Rossi vs Henry

[Davidk]

I purchase a Rossi lever in 357. Didn't want to spend a lot for a range toy but am someone dissapointed in the roughness of the action. Is the Henry worth the ext a cost?

[retiredPO]

I guess that depends on you... I have a 45 LC and a 44 mag Rossi.. wouldnt trade them for the world.. You are right though that they most times come rough. There is a slicking up process that you can go thru... and for most folks it solves the issues.
The difference would probably depend on what your comfortable with. My guns are farm guns, and are always in the truck or the tractor. They get used. and they seem to love the work..

[William Yanda]

Last week, out of town for work, I had the privilege of visiting Mahoods Sporting Goods in Norwich, NY. They had Henry, Rossi, and a commemorative Winchester in the racks. The Henry had about 1 more inch in the length of pull. As I was only semi serious about buying, I didn't ask to work the actions. Wish they had had a Marlin, Savage, Browning and Ruger to compare as well.

[pirkfan]

I've got 2 Rossi's (45LC and .357 Mag) and a Henry Big Boy. Like all of them. Both Rossi's were stripped down and cleaned right out of the box, and I have no complaints about the actions. Henry (357 mag) was great right out of the box. Henry really only comes in one configuration, octagon 20" barrel and the whole gun is heavy for a lever action carbine. Makes for a great shooter, all that weight helps negate flinches and jerks. Beautiful fit and finish, and very smooth. I like it a lot, but when it gets right down to it, I prefer shooting the Rossi 16 inch carbine. It's a light agile little beast (also 357 mag, and at 4.8 lbs is nearly 4 lbs lighter than the Henry), and yet accurate. Strip it, clean it, work the action a bunch, it will smooth out and you'll come to love it. I understand why the Duke carried a 92 in so many movies.

[fecmech]

Didn't want to spend a lot for a range toy but am someone dissapointed in the roughness of the action. Is the Henry worth the ext a cost?
Take the Rossi apart and clean it. Go to Ace hardware and get a spring half the wire diameter of the factory ejector spring, cut it to the same length and install it. That will get rid of about 80% of your closing roughness. The Henry's are great guns, smooth and accurate but on the heavy side. Myself I don't care for the flashy brass receiver but if you let them age a bit they tone down.

[pworley1]

It would depend on what you intend to use them for. I have both and enjoy both. If I am just going to shoot at paper I don't really have a preference, but if I am going to have to carry one all day, I will pick the Rossi.

[leveraction 45 colt]

I have two rossi 92's one in 44 mag the other in 45 colt. I love them both and they shoot great I took them apart cleaned them up smoothed the actions up and wow they are nice now!! :mrgreen: p.s. stevesgunz.com he has a dvd on how to take apart and do the slicking up very easy to do and well worth it!!

[Davidk]

I guess that I should consider keeping the Rossi and smoothing out the action. Thanks for the input.

[OKSaddletramp]

Rossis are junk! My .44 M92 could barely hit the broad side of a barn. You'd be better off getting a Henry or Marlin and sending that Rossi to me for disposal. :kidding:

OK, so the barn in question was almost 500 yards away, but still. It. Was. A. Barn.:cool:

[Ed Barrett]

I have a 454 casull and a .357 mag. Both are accurate and get smoother every day.

[Ragnarok]

My first Rossi M92 is a stainless .44 mag carbine purchased new a few years ago. This little carbine came from the box loading..feeding..shooting fine. Did need a bit of work to get the sights to my satisfaction(not much work). I mean it worked slick enough that I was curious what all the griping about horrible working/feeding Rossi carbines was all about!

Then earlier this summer I bought an older Rossi .44-40 and a old-old Winchester sporting rifle from the same fellow. I mean really?..the older Rossi .44-40 was horrible. No ammo in the gun it cycled great....trying to actually get it to feed was something else. Had to work the lever with the strength of Hercules to make it happen!

I got to investigating just what was the problem..and a bit of looking and comparison(with my working great Rossi .44 mag and the working good ancient Winchester) of how the M92 action works and feeds told the tale..
With two other M92 actions(that work) to examine the feed-cycle...it became obvious that the older Rossi was trying to lift the cartridge too early...jamming the cartridge rim into the bottom of the ejector and binding-up the works. The other guns smoothly lifting the cartridges just as the bolt/ejector cleared. The original Winchester carrier lifting shells with plenty of clearance to the bottom of the bolt. The stainless Rossi's carrier/lifter just clearing the bolt with the cartridge rim.


Getting some advice down in the 'Cast Boolits' gunsmithing forum..plus studying up on just what widget does which inside an M92 style action led me to strip the Rossi down far enough to remove the carrier and draw-file a couple thousandth of an inch off the bottom pad of the carrier/lifter(where the bump on the front of the lever hits it to move it up to the top detent). I also worked the front of the ejector over as it was poorly/crudely profiled and part of the problem..just some gentle filing here for a smooth profile on the bottom front of the ejector.

That little bit of filing fixed the feed issues. Took longer to get the thing apart than to do the filing needed to get the lifter timed to lift ammo ahead of the bolt(instead of cramming cartridge rims into the bottom of the bolt!)


The older Rossi .44-40 feeds quite decent now...much much better than having to 'crank' the lever really hard and fast to pop the cartridge past the bolt. You might look yours over to see if something like that is what's borking-up your gun's feeding...

[Hannibal]

I bought a Henry in .357 earlier this year. I've had 5 lever actions over the years, and that one is my favorite thus far. Yes, it's not light. But I don't find myself wobbling around with it, either. Someday soon I hope to add a 45-70. Henry, that is. :drinks:

The same day I bought my .357 Henry, I handled 3 Rossi's. I think you get what you pay for.

[BCRider]

Yes, the Rossi's are a little gritty and rough as they come out of the box. But with a few hundred lever cycles they smoothen up not to badly. And even more can be done with one of the spring kits from such places as Steve's Gunz.

There's also some good "How To's" online if you google for "rossi trigger job". If you aren't comfortable with such work then it can be done by a cowboy action gunsmith to a basic level for around 1.5 hours work.

Once slicked up even to the basics and fitted with the reduced power springs I think you'll smile.

[txsnowman2k2]

I would give the nod to Rossi, my 38/357 is dead on and one fun shooter mismatched wood n all...tx

[Davidk]

I think I will buy the stevegunz dvd and smooth it out, thanks for all of the info

[6bg6ga]

From my experience the Rossi will feed a semi wadcutter lead and round nose lead and the Henry only likes plated round nose.

[helice]

Davidk,
Once you get that Rossi slicked up (Steve's Gunz video = good idea) you will have a very hard time keeping yourself in loaded 357 ammunition. That M-92 is one of the finest carry guns to come out of John Browning's head. Some have put it down as inappropriate for deer but the great majority of posters here would disagree with that notion. Heavy 357 boolits are remarkable in their penetration. Don't second guess yourself. You did good. Get intimate with that Rossi and you will find it a favorite friend.

[hanleyfan]

The only thing why I will never buy a Henry is that stupid front loading tube, If I buy a lever I want to it to load like a lever at the receiver with a loading gate and not some tube loading system like a .22.

[UNIQUEDOT]

[QUOTE]The only thing why I will not buy a Henry is that stupid front loading tube, If I buy a lever I want to it to load like a lever at the receiver with a loading gate and not some tube loading system like a .22./QUOTE]

I'm with you on that! Besides the rossi's are fairly historical save that stupid safety. The Henry's are absolutely beautiful though! especially the prototypes that had the gate.

[targetfreak]

Interesting that no mention was made that the Henry's are made in the USA!
Plus, that front loading tube can be an advantage if one uses pre-loaded (home-made) plastic reloading tubes, made from lumberyard PEX tubing.

[prsman23]

And that Rossi parts are impossible to get. Really. Try calling Rossi and ordering anything. Almost everything is "for gunsmiths" only. So they won't ship it to you. Like a front hand guard....

[Warhawk]

My pair of Rossi's, stainless trappers in 357 and 44, have both made the trip to Port Arthur for Steve Young's magic touch. I couldn't be happier with them.

[rpludwig]

Henry fan here, 45-70, 45LC, .22 lever and .22 pump. Great guns, trouble free, outstanding service, accurate, readily available parts, made in USA, great fit & finish...unless you are troubled by tube feed (while horseback riding or such), or brass/brass alloy receivers, what's not to like?

Every communication with them was answered satisfactorily in one day by email or instantly by phone.

[brtelec]

I have a Henry 30-30 and I am more than impressed with it. The biggest factor I can see is price. I do not see any reason that I would not buy a Rossi if the money were a factor in the decision process. They are the only ones making a .454 lever and I want one. I am partial to old Marlins and Savage 99's but so many of them have been drilled for scopes and that is a deal breaker for me. So I will stick to hunting for older guns and and buying Henry's for now.

[UNIQUEDOT]

[QUOTE]And that Rossi parts are impossible to get. Really. Try calling Rossi rifleman and ordering anything. Almost everything is "for gunsmiths" only. So they won't ship it to you. Like a front hand guard.../QUOTE]

Rossi is shipping parts now... At least that's what I read over at the rossi rifleman site.

[Tn Jim]

I have two Henry's, a Big Boy 44 and a standard 22. My 44 shoots it's best groups with a Lee swc/gc and is very accurate. The 22 is more accurate than I can shoot and crazy smooth. I bought it lightly used and the previous owner had gorilla fisted the screw in the front barrel band and stripped the threads in the band. A call to Henry got the new band and a missing front sight hood on it's way. Great people to deal with. I have nothing against a Rossi, but I'll stick with my Henrys.

[Ramjet-SS]

Henry

Smooth as silk.
Accurate
Tremendous CS
Great looking
American Made
Its a Henry��

[Flinchrock]

Henry

Smooth as silk.
Accurate
Tremendous CS
Great looking
American Made
Its a Henry��

What he said...!

[Geezer in NH]

Henry

Smooth as silk.
Accurate
Tremendous CS
Great looking
American Made
Its a Henry��
+1..................................