Considering new lever gun

[Drew P]

I have only one lever, it’s a Rossi 1892. I don’t really like it that much because it isn’t smooth and it likes to jam and bite my finger loading. It’s a 45colt. So I was looking at marlin 1894s and the opinions seem to be that they are smoother than 1892s in general, and older ones are better than newer. I found one, a early 80’s model in 44mag locally for reasonable price (750$) but I don’t load 44mag so I’d have about 200$ to tool up for that, and that would get only one mold.
So, should I keep looking for one in 45colt, or consider the 44mag and explore a new caliber, or consider a different rifle completely, or forget about the whole mess and play with the toys I have?

[LUCKYDAWG13]

I have in older Marlin 1894 made in 1972 I like it a lot will not sell it but if I was to do over I would look for one in 357 but I think that
$750 is on the steep end That said I cant use it in my state to hunt with so it's just for punching paper

[georgerkahn]

You raise a great question. I have a Ruger New Vaquero in .45 Colt, and have been lonnng looking for a lever rifle to complement it. My choices, albeit quite rare, have been to purchase quality I surely would not be happy with -- or, expending more coin than my meager retirement income permits. And, being retired (age 71+) I'm cognizant that sand is rapidly pouring through that timer before my purchased cemetery plot is put to use. So, for me, the Long Colt is on the proverbial back burner.
MY experience dictates I'd look for a (any) lever I'd be happy with. Bion, some years back I came across a very, very, well used Marlin 336 (.30-30 Win) with a Tasco scope on it, having butter-smooth action. I "dissed" the Tasco scope, but bought it anyway. Much to my pleasant surprise, the scope was a very early product when Tasco simply re-branded others -- mine turned out to be a Redfield (which is crystal clear and holds) -- and has been my #1 hunting, target, fun to shoot, let the kids shoot, etc, firearm!
Hence, there's lots of fun going to shops and shows -- and, if you really do not have a love affair going with your Rossi -- most shops will take trades.
If you're trepidicious re wading into .44 Remington Magnum -- quite often, on this site, fellow loaders offer both diesets and brass at a more than fair price. Bion, when I first got a .44 Mag firearm, I bought a box of factory ammo to shoot in it, and... the mould as well as dies and brass -- all pre-owned -- came in a rather short time. I checked S&S pretty much daily...
Life is short.... ENJOY!
geo

[Stopsign32v]

Drew, first off that is too much for a 44 Mag IMO. Does it have a safety on it? If not it is worth a little more but I got this one plus 50 rounds of ammo for $600.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48235451191_57ba9ac252_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2gupi9c)


With that said I also have a Rossi in 45 Colt.


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48058617482_9252cc1445_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2gdLYD9)



Point I'm trying to make is both from the factory are clunky as all get out. But I did nothing but cut a couple coils off a spring in the Rossi and it is slick as can be! Cost me $0. The Marlin with a one piece firing pin can be worked with 2 fingers.

It all boils down to what you want. If you like that cowboy top eject which IMO is just too cool, then the Rossi is the ticket.

[bmortell]

I don't think id pay 750 for an old marlin when new ones are 650, and people mostly say new ones are good now, including mine. I found most available info on marlins outdated. id just go to a store and trade plus cash for a new marlin 45

[Winger Ed.]

I'm down to 2 Marlin CBs from 4, one in .357 and .45/70, really like them, and would recommend one.

A option to consider is 'slicking up' the Rossi.
Dig around and see what other folks have done to fix the problem with theirs.

[junkbug]

If I were unhappy with a Rossi 92, which are now becoming hard to find, and expensive, I would contact Steve’s Gunz; the Rossi 92 specialist. Make what you have right first, then look for a .44 Mag later. Just my opinion.


https://stevesgunz.com/

[sigep1764]

Above is correct. There are quite a few folks on here that have pulled out the file and slicked up the loading gate and clipped a coiled or two on a spring and voila, it works smoothly. Also a few people have found that Rossi's like a certain overall cartridge length to not jam. I'd make up a longish dummy round and keep seating it deeper until it functions without jamming.

[whisler]

+1 on stevesgunz. Very helpful and knowledgeable.

[brewer12345]

I like levers, so I have several. .22, 357, 44, 35 Rem. Will probably add a 45/70 to the pile just for grins. They are just too fun. The 357 is a Rossi and I would agree that it isn't as slick as I would like. That said, shoot it a bunch and it gets slicker over time. The Marlins are nice, but I would choose a pre-remlin one without the safety. I think you could get a 44 for 600 or less if you are patient and look on line. The other option is to look at a Henry. They have pretty good reputations and come in an increasingly wide range of calibers.

As to caliber, I can't complain about the .44, but I don't think you would gain a lot from switching from 45 LC. If you switch calibers with a new lever, I would either pick up a 357 or move up to a 30/30 or 35 Rem. If you cast and reload, something like 35 Rem isn't that big a deal.

[jmort]

Had Steve Young aka Nate Kiowa Jones tune one of my 92s
Be prepared to wait
Well worth the wait
Have two tuned 92s
Love those guns
Would be the last of my lever actions that would go
Put another way, love those guns
The strongest commonly available action allows you to really Red-Line loads
You can get some impressive performance

[Stopsign32v]

If you can have Steve work on the Rossi, absolutely go for it. But I can tell you that if you can cut coils off a spring you can "tune" the Rossi yourself and it will be much much better.

[jmort]

For sure Steve can do a far better job than I can, but it is doeable for many. Just not me.

[mr surveyor]

I have two Rossi R92's - 20" in .44 mag and 16" in .357 mag. I did the standard "fluff and buff" (and a few other minor tweaks) on both .... they are keepers. I really like the sturdy action of the 92 platform myself.

jd

[Stopsign32v]

For sure Steve can do a far better job than I can, but it is doeable for many. Just not me.

Lets be realistic, Steve will do a better job than all of us put together. But at home you can do a "good enough" job. I'm very pleased with my at home setup. Honestly feels like it's tuned.

[Texas by God]

With Steve’s Guns video as a guide, it’s not hard at all to slick up the Rossi. I did the first two without it so I highly recommend it. I like Marlins better. I think the 1892 design works better with the original bottleneck WCF rounds but people will say I’m wrong:-)

[Drew P]

I’ve messed around with my Rossi quite a lot, buff and file, different springs, cycled to death. It’s a lot smoother, but not butter smooth and it hangs up on shells a lot more than I think it should. I’m also not in love with top ejecting, after getting hit in the face with one. I dint know it was stronger though, so that’s nice to know. Mine is a little different.

The marlin is pre safety and also the newer ones seem to have a little different finish, still attractive but I like that dark blue like my Rossi has. It also has nice rear peep sight that I think I will appreciate. So I agree price isn’t fantastic, but it’s probably on the rise at this point.

[Stopsign32v]

The absolute only gripe I have about my Rossi is it puts little pricks on my 45 Colt brass from the extractor.

The absolute only grips I have about my Marlin is it ejects out the side.

[Drew P]

I’ll have to look at the vids. I have tried different bullets and seatings too, but I’ll admit there’s more work to be done in that area. The mag spring is stiff and the loading gate sharp and dang it isn’t that easy for my big mitts and it will try and bite me at any time too.

[Stopsign32v]

I’ll have to look at the vids. I have tried different bullets and seatings too, but I’ll admit there’s more work to be done in that area. The mag spring is stiff and the loading gate sharp and dang it isn’t that easy for my big mitts and it will try and bite me at any time too.

I'll tell you an older Marlin is no better. That one I put a pic up of will rip off a layer of finger nail when you push a round in. I will tell you something that always helps though, take off your magazine tube cap and let the spring rest on the follower and cut the end of the spring off and leave 3 inches coming out of the tube, then cap her back up.

[44Blam]

Get the Henry Big Boy (steel if you don't like the brass) H012. It's smooth and shoots great.

[cwlongshot]

I have had Marlins and winchesters for many years. I have handled and shot Rossis just not owned one untill last weekend. Mine is a PUMA model so a little older but new enough to have the safety lever.

There are a few videos in uTube that show the tear down and are simple enough with simple hand tools a bit of patience and a little rainy day time. Trick with a dummy case fixes the one problem assembly issue with the extractor position and stiff spring. Results are HUGE!!

I have t shot my Rossi yet, but discovered it appears to have 1:38 ish rifling twist. So my fav 300g bullets are likly NG. But I have a few 255’s molds that still should shoot.

My suggestion is you search these cideos and watch and decide for yourself if your up to the task.

I did mine Sunday in the rain in about a hour and a half. Never having disassembled a 1892 and only having watched the videos. My PUMA is not very smooth and smoother than a new Marlin by a lot. What i really like about the ‘92 is the ease of loading. Also mine seems very forgiving to OAL. IT actually is feeding the long seated RUGER length dummies. 1610 oal!!

Good luck,

CW

[robg]

The marlins are easy to strip and smooth up ,Winchester 94 are simple enough as well .I've no doubt a 92 should be straight forward as well.if I can't strip a gun I don't want to own it.

[JoeJames]

I have a Rossi R92 in 44 Magnum I bought in November of last year. Mine weighs 5 pounds and for just plinking around my place the factory pedal to the metal loads would be too much; so I load 7 grains of Unique with an Oregon Trail .431" 240 grain swc - runs about 1150 fps. One point, like most gun manufacturers the original trigger pull was 5 1/2 pounds. Thanks to Steve at Steve's Gunz - I got in a trigger spring which brought it down to 3 1/2 - 4 pounds. I have not had any feed problems with my 44 Mag handloads - note that it will not feed 44 Special at all. But I am quite pleased with it and it is a keeper. I intend to have my gunsmith mount a Williams 94/36 receiver sight on it at some point.

[Drew P]

I’ve read that the marlins use less parts and are inherently smoother “feeling” even if they are similarly worked over and worn in. I haven’t handled a marlin yet either.

Well I have to thank you guys, I feel a little more inspired to work on the Rossi and maybe, maybe I can stave off another firearm purchase because in reality, like all of us, I don’t need another one. When will I grow up?
And maybe the right marlin would come in a different caliber than 44mag anyway.

[Drew P]

So for the Rossi loading gate sharpness, I’ve been reluctant to smooth it out because the bluing will be gone there but I could touch it up with cold blue I guess. Just dont want to make things worse tinkering, as that has happened under my watch lol.

[DeputyDuke]

Drew, first off that is too much for a 44 Mag IMO. Does it have a safety on it? If not it is worth a little more but I got this one plus 50 rounds of ammo for $600.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48235451191_57ba9ac252_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2gupi9c)


With that said I also have a Rossi in 45 Colt.


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48058617482_9252cc1445_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2gdLYD9)



Point I'm trying to make is both from the factory are clunky as all get out. But I did nothing but cut a couple coils off a spring in the Rossi and it is slick as can be! Cost me $0. The Marlin with a one piece firing pin can be worked with 2 fingers.

It all boils down to what you want. If you like that cowboy top eject which IMO is just too cool, then the Rossi is the ticket.
That is a pretty Rossi! Did you refinish it?
Duke

[Stopsign32v]

That is a pretty Rossi! Did you refinish it?
Duke

Duke,

Yes and no. It came with the dark typical Rossi finish on it. I refinish about any Marlin I get my hands on because I honestly find Marlins from the factory to be ugly. Opinions...You know.

Anyways I have a concoction of oil that I put on my Marlins and I usually keep it mixed up and around. The oil has a red tint to it and anytime I get the Rossi out I hand rub a coat of my oil on it. I'm assuming that is why the Rossi has the red/orange tint to it. But in reality I couldn't for sure say that the oil penetrates whatever finish was on the rifle originally. The placebo effect is telling me I'm making it look better though. :|