Which 92 clone?

[Joe S.]

I am going to be replacing my Marlin 1894CP with another gun. I am thinking of a 92 clone.

I like the Browning because it seems they are truest to JMB's design and they dont have any safties or rebounding hammer, but i hear they dont cycle 38's well.

I've had Rossi 92's in other calibers and they have been fine but that safety... Ugh. Not sure how they do with 38's tho..

The Winchester 92... Rebounding hammer... Tang safety... And i have no idea how they shoot.

Or should i just stick to the 94C and get a Cowboy...

I'm torn... Part of me wants something new. Part of me thinks i should stick with what i know.

What are yall's experience with the Winchester and Brownings? My opinion is set about the Rossi's so no need to discuss those.

[Malamute]

I think feeding 38's is a matter of individual guns fitting and tuning. If a 92 can feed 38's, other 92's should be able to be tuned to feed them.

If I couldnt have a Browning, I'd do a Winchester and simplify the action, or at least tune it to reduce the rebound tension for better ignition.

[Joe S.]

That is very possible. I'd sure be disappointed tho! Ha

[Blaine]

Right now, I have an 1894 in .44 mag, and I'll prolly keep it.

If I had money, I'd get this one for .38/357
I've heard there is no safety, or floppy hammer.

http://www.winchesterguns.com/products/ ... mid=534200

[Joe S.]

Not sure i want a 73 to drag thru the brush... There again i dont "drag" any gun thru the brush.

[earlmck]

Man, isn't it great to have all these options?

The old Scotsman here would most likely buy another Rossi, plug the silly safety, slick it up via the Stevesgunz.com video, plonk a receiver sight on and call that wonderful. My present Rossi feeds the 38's just fine, as well as factory spec 357's but gets balky with .357's loaded a little longish like my revolver likes.

[AJMD429]

Or should i just stick to the 94C and get a Cowboy...

Bingo...!

The old Scotsman here would most likely buy another Rossi, plug the silly safety, slick it up via the Stevesgunz.com video, plonk a receiver sight on and call that wonderful.

Not a bad option either...

[Griff]

Anything can be built on a Monday or Friday. Get what you like, that fits the type of shootin' you're going to be doin'. Both Marlins and Rossis have known issues on a case-by-case basis.

The Marlin Cowboy is a nice rifle... but they have that ugly cross-bolt safety. I took a 1978 Marlin 44M and got a 45Colt Cowboy barrel for it... best of both... great octagon barrel and no ugly safety. I 'spose you could do the same with a .38. In addition, on mine, I modified the carrier so it'll feed a 45ACP length case... and run the Cowboy45Special thru it! I can now load the same bullet & powder charge in my 1911 & Marlin.

My 2 older Rossis run both .38 Spl and .357Mag thru them. One will intermittently pop a .38 out the top if you run it fast and HARD... but if you're smooth, so's it!

The possibilities are almost limitless! I'm sure that this wasn't any help. But, hey! Don't you need an excuse for another gun!???

[JerryB]

I voted for the Rossi 92 and I'll discuss it too. My old Interarms .357 feeds all the .38 and .357 bullets I load and it stays by the back door except when it goes in the truck with me.

[Joe S.]

Did they make the Rossi 357 w/o the safety on top??

[Joe S.]

Wow. Not one vote cor the Winny 92...

[plowboy 45]

From my experience, not expertise, cause I'm not
I have a Browning B92 in 44 mag it's real perty, so I don't drag it around to much, but I do love it
I voted Rossi 92, I've got one of those also in 45LC. Aint to perty, so I filed the wood down to match the metal, accidentally got on the metal, so sanded on it to, come outa the box dead on, and only cost a little south of 500 dollars, the Browning cost 750.00 used, but now it looks a lot better than the Rossi outa the box, that safety thing aint no big deal, if I can do away with it anybody can
The Rossi now looks a hundred years old, and it don't matter if it gets drug around, it goes everywhere I go sept the mall 2day, and they both shoot everything I put in them, correct cartridges that is

[plowboy 45]

Sorry for bad picture takin

[Joe S.]

Thanks for all the comments!!

[vancelw]

Don't forget the Browning 53 if 32-20 is to your liking. They can be had for around 800. Real pretty and no safety or rebounding hammer.

[Joe S.]

Thanks. Havent seen one of those.

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

This feeding thing comes up all the time so here is some info I pass on to my customers.

All lever action, pump action and semi-auto long guns and handguns are ammo length and bullet shape sensitive to some degree. For instance, you don't think about it much if you are dealing with a rifle cal. like 3006, 308 or 223 and even 30-30.Those are bottleneck calibers. Bottlenecks always feed better than straightwall ammo, whether it is a rifle cal or a pistol cal. That's because you have a small diameter bullet going into a really big hole by comparison, the bottleneck chamber being much like a funnel. The original Winchester 92's were designed to work with bottleneck ammo in the 1.5" to 1.6" OAL with round nose flat point bullets. Ammo like 44-40, 38-40, 32-20 and 25-20.
The 92's in modern cals are more like semi auto pistols. Thereis just some ammo they aren't going to work well with.
What that means is they may not work well with really long 357’s. (They tend to hit the top inside of the chamber before they make the turn into the chamber) or really short 38’s. The most common problem with the shorter 38's is the gun will throw out live rounds with the empty's. Or, stovepipe them. This is because the shorter 38 coming on to the carrier from the tube can bounce forward enough that the rim is too close to the rim slots in the guides and when you lever it fast the carrier just catapults them up and out with the empty.
Best OAL is in the 1.5" to 1.6" with RNFP style bullets or bullets that have that profile. (like many jacketed hollow points)

One of the things I like about the Rossi over the new wins or the B92's is Rossi figured out a long time ago how to improve feeding with the straight wall ammo like 357 or 44mag. They changed the angle of the rim slots to help bring the back end up sooner. For that reason they tend to be less ammo sensitive than the others.

Did they make the Rossi 357 w/o the safety on top??

Yes, the Rossi's have been made since the mid 1960's. All of them without the safety until about 2000.

Don't sweat the safety, makes a great place to mount a peep sight.

[Joe S.]

Thanks sir! I appreciate the info. Sounds like a bigplus for the Rossi there with the redesigned slot.

[1894c]

I shoot and hunt with a Rossi R-92 in .357/.38, 20" bbl. It shoots and cycles everything, and it's my favorite woods loafing gun. I've owned Marlins's (like them too) but an considering getting another Rossi in stainless with a 16" bbl....the guys on this forum have the Rossi's figured out, and if you search out their advice in the archives you'll not only learn allot, but appreciate the Rossi--by the way "Nate Kiowa Jones" sells a plug that will replace that safety, it's real easy to replace--heck I did it... :)

plowboy 45 -- really like the looks of your "100 year old" Rossi

[Carlsen Highway]

I just voted with my money and bought another Rossi carbine in .44/40 two weeks ago. Lovely little rifles. The Browning 92's ones are rare here, (never seen one in person) and cost way too much compared to the Brazilian rifles. And really, I have had three Rossi's. I dont know what kind of class of South American guns you guys get over here, but all of them have been fitted and finished as well as the Winchester 94's I have had (except for some of the internals, like the cartridge lifter), stock fit,blueing etc, and have functioned without issue.
My father is a Winchester man, and so I couldn't own a Marlin without getting disowned. It's something I have had to live with. I get by so far.

[gamekeeper]

Before I stupidly sold my Rossi It fed .38spl and .357mag all day long without a hitch. I always bought factory loads but also used a friend reloads and I can't remember ever having a problem, like I said I was stupid to sell it.

[superchicken]

I like the Rossis and agree with Nate that they are likely your best bet for having one that reliably feeds 38 specials. Honestly, they appear to have worked out a lot of the problems they've had in the past. Action-wise, they are a lot slicker out of the box than they used to be. They still have that silly plastic magazine follower and are overspending in the magazine. Those are both easily fixable. They also have that stupid safety on the bolt which is also fixable. A friend of mine has owned several and we had a loading gate spring break on one last summer. In the last year or so, Rossi has appeared to work out their parts availability issue. He got two loading gates (never hurts to have a spare) in the mail from them in short order and had it back up and running quickly. The biggest issue with them currently seems to be the attachment of the barrel bands which can result in vertical stringing of shots. Both will likely need a little tweaking. The screw on the front band may need a little shortening, and the rear barrel band attachment is often something you would see done by a drunken orangutan. The screw is usually teaked off and the barrel band is often crunched when its bolted in. You may need to file a bit on the barrel to improve the screw clearance and you may have to bend or flip the barrel band. All of these are fixable and Rossi may be addressing it in future production. They appear to be listening to feedback from their American customers these days. All considered, Rossis often require a little work and investment to get them running perfectly but even with that investment, you'll likely get a gun running well for way less than a Browning and without the rebounding hammer of the Japanese Winchester. I frankly cannot warm to the Marlins because of the decisions of the new owners and some still remaining quality issues.

[Lastmohecken]

I had a Marlin in 44 mag and it ended up being a jammer, gave up on it. Had a Winchester 94 angle eject in 44 mag, and shot it in a few cowboy matches, years ago, and owned it for quite a few years, and it always worked good with my handloads.

Had a Winchester .357 carbine and it always worked good, and I would still have it, but I eventually bought a Uberti 73 in .357 and sold the Winchester to make money for an expensive old side by side.

I tried two different Rossi's in .357 and tried everything in them, both were terrible, accurate but jammed like a son of a gun, made the dealer take them back.

Bought a Browning 92 in .44 mag and it's butter smooth with factory Magtech's 240gr softnoses, and it shoots them so good, I have never even tried anything else in it. I can't see the sights that well on the Browning, but I have not wanted to drill holes for a receiver sight, and just haven't wanted to change it, but I might in the future.

I really like my Uberti 73 after I tuned it up a little in .357, and the little Browning will probably stay with me until I don't need it anymore.

[Ysabel Kid]

It would be hard to beat a Rossi slicked up by our very own Nate Kiowa Jones (Steve Young). Mine is one of my favorites!