Rossi Model R92 Question

W

Waspinator

New member
Hi,

I've been itching to get a lever action in .357 for a while. I'm still in the research phase at this moment. I wanted to focus on the Rossi's for this thread.

Question.

It seems like every thread I read about them, people talk about them as "a tinkerers gun" or "Think of them as a kit gun" or "They are a starting point, but require work". Just about every thread I come across links to a DVD, recommends replacing springs and talk about removing metal with files.

Is there anyone out there that runs their Rossi lever action how it came out of the box? It is truly that horrible and needs to be worked on, or is more of a refinement thing?

Thoughts?
 
I run my 20" the way it came out of the box. A little work would not hurt it but the only thing I did was set and watch TV for a night while cycling the action. That smoothed it out enough for now. It is a lot of fun to shoot. Load development has been a little slow. It shoots the lighter bullets way high unless they are pushed close to the upper pistol load limits. I will probably take it down and look at smoothing things up at some point but did not feel I needed to before shooting it a bunch.
 
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Both my new .357 Rossi/Braztech 16" Big Loop Carbine and my new .45 LSI/Rossi 16" Trapper were just fine, w/o any work.

The alterations I made were strictly pro-forma choices I made: I replaced the bolt-top safties on both - one with a drop-in bolt peep sight I made; the other with a flat plug, so as to clear the Williams 5D-94AE receiver sight I installed, via D/T-ing one 6-48 hole atop each receiver sidewall, just ahead of the recoil lug recess'.

FWIW, both peep sights quickly zeroed using the issue (height) front sights.


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Same as I bought it and I would buy it again in a flash.

2008 LSI/Rossi Puma 92 20" Octagon Color Case .38/.357 MAG.

It's been good from the box. Haven't had to make any improvements.

Sweet!;)
 
Mine hasn't been tinkered with

I've got the stainless, 20 carbine and it is fun to shoot, accurate and a featherweight. Love that rifle.
They are a tremendous value in firearms these days.
 
My 44-40 is an older one and the action was a little rough. You had to really slam the lever open to get the carrier to rise. I filled the action with white lithium grease and worked it a few hours. Its slicker than snot on a porcelain doorknob now.
 
Through the years I have had many Rossi's brought to me to smooth out the action or just make them work. The insides of the pre-Taurus guns are generally poorly machined and fitted. I have a 16" .45 Colt that I bought a couple of years ago and it required some stoning to smooth it out and enhance feeding. I replaced the idiot safety with a smooth button and the plastic follower with one from a 44-40 Winchester, it now is a fun shooter and I have had no feeding problems but have not run it hard either. The current rifles are no Winchester but are not priced like one either.
 
You can usually shoot them just fine as is. Like any Taurus product, they are the 'luck of the draw' when it comes to QC. They are very stingy with parts, too.

Some 92's show a preference for 38's over 357's, or vice versa; some will not tolerate SWC's while other feed them just fine. Roll the dice.

The one thing I would definitely change on any of them is the magazine follower. The OEM part is plastic and in my opinion, doomed to fail under hard use.
 
Mines not a .357 but I took my 92, 16" .44mag out to the range today and it was impressive right out of the box. I have no intention of doing anything to it other than replacing the plastic magazine follower (why do companies do stuff like that?) like Sarge said. Also like Chaz88 said, mine shoots the lighter .44 special rounds high.
 
Rossi 92s

I have the 16" carbines in 357, 44 mag, & 45 Colt. Yes, the guns will function right out of the box, but they can be smoother and more enjoyable with some rework. I got the CD from Steve's Gunz and thought it was very worthwhile.
I enjoyed working on them and it's a great way to become familiar with the internals of the gun.
 
I've had two, and I didn't screw with either of them - and I'm a tinkerer.

Only thing I didn't like was that cheesy top-safety. Now, had I known HOW to disable that safety without harming the operation of the rifle, I'd have done it, but never got around to looking it up.
 
Unlicensed Dremel said:
Only thing I didn't like was that cheesy top-safety.
Now, had I known HOW to disable that safety without harming the operation of the rifle, I'd have done it, but never got around to looking it up.
Click to expand...


* Open lever/bolt

* Tap "out" the safety retainer pin, the only pin in the bolt's locking lug recess, from the bolt

* Lift up/out the bolt-top safety, taking care to capture the detent spring & plunger ball, before they go walkabout.

* DONE - unless you care to make or buy a replacement plug, so there's no gaping hole left in the bolt top.

( A drop-in safety replacement plug may be had from: www.stevesgunz.com )



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My 24" R92 is definitely going to need some work. It shoots 8" high and 6" left right out of the box with anything but the most pitiful cowboy loads. I'm going to need a much taller front sight, as the rear sight is already bottomed out. I'll need to replace the plastic follower and load gate as well. No, it's not a Winny, but it's going to shoot one way or the other. Model 92's don't grow on trees.
 
I replaced the safety with a Gunz peep sight. The action seems to be smoothing out just fine without any special help. I'm not a CAS shooter, so it works good enough for me.
 
Just got done going through my 357, which 'worked' with factory 357s but got sticky with reloads. Cartridge guide spacing was .375, well under SAAMI specs for the cartridge. The guides themselves had sharp burrs along their top edge and the carrier had two burrs right in the trough where the rim travels, as evidenced by brass all over them. The carrier and guides looked like they had been blued, straight from the mould, and bolted in the gun. The spacing is .382 now and all feed components are smooth as a baby's bottom. I also deburred the loading port, which would draw blood if you got in a hurry. At over 500 bucks, you might expect some of this to be already done.

I really like this carbine, it a hair over 2MOA with a hot 140 grain XTP load and it's plenty accurate for small game with a 125 grain RNFP. If this little safari around its insides get it running slick, it will be time well spent.


2AM edit- don't buy one of these dogs. The last one I had was a pre-Taurus 45 Colt and it was real good. Apparently the T-word on the barrel is a curse..
 
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As it turns out, 90% of the problem was the carrier which was presenting 357's too high into the chamber. I probably over modified the cartridge guides for best function, before figuring out that the carrier was at fault. I'll replace them with Winchester-repro parts at the earliest opportunity.

The rifle now feeds my .357 lead-bullet small game load and the XTP hunting load OK, but the lever must be worked with authority. So it stays. I've got armorer creds and/or experience on a half-dozen guns... so I should probably thank Taurus for my new black belt in 92 Winchester.
 
I recently bought a Rossi M92 in 45 Colt. The only hitch was that it didn't feed right. That problem is attributed to oil in that mag tube and the plastic follower.
I ordered a stainless follower from The Smith Shop and then detail stripped the rifle. When I took the mag spring and follower out I discovered that they had put two followers in.

The action seemed to drag a bit right out of the box. When I detail stripped it I found that the lube they used was somewhere between an oil and a grease. I removed all of that and re lubricated with Break Free. That slicked it up pretty good.

I hate that crescent butt plate. While it is correct for that style rifle it does not fit someone of my size. Right now it's ok, but when I start shooting my 310 grain hunting loads I can see a problem, at least in shirt sleeves. Probably a Boyds stock set in in the future.

I like it so well I ordered a 357 rifle. I did that so I can shoot my little 125 grain cast 38 load just for practice and kicks. I may allow a 12 year old boy to use it during deer season if he can hit with it.

Ohio just allowed pistol caliber rifles for deer hunting. I bought the 45 colt, a 45-70 Rio Grande and now this 357
 
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