Rossi lever actions

[rbertalotto]

Nope, not brass plated steel..........It is real, honest to goodness "Gun Metal".....An alloy used in the manufacture of "brass looking" rifle receivers since the 1800s. Gin Metal is much tougher than brass.

[Trailrider]

Nope, not brass plated steel..........It is real, honest to goodness "Gun Metal".....An alloy used in the manufacture of "brass looking" rifle receivers since the 1800s. Gin Metal is much tougher than brass.

In what caliber?  I don't think I'd want one in .454 with a steady diet of hot loads with a gunmetal receiver. OTOH, the mass of the receiver and the steel locking bolts should be adequate for .45 LC with reasonable loads.  John Moses designed 'em strong.  Still, I think I'd check the headspace every thousand rounds of hot loads or so.

[rbertalotto]

This rifle is 45LC and will only be shooting Cowboy Loads.

[wildman1]

  WM

[cpt dan blodgett]

actually some kind of bronze for the gun metal correct??

[Texas Lawdog]

My 38/357 Rossi does not like 38s, it works better with .357 cases. I let Steve smooth up my Rossi and it is flawless with the .358 cases. I live about 300 miles from Steve, so when I was on business down his way, I dropped it off. I picked it up the next time I was in town. I have plenty of .357 cases.

[Pettifogger]

No 92 is made with a brass receiver.  They are brass plated steel.  Stick a magnet on it.

[rbertalotto]

No 92 is made with a brass receiver.  They are brass plated steel.  Stick a magnet on it.

WRONG......I just went an tried a magnet on it.........won't stick to it. This receiver is a solid piece of "GunMetal"......Brass/Bronze Alloy

[King Medallion]

I have 2, one in 44-40, which I've had for 15 or so years. The other in 38/357, which I just got and havent even fired yet. It's off to the smith for an action job.
My 44-40 is an awesome gun, action job made it slick as a whistle, full buckhorn rear sight, has not had one malfunction in 15 years. And its a tac driver too, my favorite SRC by far. Oddly, this SRC has no SRC. My only complaint, and not really a complaint, would be the front sight is part of the barrel band. So there is no choice for a change if one wanted one, AFAIK.

[T. Two Dogs]

 
Absolutely true - they are NOT brass plated steel - they are gun brass - 100%.  I don't know where this rumor came from - perhaps it was because folks confused them weith the Henry Golden Boys or something .  The Rossi is GUN BRASS.

T.Two Dogs

[rickk]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunmetal

[dogngun]

Years ago, I bought a well used Puma .357 mag rifle, which I really loved to shoot, but I could not get to like the John Wayne/ cowboy  big lever- and someone had drilled scope mount holes in it, so eventually I used it as trade material.
Since I am now retired and simplifying my gun accumulation to mostly .38 Spl/.357 magnum, I was interested in another Rossi. I saw one on gunbroker, used, for about $550, deecided to look further, found one at Buds online. Brand new 20' round barrel, walnut, for $419, free shipping. It should be here next week.

I have owned several Rossi revolvers , including my 462 that is my main carry revolver. I like their products very much. My old Smiths stay home, my Rossi goes out with me.
I think this little .357 levergun will be great for deer here in Eastern PA, where you can't see more than 40 yards in the woods most of the time. Might be good for groundhogs, too.

mark

[Thomas (Tom) Horn aka James Hicks]

Rossi's: Kinda like "Love and Hate". Depending on which side of the fence you are standing. You cannot short stroke, but all the short stroke does is give the shooter a few nano seconds anyway. You can slick the '92 and make it as "race ready" as any '73. The '92 is not as heavy as the '73 but it can be unforgiving... I have both the Rossi '92 and a Uberti '73. The '73 has all the bells and whistles you can put on one... BUT ifn you do not get your bullets the correct OAL with a '73 you will have problems in the feeding. I have never had that problem with the '92. BUT having said that... with the '92 you have to lever it FULL cycle, if you don't, then it will remind you when you are under the clock. I did my own action work on the '92 and I could not be more pleased with it... sometimes I think maybe it is "too slick". I love the '73, but it was a "problem child" for a long time. I will state that the Uberti '73 looked so good ROB as compared to the '92 which looked like "trash" as it came ROB. But you are talking a BIG difference in cost. I have never had a feeding problem with the '92. Both of my rifles are in 45LC and they are both fitted with 20" barrels. My Rossi was a casehardened frame/lever and cresent butt plate. But the caseharden done by the Rossi folks looked very "amaturish". The wood was almost black as it came ROB. It took me a while and a lot of work, but I refinished the '92 and did the action. I prefer the '92 over the '73. Here is a picture of the '92 "AFTER" all my work on it.

[Tornado]

I just completed my CAS long gun requirments with a pair of Rossi's:

THe 92 is my first rifle period, so I don't have a good reference to it compare to, other than the Marlin I borrowed at my first event.  It is not as smooth or easy to work as that Marlin, I will get the Nate Jones DVD and do an action job later.  It cycles my 45 Colt just fine if you work the action like you mean it, I will add a leather wrap for the lever to my list of upgrades.  The wood grain is nice but the finish is very flat.  The wood to metal fit is OK.  It did drop a screw while I was handling it last night, so I checked all other screws and four were loose!  All that said, I like the rifle and for the price($405 out the door) you can't go wrong!  This will be my long term temporary rifle, I will save for an 1860 or '66 one day.

[joec]

I just completed my CAS long gun requirments with a pair of Rossi's:

THe 92 is my first rifle period, so I don't have a good reference to it compare to, other than the Marlin I borrowed at my first event.  It is not as smooth or easy to work as that Marlin, I will get the Nate Jones DVD and do an action job later.  It cycles my 45 Colt just fine if you work the action like you mean it, I will add a leather wrap for the lever to my list of upgrades.  The wood grain is nice but the finish is very flat.  The wood to metal fit is OK.  It did drop a screw while I was handling it last night, so I checked all other screws and four were loose!  All that said, I like the rifle and for the price($405 out the door) you can't go wrong!  This will be my long term temporary rifle, I will save for an 1860 or '66 one day.

The Steve's Gunz DVD and tune kit as well as his safety plug is how I did mine. It is as smooth now as any rifle I've tried in any NCOWS event. I also didn't use Steve's spring but went with the Gunfighter set sold by Brownells which was a bit better in my opinion. However his disk helps a lot in taking it apart and getting it back together right. It also includes his metal magazine follower also. I didn't want to take mine as far as I might use it for smaller game hunting also. Steve's kit is worth it for nothing else but the DVD in my opinion.

[Karl]

I would rather resurrect this old thread than start yet another Rossi Puma thread.

I have a brass framed stainless '92 in .45LC with the heavy octagonal barrel.  I slicked it myself with the help of some YouTube videos and that made a world of difference.  I replaced the rear site and magazine guide. 





The barrel is a bit more than I need for SASS shoots but my last Rossi Puma's round barrel was hardly enough.  None of the local gunsmiths seem to be up to bobbing the barrel. 

The main reasons that I own Rossis is the price and the stainless steel.  I shoot black powder cartridge and stainless tolerates a good washing better than bluing.  If there was an 1866 in stainless for a good price.......  I have been using videos to coach myself to shoot faster.  Shotgun was holding me back but I have gotten half way fast with it now.  I just made some significant improvements to my revolvers which have cut my time down so now my rifle is the slow gun and I have no brilliant ideas left other than switching guns.  I do not have a short stroke kit but have heard less than stellar reviews of these for Rossis.  A little larger loop for my thick hands might help but I cannot find such a thing.  I do have occasional difficult feeds usually half way through but I cannot seem to catch the issue. 

Do you Rossi Puma owners have any more tricks, techniques, or tips for SASS shooting? 

This is an older video but the rifle is still pretty typical in case anyone has any constructive comments I would love to hear them.    I do practice pulling the stock into my shoulder as I close the lever the first time but being a little muzzle heavy I sometimes miss slightly.  After the 3-4 round I start speeding up a lot now despite the black powder smoke. 

[Karl]

What experience have other Rossi Puma owners had with this or other spring kits?  http://www.cowboyshootingstore.com/Gunslinger_Spring_Kit_for_Rossi_92_p/lees-rossi.htm 

[Thomas (Tom) Horn aka James Hicks]

Karl-

It has been awhile since I did the work on my Rossi 92.  I used the Lee's Gunslinger Spring Kit but I also weakened it a bit more.. as I recall I cut off 3 coils and that lightened the hammer pull greatly.  I do not have any problems with miss fires as long as I use Federal Primers... if I use CCI or Winchester primers I will have problems... so all I use is FEDERALS, they are softer and I never have a miss fire in revolvers or rifles.  I do all of my own action work... I do not like sending my guns to someone and have to wait for them to do what I can do... my opine.  I do have a habit of sometimes making my guns "too slick"... then I have to resort to VTI for another part...LOL

[Karl]

Karl-

It has been awhile since I did the work on my Rossi 92.  I used the Lee's Gunslinger Spring Kit but I also weakened it a bit more.. as I recall I cut off 3 coils and that lightened the hammer pull greatly.  I do not have any problems with miss fires as long as I use Federal Primers... if I use CCI or Winchester primers I will have problems... so all I use is FEDERALS, they are softer and I never have a miss fire in revolvers or rifles.  I do all of my own action work... I do not like sending my guns to someone and have to wait for them to do what I can do... my opine.  I do have a habit of sometimes making my guns "too slick"... then I have to resort to VTI for another part...LOL

Thank you for the response and review.
I also like to do my own tuning.  The only problem primers that I have run into are Remingtons and that is based on shotgun shells (all coincidentally bought at Wallmart).  You have me wondering about just cutting some coils off the stock hammer spring for now since I can't complain about the trigger spring and don't feel a need to replace it.

[Karl]

My Rossi was a nightmare last shoot.  Just not feeding.  When I took it apart for cleaning the stock magazine came out in three pieces despite me oiling it with each cleaning.   
Ordering a stainless replacement from:  http://www.thesmithshop.com/magfollow.html 

I should probably order a stainless spring and follower for my wife's Marlin 94 while I am at it.