Looking for Rossi 92 info.

[DennisB]

Cold snowy day here today which prompted me to visit the local gun shop. A short barreled lever action caught my eye right away, kinda stood out amongst the 26 inch barreled varmint rifles on the used rack. I couldn’t see what it was but could see the price tag. The price was such that it lead me to believe it had to be a good deal even if it’s a .22 LR.
When I got the gun in my hands I was looking at a Rossi 92 in 357 and in like new condition, I couldn’t tell it had ever been fired. This was going to satisfy my urge to buy a gun this day, and so it did.
Here’s where I’m looking for some help, I know nothing about Rossi 92s. What are the pros and cons of these lever guns? What do they like to be fed? For me it would normally be 38s as that’s what I feed all my 357 mag guns.
It appears to be a well made nicely finished carbine, even has a good trigger. Maybe that’s all I need to know.....

Oh, the price......200 bucks.

Dennis.

[Chuck 100 yd]

Thats a good price for sure. The only Rossi 92 I own is a short rifle
oct. barrel in .45 Colt. It is a good shooter although not as slick as my Marlin 94`s.
Have fun!!
PS. The rear sight on mine was no good and would not hold elivation. The elivator would slide under recoil even with moderate loads. It now sports a Marbles tang sight.

[Buffboy]

Dennis, As a LEO, I'm going to have to report this stolen firearm. I'll need to take it into evidence of course . I don't blame you though, I'd likely have dislocated my shoulder getting my wallet out too.

Now that I'm done ribbing you. They can vary a lot, some will feed anything, some will balk with semi wadcutters, a few won't feed anything worth a hoot, and the only way to know is to try it. Take pictures

[AJMD429]

That was a REALLY good deal.

Lots of others will chime in who no doubt shoot Rossi's more and know more about them, but I've shot a couple thousand rounds through a few Rossi 92's, and they've all functioned fine. They are NOT fun to take apart and reassemble, but you really shouldn't have to do that much, if ever. Mine throw the empties over my shoulder.

You CAN scope them if you really want to (I usually save scopes for Marlins since they mount on them more easily), but it requires either a B-Square side-mount (no drilling or tapping) or some sort of scout mount setup. The regular sights kind of stink in my opinion, but Williams Firesights are easy to put on them with no drilling or tapping, and Williams FP or other 'peeps' do require drilling and tapping, but it isn't that hard if you know what you're doing (I put a nice scratch on mine doing that because I was too stubborn/cheap to have a gunsmith do it).

They seem plenty accurate (soda pop can at 100 yards is in severe danger from any of them - at 50 yards it WILL die!).

My only qualm is that the various Pumas have subtle differences, and I wonder about what impact that would have on replacement parts, what with being foreign made. My Marlins over the years all seem to come from the same parts bin; I think I could take them all apart, toss the parts in a box, and reassemble from random parts, and my Marlins would all work just fine; not sure about the Puma's!

If NKJ ever wanted to assemble 'spare parts kits' and sell them, I'd be interested...

My favorite Puma ever is probably the little .357, because it is so handy and versatile. I haven't shot .38 Special in it much, because as I understand it you risk creating a ring of gunk in front of the shorter case, which makes the chamber effectively tapered so if you shoot a full-length .357 in it without a good scrubbing, pressures could jump. They're pretty strong, though, but this supposedly is an issue with the .454 Casull ones.

[JerryB]

I can say that you got a real good deal on that one. I bought an old Interarms Rossi 92 last year from a friend for $200 and it only had ten rounds through it. Mine will feed everything but wadcutters, .38/.357 both. It would throw the empties out of sight but a call to NKJ and he sent me a new ejector spring and the NKJ 92 Video. That took care of my troubles, it is now my all the time companion when I leave the house on foot, in the car, or in the truck. Feed it and get to know it and get the 92 Video.

[TedH]

What a deal! I really liked mine, till I drilled and tapped the receiver for a Williams FP, now I love it! You can really sneak into a realm of power that shouldn't be possible in such a small package with the 357. You can push a 180 gr. cast bullet to 1800 fps+, that's knocking on the 30-30's back door, with a handier package of gun/cartridge. You may find the original front sight too short to zero with some loads. Mine was, and I have heard the same thing from others. If your front sight is dovetailed into the barrel, no big deal. Some, like mine are integral with the front barrel band and are not so easily remedied. I welded mine up and refinished to a taller height, it was needed with the receiver sight. You'll have fun with it.

[deafrn]

Right up front I should make the disclaimer that I prefer Marlins because they field strip much easier and make sight/scope changes a snap. I wanted a stainless short barreled .357 for the car, but the run of Marlins from Davidson's had already been allotted by the time I learned of them, and acquired speculator prices by the time I could find one. I balk at limited runs anyway, so I decided to give the Rossis another try after having gotten rid of a couple some years back.

I love the little thing! Fit and finish are what I had come to expect from earlier examples- a mix of good and bad, but I got what I paid for. I ordered the ejector spring and steel magazine follower from NKJ, followed his DVD instructions and with not too much work, got it functioning exactly as I wanted (not race-ready, but much smoother and with less robust ejection... a lighter trigger, too). Wadcutters have to be dropped in the chamber one at a time and Keith-style bullets are iffy, but it'll take about anything else I can scare up. If I could just screw on an XS ghost ring without any gunsmithing, my happiness would be complete. The only thing I can complain about is that the stainless finish was good enough that any scratches really show up, and it has gotten a few; in a way, that is a compliment. Bottom line: even if Marlin comes out with a stainless 16" .357 I can consider cost-effective, I have no intention of getting rid of this Rossi.

Not only has it become the worry-free firearm that goes on trips "just in case something comes up," it is also just plain fun to take out and plink with despite the marginal (for me) sights.

One note on the mediocre picture: the stock and forearm were refinished by me because I blem'd it early on. The original finish looked almost like the wood had been dipped in Tabasco sauce and left out on the clothesline, but I did the (Minwax) Tung Oil (re)Finish as posted on the DCM site some time back. The wood is no longer "muddy" in appearance and shows some of the mystery wood's figure (it can't be mistaken for fine walnut, but it is all right to my eyes).

[JimT]

Here's an article I did on mine a few years ago .. complete with instructions and photos on how to take it apart ...

http://www.leverguns.com/articles/taylor/rossi.htm

[AJMD429]

The only thing I can complain about is that the stainless finish was good enough that any scratches really show up, and it has gotten a few; in a way, that is a compliment.

Consider bead-blasting it. I scratched (...er, I mean 'engraved') my Puma when installing a Williams FP - I think I'll do that to 'tone down' the sort of accidental 'wheat-stalk' engraving I did on it.

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

The only thing I can complain about is that the stainless finish was good enough that any scratches really show up, and it has gotten a few; in a way, that is a compliment.

Consider bead-blasting it. I scratched (...er, I mean 'engraved') my Puma when installing a Williams FP - I think I'll do that to 'tone down' the sort of accidental 'wheat-stalk' engraving I did on it.

I kinda like the bead blast, too. I do it as a Tu-tone. Major parts blasted and small parts left bright.

[JimT]

whew! Nice work there Nate. John Linebaugh once told me that when came to home gunsmithing I should stick to shoeing horses!

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

whew! Nice work there Nate. John Linebaugh once told me that when came to home gunsmithing I should stick to shoeing horses!

Thanks but I wouldn't say that. You and I both know it aint rocket science (well maybe little lead rockets) but you do have to have the right tools. When you try to do it improvising you more often than not end up with something that looks like it was improvised.

[Old Savage]

And what you get in addition to work with the wrong tools is an attempt by someone who is not trained and is doing his first job. Not a great formula for a good outcome.

[AJMD429]

And what you get in addition to work with the wrong tools is an attempt by someone who is not trained and is doing his first job. Not a great formula for a good outcome.

Then you have to find a gunsmith to 'un-bubba' it for you. I usually wait for a snowy and sunny winter day so there is an excuse to wear a hooded coat and dark glasses; that way at least nobody knows it's me who bubba'd the gun up...

[Fairshake]

I saw many fine guns messed up by people who said they knew how to work on them. There was a fellow who goes to all the local gun shows and offers "ACTION JOBS". I as a trained armorer and firearms instructor would have to fix guns that this person worked on because he screwed them up.`

[DennisB]

Thanks everyone for all the great information. I don’t know when this gun was made but I don’t find any plastic parts and it doesn’t have a safety, I would guess an earlier gun.

I’ll certainly shoot it a couple of hundred times before doing any mods. The trigger is clean but heavy. Most of that seems to be in the trigger spring so it shouldn’t be too hard to improve. The sights are definitely an issue. It has the front sight as part of the barrel band....looks like it would be fairly easy to cut a slot in the band for a pinned sight blade if necessary. I’ll probably drill and tap for a receiver sight.....my favorite anyway.

Who or what is NKJ and can someone give contact info?

Thanks again,

Dennis.

[Griff]

I saw many fine guns messed up by people who said they knew how to work on them. There was a fellow who goes to all the local gun shows and offers "ACTION JOBS". I as a trained armorer and firearms instructor would have to fix guns that this person worked on because he screwed them up.`

Job security... gotta love them that provide it!

DennisB,

I love the little Rossi 92s, I have 3, 2 in .38/.357 and 1 in .45 Colt. I did the action work on all of 'em, and if I can do and make 'em work, I believe anyone able to change disc brakes can! From what I've seen of the couple examples I've fondled, NJK (Nate Kiowa Jones) is the master at this little monster; and the descriptions that others that've followed his DVD lead me to believe that he teaches good also! http://www.stevesgunz.com

The answers above give you a good idea of the variety of issues, but, I believe that any of those can be fixed. And if you like tinkerin' yourself, try his DVD or http://marauder.homestead.com/Rifles.html

[J Miller]

Thanks everyone for all the great information. I don’t know when this gun was made but I don’t find any plastic parts and it doesn’t have a safety, I would guess an earlier gun.

I’ll certainly shoot it a couple of hundred times before doing any mods. The trigger is clean but heavy. Most of that seems to be in the trigger spring so it shouldn’t be too hard to improve. The sights are definitely an issue. It has the front sight as part of the barrel band....looks like it would be fairly easy to cut a slot in the band for a pinned sight blade if necessary. I’ll probably drill and tap for a receiver sight.....my favorite anyway.

Who or what is NKJ and can someone give contact info?

Thanks again,

Dennis.

Dennis,
Scroll UP ^ four posts. He posted and all his contact info is right there.

Joe

[DennisB]

Dennis,
Scroll UP ^ four posts. He posted and all his contact info is right there.

Joe

Thanks Joe, I saw that this morning.....I'm just a little slow. Maybe I should rethink working on the 92 myself.....



Dennis.

[J Miller]

Dennis,
Scroll UP ^ four posts. He posted and all his contact info is right there.

Joe

Thanks Joe, I saw that this morning.....I'm just a little slow. Maybe I should rethink working on the 92 myself.....



Dennis.

Dennis,
I'm used to Winchester 94s and when I got my Rossi that thing frustrated the stuff outa me. They are not complicated, but they do have some quirks that can make it difficult.
I'd suggest buying NKJ's CD on how to fix 'em up before doing anything to it.

Joe

[awp101]

I kinda like the bead blast, too. I do it as a Tu-tone. Major parts blasted and small parts left bright.

Hmmm for a blued rifle, how about parkerized and blued...