My Rossi 92 .357 Review

Well I see that over on THR a guy is having amazingly similar problems with another Rossi 357. He ended up suspecting the cartridge carrier just like I did.

That discussion also raised an interesting point: that the 92 was designed for bottle-neck cartridges like 44-40 and this is an issue with straight-walled cases. I don't know.

My conclusion? Rossi build quality is the culprit, but even at its best you will be limited in your choice of ammo rather drastically. I should have known when a cottage industry grew to fix the things that they were trouble.
 
I don't think the cartridge case (bottleneck vs. straight walled) has anything to do with it. OAL does, but that is true of model 1873's and others as well or even more so. 1892's have been around in straight walled pistol calibers for an awful lot of decades now.

Build quality may well be at fault though, as the internals need to be fitted and sized properly to reliably feed. The cost of doing that is one of the reasons (or so I have read) for the demise of Winchester manufacturing in the USA - the 1892 and 1894 designs just required too much labor cost to compete with alternatives. It's also given as one of the reasons why the current Winchesters, Uberti's and such are so pricey these days as well - takes some money to pay skilled hands to properly assemble these rifles even today. I saw a post about a tour of the miroku plant from a few years ago, and they author wrote that he was surprised how much hand assembly was still being used on both the Winchester rifle line and the Citori shotgun line.

If things are misaligned or tolerances way off, it would tend to bind up. Certainly when it is done right it seems to work very reliably, but I don;t know that the SA guns are made with the same kind of QC as the Japanese or Italian ones (the price difference would say they cannot be).
 
I have had my stainless 92 .357 for almost a month now and it has been flawless. I bought mine purely for a fun range gun and it has definitely filled that role. Fit & finish are great, internal parts as well as exterior. Much better than I anticipated for the price. I have fed it many different reloads from SWC to JHP and it has fed everything without a single problem. The accuracy has also been very impressive. As you can tell, I love mine. And believe me I am no Taurus fan, my dads snubby .357 is pure junk. I really hope you get the problems worked out in your rifle though.
 
I wouldn't give up on a 92 just yet. My Rossi 92 will feed ANYTHING. I was pretty suprised when I discovered that the action would feed, empty cases, 38's, 357's, roundnose, semiwadcutters, hollowpoints, reloads, factory, you name it. That rifle is a hungry beast. It even fed a few shells where the bullet wasn't even close to being properly seated. (not to shoot, just for an experiment).

I am extremely satisfied with my rifle. Give it another try.
 
Maybe I will.

I have been looking at the 77/357, the Henry, and the Taurus Thunderbolt alternatives. And all of them are flawed.

I was reading on another forum about the outlandish re-engineering people are having to do to Ruger 77/357 magazines just to get them to function. These guns are really pricey to have such issues. And it's a bolt action.

The Henry seems great, it's just really expensive. And heavy. And out of stock. Seems to have a Marlin 336-inspired design, and nobody complains of reliability woes.

The Thunderbolt is really an awesome idea, but I don't know that any of them are even capable of functioning after reading so many negative reports on the .45 LC version of them. I keep telling myself that the .357 is a little more reliable, but I can't find any info on it. I don't get the impression the original design they're copying was even all that good.

So it's back to the 92. I wish I had the funds for a Miroku-produced one. There is always the Marlin (although I've never, ever seen an 1894c "in the wild" in my part of WV). I don't think they're being produced now.

It's really time for a modern design. There seems to be awesome demand for .357 Mag. long guns.
 
I think it's unfortunate that you ended up getting such a bad gun. Especially when myself and many others have had really good experiences with the same weapon. I guess it's like getting served something gross at a nice restaurant. You really hate to give it a second try.

I'd like to see a semiauto 357 magnum carbine. Something like the Ruger Deerfield only in 357 magnum with 10+ round factory mags available would be sweet.
 
This is creepy, I was having the same thought today.

Along the lines of "M1 Carbine" though, but I'd certainly buy the Deerfield if it were in .357. I can't believe nobody's ever done this.

Also, my luck with the Rossi doesn't surprise me at all. I'm a lemon magnet, having returned quite a few Smith and Wesson / Ruger revolvers in my day for N.I.B. problems.
 
Sorry to hear that. I love mine. It is an older one.
A M1 Carbine type in .357 would be great. Even just .38 Special would be sweet. :)
 
Poor Machine Work

I just bought a Rossi 92 stainless 16" in .357. The gun seems to cycle .357 magnum with no problems. I have not tried .38 special and see no point in it, since the magnum has so little recoil, and the price for both rounds is approx. the same. I decided to replace the semi-longhorn rear and skinny front sights with Marble Arms sights from Midway (#63 short flat top rear and 45MR 3/32 gold front). These sights fit the dovetail perfectly, seem a perfect match with the gun as well as each other, and look very nice on the gun. Midway's price was 2/3 the price of Steve's and $4 shipping vs $10. Also decided to get the stainless steel follower from TheSmithShop.com for $14 + $3 shipping vs. $20 + shipping. This saved a few bucks and seems to be the way to go.

The action on my rifle seems smooth enough, even without being broken in. The biggest complaint I have is something I've seen other people mention. The dovetails for both front and rear sights are not milled perpendicular to the barrel. So much so that it's easily discernible with the naked eye. So much so that it motivated me to write this review. So much so that I may even get motivated enough to post pictures. So much so that I may even sell this gun. It doesn't matter whether you're sighting down the barrel (the way you'd ordinarily hold a rifle when firing) or holding the gun in your lap with your head directly above the sights and looking straight down - either way it sticks out like a sore thumb. The casual observer picking up the gun might not notice, but if you were looking for it, you'd spot it right off the bat. This has caused me to lose a considerable amount of respect for the Rossi. With an action this smooth, you'd think it would be a simple thing to set up the machinery on the dovetails to be at a right angle, or at least close enough to not be discernible with the naked eye.

Eventually I will replace the lawyer button. However, again, I'm having a hard time bringing myself to pay $20 + $10 shipping for a tiny steel button the size of a pea from you-know-who, and will probably fabricate my own. Since this is not a precision sniper rifle, I have no intentions of dumping several hundred/thousand dollars into it. These guns are overrated, and not worth adding $150 + right out-of-the-box to make them prettier or shoot smoother. In fact I'd rather pay the extra for a real Winchester or Henry, and at this point am wondering if I should have.

JMHO, Ken
 
Last edited:
my 357 runs great.... purchased last fall... it is sensitive to the lever stroke...
depending on the type of round...
my 45 colt not sensitive.
 
i just shelled out 550$ for the 20inch stainless, i have heard there are problems with some, but most are flawless, so i was happy to shell out a few extra bucks to buy at the LGS rather than buds in case i had to return

i must say that you have me a little nervous, guess ill know in a couple days

i researched a little before i bought and already know that rossi isnt the way to go if you want optics, but i get tired of all my time at the range spent dialing in optics, so ill be happy to have another option that doesnt have any, i have heard marlin is the way to go if you want a scope
 
I had an LSI/Rossi Puma 92 in .45 colt that worked great, and another one in .454 casull that did, too. Selling them were two of the dumbest gun sales ever. So I also think you may have just gotten a lemon.

Only thing I didn't like was the flimsy top safety.

And if you get a 16", I don't think it would be heavier than other rifles, would it?

Comment and question on Chiappa firearms....

Comment - wow, they have a ton of new and interesting items I had no idea they had.... I've been under a rock.

http://www.chiappafirearms.com/products/68

Question: Chiappa has apparently invented a new rifle caliber called the ".44 WRM". I've never heard of it, and neither has the internet nor my reloading books... Surely this isn't the old rimfire .44 henry type round is it?

http://www.chiappafirearms.com/product/822

I guess they must mean .44 mag (.44 RM), and accidentally threw in a W in there.
 
Last edited:
My old marlin was made in 1981. It does not like wadcutters in 38 special cases but is just fine with them in 357 magnum cases. It is a real shooter. I was given this gun after my first hunt with a soft loaded 30-06 left me on the ground (I blame the ice) Any way my father bought this gun from a close family friend and had my grandfather (a retired gun smith) shorten the barrel to 16.5 inches and shorten the length of pull on the stock. I ended up with a light shooting youth rifle that I have treasured every since. I have taken more deer with this rifle than all my other guns combined.

Last year I let my father use it as he is getting up there in age and his go to 30-06 is starting to be too much for his slight frame. He loves it. The gun will eventually go to my oldest son. He has wanted it for many years. His first deer was shot with this rifle. I know he will keep it in the family. Since my Grandfather passed I have treasured it even more knowing that part of him is with this gun.

The gun has gone through a few scopes but now only carries a pair of peep sights. The concern I have is when my son inherits the gun what I will shoot. I want to replace it with another trapper length 357 magnum but I have not read many good reviews on the newer 357 magnum rifles.
 
Rossi is the Yugo sedan of Brazil. If Rossi (now Taurus) would machine the interior surfaces and parts they would actually work, John Browning did it with a hand file and designed an iconic rifle. Rossi managed to reduce craftsmanship to it's lowest level. I had a Navy arms .357, once I stoned everything inside it worked as expected, it did not ever feed 38's and the barrel was marked .357 so it was not expected.
Steve's is not booked months in advance because these are flawless products, the design is right but the craftsmanship (I remember when that word was used proudly in American manufacturing) at Rossi is totally lacking.
 
Tangentially, let me mention that my IMI timberwolf in .357 (pump) is one for the ages - would be one of the last rifles I gave up. High quality, if ugly. Cheap to shoot, too. Yes, it feeds .38 specials. It's my fastest centerfire rifle right now, and thus by default, it's my official or unofficial WROL rifle. I have a Burris "MTAC" 1.5-6x40 on it - what a fantastic scope. The large dot reticle works with or without batteries, and is great for CQB on 1.5x. But there's also a fine center aiming point for precise shots (also works even when batts are dead). :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top