Need Rossi M92 info

[zoner]

In January i'll be 59.5 yrs old. For 20 some yrs i've been putting money into a low risk TSA( tax shelter annuity) and i'll be able to access and spend some of that money with no penalty. I've already informed "the Queen" that i'm going out and buying a 357 levergun. I have Winchester and Marlin leverguns and have lusted over the Marlin 1894C but just flat won't buy a Remlin,period. And nice used JM's are few and far between, especially around here(Kalifornia). So i'd like to hear from some of you guys that own Rossi M92's. How are the triggers on these straight from the factory? Looks like their are some spring kits out there for these guns...my idea of sights on a levergun amout to either a reciever mounted peep or tang mounted peep rear sight and the XS post front sight. Do your guns feed both 38 Special and 357 mag.? I've heard about the oversize dovetails for the front sight, Can oversize inserts be found that you can fit to the factory dovetails? Any and all info welcome

[Pete44ru]

I have a couple of Rossi Model 92's and can say I've had excellent luck with them.

Both the LSI/Rossi & the BrazTech/Rossi had the bolt-top lawyer safety - which I promptly ditched, relying on the safety between my ears.

On one rifle I D/T'd one 6-48 hole atop each receiver sidewall, near the locking lug recess', for a Williams 5D-94AE top-mount receiver sight, originally meant for a Winchester 94 Angle Eject.

On the other, I D/T one 6-48 hole in the center of the homemade/handmade safety replacement plug I made, and ordered/installed a special order Skinner LoPro Peep Sight with a 6-48 stem.

Both peep sights readily zeroed, using the issue height front sight blades.

Fellow levergunner Nate "Kiowa" Jones, is a premier M92 leversmith, and makes a drop-in bolt peep similar to the one I made, that also acts as a safety, AND and DVD for home action slick-up.

I can't comment on bad triggers, as the triggers on both of mine are just fine - keeping in mind that these are NOT target riles.

.

[jlchucker]

I've got a couple. My favorite is a trapper in 357. The other is an octagon rifle in 44 mag. I'm glad I've got them both. Another poster mentioned Nate Kiowa Jones. He sells a video on how to work on the Rossi 92's in terms of slicking them up, and he sells parts such as a steel magazine follower to replace the plastic one that Rossi uses. At a minimum, you'll want that. Nate's video is well worth having, even if you aren't planning to slick up your new rifle. The video is very easy to understand and very informative.

I've got Winchester and Marlin leverguns, albeit not 92's. My go-to truck gun is my 357 Rossi 92.

[Leverdude]

I like my Rossi enough that its now my only 357 levergun, I turned my 1894C into a 32/20.

[3leggedturtle]

I have an LSI Puma in 357. Nice trigger and will feed empty 38 special case. Had it D+T'ed for a Williams peep meant for a M94 Winchester. Boringly accurate with everything i have shot thru it, doesnt matter whether its cast or jacketed.

[zoner]

thanks for the reply's.....all good news. As far as sights go i'm happy with a 5d or a FP. None of my rifles have what i would call a target trigger. All my rifles have a trigger pull of 3.5 lbs and i don't want a lighter trigger pull than that. Don't have a need for a "safety" on a lever gun but sounds like that will be easy to deal with. Looks like the msrp at Rossi is about 500 bucks. What's a new one go for where you guys are?

[86er]

I don't own a Rossi but my boys are borrowing one, a Puma 92 in 357. It cycles any 38 SPL or 357 Mag we've put in it without a hitch. The trigger is very, very good. The front sight on this one is part of the barrel band and the rear sight dovetail is a bit oversized. Good luck with your quest.

[3leggedturtle]

Zoner, dont know about new. BUT there is a nice used Stainless 20" 357 at the Owatonna Cabela's that i'm trying to justify as my 5th acquisition this month. 3leg PS It dont have the idiot lever on the bolt

[rossim92]

i have one in the octagon barrel. a nice gun for the money. if you get one exchange the plastic mag follower out for a stainless steel one from nate kiowa jones. shoots both the .38 and .357, take out the safety and put in a plug also from nate. or put in a peep site instead. here is his website http://www.stevesgunz.com/ . steve is the go to guy for this rifle, he is very friendly and knowledgeable. He is also a member here.

[JerryB]

You will really enjoy a Rossi 92 .357, they just about become an extention of your body. You will pick it up everytime you go out the door. Mine is one of the early ones . It will shoot anything I feed it. Check with Nate, he may have just what you want already slicked up. I bought the video and ejector spring, now it runs real slick.

[Newtmaker]

I have the Rossi 92 and love it. I ordered the Steve Young video and a few of his spare /replacement parts. The video really does "splain" things nicely and takes the "fear and trepadation" out of DIY gunsmithing

I recommend either the Marbles Tang sight (pricy) or the Taurus Tang sight (40 bucks). Either way you will need to get a new bolt for the tang. Midway carries them as do others.

I also strongly recommend replacing the front blade with a Lyman Globe 17. Get the .404 or the .450 height version. Being upfront with you, the dovetail on the Rossi bbl is not 3/8 std size so you may have to add shims or file, depending on what you get on the gun itself.

I just turned 69 and the tang sight/globe front combo makes for a great sight picture for the Rossi. Others may mention the Shaver front globe inserts, and I highly recommend them as well, but the ones that come with the Lyman Globe are great as well.

Walt

[pricedo]

In January i'll be 59.5 yrs old. For 20 some yrs i've been putting money into a low risk TSA( tax shelter annuity) and i'll be able to access and spend some of that money with no penalty. I've already informed "the Queen" that i'm going out and buying a 357 levergun. I have Winchester and Marlin leverguns and have lusted over the Marlin 1894C but just flat won't buy a Remlin,period. And nice used JM's are few and far between, especially around here(Kalifornia). So i'd like to hear from some of you guys that own Rossi M92's. How are the triggers on these straight from the factory? Looks like their are some spring kits out there for these guns...my idea of sights on a levergun amout to either a reciever mounted peep or tang mounted peep rear sight and the XS post front sight. Do your guns feed both 38 Special and 357 mag.? I've heard about the oversize dovetails for the front sight, Can oversize inserts be found that you can fit to the factory dovetails? Any and all info welcome

There is going to be a Marlin "best before" date just like 1964 with Winchesters. It will be the date Remington bought Marlin and quality control went down the crapper.

I'm not sure what date that was.

Does anyone know?

[Hobie]

If you get a Marlin made in 1982 or earlier you'll be fine and not have the crossbolt safety. I got my Rossi via Nate/Steve and it is great. Mine's a .45 Colt but I know he can do as well with a .357.

[pricedo]

I've got a couple. My favorite is a trapper in 357. The other is an octagon rifle in 44 mag. I'm glad I've got them both. Another poster mentioned Nate Kiowa Jones. He sells a video on how to work on the Rossi 92's in terms of slicking them up, and he sells parts such as a steel magazine follower to replace the plastic one that Rossi uses. At a minimum, you'll want that. Nate's video is well worth having, even if you aren't planning to slick up your new rifle. The video is very easy to understand and very informative.

I've got Winchester and Marlin leverguns, albeit not 92's. My go-to truck gun is my 357 Rossi 92.

Come on guys, the man's name is Steve YOUNG, not Steve Jones.

His SASS handle is Nate Kiowa Jones.

[Newtmaker]

Oops!! Mea Culpa! I changed it, with apologies to Steve and others!

Walt

[COSteve]

Deleted

[Pete44ru]

Come on guys, the man's name is Steve YOUNG, not Steve Jones.

His SASS handle is Nate Kiowa Jones.

FWIW, Steve's Leverguns.com logon (here) is the same as his SASS handle.

He answers to either/both.

.

[Old Ironsights]

Another vote for the NKJ/Steve Young guns.

Mine is my "go-to" gun, and is totally capable of sub 150yd DRT shots on midwest whitetails with the right ammo.

(this one was at a dead run quartering away at 110yds...)

[Griff]

86er, glad the little carbine is working good.

I have a .45 colt "Short Rifle", and two .357 carbines; the one 86er's boys are using (with the aid of a shortened stock from Nate), and one my wife used in cowboy action shooting. Both were slicked up by myself, back in the late '80s. They were rough and quite ragged before, but smoothed out nicely.

As with all leverguns, they are a little OAL sensitive. There are fixes to increase the range of cartridge lengths that they'll work with... .357 is the caliber that most problems seem to present themselves in. However, with a little patience and understanding of how the little carbine works, easily fixed. Nate's DVD and Marauder's Website should clear up any issues you can handle on your own. Nate's a great guy to deal with... and having handled one of his rifles... truly the "Master of Rossi 92s". You couldn't go wrong getting one thru him with his magic already wrought.

[COSteve]

My Rossis were both 2009 models and were actually pretty decent running right out of box. They were a bit less rough than a friend's new Marlin and both had decent but heavy triggers. Both would feed both my 357mag and 38spl handloads fine. Both shot well but both were a bit tight. After the action jobs both cycle slick as snot and the triggers are lighter and crisper with no gritty feel or mushy break. Steve Young is THE MAN!!

[rbertalotto]

I just bought my third Rossi a few minutes ago........

1892, Brass receiver, stainless octagon barrel, 24", 45LC.............Have never seen one of these. The shop I bought it from had 7 in stock and all sold within a short time. $519 shipped to my FFL.



Added to my M92 in 454 Casull and my M92 45LC in full stainless, take-down.........

I'm looking for a Case colored, octagon barrel in 357M or 38spl if anyone sees one around.

These Rossi rifles are a fantastic value when you see what folks are paying for Uberti, Marlin, Japchester and vintage lever actions.

[Hagler]

zoner,

Here is my Rossi Model 92, .357 Magnum, 16" barrel:



It was imported by EMF, and came with a 20" barrel. I bought it from a fellow Levergunner, and some other Levergunners helped me by cutting the barrel & adjusting the sights & magazine, accordingly. The original owner stripped the dark finish off of the wood, and the natural color is beautiful:







I used Steve Young's DVD to learn how to work over the action. It does make a difference. I also installed Steve's steel folower, and I removed the bolt-top safety. Early last year, another Levergunner swapped me for his large loop lever (my Rossi, second from left):



I have not tested it extensively, but it eats the .38 & .357 ammo that I have fed it. I have not changed the factory sights. I got a great rifle, and a bunch of wonderful, enabling friends!

Shawn

[piller]

My Rossi M92 in .480 Ruger was great out of the box. I haven't yet purchased Steve's video or parts, but that is in the near future. Mine had a steel magazine follower from the factory. The trigger is good and the rifle is more accurate than I can be. I like the LFN lead bullets from Grizzly in mine as they work well and are the most accurate rounds out of it. One in .357 sounds like a great gun for anything from deer to pigs to whatever you want. Just make sure the deer haven't been reading the latest gun magazines so that they don't know that a .357 is rather anemic. Personally, I haven't seen these bullet proof animals yet.
As far as feeding goes, as long as I keep the Overall length within factory specifications, there is not the slightest bit of trouble. I loaded a few rounds too long and they didn't feed, but that was not the gun's fault.

[crystal river charli]

Picture of my 16 1/2 Stainless. I love this rifle.


Charlie

[zoner]

thanks for all the replies and great pics. You guys are the best. The 16 1/2" barrel is pretty nifty and that should be plenty of length for a 357 but i'll probly go with the 20" barrel to get a little more sight radius cuz i'mm gonna shoot it with a peep, thinking of going with the low-pro bolt mounted one. Still haven't decided to go with a blued or stainless one....decisions.decisions,decisions

[2571]

In January i'll be 59.5 yrs old. For 20 some yrs i've been putting money into a low risk TSA( tax shelter annuity) and i'll be able to access and spend some of that money with no penalty. I've already informed "the Queen" that i'm going out and buying a 357 levergun. I have Winchester and Marlin leverguns and have lusted over the Marlin 1894C but just flat won't buy a Remlin,period. And nice used JM's are few and far between, especially around here(Kalifornia). So i'd like to hear from some of you guys that own Rossi M92's. How are the triggers on these straight from the factory? Looks like their are some spring kits out there for these guns...my idea of sights on a levergun amout to either a reciever mounted peep or tang mounted peep rear sight and the XS post front sight. Do your guns feed both 38 Special and 357 mag.? I've heard about the oversize dovetails for the front sight, Can oversize inserts be found that you can fit to the factory dovetails? Any and all info welcome

There is going to be a Marlin "best before" date just like 1964 with Winchesters. It will be the date Remington bought Marlin and quality control went down the crapper.

I'm not sure what date that was.

Does anyone know?

2009?

[WyrTwister]

In January i'll be 59.5 yrs old. For 20 some yrs i've been putting money into a low risk TSA( tax shelter annuity) and i'll be able to access and spend some of that money with no penalty. I've already informed "the Queen" that i'm going out and buying a 357 levergun. I have Winchester and Marlin leverguns and have lusted over the Marlin 1894C but just flat won't buy a Remlin,period. And nice used JM's are few and far between, especially around here(Kalifornia). So i'd like to hear from some of you guys that own Rossi M92's. How are the triggers on these straight from the factory? Looks like their are some spring kits out there for these guns...my idea of sights on a levergun amout to either a reciever mounted peep or tang mounted peep rear sight and the XS post front sight. Do your guns feed both 38 Special and 357 mag.? I've heard about the oversize dovetails for the front sight, Can oversize inserts be found that you can fit to the factory dovetails? Any and all info welcome

I have Rossi's in .357 & .45 LC . Love them both , light recoil , inexpensive recpil with home cast bullets .

The .357 has a flatter trajectory , the .45 LC has more WHUMP .

I use mine for plinking , often at the steel silhouettes . The .357 does a good job 100 -150 yards , if I do my part . With 150 grain RNL bullets , they are running out of steam with the 200 meter rams . Have not cast any heavier .357 bullets .

The .45 LC has no problem at 200 meters , if I get the elevation right .

All this is iron sights , trying to steady the gun against a wooden pole .

If you want more power , get a .44 Mag , mine is a Marlin . But it being light , kicks more than I expected . Which is the reason I shoot it less .

Then , I can always step up to .47-70 . Own 2 Marlins . Lot of fun to shoot . Recoil is manageable , unless you get too hot . But these are heavier rifles than the M92's .

God bless
Wyr

[pricedo]

thanks for all the replies and great pics. You guys are the best. The 16 1/2" barrel is pretty nifty and that should be plenty of length for a 357 but i'll probly go with the 20" barrel to get a little more sight radius cuz i'mm gonna shoot it with a peep, thinking of going with the low-pro bolt mounted one. Still haven't decided to go with a blued or stainless one....decisions.decisions,decisions

My Amadeo Rossi SA in .357 Mag came WITHOUT the lawyer safety & has the configuration where the front sight is an integral part of the front barrel band.

The gun is a real shooter.

My cousin has a Browning B92 in .357 Mag & even though the wood & the wood to metal fit is better in the Browning the Rossi is more accurate with the American Eagle 158 grain SP ammo both me & my cousin use.

Go figure.

[pricedo]

I just bought my third Rossi a few minutes ago........

1892, Brass receiver, stainless octagon barrel, 24", 45LC.............Have never seen one of these. The shop I bought it from had 7 in stock and all sold within a short time. $519 shipped to my FFL.



Added to my M92 in 454 Casull and my M92 45LC in full stainless, take-down.........

I'm looking for a Case colored, octagon barrel in 357M or 38spl if anyone sees one around.

These Rossi rifles are a fantastic value when you see what folks are paying for Uberti, Marlin, Japchester and vintage lever actions.

Nice lookin gun but 2 hevy fer huntin !

I have a 20" round bbl Amadeo Rossi SA in .454 Casull (no lawyer safety but with the redesigned threaded magazine & magazine loading slot) & it's light & great for bustin Whitetails in heavy brush.

It's dead in the bulls-eye on target @ 25 yards with the elevation ramp completely removed from the rear sight and the sight leaf resting on the barrel. Just perfect for hunting heavy cover.

[Brant Brooks]

I purchased a Rossi 1892 .45 Colt Stainless in November. It arrived with rust on the barrel, mag and tang. The rifle was wrapped in bubble wrap and I expect that the wood was still a bit wet causing the problem. Anyway I accepted it and promptly contacted Rossi. They sent Fed-Ex to pick it up and it is in for warranty repairs right now. So far I have no complaints about the way they handled it, but I'll keep you all posted. So my question is in regards to a replacement sight, maybe someone here has some experience with this,

I want to replace the stock rear sight with the Smith Enterprise #8005 the Wesson & Harrington Long Range Sight sold by Brownells (pic attached). The manufacturer told me that the dovetail is 3/8 inch. Of course Brownells said that this would not fit the Rossi 92, which I already knew. However, the advantages of this sight are the combination of a full buckhorn and ladder peep (read that ghost ring) which as far as I can tell is the only sight with this combo in existence. Therefore, I am willing to do what I need to in order to get it to fit. My guess is a simple brass shim would do it. If any one has an opinion on this I would be happy to hear it.

Thanks in advance (A new member).

Smith Enterprise 8005.jpg

[pricedo]

While we're on the subject of model 92 lever guns I wish someone would invent a iron sight drift tool specifically for dovetail iron sights on Win/Rossi/Chiappa model 92 lever guns so we can get away from the primitive ball peen hammer and brass drift punch method.

I find the incremental fine adjustments tricky with the hammer method & sometimes when your tap is too light nothing happens & then a harder hit will move the sight too far.

A screw type model 92 sight drift tool for dovetail sight installations & adjusting would be great.

If there is such a tool I am unaware of it.