New to me Rossi 92, .44 magnum.

[koger]

Today I traded a surplus 9mm handgun to LGS, who was in need of it, and had several new Rossi 92s, which have been sitting for awhile. He gave me a good trade, and I came home with a .44 magnum with 20" barrel, cleaned the barrel an chamber of any grease/oil. I took it out to my range, started off with some .44 specials I had loaded with a Lee 200gr RFN sized and lubed .430. The lever did not want to work, right, tight and new, I lubricated it good, with some break free inside and lube the locking lugs with Rig rifle grease. Problem solved, it ran like a champ, ant the gun was just a little to the right at 100yd, but grouped well. Then I ran some Hornady .44 mag, JHPs thru it. The little rifle shot great, but man did it have a lively recoil, actually had a sting to it, with its metal buttplate. It was shooting about 4" high at 100yds. I left it alone, the weather was getting worse and I took it inside. After sitting and working the action, about 25 times, I put some dummy rounds into it, and they worked slick. I have seen a lot of bad press, about these little rifles, but I think I must have lucked out and got a good one.

[labradigger1]

Stone and polish the action, sit in front of the tv and cycle it about 1000 times and it will slick it up nicely. Shooting while standing recoil isn’t bad. shooting off a bench sucks bad, the metal butplate, short length of pull and stout loads all add up. I’ve been threatening to make a longer stock for my long length of pull but haven’t made it yet.
Fun guns the 92’s

[koger]

I was shooting out of my carport, leaned up against a post, and I was not snugging it up against my shoulder like I should have. I will probably be shooting it with a Elmer Keith bullet, cast weighing about 260 grs with my alloy. I will have to look up some loads, I used to load them a lot, with great performance.

[John Wayne]

Hi Koger,
I know a couple of Cowboy sass shooters who swear by them!

[Walks]

I haven't shot mine in years. I was lucky, in that mine functioned w/o a problem.
But I'll tell you 25-30yrs ago it was a real crap shoot when they started making the .45Colt chambered guns.
I bought the Lyman #429667 mold when they first came out. It functioned Perfectly, shot even better.
N.O.E. makes the #TL432-247-RF, that bullet is even better.

[Texas by God]

I’ve owned 3 .357s and 1 44-40 of those Rossi 92 clones. They all needed action work to run right, but by golly accuracy wasn’t a problem with any of them. I put an old wheel adjustment Dockendorff rear sight on the last .357 and it improved the sight picture tremendously.

[blackpowder man]

You’ll have to watch those Elmer Keith bullets if they’re like the ones I cast. Long SWCs have to go in .44 specisl brass to feed. The Ranchdog 265 is better. The Lee 200 you already tried works well for me too. Mine is a 24” octagon I got new some years ago and used for some SASS shoots. I’m a sucker for those little 92s. Next 16” stainless one I find will never leave.

[Bushrat]

Slug your bore, mine is .434 it presents some problems.

[Kosh75287]

I have the same carbine in .45 Colt. Like yours, it's a handful when I shoot "magnum-esque" loads out of it. I won't promise that your carbine will act like mine, but MINE likes almost ANY projectile from 200 gr. RNFP to 250 RNFP, including the 225 gr. T/C cone, when launched between 1100 and 1200 f/s. The "sweet spot" for the two heavier projectiles seems to be near 1150 f/s.
I don't know what loads those bullet weights and velocities will translate to, in .44 Magnum, but you might try that for a beginning "stop off" point. SOME of the ballistic advantage offered by the carbine over the pistol is lost, but accuracy tends to make up for it.

[MT Gianni]

I would get a lace up recoil pad. That's what I needed for my 44 Rossi.

[farmbif]

I have several Rossi's all pre safety, the older ones and original pumas were tight and picky as to what chambers well. Steve gunz has videos and services to slick em up. but supposedly the latest models are slicked at factory, from what I understand they hired Steve to help them produce better guns. the most modern Rossi I have is a Hartford model and it was definitely slicked up. it operates real smooth and chambers round flat as well as semi wad cutters and the brass is in a small pile about a foot away, its accurate too, for a 45 colt anyway.

[Prairie Cowboy]

I had one in .44 magnum about 17 years ago. It required full disassembly and stoning to work okay, was stiff, and had a stock that seemed to have been soaked in vegetable oil. The rifling was the most shallow of any gun that I have ever owned.

Anyhow, it key-holed bullets at 50 yards and soon was gone.

[iomskp]

I had one in 357 I sold it and got a B92 in 44 mag, if the Rossi was in 44 mag I would have kept it it was a great little gun.

[dalek]

Hi Koger,
I know a couple of Cowboy sass shooters who swear by them!

I thought that saying good things about a Rossi 92 were classified as heresy against the Church of the Winchester 73, which leads to immediate cancellation of your SASS membership and SASS officers dressed in robes and blessed g-strings would show up at your house and ritualistically kill your dog. [smilie=w:

Koger, does your Rossi have the straight or the curved buttplate? I have read people (talking about the Winchester 1895) claiming the curved one leads to more perceived recoil. Also, there were rifles called MAS 36 and 49 which had a slip-on rubber buttpad some claimed to be used when grenade launching (they use rifle grenades). The point is they made them in two different sizes: about one and two inch thick. If you could find them, they would help tame the recoil and help you size up the stock if it is too short for you.

Or the lace up recoil pad as MT Gianni suggested, which is probably easier to find.

[Prairie Cowboy]

Hi Koger,
I know a couple of Cowboy sass shooters who swear by them!

While others swear at them. :mrgreen:

Usually, you get what you pay for.

[robertbank]

I would get a lace up recoil pad. That's what I needed for my 44 Rossi.

Good advice this. First time I pulled a shot with my 44mag Rossi it brought tears to my eyes. The curved steel butt plate was a killer. I had my 'smith install a flat recoil pad on the gun and life returned to normal. The recoil on those little carbines can be murder on the shoulder. I since have had both of my shoulders replaced. This may have accounted for the tearing up of the eyes initially. LOL.

Take Care

Bob

[Prairie Cowboy]

I had one in 357 I sold it and got a B92 in 44 mag, if the Rossi was in 44 mag I would have kept it it was a great little gun.

I owned a Browning B92 in .44 Mag in the 1970s or 80s as I recall.
These are a beautiful rifle that works and shoots great. The best of the bunch as 92 clones are concerned IMHO.
As has been mentioned however, the recoil was surprisingly brutal. That strap steel carbine butt plate, while classic and appealing, hurts like hell in .44 magnum.

[JoeJames]

I got one a couple of years ago, it was roll marked 44 Magnum. I was living in a fool's paradise so I figured 44 Special would work - NO. With a 5 pound rifle, no way I was going to shoot 44 Magnum store bought in it. So loaded up some with 44 Magnum cases, .431" 240 grain Oregon Trail swc's, and 7 grains of Unique. Shoots dern good, fun to shoot, no recoil I can tell, and plumb accurate. Chronographed them at about 1157 fps.

[koger]

Yep it has the curved steel buttplate, the rounded one though. I have shot it some more, and have found with placing the butt in the right place, and holding it tight, aint too bad. But I will be shooting more .44 special loads, maybe a little hotter in .44 mag brass, since I have a bunch of it.

[Thin Man]

A friend of mine has a very early Rossi '92 in 45 Colt that is rollmarked Interarms so he knows it's old. The barrel is octagon shape at the back with the front half being round and is rifle length rather than carbine. Appearance condition is 90% or better and function is perfect. Sadly it has a problem where all shots hit the target far left of the sights. He has moved the rear sight to the right but can't go any farther or it may become loose in the dovetail. Next he bent the front sight to the left trying to catch up with the point of impact. Still can't get regulation. We can't see any apparent damage anywhere on the rifle to suggest a bent or warped barrel. While he loves this rifle he is not real enthusiastic about taking it to the range. The rifle groups well and we can't see any damage on the barrel crown. We are running out of options on how to handle this issue. All comments and suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

[Prairie Cowboy]

Thin man, the crown is often suggested as the culprit to poor accuracy, but usually isn't.

But, perhaps the crown may be okay, but the muzzle may not be square with the bore.
You might remove the magazine tube and place a machinist's square along the barrel and against the muzzle to see how it looks in several places.

Perhaps removing the fore end and magazine tube and laying a steel 24" straight edge along the flats of the octagon section may reveal something.
A noticeable difference in the spacing between the straight edge and the muzzle on the right and left sides might indicate a bent barrel.
(assuming the flats are all parallel to the bore.)