the local smith is that does the work for the local cowboy action shooters. If he's been doing that work for even a couple of years he'll have worked on a lot of Rossis.

Although you will find that if you simply do the spring kit swap for the reduced power main and ejector springs that you'll be getting something like 80 to 85% of the benefits of a proper slicking up job.

When I started I found that mine was fine with just about any bullet other than wadcutters.... don't ask :D But the problem comes when you want to cycle at full blown cowboy action match speeds. THEN the shorter .38's begin giving issues and the SWC bullets start jumping up and jamming the shoulders on the mouth of the chamber. But at any sort of moderate cycle speed where there's a noticeable pause with the lever fully down and forward to let the round stop bouncing from the snap up of the elevator you'll find that the gun is wonderfully tolerant of just about any shape of bullet..... except those blasted wadcutters.... :D

If you do find a smith the charge for the basic de-burring and slicking up plus installing the spring kit should not involve more than about two hours of labour plus the cost of the kit. You're not worried about a full on modification to some of the features. You simply want some of the obvious burrs and rough surfaces that cause the rough feeling to be removed. I've done mine and a friend's Rossi now and her gun took me, a simple hobbyist gunsmith, about 3 hours to tinker with duplicating all the things I've done to mine. And much of that took more time than it should have because her hubby and I were chatting and joking around while I was doing the work so there were lots of pauses.

If you want to read about the process to see if it's something you're willing to try then check out the information in this link;

http://marauder.homestead.com/files/Rossitune.htm

The only stone you need for doing the work is replacement stone made by Lansky for their knife sharpening kits. You can either use the super fine white ceramic or the grey fine stone. Using the super fine it takes longer because the metal removal is slower. But with a little patience it'll get the job done. And if you're worried about going to far in one stroke then you won't need to be concerned. With that white super fine it takes a lot of work to remove very little. But it's VERY neatly polished when done.

Under NO circumstances use anything powered for your first slicking job. You can ruin a part faster than you can say OH #@(^!!!.

If you only put in the spring kit the gun will eventually slick itself up. It'll take something like a 400 to 600 rounds downrange. So that's an option too.

[w5pv]

I got a Rossi 92 blued reciever,out of the box,Iam well pleased with it.The trigger is crisp and smooth and I have been able to hit every thing that I have shot at.The groupings I haven tried that yet I want to get a couple hundred rounds down the tube beforestart trying to taylor a load for accurancy.

[pdawg_shooter]

I have one like you are looking for, but in 44mag. Shot fine right out of the box. Not much color in the case hardening though. Had to put on a taller ft sight. It shot 11" high a t 50 with the rear sight lowered all the way. Accuracy is right at an inch, maybe a bit more at 50 yards. Trigger was good right out of the box. A guy sent me free (yes free) a button that replaced that dumb safety in the top of the bolt. Great bunch of guys here. I have 3 different S&W model 29 loads I use in this rifle, a 240gr XTP, a 240gr cast swc, and a 280gr cast rnfp. All shoot good and all feed perfectly. Got it bought for $425 of auction arms about a year ago, new in the box. I am well satisfied.

[Old School Big Bore]

Look up Steve's Guns in Lampasas TX. He's a Rossi specialist and has a slick-up package as well as a safety-replacement button and spring kits.

[searcher4851]

I've got one. The color case hardening isn't what I'd call striking, but it is nicer looking (to my tastes) than the standard blue finish. Mine wasn't exactly race-ready out of the box, but with a little tinkering and a lot of shooting, it's smoothed out pretty good. Make sure you clean out all of their mystery packing grease before doing anything else. As others have mentioned, mine also digests just about anything except full wadcutters, as long as I'm not going for speed. For the price, you get a pretty nice looking rifle if you don't notice the wood finish. Reasonably accurate as well.

[robpete]

Thanks for all of your thoughts. I could not locate a case hardened version, so I bought a new Blued one on Gunsamerica today for $539. shipped. I'm going to order Steve's guns DVD & parts kit and safety button plug...and also going to order a Lansky white honing stone. I'll wait to see where it's hitting before potentially changing the sights. Thanks again.

[donhuff]

Whats the rush to do away with the safety? I know it's not traditional, but neither is a .357 bullet.
Some say it looks ugly, does a big ole button "look" traditional or good?

I never shot a lever gun until I shot my son's marlin 44 a couple of years ago, and then soon after that I bought a rossi 44. The safety does not bother me at all and I kinda like it, especially when I have a magazine full and need to unload it for some reason. And I have heard stories about people firing a round off, with pre safety guns, while unloading after an unsuccessful deer hunting trip. Would you want to do away with the safety on your bolt action guns?

I have 4 rossi 92s and I'm gonna keep that ugly safety on all of them. And I'm not even gonna mention the hammer safety...LOL.

I suggest that when you get it, sit down and cycle the action several hundred times. Leave the stock springs in it and hold the trigger down while doing this, that way the hammer gets worn in too. After that, clean really good, and install a gunslinger spring kit, lube it up and be prepared to experience a whole different feeling rifle. It should feel pretty smooth after that.

[Greg B.]

I have one and use it for CAS from time to time. Only change I did was a taller front sight which the importer provided for free. Fit of the cresent shaped but plate was not perfect although adequate. The rifle likes my semi wadcutter bullet. Make up some dummy cartridges and see if they will cycle reliably. Flat nosed boolits only. Do a search on this site as there is a fair bit of material on what boolits and loads worked best for different people. Always double check loads with a loading manual. Steve's guns is a great place to start for your modifications. Good luck.

[pdawg_shooter]

I have the Rossi I replaced the safety on and 3 Marlins with the cross bolt safety. All three are are in the fire position and held there by a small black o-ring. A safety on a lever rifle with a half cock notch is like putting lipstick on a pig. JMHO

[robpete]

does anybody happen to have Steve's DVD and be willing to lend it to me for a day? I'll pay shipping both ways and have it back within a week? I blew my wad on the rife and want to save some dough where I can. Thanks in advance.

[donhuff]

OH, lipstick on a pig.mmmmmmmmmmm

I hope it's blood red lipstick!

[fecmech]

You can do a very good job of improving as BC rider posted by simply changing 3 springs. The website http://marauder.homestead.com/rifles.html shows assy/disassy. With a spring kit where you change ,ejector spring, trigger return spring and reduced power mainspring you are 80-90% of the way home to slickville. The one tip that's worth a bunch is when reinstalling the bolt capture the ejector spring with an empty .357 mag case. When you slide the bolt in go far enough to put the case in the chamber. This keeps the ejector collar and spring in place so you can install the lever. If you don't do this you say a lot of bad words.

[pdawg_shooter]

OH, lipstick on a pig.mmmmmmmmmmm

I hope it's blood red lipstick!

That trip your trigger does it?

[robpete]

Was it offensive to ask to borrow a DVD? Not my intentions. I've borrowed far more valuable things from fellow members and wouldn't hesitate to help somebody out if I could

[Bullshop Junior]

Was it offensive to ask to borrow a DVD? Not my intentions. I've borrowed far more valuable things from fellow members and wouldn't hesitate to help somebody out if I could

I think is sounds like a rossi hater to me... I've been wanting the DVD for awhile. Mine is pretty good but there is always ways to improve it

[marlin39a]

I have the gun you are inquiring about. The case colors are very vibrant, but do require frequent oiling. Wood was an easy fix to get rid of red color. I find the gun is heavy, but is a great shooter. I load lee 158-358-RF in 357 cases. I did have to install a higher front sight. I shoot jackrabbits here in AZ with it regularly.

[robpete]

Somebody was gracious enough to lend me their DVD. Thanks!

[searcher4851]

:::::Congratulations on your new rifle. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine. I like the long heavy octagon barrel better than my 20" round barrel one. They both shoot fine, I just like the bigger one.

[helice]

Some years back I picked up a SS Rossi M-92 in 45 Colt. It had the bolt safety with which I had no problem. I do however like a peep sight. Steve's Guns sells a peep sight that fits into that safety hole. If you get a hankering for a solid rear apurture sight I can recommend it highly.

[retiredPO]

I have 2 Rossi 92's... 45 LC and 44 Mag... the 44 mag is an Oct. barrel and the only issue after the initial slicking up is that the Mag tube backs out with even low loads... it took redrilling the hole in the barrel deep enough to take all of the keeper pin, and not put bow pressure on the tube. since doing that its flawless... The slicking up process is more of a bonding process... and the 3or 400 you save by going with the rossi just gives you a reason to get another.

[Airman Basic]

Some years back I picked up a SS Rossi M-92 in 45 Colt. It had the bolt safety with which I had no problem. I do however like a peep sight. Steve's Guns sells a peep sight that fits into that safety hole. If you get a hankering for a solid rear apurture sight I can recommend it highly.

Same sight on my 16 inch .357 SS. Makes a world of difference sighting with my old eyes.

[robpete]

I kind of like the idea of having windage adjustment in the rear. Any of you go with the Marbles? I know it's a pretty penny, but I have a birthday coming up........

[TCLouis]

I have the 20" and the Case on it is pretty dang nice . . . Not "Turnbull NICE, but nice.

Was a bit stiff out of the box, but then there are a lot of newly machined parts moving around in that action. I took off the buttstock and flushed the new action with WD 40, then OILED the heck out of it and worked it a bit. Then flushed the action out again. Pretty smooth to me now.


I was never a lever gun person so I had a LOT to learn about the care and feeding of one.

Had trouble getting it to shoot any load, but then I forget I seldom buy a new gun and this one need to break in (past the firelapping I did originally) and get a little more smoothing out done.

I have hit on a load using the 358156 that does well and if I do not get a better shooting load with a 180 grain boolit will carry it for deer next year.

Hate the cheap plastic magazine follower, surely a stamped metal one could not have cost much more and since retail is over 500 bucks the plastic is a disgusting addition.

The buckhorn sight is hard for me to use with that big ol lollipop front blade. Tang sight is on order and since it is coming from Rossi I hope I live long enough for it to actually get here. Front will be replaced with plain ramp or Lyman 17.

[dagger dog]

99568 There is some nice wood under the red stain. That's a 24" 45 Colt and a Marbles tang sight.

The ejector spring replacement takes care of 50% of the stiff action, the trigger on mine was good enough for me, I did a detail strip, and lube, now it's slick as snot on a door knob.

[robpete]

Thanks for the photo. I hope my wood comes out that nice. I'm going to change the ejector spring, cut the trigger spring and clean and lube things up a bit before doing any of Steve's extreme mods.

[KCcactus]

I worked on my 20" SS 357 using the Stevesgunz video. I replaced the extractor spring and magazine follower with parts from Steve and shortened the mag spring. I also lightened the loading cover spring and added the bolt peep sight. I didn't touch the cartridge guides or the other springs since I was already happy with how they worked. The extractor was a problem on reassembly. I wouldn't have been able to get it back together without the video. The peep sight makes a huge difference. The stock rear sight was just a blur. It sure is nice to have the empties land at my feet instead of launching into the sky. It was fairly smooth out of the box. It's even better now.

I recently added another Rossi in 44. It's time to order more parts from Stevesgunz.

[Buckshot]

http://www.fototime.com/AF9F160DC5BA8B2/standard.jpghttp://www.fototime.com/D17E117B0ED6111/standard.jpg

I'd bought a Puma M92 45 Colt 24" octagon bbl rifle. I thought the casehardening was a bit garish, and was afraid it was one of those fake 'dipped' type finishes. But, true to form I had to take it apart. My first M92 and I thought I'd NEVER get it back together :-). However you can see the more mottled colors internally, so it appears it IS real casehardening.

http://www.fototime.com/95900A3C1D2F5E8/standard.jpghttp://www.fototime.com/7848272124A4E8F/standard.jpg

Overall it's an attractive rifle. Internally it really didn't need anything, but since I had it apart I stoned some sharp corners here and there. Fit and finish overall was very good. The wood is plain but was nicely stained a pleasing color.

http://www.fototime.com/C5172D22760ADBF/standard.jpghttp://www.fototime.com/A428881154C91B6/standard.jpg

It now wears a Marbles rear sight. I made a replacement plug to replace the factory safety.

http://www.fototime.com/4B9AFDE3C31B4D7/standard.jpghttp://www.fototime.com/C30347487543D4A/standard.jpg

I also made a replacement steel magazine tube follower to replace the plastic one. I have only one problem with it and that is how shallow the rifling is. The bore is .446" and the groove is a tight .450" so the lands are only 0.002" tall. I have to treat it like a Micro-Gruv barrel, that is cast'em hard and size'em large.

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

[robpete]

Good casting advice buckshot. ....but now I need another die......

[northmn]

One can spend money on a tune up or as one individual stated about slicking up a S&W double action "go out and shoot the h--l out of it. Works on pump action shotguns and lever rifles also. Rossis are great rifles for tinkering as I found out with the one I had. Shot high like another individual mentioned and the rear sight had to be filed down, was fussy about bullets, no drill and tap for a receiver sight and required a bit of stock work to get it to group.

DP

[JHeath]

Hate the cheap plastic magazine follower, surely a stamped metal one could not have cost much more and since retail is over 500 bucks the plastic is a disgusting addition.



I have heard complaints about the plastic follower pretty near universally. In fairness to Rossi, I think the reason behind it is safety, not cost-cutting. If you open the action and see yellow plastic, you know the mag is empty.

I sold a slide-action .22 because I had children coming up, and there was no way to see inside the action to check for cartridges. All I could do was cycle the bolt several times and hope the mag was empty. I kept a falling-block and a bolt .22 for the kids.

I would replace the plastic follower. But I understand Rossi sending them out the factory door that way. Liability has changed a LOT since 1892, and the follower is a trifling concession.

[Sawbuck_Slim]

I bought my Rossi 92 SS and love it last month. So far I have casted and tried 200 gr rnfp and 250 gr rnfp, np problems. I left the springs alone but did change out the folower with a meatal one and got rid of the plastic one. I have been told these will take high pressures and not to be afraid of loading up shells by 2 different gunsmiths. These gunsmiths also told me they get fewer repairs on the new Rossis, cowboy shooting, then the MArlins and Winchester.SO far I am not sorry a bit.Have to do a bit more shooting on accuracy, so cant say much there yet.