Rossi 92 quality and value?

S

sixgunnin

New member
Are the Rossi 92's a quality levergun? I have been thinking I will be getting one in .45 colt to go with my Vaquero. What is a average price on a plain one?
 
I purchased an M92 Rossi in 2008 in 38/357. It's been trouble-free from day one.

I'd buy another without hesitation.
 
I highly recommend you get one worked over for cowboy action shooting. They do well after a good action job from a CAS savvy smith.
 
The current ones are far nicer than the one a decade ago. Well made and finished, wood is a little plain. With a little looking should be able to find a new one under $450.
 
The older ones need a little smoothing but are IMO excellent guns. I never had a minutes worth of trouble with mine once I got it smoothed up. Before that the action was stiff and you had to really slam the lever open to get the carrier to come up. Now you can run cartridges through it with one finger. The newer ones are a lot smoother but have the lawyers safety. Reassembly is a bit of a learning experience.
 
I bought one on gun broker from a dealer in Arizona who had already done an action job on it. I use it for CAS and its never let me down. Its smooth and fast. Some of the CAS crowd prefer a '73, but I like my 92. One big plus is that the '92 action is a LOT stronger than the '73, which means I can use my 'Ruger Only' handholds for pig hunting. The action is so strong its been used for .454 Casual.
 
I have 4 (four) of them. After taking them apart, and debburing/cleaning the action, they all work excellently, no feed, or eject problems. Just consider the a kind of "kit" gun. They will shoot better than I can. I would buy them again. Go for it .

Rebel Dave
 
Ok, sounds good. What is the lawyers safety?
Click to expand...


extar3_zpshdvmvsij.jpg


You can remove it and they sell a kit that will put a plug in it's place but it still doesn't look right. I'd try to find one of the old Interarms Rossi's and slick it up.

My pics still aren't working. :mad: If you don't see it right click the box and open it in a new tab.
 
I have one in .44mag. I would buy it again, so much fun to shoot and although a little rough (but has smoothed out over use) it is reliable.
 
I have a newer Rossi 92, I bought it used (but like new) for $385 from a local gun shop. Slicked it up for CAS and used it for a year. Switched to a Cody-matic Uberti 1873 which, for me, is much, much faster.

My issue with the Rossi is there is no lever-actuated trigger block, so it is very easy to hit the trigger before the lever is fully closed and the hammer follows the bolt closed and does not fire the round., You have to either have the presence of mind to cock the hammer manually and fire or cycle the lever again, jacking out a live round. The 1873 wont release the hammer until the lever is closed, reducing this issue.

On the downside of the toggle link guns (1866/1873) is if you are running them fast, and your timing is off, you can open the bolt as the round is firing, causing an out of battery discharge, pinching your finger between the trigger an the lever. Note the world record for the 1873 is ten rounds in 1.57 sec. so it is certainly fast enough.

The 45s seem to handle CAS speeds better than the .38/.357, the latter being more OAL sensitive. Guidance from stevesgunz.com can help the 92 run very fast, but operator needs to be more skilled than running an 1873 at the same speed.

If you are not shooting CAS, by all means, the Rossi is a great gun, very strong and not prone to out-of battery firing like the toggle link guns. I still like mine, but dont use it for CAS anymore.
 
I settled on the Rossi 92, because I didn't really have any other choice. No one else seems to make a repeating rifle chambered in .454 Casull (except for expensive custom guns). I don't know if you wanna go that route, but I've shot .45 Colt ammo through mine with no problems. And then you'd have the option of loading it with heavy thumpers as well. It's very similar to a .45-70 (with factory loads) then, except it only weighs 5 1/2 pounds and holds 11 shots. Think about that one for a minute...

The machining is very crisp internally, to the point it could use a little polishing just to soften the edges. The bolt locks up solid with no play.

I wish I could tell you about its accuracy, but I just got Lasik done 2 months ago & have not shot it yet since. Before that, I couldn't even see the sights.
 
I've got one here in 45 Colt, and it's a really accurate lever gun. At 50 yds..which is about all my old eyes can handle with open sights...it will shoot a 1" group. Sure surprised me !
 
Have an older 357mag Interarms Rossi 92 bought used about 5 years ago from Gunbroker. It is one of my most favorite guns to shoot. Just loads of fun. Using a starting load (mouse fart) for 38spl, it's suppressor quiet, no hearing pro needed.

24435924656_4800a2d4b9_b.jpg


Previous owner painted the stocks black. I stripped them and re-stained them. Still need to refinish them a little better as I'm not happy with the result of using polyurethane on them.
 
Seems the .357 Rossis are hard to find these days as well as the Marlins.

.44 magnum? Sure thing bub! But the much cheaper and more versatile .38 spc/.357M seem to be a rare breed in factory new lever guns these days.
 
Probably waiting on the next shipment from Brazil. I'd like one in each caliber - 44 mag, 45 Colt, and 454.

When I bought mine I held out for an old one - not being a Taurus fan. Well I wouldn't worry about Taurus buying out Rossi with this gun. The 92's work with a little fluff & buffing and there is plenty of support out there for them.
 
What is a lawyers' safety

If a design may be (ahem) improved and isn't improved, then the manufacturer is introducing an dangerous product into the stream of commerce. This makes the manufacturer and distributor vulnerable to a suit should if someone is injured or killed. To stave off the lawsuits, manually operated safetys (like hammer blocking push buttons you find on the newer Marlin lever actions) are introduced into reproductions. Yay?
 

These are the first 3 shots out of a Rossi .45 I have here. I picked up a bag of old reloads with jhp's I had made up for something or other sometime in the past, and headed out to the range. Needless to say, I was surprised at what it would do.
 
I loaded some 160 gr. powder coated cas bullets up to top loads on the Hodgdon site. They smack iron with authority, and the rainbow trajectory pretty much goes away. It's a Navy Arms 20" octagon, which is pretty much a Rossi of that period, with better wood and flame-job casehardening. What's not to love? It's arguably more versatile than a 38/.357, though not quite as economical. For a handloader, it's mighty close money.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top