.357 magnum Rossi 1892 carbine magazine problem

[26Charlie]

I have tried to load the magazine as normal with other lever guns, but can’t get more than 4 rounds in. First round goes in OK. Succeeding rounds hang up as if the nose is catching on something. By the fifth round, the magazine spring pressure apparently prevents the nose shifting away from the obstacle, whatever it is. Anybody have any experience with this?

[Griff]

Any dents or such in the magazine tube? Take the mag tube cap off, remove spring & follower. Run a patch thru the empty tube, inspect with a bore scope if you have one, but if there's an obstruction you'll probably find it with the patch. If, after you remove the magazine cap there's more'n about 5 coils sticking out the front of the tube, shortening the spring will aid in loading. Still check the the tube itself tho'.

[txbirdman]

My son’s .44 Rossi had that problem. It turned out to be the plastic follower in the mag tube. It had split on the back side where the mag spring comes in. The more rounds loaded the wider the split became. Replacing with a metal follower which I bought somewhere on line (maybe Steve’s Gunz) solved the problem. The old Rossi’s use to come with a metal follower.

[engineer401]

I have the carbine in 357 also. Most of the loading issues went away when I shortened the spring to 4 inches beyond the tube. There is a posting here that talks about this and describes some fixes. I couldn't do it justice by trying to describing it myself. If I find posting, I'll post a link to it here.

[relics6165]

I also shortened the magazine spring somewhere between 4 and 5 inches, that made all the difference!

[26Charlie]

Thanks for all the help! I had to wait a few days for a bore light to arrive (my old one was kaput). Follower is steel. No dents or obstructions in the tube. Shortened the magazine spring 4 inches, as recommended. Loaded seven in the magazine, no problem. I think maybe the spring is the same part as for a longer rifle.

[AZ Pete]

Had the same problem. There was a burr on the rear surface of the magazine tube. I chamfered the magazine tube with a rat tail file. Fixed it.. I believe there is a video on Youtube that shows how to tune up a Rossi. If I recall, that is where I saw the issue with feeding, and its cure.

Look up Steve's gunz on the internet. He is the Rossi guru.

[farmbif]

replace the plastic follower with steel one, a couple drops of rem oil and all your problems will probably go away

[AlaskaMike]

When you take out the spring, definitely swab it out with solvent. I had one Rossi where the mag tube was greased up with some nasty thick crud. After I swabbed it out and cut down the excessively long spring it ran much, much better.

[Outer Rondacker]

I also shortened the magazine spring somewhere between 4 and 5 inches, that made all the difference!

This

[2TM101]

I have the carbine in 357 also. Most of the loading issues went away when I shortened the spring to 4 inches beyond the tube. There is a posting here that talks about this and describes some fixes. I couldn't do it justice by trying to describing it myself. If I find posting, I'll post a link to it here.

I can't get the screw out that holds the magazine cap on. I'm afraid of stripping it at this point, I'll have to have a gunsmith fix it. It also has this problem (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cutCGYGW8cQ)

[AZ Pete]

the screw is probably stripped, it is very fine thread. You might try pushing on it with a very small punch as you unscrew it. FYI, mine has been stripped since I bought the rifle, but it stays in place after removal and replacement

[maddog13]

The magazine cap screw on my Rossi 357 was super tight, so tight that I was afraid I might bugger up the screw head getting it out. I went thru all my screwdriver bits to find the one that fits all the way to the bottom of the slot but was as tight as possible to the sides of the slot. It came right out with the right bit. Don't try to do it with a tapered blade screwdriver....find the tightest fit possible with a hollow ground bit

[Bazoo]

For super tight screws like, giving the bit some light impact with a brass hammer will often help break it loose.

[engineer401]

The magazine cap screw on my Rossi 357 was super tight, so tight that I was afraid I might bugger up the screw head getting it out. I went thru all my screwdriver bits to find the one that fits all the way to the bottom of the slot but was as tight as possible to the sides of the slot. It came right out with the right bit. Don't try to do it with a tapered blade screwdriver....find the tightest fit possible with a hollow ground bit

That's what I did. The screw was tight. I have a Ruger screwdriver bit set and found a bit from it that fit near perfectly. however, I can certainly understand wanting to take it to a gunsmith so he can deal with it.

[relics6165]

One other hint, when you do get the magazine cap screw out, when you start on the magazine cap itself...............

Just know the cap is a slight interference fit, that's all....................

The magazine spring is too long and it is under considerable compression (because the spring is too long)..........

Now where did that magazine cap go?

Don't ask me how I know!

[oldbear1950]

I bought a new ROSSI R 92 38/357 and a new R 92 45 COLT/454 CASULL. one of the first things I did was order from STEVES GUNZ, the stainless magazine follower, and have had no problems.
He says on his web site that those plastic mag followers will break, not a question of if, but of when. I also ordered the little plugs to replace the safetys. I grew up on Winchesters and Marlins, and never had a problem. I am older than some and had two grandads that were old time town marshalls in Oklahoma during the oil boom of the 1920s and 1930s. They were the ones that taught us to use lever guns.

[trapper9260]

In the past I had problems with me when I was testing some round with my 357 mag that is 16" , something with the firing pin broke. I brought it to my gunsmith and had him fix it and all the other problems that he knew about and remove the safety also. After he was done with it no more problems . He said when he tested for make sure it all worked ok , that he was able to hit a 6" steel plate at 100 years with out any problems , he was surprise how accurate it was . What I shoot in the BH , I can shoot the same ammo in that same rifle . I thanks for the seeing about to shorten the spring in the mag. I will have to look into it .