Rossi 92 .357 Lever Gun

M

Monty

New member
Picked one of these up used in great shape this weekend at a gunshow for a fair price. Have always wanted a lever action .357 and my first choice, the Marlin, is near impossible to find around here. Figured I would play with the Rossi a while and if I like the basic action, I know I'll love the Marlin and it will be next on my list. Interested in experience from Rossi users and what to expect whan I finally get a chance to take this out to the range, few weeks at least I figure. Have a stash of .357 125gr JHP quality reloads that I plan on feeding it first. How do these normally do with .38 Specials, says so right on the barrel, must work, right? :) Any option on improving the sights on this thing? Someone make a ghost right type that will fit it? I'm not expecting a whole lot, just hope it works reasonably well and planning on having some fun and learning a lever action, my first one. How about cleaning? I don't have any kind of manual.

Thanks, Monty
 
A buddy of mine has one. He bought it on my recomendation since he`s left handed and the Rossi is top eject. It seemed well made and it was pretty accurate. It had feeding problems though. It was fine with .38 round nose but jammed with any JHP,JSP and all .357 ammo. He sent it back to Rossi but it was right after the takeover and it got shipped from one place to another. They actually lost it for a short time ! They finally repaired it and sent it back to him. Now it`s better but still not 100%. I suspect a decent smith could straighten it right out though. Marcus
 
I recently picked up a stainless model.It shot 158 gr.Blazer .357`s great but wouldn`t feed .38spl reliably.Accuracy was excellent.The action could be smoother but being new I`m hoping it will improve with use.My only complaint is that the loading gate is kind of small for my fat fingers to be able to shove rounds into the feed tube.I also would like to improve the sights on mine if anyone knows of a source.
 
Hmm, seems like it might be a crap shoot with the feeding ability of this rifle. I have a Navy Arms '92 short rifle, which as far as I know is made by Rossi. The smith where I bought it told me it wouldn't feed .38's at all, so stay with .357 Magnum. Ironically, my particular rifle feeds 38's better than .357's! I use nickle plated cases and 158 flat point plated bullets.

As far as the action, mine was also a little stiff and "notchy" when I first got it. Spent some time cleaning and drying everything in the action I could get my hands on, then lubed it with a slightly abrasive moly-lube grease I've sometimes used for transmission and transaxle assembly. That seemed to do the trick. It works much smoother now.
 
Two questions

How do you clean this?

How do you sight this in? I've never used a lever gun with these ladder/step type sights? Start low/high/middle? Going to be using medium to hot .357 Mag 125 JHP to start.

Thanks, Monty
 
WOW

Yep, that sure is detailed. Thanks. OK, new question for Rossi owners. How do you clean yours? I can't imagine everyone take it completely down for every cleaning. It sounds like more that I would want to get into and a good reason to upgrade to a Marlin for high volume shooting (which probably isn't me).
 
IMO smokeless firearms don't need a detailed disassembly and cleaning every time you shoot them, more like every 400 to 600 rds. In fact, I'd say more guns have been damaged by unnecessary cleaning than any other single cause. All you need to do is run half a dozen patches of BreakFree or Hoppes down the barrel and wipe off the outside. If the action looks dirty give it a shot of brake cleaner, then relubricate. I've got well over 400 rds thru my Rossi '92 (mostly low powered lead .38 Spl handloads) and have never had it disassembled down to it's component molecules..... heck, I've never even had the bolt out of it. -- Kernel
 
I agree with you 100% Kernel.Mine has less then 100 rounds through it and it was all jacketed ammo so I`ve done nothing more then run a patch through the bore.The link I posted has enough info in it to become a certified Rossi mechanic.
 
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