local dealer trying to talk me out of buying a Rossi Lever for entry level cowboy...

M

Magnum Wheel Man

New member
said none of his have run right... I have a very good retired gunsmith that still does projects for me, just to keep busy, so I'm inclined to buy one anyway...

so... how have current production Rossi's been ( specifically 357 mag & 45 Colt models ) ... still haven't made up my mind on cartridge :o
 
I bought a Rossi Puma M92 .357Mag about two years ago. It has been completely reliable and is accurate and has a pretty smooth action. I haven't had any work done to it but there's a guy, StevesGunz.com, who is supposed to be really good with them.
 
Mine's a .357, two of my buddies have .44 mags and all three have been perfect since we got them early last year. I hear that they're a pretty popular entry level gun for the cowboy shooters.

FWIW, I believe that ours are Braztech Rossis.
 
The book on the 92s is that if they will run they will run well.
If they don't Stevesgunz can make them sing.
 
My 44-40 was stiff out of the box. I filled the action with white lithium grease and worked it a couple of hours and it's slick as a whistle now.
 
Hey Hawg - just curious . . . which side of your rifle is the grease zerk mounted on? :D Sorry . . . couldn't help myself :rolleyes:

On the serious side . . . that sounds like a good way to "break it in" - after you do that with the lithium grease, do you leave it that way or do you have to take it apart and clean it up after you've done a lot of shooting?
 
Looking to save some scratch when I can, I was looking into adding one of these someday soon. Good to hear they have a positive rep. The guy at the local Sportsman's Warehouse doesn't even carry them, but he had some nice things to say too.
 
Entry level my butt! I've been using mine since 1994. Now, if you are really skilled and have panther-like coordination a short stroked '73 would help you gain a second or two per stage. For some folks that is what's needed to win but geeze, I shoot in the Frontiersman category (cap&ball) so I don't scare anyone. Before short stroke kits were designed the original "gamer gun" for match winners was the '92 short rifle. That is the one with the 20" OCTAGONAL barrel which added some weight and stability when working the action to stay on target. If I weren't such a cheapskate I'd get me a coupla those but so far, for my purposes the two Rossi 92 carbines I have are doing well. They are sensitive to OAL which is different for each bullet shape but once you get the cartridge dialed in to the sweet spot OAL they are reliable rifles.
 
Bedbug I had way too much grease it it to even consider shooting it that way. I just flushed it out with liberal amounts of WD-40 followed with Remoil. Before, I had to really slam the lever open to get the carrier to come up. Now you can hold it by the forearm out in front of you and work loaded rounds thru it with one finger.
 
well i can't comment on the actual rossi version but i have a puma 92 (the ones made by rossi) and its a great little gun and a blast to shoot. I guess pumas are now made by someone else and about twice the price but i would buy another rossi made 92 without a problem.
 
I have to wonder if that isn't a financially motivated recommendation ( from my local dealer ) maybe he makes more money on the Marlins & Henry's he normally stocks ???
 
New puma rifles are made by Armi Chiappa (Armi Sport) in Italy. I have actually heard some bad things about them, but I've no first hand knowlege of them. I do own an old Rossi puma .44 mag carbine. Had it for 16 years. One of the best rifles I own and I have Ubertis and Marlins and winchesters. I hunt with it and use it as a "farm" gun. If you get one I do not think you will be sorry IMHO.
 
They are sensitive to OAL which is different for each bullet shape but once you get the cartridge dialed in to the sweet spot OAL they are reliable rifles.
Click to expand...
Hellgate,
My Brazilian Puma was a closet queen for many years; but, now I have access to a new range. Tried it with home cast .38 and .357 SWC's and got feeding failures. Any suggestions for bullet type and OAL? -- I'm thinking of trying some jacketed FP's or HP's to get it broken it. TIA
 
Zippy,
Here's how I work up a load:
Pick your bullet, load up 5 dummy rounds without primers or powder with the bullets seated way out (like 1.7" long). Load them into the magazine and rack them out rapidly. WRITE DOWN the OAL and brief description i.e. "rough", "hangups", "stovepipes," etc. Then go back and reseat them to a deeper OAL like 1.65, 1.63, 1.60, and on down to where you start getting rough feeding again. Write down findings each time or you WILL FORGET the last or best OAL (BTDT). You will find a "sweet spot". Mine was 1.61" for BOTH my Pumas for the SWC and 1.56" for the RN). After finding the right OAL, THEN fiddle with the powder charge from the bench over sand bags at 25 or 50 yds using 3 or 5 shot groups of each charge. I use a muzzle loading 6 bull target and keep a notebook with sections for each gun with a list of favorite loads for each gun including OAL. For the Rossi Pumas I find the best feeding OAL first then work up the powder charge. I use my Rossis exclusively for CAS/SASS matches where reliable feeding is paramount. I also have fire lapped both rifles and groups shrunk by about 30% afterwards. I do the opposite for the deer rifles (get most accurate powder charge then fiddle w/OAL that is most accurate AND feeds well). I've had OAL changes shrink groups by 50% in my 30-06.
 
I got a NIB Rossi in .357 in August and haven't had any real issues. Occasionally a case expands too much and it takes more force on the lever to extract it than is normal, but other than that it's a great gun. The action isn't as smooth as on my Henry lever action, but works just fine anyway.
 
Hawg - thanks for the info on what you did - I'm filing it away in my "little black book" as I'm hoping to pick a lever action up this next summer in 357 - to go with my New Vaquero - so I can shoot 38 spl in both. I had a Winchester 94 in 30/30 that was made in '67 - so it was one of the "newer ones". The durn thing operated like an engine that someone had thrown a handfull of bolts in to - it just never seemed to work smoothly. I finally sold it. If I'd known your trick, it probably would have made a big difference in it. I was always amazed at the difference in quality and operation with the 94 my father-in-law had that was made in the 20s (I think). Putting his next to mine was like setting a Mercedes next to a Yugo. I wanted his 94 in the worst way but he gave it to his son (my b-in-law) shich is where it should have gone - except he ended up selling it to buy car parts - but then he's an idiot anyway. Thanks for the advice - greatly appreciated! :)
 
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