Opinions on Rossi R92 levergun?

[Familyguy]

Eyeballed a nice (externally anyway) example at a local gun show in stainless and chambered in 454 casull. Probably just enough gun to make the casull pleasant to shoot and probably one hell of a bear/hog gun if it's accurate.

Just curious. I'm normally not a big fan of guns made in Brazil.

Best,

[AJMD429]

I have had several, and other family and friends have, as well, and we've been uniformly pleased.

The 454 Casull I have does NOT kick like a horse; more like a 20 gauge slug gun. With Rossi's rubber-like recoil pad, recoil with factory loads is not much different to MY shoulder than a heavy 44 Mag load from my Marlin (with a hard plastic 'recoil pad').

Rossi's won't win awards for perfect fit/finish, but cost 1/3 what the brands do that would score 'perfect' in that area. They are good shooters, though. Some folks have had to mess with OAL to get good feeding, but I've not had any problems so far. I don't shoot a huge variety of loads, though; I just find one that works well and load up lots of them.

Only complaint - they aren't easy to scope other than a 'scout' setup, but one of my 'go-to' guns is a Rossi. It spends most of its time in the top configuration, as that is the most practical and truly USEFUL on our farm, though the light can be slipped off if I don't want varmints to snicker, and I can even strip it down to what I would consider 'nearly useless' mode with only the factory sights if I want to try out for a part in a B Western movie...





http://www.levergunscommunity.com/viewt ... =1&t=31062

The other thing some have (my 454 Casull does) is a 'tube-loading' option; I kind of like being able to UN-load a levergun quickly and easily with gloved/cold hands after hunting and coming in the house, which the tube-loading feature facilitates.

Also, if it has the 'bolt-mounted safety' you may want to consider NKJ's "safety button" or "bolt mounted peep" as more functional things to put there vs. the floppy safety. Others just use a drop of super-glue, I am told. I want my safety to either stay ON or OFF positively, and do NOT mind the Marlin crossbolt safety, because it is very positive in its action. On the other hand, the Rossi ones tend to be easily bumped to on/off when unintended.


http://store.stevesgunz.com/index.php?m ... p3kp6uo8o2


http://store.stevesgunz.com/index.php?m ... ducts_id=5

[Old Savage]

We all like them.

[Mescalero]

I like mine.

[wvfarrier]

My ranch hand 44 was bada×#

[stew71]

My .45LC 92 is sweet. The 24" barrel makes it a nice 50 yd brush gun. Smooth as glass too. Removed that stupid safety lever on top of the bolt.

[Panzercat]

We all like them.

Or not :p

Mine was a dud. Mismatched wood and plenty of load issues. Picky with bullet geometery. Similar to the problems with some of their .357 line. Kinda turned me off to Rossi products.

[ollogger]

Ive run over 2 thousand warm loads thru my stainless 45 colt
hotter loads would extend the mag tube


ollogger

[piller]

Mine is in .480 Ruger and is good enough for anything I want. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uGICBfDFdQ This is a video of our own 86er shooting my Rossi in .480 with the factory level 325 grain XTP bullets loaded with WW296. I have only ever had any trouble with feeding when I used 425 grain or heavier bullets. As long as I watch the OAL, then it is no problem. 410 grain LBT style Wide Flat Nose bullets from Grizzly are great in it. They feed well and make around 1100 fps from the gun for great accuracy at 50 yards. My rifle also has the magazine tube that either feeds from the side of the frame or from the tube when the follower is screwed out. It is not a pretty rifle, and it is not a safe queen. It is a great working rifle in my opinion. Out to 100 yards or thereabouts, I am confident in it with anything up to, and including, water buffalo.

[1886]

Ive run over 2 thousand warm loads thru my stainless 45 colt
hotter loads would extend the mag tube


ollogger

Not to take this thread in a different direction... I replaced the forward barrel band with a recent Marlin offering and screw to correct this problem of mag. tube growth. The marlin unit with its larger diameter screw offers a much more positive purchase of the mag. tube.
I have liked all of my Rossi levers except one purchased in the mid 90s. I believe Rossi has taken considerable Q & Q steps. 1886.

[AJMD429]

Not to take this thread in a different direction... I replaced the forward barrel band with a recent Marlin offering and screw to correct this problem of mag. tube growth. The marlin unit with its larger diameter screw offers a much more positive purchase of the mag. tube.

That is COOL, and I've thought about trying some 'swapping' along similar lines. The forends I really dislike most are the 'cap' kind like my Marlin 1894 44 Mag rifles have. Even with the better hanger they now sell, it is really difficult to get them to snug well yet have the holes and bolts and threads all in line. The 'carbine' type like the Marlin 1894 in 357 Mag has, and most of the Rossi's have, seems better.

[egumpher]

Hello,

I own many different firearms from many different manufactures and I love the value I get from a Brazilian made gun. I have never had a problem with my Rossis or Taurus guns and think you get a lot of gun for the money. Just my 2 cents.

Rgsd
Eric

[JerryB]

Welcome to the forum egumpher, I agree with . I have Rossi and Taurus handguns and a Rossi Interarms 92 ,357 SRC and have not had any trouble with any of them

[Mutt]

Myself and everyone I know loves them . Nuff' Said!

...................Mutt

[Old Savage]

Logger, what constitutes warm?

[piller]

Just watching this thread and it looks as if most of the folks have positive things to say about the functionality of the model 92.

[J Miller]

We all like them.

Or not :p

Mine was a dud. Mismatched wood and plenty of load issues. Picky with bullet geometery. Similar to the problems with some of their .357 line. Kinda turned me off to Rossi products.

Actually not really. I'm in the same boat as Panzercat.
Mine was NIB and NOS when I got it, and it was a total lemon from muzzle to butt stock. Too old to be covered under warranty, I ended up spending more to make it shoot than I paid for it. I hated it and ended up selling it to a gunsmith as a parts gun.

I've not been tempted to buy another one since.

Joe

[Old Savage]

We all like the good ones - let me rephrase that.

[AJMD429]

I suppose if one's first Browning or Weatherby or Leupold or Ruger or whatever other brand was a bad one, they might never buy from that company again, but that makes no more sense than if one's first un-branded, garage-sale 'special' were wonderful, being confident that every other such purchase would be great.

[levrgunr]

I've got 6 of the Rossi rifles, all in stainless, in various calibers - Nope - I don't like 'em! LOL!

[Model 52B]

Rossi's quality assurance is a little spotty and you definitely want to do a very careful pre purchase inspection with a Rossi, including running some dummy rounds through it.

If you go over to rossi-rifleman.com you can find a pre purchase checklist that will catch most of the potential problems.

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The metal work cleans up nice and shows a decent level of polish and deep blue, once you get the preservative off of it. The internals need cleaned as well. Remove the magazine plug, spring and follower and swab the tube out thoroughly before you use one. While you've got it out, cock your arm back and throw the yellow plastic mag plug as far as you can. The sectional density is low so it won't fly far. Put it back in until your new steel one arrives then throw the plastic one away. Over time they expand and start sticking in the tube. Stevesgunz.com sells a steel one that will last forever and never hang up in the tube.

Stevesgunz also sells a DVD on disassembly and cleaning up the action to improve trigger pull, action smoothness and also eases the tension on the loading gate. He sells it with a kit that will include a new ejector spring that will further improve action smoothness and not launch your brass 6 feet over your head. You can also order a plug from him to replace the pigtail safety as well.

Once done, you'll have a very smooth functioning Model 92.

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The stock finish has all the appeal of shoe policy on wood, but the good news is that it makes a great stain for the stock, and you can just apply Tru-oil over the top of it. A half dozen coats to fill the grain and a few finish coats buffed or wet sanded with steel wool to the degree of flat to gloss finish you want, and you'll have a nice looking stock.





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The Model 92 action is quite strong and it will take 32,000 psi Tier 3 .45 Colt loads without a problem. The same action shoots .454 Cassul at 65,000 psi), so a hot .45 Colt load is still only half that much. They are also fairly accurate with 3-4" groups at 50 yards being pretty common. It's still minute of deer at 100 yards.

[Familyguy]

It's still minute of deer at 100 yards.

LOL...and that's where the rubber hits the road.

Now to wipe this coffee off my keyboard.....

[Griff]

I've got 6 of the Rossi rifles, all in stainless, in various calibers - Nope - I don't like 'em! LOL!

and Welcome to THE Forum! Pictures... we love pictures!

Familyguy, I've only got 3. From mid-late '80s production to a 2004, all three took some work to smooth out and make better than decent guns... but, there's plenty of help online to do that with a modicum of experience and tools. IMO, if you can sharpen a knife, you can do this. Some folks buy this gun for the price point... to save money, but then complain that now they have to spend either time or money to get it smoothed/slicked up to function the way they think it should. As the Fram guy sez, pay me now, or pay me later, but you're gonna pay. An evening in front of the TV slickin' up the gun is cheap compared to the cost of the Miroku copies... or the cost of an original... which you aren't going to find in either caliber...

However, IMO, you don't "need" the 454 Casull for hogs. The 44Mag and 45Colt are up to the task. If my good friend Joey can take 'em with his 1911 in 45ACP, they're DRT with either of the above cartridges in a carbine! Plus, the 454Casull has some inner mods, that while they don't affect the workings of the gun, I sometimes wonder how they'll stand up to the test of time. (Threaded mag tube, etc). I like the simplicity of the 1892, and when you get to gummin' it up with added stuff, it becomes less of a 1892.

[CowboyTutt]

I would have to agree the quality can be "hit or miss" but I suspect it has gotten better as 86er pointed out. Mine worked fine at first but we eventually had an excessive head space issue. It was starting to show very slight signs of battering of the bolt face. Also, Rossi barrels used to vary greatly in quality. It went to Mic McPherson for modifications and blue printing of the action. It has too much to list but NP3 coated internals, through-bolt conversion buttstock, bedded forend, hand fitted everything, merc tube, twigh light aperture sights, yada yada. The worlds only $2000 Puma! LOL It is my go to rifle though. -Tutt

[tman]

I like the idea of 45-70 power in a model 92

[CowboyTutt]

Me too. It was Paco's original articles on the 454 Rossi Puma that inspired me to get one. I tried my best to beg, cajole, bribe him to gunsmith it for me with his "floated lever gun barrel" modifications, but he wouldn't go for it. He referred me to Mic and said "what he does is different but I trust him." I still remember it so clearly to this day. That set in motion a chain of events that really impacted my life, and Mic's and others. I finally met Paco some years later. He's a very spiritually advanced man in my opinion. They broke the mold with him.

-Tutt

[jazman]

Steve Young did this one up for me years back, and it's still my favorite lever: .357 Trapper, Stainless bead blasted two-tone, full NKJ treatment, love it.

Custom sleeve below by Levergun Leather, more excellent work.

[CowboyTutt]

My best friend has the 16 inch barreled 454 Puma. He loves it as well. Very minimal difference in velocity between the 16 and 20 inch barrels (like less than 75 fps and we measured it.) Might be a bit more accuracy with the 20 inch. Maybe. But his started to crack the wood as so many of them did. He finally got it off to Mic for some upgrades. Works great. -Tutt

[Dave Nowlin]

The question was asked, "what is meant by hot .45 LC loads". In my case that amounts to 325 gr. LBT bullets loaded to a level that will penetrate 12 inches of seasoned oak from a 5 in. barreled handgun. I haven't run it through a chrono from my 16 in. stainless .45LC. I did get the video from Steve and worked mine over. I also reworked the stock fit with a lot of elbowgrease and some sandpaper. I know these same loads from a Colt Anaconda will punch a hole through a steel fence post. I can't imagine needing to shoot anything in Tennessee that this load wouldn't be adequate for.

[Familyguy]

The question was asked, "what is meant by hot .45 LC loads". In my case that amounts to 325 gr. LBT bullets loaded to a level that will penetrate 12 inches of seasoned oak from a 5 in. barreled handgun. I haven't run it through a chrono from my 16 in. stainless .45LC. I did get the video from Steve and worked mine over. I also reworked the stock fit with a lot of elbowgrease and some sandpaper. I know these same loads from a Colt Anaconda will punch a hole through a steel fence post. I can't imagine needing to shoot anything in Tennessee that this load wouldn't be adequate for.

What are you using for the load?

45 colt has some attraction because it's easy to reload for and it's very tame when not loaded hot (so the wife can use it in a suitable revolver as well as in a lever gun). If you can safely load it like you describe above for those "special occasions" I think I might just prefer that over a .454.

Best,

[joec]

I have 3 Rossi rifles a pair of 92 and a Rio Grande. Now both 92, a 45 Colt and 454 Casull have made a trip to Miami new out of the box. Both suffered from feeding problems however both had well fitted wood. The 45 Colt is 4 years old has shot well over 2000 rounds from black powder to my own 280 gr Ranch Dog cast bullets loaded with 25 grains of Lil'Gun without problems. Now the 454 is new and also had a feeding problem which was also fixed by the factory. However I have discovered a second problem which I am discussing with them at this time, however it doesn't effect the operation of the rifle at all at this time which I posted about recently here. Oh and my the 454 also shoots 45 Colt just fine now that it was repaired.

Now the Rio Grande in 45-70 is a different gun completely and mine was almost perfect out of the box both externally and internally. The only thing I did was lighten up the loading gate spring on it but finish inside was the best I've ever seen on any gun period. Now all 3 guns I do automatically remove the finish from the wood and give it the Birchwood Casey gun finish treatment. They all look excellent once done and hold up well.

For the price - about $400 - $450 max, I consider them an extremely good deal in spite of having to often clean them up a bit. I also own 3 Taurus hand guns a PT111 Pro, R92 and a Raging Bull 454 Casull, none of which have ever had a problem and are good shooters.

[Snaketail]

I have a stainless m92 in .454 that I shoot in Lever Action Silhouette matches. Once I got the tang sight adjusted it worked quite well. The recoil from the .454 is stout, but nothing to worry about - shooting 50 rounds at practice is not a big deal...like shooting a 20 gauge is correct. I use 45 Colt loads for matches (use .454 not .452) and if I do my thing well - my does its thing well too. Would not hesitate to hunt with it. Next project is to refinish the wood.