Rossi 92 Questions

[bcraig]

I am thinking about getting a New Rossi 92 in 357 Magnum/38 special but I have a few questions before I buy.

First off are the newer 92 rifles made by Rossi or does Taurus make 92 rifles as well ?

Next is it much of an issue to get them to feed standard velocity or +p 38 Special ammo ?

If not too big of an issue what would be a good 38 or +p 38 special factory load for plinking and inside the house home Defense ?

Next how does the 16 inch blued version weigh as compared to the 16 inch Stainless version ?

Reason about the 38 special questions is that I am in my mid 60’s and dont like recoil and muzzle blast like I used to.
And the cheaper 38 and 38+p will do fine for my uses as I don’t deer hunt anymore.

Thanks

[Scott Tschirhart]

.38 Special will do good work on people just like it does from a handgun, only better with a 16 inch barrel.

I wouldn’t hesitate to use a 125 gr plus p in a Rossi levergun and the recoil and report will be relatively mild.

As for weight, I’ll bet they weigh the same.

[jkbrea]

I don't have a Rossi but I have a Winchester Trapper 16" in .357/.38. I am amazed at how easy it is to shoot .357. Not much difference between .38 and .357 to me. Mostly shooting 158 gr factory ammo. Last week I tried 180 gr Buffalo Bore and it was very easy to shoot. I have a ghost ring sight and it was dead on out to 200 yards.
I'm not sure about weight differences of stainless or blued. Try .357 in it. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

[Old Savage]

16” Rossi 357 is mild in both respects in 357. Mine is quite accurate.

[Bruce Scott]

[quote=bcraig post_id=971524 time=1686400959 user_id=6514]
I am thinking about getting a New Rossi 92 in 357 Magnum/38 special but I have a few questions before I buy.

First off are the newer 92 rifles made by Rossi or does Taurus make 92 rifles as well ?

Thanks
[/quote]

A Bit Of History

"Rossi has been making guns since 1889, when Amadeo Rossi founded the company. Located now in Sao Leopoldo, Brazil, the company has been building guns for 132 years and is a large maker of lever action rifles. In 1997, BrazTech International was created in order to be the exclusive importer of Rossi guns in North America. Before that, their guns were distributed by Interarms, located in Alexandria, Virginia. Rossi is now owned by Taurus, and distribution is handled by the parent company. The Rossi company is still run by family members . . ."

Copied from: https://www.snipercountry.com/rossi-r92-review/

[bcraig]

Thanks guys
Curious as to which 38 special or 357 Factory loads dont run good in the rifles and the the Factory loads that do ?
On AVERAGE Which loads are the most reliable ? Of course realizing that Individual guns like different rounds for best function.
Because of Length ,brand or bullet shape ?

Concerning the safety, I see that it can be removed or replaced by a button or rear sight but if I wanted to just leave it alone as from the factory and leave it in the off position will it stay in the off position ,with a concerted effort needed to put it in the on position ?
Putting it another way ,if I want to keep it in the off position is brushing up against something going to accidently put the safety back on ?

Thanks

[AJMD429]

.38 Special will do good work on people just like it does from a handgun, only better with a 16 inch barrel.

I wouldn’t hesitate to use a 125 gr plus p in a Rossi levergun and the recoil and report will be relatively mild.

As for weight, I’ll bet they weigh the same.

Yep on all the above.

Barely perceptible recoil. Light 30 Special loads are fairly quiet as well. Mine feeds them perfectly in roundnose practice and Keith or truncated or semiwadcutter profiles.

Fast handling and lightweight. One of my favorites.

A 45 Colt in the same length is probably a bit lighter weight because the barrel is more bore than wall, but likely not much different. Main difference is if you stick with subsonic ‘indoor’ loads you get a bit more effect on th bad guy (bigger hole/meplat and heavier bullet). Can buy ‘Cowboy Action’ factory light loads.

I like the Marbles Bullseye rear sight as it is super fast handling and good in low light, but no batteries and the outer ghost ring is fast yet the inner one allows precise shooting if you have an extra second to aim.

See pics on this thread…

https://levergunscommunity.org/viewtopi ... 74#p390174

The Marbles Bullseye in the photo showing the gun is on a Marlin 1894 in 357, but it gives an idea of what it looks like.

There’s also a picture in that thread of the 45 Colt version of a 16 inch Rossi ‘Night Scout’ we’ve used for years as the grab-and-go when livestock are in trouble. It’s got electronic stuff on it so we can shoot at night safely and reliably.

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa13 ... esOnly.jpg

(Click on link above to see photo without the photobucket stuff)

[Pat C]

Had so many threads destroyed by photobucket. 20 years ago that was the only host to use on forums and ebay.
You can right click,select preview image to see original image without watermark.I had over 3k images on there at one time.

[Scott Tschirhart]

If you are overly concerned about recoil, I would recommend looking at a Henry, Marlin or Winchester levergun chambered in .22 Magnum. I keep a Winchester 94-22 Mag handy all the time and I think it would make somebody mighty sick if you shot them with it.

[Gunstore Commando]

While we are talking about Rossi 92's, what's chances of one feeding flush loaded .38 wadcutters? I usually have a bunch of such lying around, so it would be nice to be able to use them.

I've gotten the understanding, from lurking here in the past, that it's kind of coin flip if wadcutters will work or not, is that still the case?

If so, any "almost guaranteed to work" fixes, either home or professional?

[Paul105]

Had so many threads destroyed by photobucket. 20 years ago that was the only host to use on forums and ebay.
You can right click,select preview image to see original image without watermark.I had over 3k images on there at one time.

You can download the pictures in your album even if you are not a paying member. They will download a "zip" file to your computer. I did this recently and have never been a paying member.

Pretty sure this is the link that provided the instructions. My account was no longer active but info needed to download albums was provided by following download instructions in the link.

https://support.photobucket.com/hc/en-u ... oad-Albums

Good luck

[samsi]

While we are talking about Rossi 92's, what's chances of one feeding flush loaded .38 wadcutters? I usually have a bunch of such lying around, so it would be nice to be able to use them.

I've gotten the understanding, from lurking here in the past, that it's kind of coin flip if wadcutters will work or not, is that still the case?

If so, any "almost guaranteed to work" fixes, either home or professional?

With 38 Specials (or 44 Specials in the 44 mag) I go with 2 Shooter mode, chamber the first round and then load the second in the tube. Rounds some amount shorter than the OAL of the marked chambering can let two rounds in and completely ruin your day until you get it cleared. How much shorter depends on the individual rifle.

[Griff]

I have 3 Rossi 92s, 2 of late 1980 vintage in .38/.357 and one early 2000s in 45 Colt. 1st, the 45 Colt feeds nearly everything well... but prefers RN, RFN or TC bullet shapes. It doesn't do well with wide meplat noses, nor Keith style bullets. 2nd, the .38/.357 is like all such arms a compromise. Both of mine feed 38 Special very well and .357 in RFN very well. As one mdl 1892 expert has said, with it's angled carrier, think of it as an autoloader... bullets with a rounded ogive will simply just feed BETTER than others. Not that a particular example won't feed wadcutter or semi-wadcutters with some work... it's just that rounded ogives will feed BETTER. TC (truncated cones) will also feed quite well. A soft flat point will be best/safest in the magazine, a half jacketed round would be a good choice.

FWIW, from my point of view, a "long gun" is not a good choice for indoor self defense. For keeping an intruder outside, yes... but once inside, your long barrel becomes problematic. Penetration, along with velocity is greater from the even the shortest of long gun barrels vs. those of a handgun. Maneuverability is also lessened.

[Gunstore Commando]

[
With 38 Specials (or 44 Specials in the 44 mag) I go with 2 Shooter mode, chamber the first round and then load the second in the tube.

Cool hack, thanks!

[rossim92]

16” Rossi 357 is mild in both respects in 357. Mine is quite accurate.

+1

[bcraig]

I have 3 Rossi 92s, 2 of late 1980 vintage in .38/.357 and one early 2000s in 45 Colt. 1st, the 45 Colt feeds nearly everything well... but prefers RN, RFN or TC bullet shapes. It doesn't do well with wide meplat noses, nor Keith style bullets. 2nd, the .38/.357 is like all such arms a compromise. Both of mine feed 38 Special very well and .357 in RFN very well. As one mdl 1892 expert has said, with it's angled carrier, think of it as an autoloader... bullets with a rounded ogive will simply just feed BETTER than others. Not that a particular example won't feed wadcutter or semi-wadcutters with some work... it's just that rounded ogives will feed BETTER. TC (truncated cones) will also feed quite well. A soft flat point will be best/safest in the magazine, a half jacketed round would be a good choice.

FWIW, from my point of view, a "long gun" is not a good choice for indoor self defense. For keeping an intruder outside, yes... but once inside, your long barrel becomes problematic. Penetration, along with velocity is greater from the even the shortest of long gun barrels vs. those of a handgun. Maneuverability is also lessened.

I appreciate the tips for which factory load and bullet style will probably work the best .

As far as the 16 inch barrel being Problematic I really dont think so ,Reason being that I can almost guarentee that everyone shoots better with a rifle than with a pistol.
I am more than sure that there are a lot of pistol shooters that can shoot better than I can with a 16 inch barreled Carbine ,BUT THEY can shoot better with a 16 inch barrel carbine than THEY can shoot with a Pistol.
Plus the Carbine will have less muzzle flash and blast and the faster speed with an expanding bullet by and large will Reduce penetration.

Thank you much for sharing your experience with me .

[Griff]

I have 3 Rossi 92s, 2 of late 1980 vintage in .38/.357 and one early 2000s in 45 Colt. 1st, the 45 Colt feeds nearly everything well... but prefers RN, RFN or TC bullet shapes. It doesn't do well with wide meplat noses, nor Keith style bullets. 2nd, the .38/.357 is like all such arms a compromise. Both of mine feed 38 Special very well and .357 in RFN very well. As one mdl 1892 expert has said, with it's angled carrier, think of it as an autoloader... bullets with a rounded ogive will simply just feed BETTER than others. Not that a particular example won't feed wadcutter or semi-wadcutters with some work... it's just that rounded ogives will feed BETTER. TC (truncated cones) will also feed quite well. A soft flat point will be best/safest in the magazine, a half jacketed round would be a good choice.

FWIW, from my point of view, a "long gun" is not a good choice for indoor self defense. For keeping an intruder outside, yes... but once inside, your long barrel becomes problematic. Penetration, along with velocity is greater from the even the shortest of long gun barrels vs. those of a handgun. Maneuverability is also lessened.

I appreciate the tips for which factory load and bullet style will probably work the best .

As far as the 16 inch barrel being Problematic I really dont think so ,Reason being that I can almost guarentee that everyone shoots better with a rifle than with a pistol.
I am more than sure that there are a lot of pistol shooters that can shoot better than I can with a 16 inch barreled Carbine ,BUT THEY can shoot better with a 16 inch barrel carbine than THEY can shoot with a Pistol.
Plus the Carbine will have less muzzle flash and blast and the faster speed with an expanding bullet by and large will Reduce penetration.

Thank you much for sharing your experience with me .

In a purely static defensive position the carbine or shotgun is not a bad choice, except that penetration is not your friend. Think of it this way, how big are the rooms in your house? How big is the typical bedroom? How likely is an errant round to fully penetrate the wall between rooms? Do you know where the rest of your family is at time of contact? From 15-20' away that JSP 38Spl+P is more likely to pass thru 2 sheets of drywall from that 16" carbine than from a 4 or 6" revolver. It still might from a revolver, but its potency on the other side of the wall is reduced. Either will still ventilate an intruder.

The Sheriff's Dept where I trained had well founded procedures for responding to different types of calls. If you responded to a break in, the first thing you did was to clear the house, ensuring a perp was still not inside. And you left your long guns in the car. It's nearly impossible to "peek" into an uncleared room with your eyes first when carrying a long gun in the ready position. It will lead into every room, giving away your position, or it will not be in a "ready position".

[bcraig]

I have 3 Rossi 92s, 2 of late 1980 vintage in .38/.357 and one early 2000s in 45 Colt. 1st, the 45 Colt feeds nearly everything well... but prefers RN, RFN or TC bullet shapes. It doesn't do well with wide meplat noses, nor Keith style bullets. 2nd, the .38/.357 is like all such arms a compromise. Both of mine feed 38 Special very well and .357 in RFN very well. As one mdl 1892 expert has said, with it's angled carrier, think of it as an autoloader... bullets with a rounded ogive will simply just feed BETTER than others. Not that a particular example won't feed wadcutter or semi-wadcutters with some work... it's just that rounded ogives will feed BETTER. TC (truncated cones) will also feed quite well. A soft flat point will be best/safest in the magazine, a half jacketed round would be a good choice.

FWIW, from my point of view, a "long gun" is not a good choice for indoor self defense. For keeping an intruder outside, yes... but once inside, your long barrel becomes problematic. Penetration, along with velocity is greater from the even the shortest of long gun barrels vs. those of a handgun. Maneuverability is also lessened.

I appreciate the tips for which factory load and bullet style will probably work the best .

As far as the 16 inch barrel being Problematic I really dont think so ,Reason being that I can almost guarentee that everyone shoots better with a rifle than with a pistol.
I am more than sure that there are a lot of pistol shooters that can shoot better than I can with a 16 inch barreled Carbine ,BUT THEY can shoot better with a 16 inch barrel carbine than THEY can shoot with a Pistol.
Plus the Carbine will have less muzzle flash and blast and the faster speed with an expanding bullet by and large will Reduce penetration.

Thank you much for sharing your experience with me .

In a purely static defensive position the carbine or shotgun is not a bad choice, except that penetration is not your friend. Think of it this way, how big are the rooms in your house? How big is the typical bedroom? How likely is an errant round to fully penetrate the wall between rooms? Do you know where the rest of your family is at time of contact? From 15-20' away that JSP 38Spl+P is more likely to pass thru 2 sheets of drywall from that 16" carbine than from a 4 or 6" revolver. It still might from a revolver, but its potency on the other side of the wall is reduced. Either will still ventilate an intruder.

Yes it would be be from a static position as I dont intend to do any house cleaning.

Very likely to penetrate a wall as we live in a double wide trailer.
My wife and I are the only family in the house and our closest Family is about 1100 miles away and no one has a key other than my wife and I.
The shotgun would also penetrate less when a 12 gauge with numbe 4 buck was used rather than 00 buckshot.
But the bottom line is that any weapon and load that can be depended on to penetrate to the vitals from any angle will penetrate walls if a shot is missed.

I guess we have different oppinions about Penetration in walls and such as I have always been taught that assuming the same bullet was used that the faster that one opens up, the less that it will penetrate.

Such as the way that a vest such as the one that Richard Davis Marketed as the second chance vest.
It worked on the concept that the fibers spread an opened up the bullet and therefore it did not penetrate.

Also Handgun bullets often will penetrate more water than even a high powered rifle such as an ought six because the 30-06 soft nosed bullet will either Fragment or flatten out so much so that it looses so much enery and is such a wide flat point it cannot penetrate as much as a slower handgun bullet can.
Bullet design makes all the difference ,a bullet designed to give good expansion at 1300 fps or so like a 125 Hollowpoint designed to give good expansion from a 4 inch 357 magnum revolver will penetrate more than it will shot from a 6 inch or a 8-3/8 barrel.
The same bullet load shot from a 357 Magnum carbine will penetrate the least of the barrel lengths mentioned.

A 30 caliber 125 grain Bullet 30-30 factory load shot from a 10 inch barrel 30-30 Contender will penetrate a deer farther than the same load will shot from a 20 inch barreled 30-30 carbine because the bullet shot through the Carbine will expand more at higher velocity and therefore penetrate less.


The Sheriff's Dept where I trained had well founded procedures for responding to different types of calls. If you responded to a break in, the first thing you did was to clear the house, ensuring a perp was still not inside. And you left your long guns in the car. It's nearly impossible to "peek" into an uncleared room with your eyes first when carrying a long gun in the ready position. It will lead into every room, giving away your position, or it will not be in a "ready position".

I tend to view things more this way although others may see things differently.
https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/r ... ORM=VRDGAR

I also think that it is imposible to "peek"into an uncleared room without exposing ones self and giving away ones position
even more so with the the handgun in a weaver stance or isosceles stance.

I sincerly appreciate your thoughts on this subject and thank you much for sharing it with me
I just disagree and we can just agree to disagree !

[mickbr]

Ive owned 4 Rossi 92- 3 x 357's, I x 44mag and do all my hunting with lever actions. Regards feeding the shorter rounds all 4 of mine fed 38 special (and 44 special in the 44)and full length magnums without a hitch. I tested how short I could go with wadcutter shapes in 357 and I think at 1.33" COAL they were no longer being picked up into the chamber, so I needed to have about .17 " bullet protruding from the case for them to work.

A good factory ammo for light loads is Remington UMC 38+P 125 SJHP. This chronies about 970fps from a revolver and in a carbine averages 1300fps. Pulling a bullet there was only 6.5 grains powder in them. Great choice for teaching younguns to shoot as the recoil is almost non existent and its low blast. I shot some small hogs with this load as well, under 50 yards at night over baits. The 125gn bullet loses its soft blue nose into shrapnel and the main part makes it to the vitals broadside and the combined effect was they fell over faster than with hardcast bullets. Should be a decent SD load since you are basically in 9mm SMG/Carbine power levels....

On that note I wont get into carbine vs handgun debate but I think a short barrel carbine is fine being the SMG and shotguns tactical groups use to clear rooms arent going to be much shorter.

Bubbarized 44 mag rossi below. Rossis being top eject as you know will need a forward mounted rail if you want to play with red dots or scout scopes.

[bcraig]

Ive owned 4 Rossi 92- 3 x 357's, I x 44mag and do all my hunting with lever actions. Regards feeding the shorter rounds all 4 of mine fed 38 special (and 44 special in the 44)and full length magnums without a hitch. I tested how short I could go with wadcutter shapes in 357 and I think at 1.33" COAL they were no longer being picked up into the chamber, so I needed to have about .17 " bullet protruding from the case for them to work.

Thanks for the information
I have one ordered with a dealer ,hope when it comes in that it feeds as well.

A good factory ammo for light loads is Remington UMC 38+P 125 SJHP. This chronies about 970fps from a revolver and in a carbine averages 1300fps. Pulling a bullet there was only 6.5 grains powder in them. Great choice for teaching younguns to shoot as the recoil is almost non existent and its low blast. I shot some small hogs with this load as well, under 50 yards at night over baits. The 125gn bullet loses its soft blue nose into shrapnel and the main part makes it to the vitals broadside and the combined effect was they fell over faster than with hardcast bullets. Should be a decent SD load since you are basically in 9mm SMG/Carbine power levels....

Thanks for the recomendation of the 38+P with both Brand and grain weight mentioned.
I will read more about it.

On that note I wont get into carbine vs handgun debate but I think a short barrel carbine is fine being the SMG and shotguns tactical groups use to clear rooms arent going to be much shorter.

I agree

Bubbarized 44 mag rossi below. Rossis being top eject as you know will need a forward mounted rail if you want to play with red dots or scout scopes.


Looks like you got it all decked out.

[Paladin]

I have three Rossi 92s One old Saddle ring .45 LC perfected by Steve, one .44 Mag I had a friend adjust, and a .357 Mag Trapper I got last Dec in Ohio. All are great guns with a bit of adjustment (for my purposes). Two are new enough for the bolt safety which I replaced with a .25 ACP cartridge and had threaded and cerakoated for my abuse. The top photo is of the .44 before I replace the bolt safety, the middle is the .44, and the bottom is the .357.

[JB]

Next is it much of an issue to get them to feed standard velocity or +p 38 Special ammo ?

Some feed them, but some won't. The last one I owned wouldn't feed 38 specials. I bought a pile of guns from a shop going out of business and one of them was a new Rossi 357. I haven't fired it yet, but I'm hoping it's one of the ones that will.