New Rossi 92 - Finally!

[Jeff H]

I have been shopping passively for another lever for several years.
In the last year, I had my mind made up what I wanted, but prices and availablity issues kept one just out of reach.

I just picked up a brand new Rossi 92 in .357 today after ordering it online just a couple days ago.
It's a 16" barrel carbine (the barrel length decision took me a while too) and I have to admit that this little lever really looks SO much better than I thought it would. The bluing and metalwork far exceeds my expectations. To give a fair example, it is about on par with what most of our domestic finishes from 25 years ago, which was not as good as 25 years prior to that, but better than some I have seen in recent years. The metalwork is very good - no grossly rounded edges, but no steak knife edges either. Overall - very nice work. I was worried because I saw a stainless Rossi .44 mag on a rack a few weeks ago and it was awful.

Wood is pleasingly acceptable. No fancy walnut, but shaped carefully with only a few cross-grain scratches that most people wouldn't notice on the end grain of the front of the comb. Wood to metal fit is really just fine as well. There are a couple little things, but nothing any worse than some of our own name brand guns which were made for hardware stores a few years ago.

It does NOT cycle "slicker 'n snot on a doorknob," but it cylcles well enough to start using it. Once those springs are replaced, I am not certain I would even have to do more than knock a few burrs off here and there inside, but as long as it's in pieces, I will likely address the obvious issues while cleaning a nd relubing. Open to lubrication suggestions, by the way.

The brass bead on the front sight is soldered slightly off center, but the sights are also much more serviceable than I expected. With the short barrel and my preference for peeps, it will likely get a reciever sight anyway. I was pleasantly surprised to find D/T'd holes under the front sight, thanks to a fella over on cast boolits mentioning it. I like forward-mounted scopes and having those holes there saves me some work in the event I decide to go that route.

The only thing I noticed that concerned me a little was that the extractor pops off the rims if I don't lever it rigorously. No slow-going extractions or the extractor pops over the rim - after the case is half way out of the chamber. This could possibly be corrected by reducing the strength of that ejector spring too, but I will find out soon enough.

The safety that I have heard so much criticism about is so much easier to ignore than those on the sides of lever actions, and while I intend to replace it with one of Steve's "buttons," that will be one of the last things I do because it's so easy to ignore for now.

Now, this is no criticism of "nicer" guns or those who own them - not any any means. I just want to share that this Rossi is so much better than I had expected in case anyone else has the same reservations I did. It also redefines my long established take on the "truck gun." I have had a number of compact pre '98 and '98 Mausers fill that role in the past, but this carbine is so much more compact and light - wow, what a difference!

[pwl44m]

WoW . sounds like U like it. Good deal, that is one thing I hate- making decisions. It took Me 2 months to decide what Reloader to Buy.
With all this talk about 357 trappers I guess I need to drag out My 20+ year old Marlin and fire it for the first time. It and its Cousin 44mag.
Question on the extraction issue. Is that with a fired case or just cycling loaded rnds?
Btw, U do know the rules do U not ? Pics at least,I can't condemn ayn one for lack of Range Report, I am guilty as charged on that issue.

[JerryB]

Glad you like it. I would sure hate to loose my Rossi 92 .357, it is a truck gun supreme.

[Jeff H]

WoW . sounds like U like it. Good deal, that is one thing I hate- making decisions. It took Me 2 months to decide what Reloader to Buy.
With all this talk about 357 trappers I guess I need to drag out My 20+ year old Marlin and fire it for the first time. It and its Cousin 44mag.
Question on the extraction issue. Is that with a fired case or just cycling loaded rnds?
Btw, U do know the rules do U not ? Pics at least,I can't condemn ayn one for lack of Range Report, I am guilty as charged on that issue.

Decisions, decisions... Yeah, the days of "just buy one of each" are gone for mr for now.
Just cycling loaded rounds, so then I tried a few fired cases. Too late in the evening to shoot it today, so I will find out "for real" tomorrow, I hope.

Oh, there will be pics. I am a natural light guy though and, again - dark out there.
It should be overcast tomorrow, so I should at least be able to get a few pics.

[Jeff H]

Glad you like it. I would sure hate to loose my Rossi 92 .357, it is a truck gun supreme.

What's even better is that I don't even HAVE a real truck!
I switch between two Jeep Cherokees and the 92 will be so much handier in them than my bolt-guns have.
I have a '95 Chilean with a 16" '94 Swede barrel that was supposed to fill that role once I put wood on it, but I don't think I will even finish that project now. May just trade this particular Mauser Mutt for loading components for the Rossi.

[pwl44m]

Even just a fired case would act like a loaded rnd. Nothing to realy force that extractor over the rim. It eventualy work in a little.Shoot that booger tomorrow, that should force that rim back where it belongs. I'm pretty sure that will solve Ur prob.

[Tycer]

Steve's DVD and kit will fix your extractor problem. The extractor often needs a bit of work to function flawlessly. It's not hard and Steve's DVD tells you exactly how.

[Rube Burrows]

Congrats. I also recommend Steves dvd. It has been a great thing for me to have.


I have a few Rossi guns and love every one of them.

Pics are in order......you know that.......right?

[Jeff H]

As far as the DVD goes, yes, and thank you all for the recommendation. I lurked here for a few years before being able to register and had almost bought the DVD preemtively, but it is the next "part" for the gun. That and the ejector spring, ,maybe the follower,... Have to pay for the gun first. The good news is that I sold two knives right after I committed to buying a gun, so I am part way to paid for.

Now, here's the scoop on the carbine:
I cleaned the bore and looked everything over, determined that I could forego my usual COMPLETE teardown prior to shooting.
The bore was shiny as all getout, but there is a section 2/3 from the chamber, between 3 o'clock and 6 o'clock (as viewed from the muzzle) about three inches long that has sort of an undulating look to the surface - albeit shiny. Very, very lightly, but I examined the bore in every possible light and from every possible angle (not many choices when peering down the muzzle, but you know what I mean) and it is there - not just my imagination. Almost like the printing on the side of my S$W 624 and Ruger NM Bearcat that shows through on the inside, but no lettering there on the Rossi.

I have had weird bores before and sometimes they shoot just fine. So, I take the test load I have planned on using for quite a while now; a 170 gr. Keith (Lyman mold number forgotten) cast of WW and air cooled, lubed with gooey LEE stick lube, sized .358" over a modest charge of Herco in a .38 Special case. This load is a .38 load all the way - not +P or even close. I shoot it in a 2" Charter Undercover (old one) so it's not like I am pushing any limits.

Shot one round, wiped the bore with a dry patch and sure enough - lead at (and downstream of) that weird spot. A tighter patch brought out some minor lead bits. The round went exactly to POA at 20 feet, into a 12" plastic nursery plant container full of wet potting soil, out the back, through another and into the moist humus in the shade of conifers (Scotch Pines, White Pines and Norway Spruces in case anyone thinks that plays in ). I was able to recover the slug, fully intact and with the gooey lube intact as well. Bent the boolit a little, but otherwise a good specimen. I did not initially mic' the fired bullet because as soft as it was, it could have bumped up going through the "ballistic medium of opportunity."

In spite of the lead deposit, the load looks like what I need around the house for critters that just won't just go away. Stopping by for a snack or a look-see is OK, but when they decide to make it "home" and decide to defend "their" territory, we have to hash it out and come to an understanding. My wife has small dogs, one of which wants to eat all uninvited critters and one which thinks everything furry is a new play mate. Skunks, coons and coyotes don't bluff and don't play nice, so it is not an ideal combination.

Anyway, I then took an unsized RDO 359-190 cast of WW/air cooled and unsized and drove it through the bore from the muzzle. The tapered nose, soft aloy and long bearing surface (low friction w/TL grooves) makes that RDO very good for that. As cast, it mic'd .359" After it went through the Rossi, it mic'd,.... no lie - .3545" to .355". That got me to wondering, so I mic'd the fired/recovered bullet - .3545" to .355". Wow! That's tight, and I am surprised that I got any leading at the undulations, as minor as they seem, because I cannot imagine any gas having gotten by that .358" slug that the charge probably bumped up to boot. What was really weird, is that the RDO's (bore slug donor) sides looked like there was no contact with the grooves. Obviously an illusion,..... maybe. So, I will find me a couple lead balls to ram through and see what they look like.

And so, this is where my Rossi 92 saga begins. The .355" groove diameter seems odd, but assures me that I won't have to worry about casting boolits "big enough" and it even presents some opportunities to possibly experiment with some 9mm cast bulllets as well.

Oh, and the chamber is a bit "loose" but not such that it will ruin brass. You can definitely tell the cases have a bit more girth after firing in the Rossi than from my .38 or .357 revolvers though. That fired case ejected flawlessly and the rounds feed well, as long as I eject decisively, but bring the lever back up smoothly. If I snap the lever back up really quickly, the nose of the bullet points up a bit more just before entering the chamber. Actually, I feel the load cycles extremely well, being a long-nosed SWC. The RDO will NOT cycle through when in a mag case. I bet it willl in .38s though.

Pics coming....

Any comments on any of this are more than welcome. I am curious to know what others' groove diameters are.

[Jeff H]

OK, my pics weren't all that great. Too bright outside and all the dust that stuck to the RIG I wiped it down with showed up, so here is one of the carbine and one of the recovered KY and slug-donor RDO.

[gglass]

I love both of my Rossi M92's. As for cycling smoothly, neither was supper slick out of the box, but they did become quite smooth with much use. I never felt that I needed to send them anywhere to make them any slicker.

I would also recommend Steve's DVD to work on that extractor.

Good luck!

[Nath]

I do like the term "ballistic medium of opportunity."

I have used that stuff many times myself.

Good report, keep m' coming.

Nath.

[Griff]

Congrats! Thanks for the pic, that's a nice lookin' one!

[Poohgyrr]

That does look good, congrats.

[Tycer]

That is a tight barrel. Brand spankin new cutters on that one. I'm interested in that spot in the barrel though. If you drive a slug into the muzzle a couple of inches and then back out - I drop a piece of brass rod into the barrel first and let it drive the slug back out - it'll give the muzzle diameter.

Then if you take a case of lead - not quite full - and chamber it and then drive an inch of slugs down the barrel and then bonk them into the case until they have fully bumped out to fill the chamber and breech end of the barrel you'll have the chamber dimensions and breech end diameter.

If the breech and muzzle diameters are larger than the fully driven slug, you've got a restriction and can start figuring out the reason for the leading - either the bullet is too small for the breech end or the bullet is being sized too small for the muzzle end.

I don't know what Rossi considers "within Spec" on their guns, but if they'll fix it great, if not, you can with a bit of work.

You sound like an experienced shooter and I may have just written a bunch of hooey you already know. Sorry if that's the case. If not, I might could help give you some help on fixing it.

[Jeff H]

....I may have just written a bunch of hooey you already know. Sorry if that's the case. If not, I might could help give you some help on fixing it.

Not at all! I have been shooting, reloading and casting for 40 years, but if there's one thing I love about all three is that there is ALWAYS something new to learn from someone else, or stated another way, the more I learn, the less I know. Thank you for pitching in.

This is preliminary and certainly not definitive, but no red flags popped up as I drove the slugs through the bore - like getting any harder or easier. I fully expected the slug to start moving much harder or very easily suddenly but that never happened.

As for the spot that I described, it is very difficult to see, and not nearly as severe as the lettering on the outside of a few barrels I've had showing through to the inside. I do believe that I will be able to deal with it with some experimentation and don't feel it is worth sending it back. I am fairly confident that a GC would make all the difference too, but I use GCs for "special occassions" and try to do most of my shooting with as soft a slug and gooey a lube as I can get away with. The LEE TL system has worked well for me too but I have not a mold for .35 that will cycle through this with that design.

As I experiment further, I will use your ideas. It could be a drawn out process as I try this and that, but that's part of what I enjoy about it. Of course, this all means that I will have to shoot it a lot, which, in itself, could cure minor issues. My best friend is a small commercial caster (wholesale) and is always asking "favors" of me to shoot up a hundred of this or that and let him know what I think. So, whether I have time to cast or not, here won't be a shortage of testing tools.

Until I can do that, I am optimistic that I don't have any really serious constrictions, just a really tight tube and a small weird spot.
I have never fire-lapped a barrel, but given that I have .355" grooves, I may even keep that option in reserve since I won't be washing out an already over-sized bore. Incidentally, I mic'd the lands on my slugs and got .3485" to .359".

Thanks for helping.