Rossi 92 on sale

[badwolf]

Sportsmans outdoor superstore has Rossi 92 's for sale for $609. Looks like 44 mag and 45 colt

[Kosh75287]

I'm not sure how complicated it might actually be, but I've thought more than once about how a '92 Rossi in .357 Bain & Davis might be received. For readers not familiar with the round, it is a .44 Magnum case, necked down to .357". The hope was to obtain/exceed the original advertised ballistics of the .357 Magnum cartridge, for use in large-frame revolvers and T-C Contenders. Like another "here and gone" high(er)-pressure bottle-necked revolver round I remember, the B&D seemed to work fairly well in Single-Action platforms, but less so in D-A revolvers. Case taper plus high pressures translated to case "set back" that was enough to make smooth cylinder rotation all but impossible after 3-5 rounds.
For obvious reasons, the same operation problems would not be an issue in a lever-action carbine. Just thinking aloud, for now...

[MT Gianni]

Rossi makes two sizes of 92's the 357 and the 44 & 45. You would be looking at a custom barrel with a larger thread than the current 357. Then adapt it for the tube feed to hang from.

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

OP was for 92, MT Gianni mentioned 94. Does Rossi make both in .357 and .44/.45 sizes? I've not looked at them in years, but would be interested in 92 version in .44. If they do make both, is one preferable over the other?

[Pereira]

OP was for 92, MT Gianni mentioned 94. Does Rossi make both in .357 and .44/.45 sizes? I've not looked at them in years, but would be interested in 92 version in .44. If they do make both, is one preferable over the other?

I have a 357 and a 45 colt, never knew they are different.
Suppose to be a rainy day here tomorrow, I'm going to pull both from the safe and give a look.

RP

[Texas by God]

If they offered it in 44-40, I'd be interested.

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[Castaway]

Rossi doesn’t make 94’s. That aside, given the same caliber and a choice between a 92 or 94, I’d go the 92. The 92 is inherently stronger due to the two locking lugs either side of the bolt as opposed to a small block at the back end of a 94. Having said that, I wouldn’t have a Rossi again. I had a bad experience with a lemon and they wouldn’t do anything about it. Wouldn’t feed and also left the factory with a forearm that was gouged clear through between the barrel and feed tube.

[Gray Fox]

They used to make a .44-40 and I had one 25 or so years ago. Sold it to a "friend" at a cowboy club, he never came back and I was never paid. I'd like to have the rifle to shoot BP. It was a half octagon half round rifle length barrel. At that time there was no ammo available, and brass was as hard to find as most calibers are now. Eventually, Starline started making it along with .38-40. GF

[oley55]

I'm not sure how complicated it might actually be, but I've thought more than once about how a '92 Rossi in .357 Bain & Davis might be received. For readers not familiar with the round, it is a .44 Magnum case, necked down to .357". The hope was to obtain/exceed the original advertised ballistics of the .357 Magnum cartridge, for use in large-frame revolvers and T-C Contenders. Like another "here and gone" high(er)-pressure bottle-necked revolver round I remember, the B&D seemed to work fairly well in Single-Action platforms, but less so in D-A revolvers. Case taper plus high pressures translated to case "set back" that was enough to make smooth cylinder rotation all but impossible after 3-5 rounds.
For obvious reasons, the same operation problems would not be an issue in a lever-action carbine. Just thinking aloud, for now...

:hijack:

[hornetguy]

Rossi makes the 92 in .357, .44, .45 Colt. I'm pretty sure they even made it in .454 Casull for a short time.

I also have had bad experiences with Rossi, just lately. I got a stainless .357, and fired 5 rounds through it before I noticed that the brass was pretty heavily bulged down just above the base. It appears that the chamber was very sloppily cut. I sent it back, and waited for a couple of months for a replacement barrel, to be finally told that they don't make the stainless anymore. They offered to replace mine with a blued version, and I agreed. (not much choice) I was then told they would order it, and let me know when it was ready to ship to my FFL. Almost a month later, it arrived. It had the same problem, to a slightly lesser degree than the first one. Low pressure .357's would fire with no issues, and .38's would fire with no bulging issues at all.... but full house .357's showed bulges.
I also have a blued .45 Colt version that shows bulges with anything more than "cowboy" loads.
I'm done with Rossi 92's... I love the looks and functioning of them, but it appears they have serious issues with chambering.

[r80rt]

I've bought six of the new Rossi's built by cbc, two .45's and four .357's. no problems with any of them.

[r80rt]

I have a 357 and a 45 colt, never knew they are different.
Suppose to be a rainy day here tomorrow, I'm going to pull both from the safe and give a look.

RP

They are the same size.

[Olevern]

If they offered it in 44-40, I'd be interested.

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

Rossi used to chamber their 92 in 44-40, I only know bc I have one.

[Texas by God]

Rossi used to chamber their 92 in 44-40, I only know bc I have one.Yes, so did I. Once I went through the necessary fitting & polishing and tuning, it was a great little accurate carbine. A CAS buddy offered twice what I paid($400!) so in the interest of groceries/ bills- it went where ever it ended up.....
I've also had 3 .357 Rossi carbines over time. They all needed feeding help, but shot very well.

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[Pereira]

They are the same size.

I found that to be true.
I found a very slight difference in the height of the receiver of 0.02" other than that nothing.

RP

[hornetguy]

I'm glad to hear that everyone has had good luck with their Rossi's... like I said, I really like the looks and function.... I just don't want to buy a rifle and have to shoot puffball loads in it if I want to have reloadable brass afterward.
I shot the 45 Rossi today, with S&B cowboy loads in it, with no issues at all. They chrono'd at almost 1100 fps. I plan to work up a load with a 250-ish cast bullet at around 1200-1250 (rifle velocities). That should thump anything that I will be shooting at... hogs, deer, horse apples.... I can live with that.
The 357's were disappointing.... I now own a Henry side gate 357, 16"... and it doesn't bulge brass on full house 357 loads. Life is good.

[badwolf]

Bought a 357 and a 45 colt in the last 2 yrs, they're fine.

[hornetguy]

Yes, they function wonderfully... at least the three I've bought in the past 5 months have. I just had bad luck with sloppy chambers in the .357's... they would be great for someone that doesn't reload, or just wants to shoot 38 special level loads.
As a visual aid, these are pics of 4 from the first 357, and 5 from the second 357...

307447
307448

[Texas by God]

Oh yeah, I'd be upset about that. That's sloppiness.

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[indian joe]

Oh yeah, I'd be upset about that. That's sloppiness.

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

yep ! they definitely done that wrong.

If I was getting a Rossi - I would buy a 44mag - get the chamber recut to 44/40 - (a clever gunsmith might even be able to do that by hand without pulling the barrel) - the 44mag chamber would be a bit fuller at the front end and that would allow fat cast projectiles in the thinner 44/40 brass - done carefully this should work pretty darn nice .

[hornetguy]

Out of curiosity... why the 44-40 instead of the mag? If it's nostalgia, I get it. I do things like that, as well. I just wondered if there was a practical reason for doing it. Seems like brass would be more readily available for the mag, and it can be loaded down to whatever level you wish...

[indian joe]

Out of curiosity... why the 44-40 instead of the mag? If it's nostalgia, I get it. I do things like that, as well. I just wondered if there was a practical reason for doing it. Seems like brass would be more readily available for the mag, and it can be loaded down to whatever level you wish...

call it nostalgia if you like -- got plenty 44/40 brass and its more readily available where I shop than the mag stuff - got the dies - 44/40 will hold a few grains more powder so its a better blackpowder round - also dont leak soot into the innards like the mag - if you wanna hotrod it the 44/40 will do anything (in a 92 action) that the mag can do - the round feeds better than the 44mag - I never found loading it the problem that some blokes do - so all positive for me

[hornetguy]

Got it.... that makes a lot of sense. I figured the feeding would be better, but I didn't know that brass was so readily available.

[FergusonTO35]

I have a new .357 in layaway jail, should have it out in a couple of weeks. If it bulges brass I'll give Rossi one chance to make it right, then trade on a Henry if they don't. My dealer will take care of the customer even if the factory won't.

[r80rt]

My .357's do not bulge the brass, man I'm sorry yours does that sucks.

[Quinnbrian]

I have one in 357/38,and yep I paid for it! $1100.00 as new...but used, very...very lightly, a couple of trips to the range... and I see there still up there in price used...
It's the newer model( safety on top) 16 inch round barrel, a real sweatheart of firearms. Shoot 357 and 38, with out a problem.
Well built, the wood could be a little better...but it's hard to find a good factory wood stock on a newer built rifle anymore ( yes there are out there)
Well built rifle, should be good for years.
Cheers
Brian
I was going to go with a 44 mag 92...but tried one out..didn't like the kick...maybe with a longer or heavier barrel? But that would defeat the purpose...of having a very light rifle, with a good punch.

[AlaskaMike]

Full power .44 mag loads aren't too bad in mine with a soft slip-on recoil pad.

I've also thought about drilling some holes in the end of the stock under the buttplate to put some lead weights in. Probably just some cast bullets. That's more about improving the balance though, than adding weight. Like you say, part of the appeal of these little carbines is the light weight.

[lightload]

About Rossi refusing to fix problems. Do they deny existence of problems? Say that guns are in spec? Please share their responses.

[indian joe]

Got it.... that makes a lot of sense. I figured the feeding would be better, but I didn't know that brass was so readily available.

I havent shopped for brass for a couple years - likely I am behind the times on availability - maybe our LGS knows his customer base and is paying attention to their needs ?

[mnewcomb59]

OP was for 92, MT Gianni mentioned 94. Does Rossi make both in .357 and .44/.45 sizes? I've not looked at them in years, but would be interested in 92 version in .44. If they do make both, is one preferable over the other?

The 45 Colts have SAAMI maximum sized chambers and if you full length resize the brass will split within a few reloads. A lot of people neck size, then resize the rest of the case with a Lee factory crimp die. That usually lets them chamber in a blackhawk but sometimes you will have a loaded round that only fits in your rifle.

The 44s have oversized bores up to .433. The 44 mag chamber is sometimes too tight to let you seat a 432 bullet. If you shoot a 44 mag levergun you will probably need a special expander die from NOE to open up the brass.

My choice has been 45 Colt for a few years now and I would rather have the ability to shoot an oversized plain base bullet than be stuck shooting jacketed or undersized gas checked bullets in a 44 with no chance for plain base accuracy. Plus the 45 Colt has a lot more juice than a 44 mag in the heavy bullets and light bullets if you are looking for magnum performance.

[FergusonTO35]

My .357's do not bulge the brass, man I'm sorry yours does that sucks.

How old is your rifle?

[r80rt]

Mine are the new guns made by CBC, they are better than the older ones from my experience. I've bought six and know of a few others, all were good to go right out of the box.
307713

[Four-Sixty]

I bought a new 16" large loop in 357 Mag last month. I have no issues with bulged brass. Loading gate is not sharp like some have reported. Blueing is very good. One minor issue with the finish on the wood, some bubbles in an area near where the wood meets the metal. (Very minor) Gate is stiff. It is a bit of work to load cartridges, but can largely be overcome with technique. I am not a fan of the buckhorn sights. That is the one thing I want to change.

[r80rt]

I took my buckhorns to belt sander and flat topped them.

[Four-Sixty]

I can see myself doing that r80rt

[FergusonTO35]

Mine are the new guns made by CBC, they are better than the older ones from my experience. I've bought six and know of a few others, all were good to go right out of the box.
307713

Awesome! Let's hope that mine is good also.

[r80rt]

I can see myself doing that r80rt

It works great, a little touch up with cold blue and they look fine.
307774

[downzero]

Yes, they function wonderfully... at least the three I've bought in the past 5 months have. I just had bad luck with sloppy chambers in the .357's... they would be great for someone that doesn't reload, or just wants to shoot 38 special level loads.
As a visual aid, these are pics of 4 from the first 357, and 5 from the second 357...

307447
307448

Mine does the same thing. It also seems to always have unexplained feeding issues in the middle of a SASS stage. I haven't gotten rid of it but I did buy a 73 to shoot matches with. Overall I like the light weight of the 92 but it's not as smooth as the 73. If all I was doing with it was plinking, it'd be a great gun.

[r80rt]

Dang, that ain't good. I reload and all of my brass is fine, no bulges.

[ukrifleman]

I have a 20 year old stainless Mod 92 with 20" octagonal barrel in 45 Colt and have never had a problem with bulged brass.

I use Starline cases, which I run through a Lee carbide sizing die without any issues.

ukrifleman

[downzero]

Dang, that ain't good. I reload and all of my brass is fine, no bulges.

My usual magnum load is straight out of the book, a heavy load of H110 and a 158, I think about 17 grains. It bulges brass. I still think that load is lighter than most factory 357 magnum, too.

[hornetguy]

About Rossi refusing to fix problems. Do they deny existence of problems? Say that guns are in spec? Please share their responses.

sorry... just saw this.
Rossi USA didn't deny it... after sending an email with a pic of the brass, they contacted me and said "send it in"... gave me a pre-paid shipping label.
The problem was the wait time. They told me they were waiting for Rossi Brasil to send them a barrel. As time went by, and no barrel, I contacted them again, and a woman emailed me and told me she would personally keep track of my order. She told me that they had to wait 90 days (IIRC) before they could offer a replacement. At that milestone, she said they could offer me a 20" blued version for my 16" stainless one.
After a few weeks, they finally shipped that one to my FFL, and I tried it out. It bulged brass, as well.
I replied back to the woman (Tammy?) saying that the replacement also bulged brass, and I got no response at all.
It might take something like a class action lawsuit for them to "admit" publicly that there is an issue, but that's not a road I would want to take.
If you goober Rossi bulged brass, you will find a BUNCH of stories about it.... so it is not an isolated incident kind of thing.

It's a little disappointing to me, because I've always been a huge supporter of "the little guy" in firearms. I've championed Taurus firearms because of my great experiences with them, and I wanted to do the same with the Rossi lever guns.... I just can't do it, based on my three rifle experiences... a little over $2100 worth of not great experiences... I've still got the .45 Colt, but will likely move it along at the first opportunity... if I can find someone that just wants to shoot factory ammo, or cowboy stuff, I'll sell it to them... at a large loss, I'm sure.

[elmacgyver0]

I guess I'm weird, I like the buckhorn sight.

[steveu]

yep ! they definitely done that wrong.

If I was getting a Rossi - I would buy a 44mag - get the chamber recut to 44/40 - (a clever gunsmith might even be able to do that by hand without pulling the barrel) - the 44mag chamber would be a bit fuller at the front end and that would allow fat cast projectiles in the thinner 44/40 brass - done carefully this should work pretty darn nice .

Is twist good enough for 44-40? A friend of mine has a 92 in 357 and had to change the barrel because it didn’t shoot heavy bullets.

[bigdog454]

Hace 3 Rossie's, no problems. #1 is a 45 colt, I've shot it very little, #2 is a 44-40 also shot very little, but a real hoot to shoot, #3 is a 454 C, what a deer slayer, handles 45 colt to full power 454's with no problems. but I found that anything over about 1200 fps puts too big a hole in a deer.
BD

[jonp]

Yes, they function wonderfully... at least the three I've bought in the past 5 months have. I just had bad luck with sloppy chambers in the .357's... they would be great for someone that doesn't reload, or just wants to shoot 38 special level loads.
As a visual aid, these are pics of 4 from the first 357, and 5 from the second 357...

307447
307448

Oh...I'd be less than amused if my brass came out like that too. My 45lc works ok but I'd like to make the feed gate less sharp. Works fine with round nose or the Lee profile but not SWC or others.

[jonp]

Hace 3 Rossie's, no problems. #1 is a 45 colt, I've shot it very little, #2 is a 44-40 also shot very little, but a real hoot to shoot, #3 is a 454 C, what a deer slayer, handles 45 colt to full power 454's with no problems. but I found that anything over about 1200 fps puts too big a hole in a deer.
BD

It's not much weight for full house 454 loads. Do you find it kicks at all with those?

[FergusonTO35]

Is twist good enough for 44-40? A friend of mine has a 92 in 357 and had to change the barrel because it didn’t shoot heavy bullets.

Where did the new barrel come from?

[bigdog454]

JONP:
kicks lik a 45 colt, which is a Ruger only load for the 45 colt. when I shot with a full house HP. it blew the back side out of the deer. Most of the shots in my area are 50 yards or less. no need to make a hole the size of a basketball to stop a WT deer.
BD

[mnewcomb59]

Hace 3 Rossie's, no problems. #1 is a 45 colt, I've shot it very little, #2 is a 44-40 also shot very little, but a real hoot to shoot, #3 is a 454 C, what a deer slayer, handles 45 colt to full power 454's with no problems. but I found that anything over about 1200 fps puts too big a hole in a deer.
BD

I also like to eat them, not blow them up. For a few years I have used the Lee 300-RF at 1600 fps. I did some alloy testing and 1.5-1.5-97 WD barely mushroomed at 5 yards and I assume it quits mushrooming pretty quick after that as it loses speed. It leaves about a 1" hole and a 2" bruise around the hole.

Last year I used that bullet out of nearly pure lead with no GC in a muzzle loader sabot at 1600-1700 fps with 80 gr triple 7. Never again! I shot a doe at about 15 yards in the ribs and it almost ruined the front half of the deer. The entry hole was about as big as a softball, bruising on both shoulders and both backstraps and the entire ribcage was bruised in about a 16" circle like a large pizza.

So if you want a little more velocity for better trajectory harden up your alloy a bit to save some meat. I have had great luck hitting running deer with the slower 45 Colt compared to the 2000 fps 357 because it has the same lead as a shotgun.

[rbuck351]

I have only one Rossi 92 chambered in 454c. I have only shot one nice blacktail deer with it using a Sierra 300gr at about 1600 fps. It put a thumb size hole in the back of one shoulder and out just behind the far shoulder. Might have been a lb. or so of bloodshot meat around the entry hole but that was it.

I then bought the Lee 300 gr mold and am shooting it at 1950 fps but haven't shot anything with that boolit. No problems with the brass bulging and I assume the pressure is well above 44 mag pressure.

[Ramjet-SS]

I have two Legacy arms made by Rossi in 480 Ruger. Standard length and a Carbine. accurate fun guns to shoot and hunt with.

[GL49]

It's not much weight for full house 454 loads. Do you find it kicks at all with those?
Umm.....I've got one of those and yeah, maybe it kicks a little. I like shooting it in the summer with only a T-shirt.

[r80rt]

Merry Christmas to the Rossi Posse!

[hornetguy]

And merry Christmas to you, too! Wishing all the best to you all.....

[Butler Ford]

It's not much weight for full house 454 loads. Do you find it kicks at all with those?

It is a lot of fun with Underwood 360 grain, 1600+ out of the rifle.

[a.squibload]

[QUOTE=Four-Sixty;5497411] ...Gate is stiff. It is a bit of work to load cartridges, but can largely be overcome with technique...

You can remove the gate, it's a flat one-piece item (gate and spring are one piece). If you file the edges of the spring near the middle
it lightens the pressure. Don't need to remove much. While it's out file the inside edges of the hole. Mine would nick boolits,
almost wouldn't load & almost trapped my finger! Much better now.

I replaced the ejector spring with a Horror Freight item, spring kit cost about $5, you get several.
http://www.harborfreight.com/200-piece-assorted-spring-set-67562.html
It's the 7/32 x 1-1/2 you want. Makes action easier & doesn't toss empties into the next county.
Of course you can polish all the mating surfaces while they're out.

Try rossi-rifleman.com, lots of tips there.

Oh yeah, 92/44 bought a few months ago, no bulging of brass.
Needed an impact driver to remove front barrel band screw.

[indian joe]

Is twist good enough for 44-40? A friend of mine has a 92 in 357 and had to change the barrel because it didn’t shoot heavy bullets.

I'm quite happy with standard weight boolits 44/40 = 200-225 grain is fine, 357 mag = 158 grain is fine, ------wanna shoot heavy boolits ? get a bigger gun (45/70 or such)

[Lance Boyle]

Rossi makes the 92 in .357, .44, .45 Colt. I'm pretty sure they even made it in .454 Casull for a short time.

I also have had bad experiences with Rossi, just lately. I got a stainless .357, and fired 5 rounds through it before I noticed that the brass was pretty heavily bulged down just above the base. It appears that the chamber was very sloppily cut. I sent it back, and waited for a couple of months for a replacement barrel, to be finally told that they don't make the stainless anymore. They offered to replace mine with a blued version, and I agreed. (not much choice) I was then told they would order it, and let me know when it was ready to ship to my FFL. Almost a month later, it arrived. It had the same problem, to a slightly lesser degree than the first one. Low pressure .357's would fire with no issues, and .38's would fire with no bulging issues at all.... but full house .357's showed bulges.
I also have a blued .45 Colt version that shows bulges with anything more than "cowboy" loads.
I'm done with Rossi 92's... I love the looks and functioning of them, but it appears they have serious issues with chambering.

they did make a casull. I saw one at a local shop on Friday.

[bubbadoyle]

they did make a casull. I saw one at a local shop on Friday.

They certainly did. I own one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[jreidthompson1]

They still do. If you can find it in stock

https://rossiusa.com/rifles/lever-action-rifles

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

[Mavrick]

I have two R92s and the are a real "hoot to shoot."
one of mine is a .256 WinMag with a 21" round barrel, and 1/2-magazine. it has a Lyman tang-sight.
It also has a shotgun-style butt, with a thin recoil-pad so it won't "skitter" out across the floor when I stand it behind the kitchen door.
The other is is a Trapper's model .44Mag that looks the same as the .256 when they are placed side-by-side, except to the shorter 16" barrel, of course.
I like that idea of the Bain and Davis, too. I'll think on that a bit.
Have fun,
Gene