Rossi or Winchester

[Davem]

I just found out that Winchester has a model 92, made in Japan. The cost is a little more than the Rossi. If anyone has shot both, which do you prefer?
And, I was thinking of 44 mag but 44/40 is the traditional round.  I know the 44/40 was originally a balloon head case that could not be loaded hot but now a days it looks the same as all other cases and it seems it could be loaded to higher velocities.  The idea being- to have the historical cartridge but also have a load a bit more powerful in case I want to shoot a deer, etc.

[Buckaroo Lou]

I have three of the 1892 Miroku made Winchesters and really like them. I just looked at a new Rossi 92 carbine in 44 mag this morning at my LGS and I did not care for how the lever sits 1/2" from the lower tang. I don't think they have always been like this. Are they all like that now?

[cpt dan blodgett]

I have a circa 1995 rossi 92 carbine in 44 mag a circa 2009 hartford rossi 44 mag rifle with 24 inch barrel  and a winchester miroku carbine circa 2022 with 20 inch barrel also in 44 mag. The Original rossi was a bit stiff and got some what smoother after several hundred rounds. The 24 inch hartford I bought from nate Kiowa Jones and is super slick and smooth. My only complaint is being a rifle it has a half inch or so longer stock which requires a longer reach to fu)y work the action than the carbine. Given my short arms it is just about at the limit for me at 5 ft 6 inches and a 32 inch sleeve. This gun is so much slicker than the original that I sent the original to Steve's guns for Nate to work his magic on. It to is super slick. In 2022 I purchased the Miroku 92. Out of the box it was much slicker than the original rossi ever got before I sent it to be slicked. The Miroku was not as slick as the guns Nate worked on but after Lassiter worked his magic it may well be. All of the guns are reliable and accurate.  None of them has a lever that sits a half inch from the frame. The miroku cost about $500 more than the slicked up 24 inch rifle I got from Nate Kiowa Jones.  About 2x what you can get a rossi 92 for currently. I have not handled a current production Rossi but have heard they are much smoother than the old early 2000 models. You may want to check out the sass wire classifieds and get a gun someone has already slicked up. Unless you are going to shoot a lot of black powder and or already have pistols in 44 40 I would highly recommend 44 mag over 4-40. 44-40 brass is harder to come by and more expensive than 44 mag. The thin case requires  more care in reloading. Actually I probably would recommend getting all your guns in .357 magnum as less recoil and cheaper to load than calibers starting with a 4. 44 Mag hands down best choice for a hunting rifle.