Rossi = Taurus?

[David Scott]

At the range this weekend, a friend showed up with a Rossi .38 special. On the frame it said "Made in Brazil By Taurus". Ah ha, I thought. The Rossis are a bit less expensive -- anyone know how well they work? This one looked OK but it was right out of the dealer's case.

Also seen at the range: be advised that the Taurus .38s with 2" ported barrels emit a grapefruit-sized ball of flame around the muzzle when firing +Ps.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

Rossi and Taurus have merged their marketing and production efforts. I don't know if this is true merger, or a practical one, but unless you're buying a used gun (or one that's set on the shelf for quite sometime) its a moot point.

Getting a used Rossi serviced may be problematic, as Interarms is no longer suppporting the guns sold under their name. Perhaps Taurus will do it.

YOu'll notice that the Raging Bull, originally a Rossi gun, is now sold by Taurus as a "Taurus" weapon.

 

[George Hill]

I believe you can go ahead and throw Imbel into that mix as well... Same guys that make the Lower Recievers for the Springfield 1911s.

I hope folks dont get worried about that...
Porshe, Audi, and Volkswagen all share same manufacturing at various points. Infact - look under the hood and you will see some parts stamped with all 3 logos. (FWI The Audi A4 and A6 share the same platform as the VW Passat - and similar engines. In fact you can get the Passat with I belive the same engine as the A6 for much much less money and 2,000 factory rebate - so if you want that A6 you can have the equivilant for as much as 8 grand less... and with that much scratch left over you can buy your favorite TFL Admin a new HK UMC!)

[This message has been edited by George Hill (edited September 11, 2000).]

 

[Mom T]

Last I heard, Taurus bought (or aquired, whatever) Rossi. They are now being run by and imported by Taurus USA. The Raging Bull, as far as I know, has always been a Taurus product. However, the Winchester model 62A clones that taurus now sells were indeed manufactured by Rossi. The new rossi revolvers (all two of them, or four if you count the two finishes for each) now incorporate the Taurus proprietary locking system which consists of a keyed lock in the hammer. The grips on the new rossi revolvers have been changed from a square butt to a round butt configuration.

My room mate recently purcghased the 357 2" revolver in stainless. The overall quality and workmanship appear to better than that of my three year old Rossi model 518 .22 LR revolver. The cylinder of the newer gun has much less side to side play than the older one. Overall fit and finish on the new revolvers seem to be of similar quality to the Taurus revolvers.

My roomate got his gun for $250 brand new. The comparable Taurus was about $60 bucks more.

The only disappointment is that Rossi no longer makes the model 518 and 515. They were small frame 4" barreled stainless steel revolvers in .22LR and .22WMR respectively. To me, they have a better feel and balance than the S&W model 63 and the Taurus model 94/941. This is probably due to the heavy rib atop the barrel and the heavy underlug.\

Good shooting.