i just discovered my fascination with lever guns

[don1911]

I had a Winchester 30-30. Ammo cost kept me from shooting it much. Handgun ammo was so much cheaper. Then I bought a Rossi 357 levergun. Wow!! I love this gun!! (don't tell my wife) Sold my AR and 7 mag rifles. They just are not as fun. I never shot them much any way. I usuallly brought out my handguns when I went shooting. Now it seems to be my leverguns that get shot the most.

I have questions for you more experienced levergun fans, if you don't mind. Thanks in advance for any info you wish to share with me on my questions.

After about 120 rounds I have lost two screws (cartridge guide screw and L & B pin hole plug screw) in the receiver of my Rossi 357. Rossi should send free replacement screws to me. I've had gun less than a month. Is this a common problem? Should I locktite every screw that becomes loosened?

Sometimes a cartridge will not feed into chamber well on my new 357 and I have to work lever back and forth or push it in with my finger. Maybe this is caused by the missing cartridge guide screw. Although the "right cartridge guide" seems to be in its place and lined up with screw hole in reciever. What do you think? Or does it need to be broke in or combination of both?

I heard leverguns require a lot of rounds to get broke in. Is this true? Would this cause feeding issues? About how many rounds does break in require?

Is it possible my only problem is the fact that my levergun is a Rossi? I did not know Taurus bought them out when I ordered it. I am not a fan of Taurus guns. Most experiences with taurus guns have not been good ones in last 6 years or so. The only exception being with the Judge. I like my judge.

Sorry its so long. I appreciate any help you are willing to share.

Thank you.

[66GTO]

Welcome to the forum! You've come to the right place if you are fascinated with lever guns.

I also have a Rossi 92 in .357 that was one of the first made after Taurus bought out Rossi, and it is also one of my favorites. Unlike you, I have had zero problems with mine. No feeding problems, no matter what I put through it in .357 or .38 special. Although I have not had a problem with loose screws in this Rossi, I have had that happen in some of my Marlin lever guns. Blue loctite will solve that problem.

If you need a problem solved regarding your Rossi, the go to guy can be found on this forum. Steve Young, who goes by Nate Kiowa Jones here, is THE expert on Rossi/Puma Model 92 leverguns. His business web site is http://www.stevesgunz.com/ He can repair and modify the 92 to your liking, sells parts, and he also sells a DVD on how to do it yourself. If he doesn't chime in on this thread, send him a PM.

[pwl44m]

Welcome, Your Gonna like it here.

Perry
Came back to say "WHERES THE PICTURE OF UR LEVERGUN" HUH !!
Perry

[Griff]

and Welcome to THE Forum!

Yep, that loose right hand cartridge will cause mis-feeding in your Rossi. The .38Spl/.357Mag versions seem to suffer the most feeding issues of all the calibers this rifle is chambered in. For quite a number of reasons. The original design was around the bottle-neck cartridges and their round-flat nose bullets of the day. The .357 is right at the limit, overall length-wise of the design capability. Add to this, the skinny, straight walled case and the fact that the cartridge must go from horizontal, to a 45º, rise up and into another horizontal plane, and you can appreciate the difficulties in doing so with cartridges of great differences in length, nose length, and nose shape.

As 66GTO said, blue Loctite™ will keep those screws in place. No, they shouldn't have come out... but unlike Uberti, Rossi doesn't have an 800lb gorilla doing their final assembly! A good maintenance habit is to check your screws before each shooting session... wish I could remember it myself. Anything mechanical is subject to the "loose screw" gremlin! Had a shooter yesterday at a match loose the ejector rod housing screw on his Ruger Vaquero! Luckily, we found all the parts and he was able to get his gun back together.

Back to feed issues. While many feed them fine, I've seen examples where semi-wadcutters are problematic. Do a search of this forum for "357 feed problem" (or click on the underlined link) and you'll find four separate threads on the same subject in the last 10 months... so it's not uncommon. LOTS of information and answers in those threads.

[mikld]

Welcome, and I understand your love of levers! For me, leverguns are mid way between primitave and modern; primitave being muzzle loaders w/black powder and modern being AR/EBR types. My levergun is strong, modern design (not quite AR), and can shoot top of the line modern ammo. I've only one right now but I keep my eyes open around here every time my ss check comes in (wife gets the pension check!), and check the 2 gun stores and 1 pawn shop in town...

[don1911]

Thanks for all the info y'all. I'm already learning more about leverguns. Will be ordering Steve's DVD and action job kit.

Thanks