Ok, actually it's not much of one, but I did finally get the gun this evening (after eons of waiting) and I put a modest amount of ammo through it.
First Impressions - this gun is very, very nice looking, having a mirror-bright stainless finish that was very, very impressively applied. I only found 2 blemishes - I saw what looks to be a very small brush mark on the left side of the topstrap, which really wasn't even all that noticeable. The second was a straight-line scratch on the bottom of the side of the frame near where the cylinder rests when open. I thought the darn cylinder mouth was making this, as I revolved it to load cartridges, but on closer inspection the cylinder wasn't even close to touching the frame and rubbing it. Otherwise though, the gun is a beautiful little creature.
Size - this gun is a 6-shot, though is quite tiny. About on the order of a Detective Special, which for me is the ideal compromise of "big enough to shoot but small enough to carry". It fits in my pocket, although it REALLY felt at home in my waistband. The gun weighs the same as an SP101, so it has enough heft to soak up recoil well.
Timing - while at rest, the cylinder has a lot of play to it. I was concerned, until I cocked it on each chamber, and, lo and behold, the thing locked up pretty well. Not as tightly as my Ruger, but then the cylinder bolt wasn't making that ugly "drag line" all around the cylinder either. I think they actually fitted it. Most chambers locked up tightly but a couple were a little less tight, though not loose. I thought this locking acceptable but not ideal. I worried a little about it.
Barrel-cylinder gap - looked ideal.
Trigger - SA was light and crisp, every bit as good as the best S&W revolvers I've owned. Lock time seemed fast, and the hammer falling did not throw my muzzle off like it can on most of my factory-oversprung Rugers. DA was very Ruger-like; it was of medium weight and about 3/4 through the pull it stacked and then let off very smoothly at the last split second. I worried about it a little, too, since I don't like my Rugers DA pulls.
Fit-Finish - Excellent, on par with S&W, maybe better. I noticed the crane-to-frame lockup was better on this gun than my Redhawk, which leaves a big gap there.
Grips - a little long for concealed carry, and somewhat chunky, but very comfy despite the fact my fingers didn't fit the finger grooves. Very comfy in DA firing.
Sights - kinda typical for a snubby. Sight picture was very tight, and stainless finish, although bead-blasted dull on the topstrap, still was hard to see. However, a good front ramp, being large and having nice serrations.
Firing Test - ammo consisted of 148 gr. Wadcutters (reloaded), Winchester 125 gr. +P Personal Defense, and Winchester 110 gr. .357 Magnums.
I was a bit apprehensive, wondering what kind of problems this pistol would have, being so cheap and all. But functioning was perfect in every way. I began with the WC's, which had almost .22-like recoil in this gun. Unfortunately, I couldn't see the sights very well. I tried painting one, then both with a black marker, but that didn't help either. I left my white paint at home unfortunately, and my groups were pretty much indicative of a fuzzy sight picture. I'd get 3 or 4 in a reasonable group and then the others would be far off from it. I'm thinking, oh great, a couple of the chambers are off.
But then I got the idea to drape a little adhesive flourescent orange bullseye on my front sight, and the groups suddenly became more consistent. I also began concentrating on a more consistent grip, and my groups with all the ammo at 50 feet from a benchrest were in the 3.5" range, with usually 4 being into about 2". Keep in mind I still couldn't see my rear sight, not having anything to brighten it up.
Recoil with the magnums was surprisingly light, more blast than kick. I was even shooting some great DA groups (1.5" 3 shots at 21 feet) with it, which I never expected. I guess the DA wasn't all that bad after all given a 2-handed hold. I wouldn't go much over 110 gr. mags. though.
I thought that was pretty decent accuracy for such a short tube and sighting problems.
So, if you're wondering just how the heck I got such a nice gun for so little money, and what the catch is - well, the darn thing didn't shoot to point-of-aim at all.
My groups were very consistent, being about 9 inches low and 5 inches to the left. If this sounds crappy, I did some experimenting with my sight hold and brought them up even with the bull, though they were still left of it somewhat.
Conclusion - well worth the meager sum I paid for it. Fact is, I can't believe the level of quality I got. Heck, the chambers were even polished, allowing even the hot Mag. empties to fall right out with one push on the ejector.
Sure, it isn't perfect, but I didn't pay for an S&W either, so I'll just cope with it. Additionally, my gun lacks a lot of the annoying qualities of the major brands, such as mediocre fit/finish. I call it my "poor man's Magnum Carry".
I would recommend it to anyone, and plan on buying another Rossi product some day. With some more testing, this slick little gun will be my new CCW piece, which is as highly as I can recommend anything.
First Impressions - this gun is very, very nice looking, having a mirror-bright stainless finish that was very, very impressively applied. I only found 2 blemishes - I saw what looks to be a very small brush mark on the left side of the topstrap, which really wasn't even all that noticeable. The second was a straight-line scratch on the bottom of the side of the frame near where the cylinder rests when open. I thought the darn cylinder mouth was making this, as I revolved it to load cartridges, but on closer inspection the cylinder wasn't even close to touching the frame and rubbing it. Otherwise though, the gun is a beautiful little creature.
Size - this gun is a 6-shot, though is quite tiny. About on the order of a Detective Special, which for me is the ideal compromise of "big enough to shoot but small enough to carry". It fits in my pocket, although it REALLY felt at home in my waistband. The gun weighs the same as an SP101, so it has enough heft to soak up recoil well.
Timing - while at rest, the cylinder has a lot of play to it. I was concerned, until I cocked it on each chamber, and, lo and behold, the thing locked up pretty well. Not as tightly as my Ruger, but then the cylinder bolt wasn't making that ugly "drag line" all around the cylinder either. I think they actually fitted it. Most chambers locked up tightly but a couple were a little less tight, though not loose. I thought this locking acceptable but not ideal. I worried a little about it.
Barrel-cylinder gap - looked ideal.
Trigger - SA was light and crisp, every bit as good as the best S&W revolvers I've owned. Lock time seemed fast, and the hammer falling did not throw my muzzle off like it can on most of my factory-oversprung Rugers. DA was very Ruger-like; it was of medium weight and about 3/4 through the pull it stacked and then let off very smoothly at the last split second. I worried about it a little, too, since I don't like my Rugers DA pulls.
Fit-Finish - Excellent, on par with S&W, maybe better. I noticed the crane-to-frame lockup was better on this gun than my Redhawk, which leaves a big gap there.
Grips - a little long for concealed carry, and somewhat chunky, but very comfy despite the fact my fingers didn't fit the finger grooves. Very comfy in DA firing.
Sights - kinda typical for a snubby. Sight picture was very tight, and stainless finish, although bead-blasted dull on the topstrap, still was hard to see. However, a good front ramp, being large and having nice serrations.
Firing Test - ammo consisted of 148 gr. Wadcutters (reloaded), Winchester 125 gr. +P Personal Defense, and Winchester 110 gr. .357 Magnums.
I was a bit apprehensive, wondering what kind of problems this pistol would have, being so cheap and all. But functioning was perfect in every way. I began with the WC's, which had almost .22-like recoil in this gun. Unfortunately, I couldn't see the sights very well. I tried painting one, then both with a black marker, but that didn't help either. I left my white paint at home unfortunately, and my groups were pretty much indicative of a fuzzy sight picture. I'd get 3 or 4 in a reasonable group and then the others would be far off from it. I'm thinking, oh great, a couple of the chambers are off.
But then I got the idea to drape a little adhesive flourescent orange bullseye on my front sight, and the groups suddenly became more consistent. I also began concentrating on a more consistent grip, and my groups with all the ammo at 50 feet from a benchrest were in the 3.5" range, with usually 4 being into about 2". Keep in mind I still couldn't see my rear sight, not having anything to brighten it up.
Recoil with the magnums was surprisingly light, more blast than kick. I was even shooting some great DA groups (1.5" 3 shots at 21 feet) with it, which I never expected. I guess the DA wasn't all that bad after all given a 2-handed hold. I wouldn't go much over 110 gr. mags. though.
I thought that was pretty decent accuracy for such a short tube and sighting problems.
So, if you're wondering just how the heck I got such a nice gun for so little money, and what the catch is - well, the darn thing didn't shoot to point-of-aim at all.
My groups were very consistent, being about 9 inches low and 5 inches to the left. If this sounds crappy, I did some experimenting with my sight hold and brought them up even with the bull, though they were still left of it somewhat.
Conclusion - well worth the meager sum I paid for it. Fact is, I can't believe the level of quality I got. Heck, the chambers were even polished, allowing even the hot Mag. empties to fall right out with one push on the ejector.
Sure, it isn't perfect, but I didn't pay for an S&W either, so I'll just cope with it. Additionally, my gun lacks a lot of the annoying qualities of the major brands, such as mediocre fit/finish. I call it my "poor man's Magnum Carry".
I would recommend it to anyone, and plan on buying another Rossi product some day. With some more testing, this slick little gun will be my new CCW piece, which is as highly as I can recommend anything.
