my new rossi 92 was pitted rusty under the wood (update)

[pittman_clay]

last week i ordered a rossi 92 trapper in 45lc and have been loading hunting rounds all week , when i went to pick it up we pulled it out of the box and i notaced a spot of rust on the barrel band and long storry short we pulled the forend off and and there were huge rust pits all over the o bottom of the barrel and mag tube, , there going the send me another but dont have any in stock so now i am stuck weighting, that makes for a very bad day


got the new one in a couple of weeks ago looked great and shoots good threw on a peep from steves guns and loaded some 250gr hardcast gas checks on top of 23gr h-110 mmmmmm good, Saturday i walked up on a herd of pigs crossing the corner of a wheat field and got 4 out of the group love that levergun

[TedH]

Hope they take care of you.

[Ysabel Kid]

Hope they take care of you.

Ditto. Was this a new rifle?

[pittman_clay]

yea brand new, the distributor is standing behind it and is going to overnight a new one when they get him and the shop owner said he would if they didnt,
btw any one in the texas panhandle i ordered it through long-hunters supply in amarillo and they have been real good to work with

[olyinaz]

Had the exact same thing happen to me. Not just a tad or a speckle, but actual pits under the wood! I noticed it the same way you did - some rust on the barrel band that made me suspicious. They sent me a new one and I pulled the buttstock off - SAME DANG THING. My dealer, now pretty miffed about the whole thing, called Davidson's up and said "pull the wood and check it before you send it!" Third one was the charm.

All I can say is it's hot and humid in Brazil...

Oly

[kenken0269]

A buddy of mine got one in 44 mag and shot it a little and wanted me to clean it real good and go over it for him. When I took the forearm off it was covered in sawdust and wood chips between the wood and magazine. It was everywhere. The forearm was tough to get off but went back on fine. I have been wanting to get a 'ranch hand' in 45lc but now I don't know.

kenken

[Newtmaker]

Boy! Sorry to hear about this. My 92 in 357 is about 8 months old now and has turned out to be my favorite gun! I slicked it up with help from Steve Jones and his dvd, and it hasn't missed a beat since. The blueing is still great, but I did resand and refinish the wood shortly after I got it. I just wanted a glossy finish as the factory finish looked too dull and porous to me.

Walt

[kenken0269]

The gun still looks good and works flawlessly. It's just the attention to detail and having 'pride in your work' . Y'all know as well as I do that the person that put that forearm on at the factory knew that all that was under there. Still want to get one of Steve's videos and slick it up.

kenken

[TMair]

Makes me glad I bought a stainless modle, I wanted the blued but all they had was stainless so I took it considering I didn't have any stainless lever guns, I like it now.
Terry

[Sixgun]

Very strange indeed. Must be something in the wood. I have pulled forends off of guns that were on it for over a hundred years and the blue underneath was just as nice as the day it was put on while the exposed part of the barrel/mag tube was white from wear.-----------Sixgun

[chadbr]

I remember about 4 years ago I went to our local Gander Mtn. and there were at least 10 rifles on the racks (several of them Winchesters unfortunately) with rust on them. There is no excuse for a weapon to be rusting on the rack...

Chad

[piller]

Sounds like it may have something to do with the processing of the wood. If the wood isn't properly dried before cutting and placing on the gun, would it cause the rust? I have been very happy with my Rossi Puma, and have not had the problems you have. Has their quality control slipped?

[Leverluver]

Agreed. Looks like the wood was put on while it was still pretty wet.

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

Very strange indeed. Must be something in the wood. I have pulled forends off of guns that were on it for over a hundred years and the blue underneath was just as nice as the day it was put on while the exposed part of the barrel/mag tube was white from wear.-----------Sixgun

Agreed. Looks like the wood was put on while it was still pretty wet.

I don't think it's because it's not dry enough. The older Rossi's say pre 2000 were prone to come with wet wood. That's why you see the older ones with the buttplate protruding past the wood. The wood actually shrinks as it dries, but none of these hardly ever showed rust.

I personally think it's the type of wood they sometimes use. It's some sort of mistery Brazillian hardwood and is somewhat acidic. I have cut some for various mods and it has a really strong acrid odor.
If they used something to seal it other than just an oil stain I think the problem would go away. I have done several inside and out with Tru-Oil and it seems to work well.
These got some Winchester style red stain then Tru-Oil.

[Rusty]

A while back there were some information going back and forth on a Ruger #1 mail list that I'm on about a similar problem with some #1's. The general conclusion was that there are salts in the wood as a result of something that the wood was soaked in to promote faster curing of the wood. The general opinion of those who had worked #1's so afflicted was 1) if you have a rifle with this problem, nothing short of new wood will fix it. 2) if you are considering a rifle that has this problem, don't.
I was just a casual observer in this so I really don't know myself, but this is just to say Rossi isn't the only one with a similar problem.

[JB]

I'm sure many of you are familiar with the old Browning salt wood problems. I've examined several that looked great above the wood line, but had pitting problems under the stock.

[airedaleman]

Remember Browning's disastrous experiment with "salt wood" back in the 70's? I have my oldest boy's original left-handed T-bolt (in the box with all the paperwork, peep sight and single shot adapter) that's a mess because of Browning's use of pressure-treated blanks...

[stickfred]

That's a darn shame pittman_clay. To have found the gun, ordered it, find the rust and now left waiting. I'm also waiting for more 92s to arrive from Brazil and it ain't easy having to be so patient. When they get here I hope it works out well for both of us.

[rogn]

I wonder if the finish or stain could have been corrosive when wet, or if the wood itself could be acidic. Sorry this hung on the computer all day and I finally just posted w/o reading current posts.

[AmBraCol]

The Rossi's I've examined were stocked with what was called "pau louro" (blonde wood) in Brazil. When properly finished it can be quite pretty and it is a very durable wood. Years ago my dad gave me some old fence posts that were laying in a pile for years, exposed to central Brazil's rains and dry seasons. Took them to a friend's shop and he ran them over his plane and came up with some lovely, solid lumber which we then turned into a bed. As NKJ said, it has an acidic odor to it when cut or sanded, but we never had any problems with rust with the cured lumber. I would guess that it was a combination of:

a) improperly dried lumber
b) improperly treated steel
c) ambient humidity at the point of manufacture

All the above combine to provide a recipe for rust. Of course, there may be another explanation. At least they are taking care of you, but it should not have happened in the first place.

[olyinaz]

Sadly, I suspect they're still stocking Rossis with wood that is not yet fully cured. I looked at two brand new 92s in a shop today and they both had metal butt plates significantly proud of the wood. Either that or they just don't care about the fit/finish of their butt plates...which is also quite possible. At $450 they're not terribly "cheap" any longer either so I wish they'd up their game to suit.

Just me talkin'.

Oly

[Leverluver]

Back a few decades, Browning sorta got "spanked" for using "salt cured" wood. Salt curing is significantly faster and cheaper than kiln drying. It wound up doing the same thing; causing rust where metal met wood. If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck ???? Just wondering.

[wildcatfan]

First post, however i've been a guest for awhile. Found this forum while researching the Rossi. After reading numerous threads and the opinions of the contributors I ordered one thru Gallery of Guns yesterday (Tuesday 08 Feb.). When I got home I found this thread and immediately doubts crept in.
Anyway looked at the package tracking Number this morning from Davidsons and the gun was already in my hometown and enroute to the dealer.
Got a call from them this afternoon at 1pm. That's amazing, less than 24hrs from Davidson's wharehouse to the dealer.
Couldn't pick it up today, I was on the road, so discussed rusting concerns with the dealer and got their assurance that if there was any problems an exchange would happen.

Looking forward to firing it and reading future threads.

[J Miller]

A question for those with the "rusted Rossi" syndrome: is the rust and pits bad enough to render the gun unsafe to use?

I'm not suggesting that one should accept this, but just curious about the severity of it.

Joe

[pittman_clay]

the one they sent me was not to the point of un safe, if they would have offered it to me for half price i would have taken it but the pits were deep enough you couldnt have just sanded and re-blued it.

[J Miller]

I wonder if the Rossi management even cares about this? In the overall scheme of things I'll bet they save more money by scrimping on QC than it costs them to just replace a few guns now and again.

Sad way to do business.

Joe

[olyinaz]

If there's a problem, Davidson's will take care of you - they're top notch.

I like the Gun Genie as well. It's dangerous!!

Oly

[Noah Zark]

I bought a 16" blued 92 in 357 with the standard lever just after New Years. I handled it at the shop and noticed rust at the wood line on the forend. Since this was going to be a "car gun" I didn't much care. The price was $459 and I offered $350 OTD because of the rust. After the rifle endured intense examination under magnification, they came back and said "$370 OTD." And I took it.

Stripped all the planking off and the rust was on a line right at the wood line, both sides. Could be that was the only contact points, dunno. I took a cloth soaked in Kroil and an old credit card and scraped the rust off. The spots look like black rough spots, almost like manganese phosphate. The inside of the forend band was rusty, too, and I took care of that with Kroil and a WHITE scotchbrite pad. White pads have no abrasive embedded in the plastic strands.

I then wiped down everything metal and the forend and buttstock inner surfaces with Corrosion-X, and multiple times on the wood before reassembly. Its been three months in the car and there's no sign of any return of corrosion; I pulled the wood last Sunday to examine the metal and it's GTG thus far.

I liked the 16" Braztech 92 so much after replacing the ejector spring with an 0.024" Diameter 0.038" wire diameter spring from the hardware store that I bought another identical model. A stripdown showed NO sign of rust at the contact points with the wood, but I gave everything a dose of Corrosion-X anyway. It's safe for wood as well as metal.

Those 16" 92s shoot as if laser-guided. Should have bought them sooner.

Noah

[Old Savage]

Is there any danger to this such as weakening the steel or is it just cosmetic. I have a Rossi 45 Colt that has three spots at the border of the forearm half way up.
Seems like they might be a little bigger after shooting last weekend and heating up the barrel.

[olyinaz]

Cosmetic Doc.

Best,
Oly

[pricedo]

Boy! Sorry to hear about this. My 92 in 357 is about 8 months old now and has turned out to be my favorite gun! I slicked it up with help from Steve Jones and his dvd, and it hasn't missed a beat since. The blueing is still great, but I did resand and refinish the wood shortly after I got it. I just wanted a glossy finish as the factory finish looked too dull and porous to me.

Walt

Steve Jones????? Thought the guy from Steve's Gunz name was Steve Young ?

I originally thought that something (salt or caustic sap maybe) in the Rossi mystery wood or in the "Braztech Black" varnish was corroding the metal under the fore-ends of so many guns.

I bought a Rossi Trapper in .44 Mag a few weeks ago with rust in the action but fortunately none on or in the barrel or magazine tube.

Stripped it apart & cleaned & polished the action & now the gun is running like a Swiss watch.

I now think it's just plain we-don't-give-a-hoot lack of due diligence in regards to quality control on Braztechs part.

A lot of new Braztech/Rossis are coming out of the box looking like they had been stored hanging from the water spout in a shower stall.

If Braztech spent the money wasted on installing the idiotic lawyer safety atop the 92s receiver on hiring a quality control inspector or two for their factory production lines they'd be doing themselves & their customers a favor.

[pricedo]

Is there any danger to this such as weakening the steel or is it just cosmetic. I have a Rossi 45 Colt that has three spots at the border of the forearm half way up.
Seems like they might be a little bigger after shooting last weekend and heating up the barrel.

I think that under the forearm it'd be mostly cosmetic but a lot of rust in the action will cause parts to fail & rust in the barrel especially near or on the crown will destroy the accuracy of a rifle permanently.
If I find superficial surface rust on the gun or in the action I will clean the gun up & usually keep it.
If there is deep pitting or any rust IN the barrel or on or anywhere around the crown the gun goes right back.
The Braztech/Rossi 92 is no longer a cheap gun & they need to clean up their act & we need to get on their cases to do so.
The money wasted installing the ludicrous lawyer safety atop 92 receivers should go to hiring some quality control inspectors in Braztech plants.

[Jeff H]

I found the same thing on my two-week-old Rossi.
Took the wood off and there was a rusted, pitted line all the way down both sides and around the fron of the forearm.

Yeah, cosmetic, but for $460, I would have appreciated surface rust only - no pits, please.
Scrubbeb it off with a pre-'82 penny, followed by a brass wire brush, Hoppes, and the slathered RIG on it. The forearm hides the pits. but had I left it go, it would have become very bad in a short time, like some of the 100-year-old SA Mausers that were so plentiful at one time. The inside of the mag tube had a coral reef of rust growing in it. That took a .50 cal bore brush with steel wool and a cordless drill to clean up.

The BAD part was that both the forearm and stock are split. I guess I can fix that too.

The WORST part is that the wood they used on mine is soft and crumbly. Not bad to look at stained but it is really inappropriate wood for a gun stock, period. The wood resembles balsa in many ways and I am concerned that even with reasonable care, the stock could be easily broken. I have been working wood for over four decades and have stocked many Mausers. I can say without fear of unfairly bashing Rossi that they really, really cheated on this wood. I would expect to have to smooth some things up in the action, but would never expect to pay close to $500 for a "cheap" gun and then have to replace the wood for functional reasons.

This is not a taste-based or an aesthetics complaint. The wood on mine is not something I would have wasted putting a tool to because it is an extremely low grade of wood, possibly suitable for building temporary models. Aesthetically, it is actually nice. I cringe at the thought, but I would have preferred Tupperware over this "wood." I can't imagine even using it on a non-firing replica.

[pricedo]

I found the same thing on my two-week-old Rossi.
Took the wood off and there was a rusted, pitted line all the way down both sides and around the fron of the forearm.

Yeah, cosmetic, but for $460, I would have appreciated surface rust only - no pits, please.
Scrubbeb it off with a pre-'82 penny, followed by a brass wire brush, Hoppes, and the slathered RIG on it. The forearm hides the pits. but had I left it go, it would have become very bad in a short time, like some of the 100-year-old SA Mausers that were so plentiful at one time. The inside of the mag tube had a coral reef of rust growing in it. That took a .50 cal bore brush with steel wool and a cordless drill to clean up.

The BAD part was that both the forearm and stock are split. I guess I can fix that too.

The WORST part is that the wood they used on mine is soft and crumbly. Not bad to look at stained but it is really inappropriate wood for a gun stock, period. The wood resembles balsa in many ways and I am concerned that even with reasonable care, the stock could be easily broken. I have been working wood for over four decades and have stocked many Mausers. I can say without fear of unfairly bashing Rossi that they really, really cheated on this wood. I would expect to have to smooth some things up in the action, but would never expect to pay close to $500 for a "cheap" gun and then have to replace the wood for functional reasons.

This is not a taste-based or an aesthetics complaint. The wood on mine is not something I would have wasted putting a tool to because it is an extremely low grade of wood, possibly suitable for building temporary models. Aesthetically, it is actually nice. I cringe at the thought, but I would have preferred Tupperware over this "wood." I can't imagine even using it on a non-firing replica.

If I got a gun like that I'd definitely remove the "Braztech Black" finish from the gun & steam treat & thoroughly dry the wood to open the natural pores & then apply my epoxy/acetone solution to all surfaces of the wood. The solution follows, fills and heals cracks, gouges & splits & the dried & hardened solution impregnated wood is many times stronger than the original host wool.

I've seen junk wood & even broken/split stocks that looked like, felt like & were as strong & durable as wood grained synthetic stocks when repaired this way after being polished & buffed. The refinished stocks had surface hardness to resist scratching & denting as well as strength.

Nothing to lose if the stock is going into the garbage pail anyway.

[TriggerPhinger]

I took delivery of my Rossi M92 in July 2010. I fell in love with the 20 inch octagon barrel and case hardened finish on the receiver! I noticed a small rust spot on the barrel next to the handguard but dismissed it as a slight blemish (I don't like rusty guns)! Since then I have fired the gun and have added a receiver peep sight I don't feel like giving it up and fighting with the supplier!
Now that I have read this thread and see how many of you have had the same problem, I guess I should have acted immediately.
I haven't removed the forearm as I need an impact tool and special screw driver to remove it. I sure hope the rust spot is small and the barrel is in good shape!

[pricedo]

I took delivery of my Rossi M92 in July 2010. I fell in love with the 20 inch octagon barrel and case hardened finish on the receiver! I noticed a small rust spot on the barrel next to the handguard but dismissed it as a slight blemish (I don't like rusty guns)! Since then I have fired the gun and have added a receiver peep sight I don't feel like giving it up and fighting with the supplier!
Now that I have read this thread and see how many of you have had the same problem, I guess I should have acted immediately.
I haven't removed the forearm as I need an impact tool and special screw driver to remove it. I sure hope the rust spot is small and the barrel is in good shape!

Friend of mine took the forearm off his Rossi 92 & it came off in two pieces..........it's an easy-does-it operation as some of the stocks are made of inferior wood from the strength aspect.
When I take "questionable" wood off a gun & am too financially embarrassed to buy a decent stock I "tighten" it up with my epoxy/acetone solution.........I call it the "Viagra of gun stocks" in that it makes them harder & last longer.

[earlmck]

When I take "questionable" wood off a gun & am too financially embarrassed to buy a decent stock I "tighten" it up with my epoxy/acetone solution.........I call it the "Viagra of gun stocks" in that it makes them harder & last longer.

pricedo, my Rossi stock is fine, and I don't seem to have any rust starting. But I have an ancient Winchester that might benefit from some of that stock Viagra. You probably posted on your formula/technique sometime but I missed it. Just what is this epoxy/acetone solution?

[two bit okie]

I got my rossi 3 yrs ago, and the wood was dry and uglyl (major ugly) (maybe even general ugy). Any way I found a place online and was able to get a second (a couple of checks and small holes in the stock (nice walnut by the way) and a good forend for $68.00 for both. suggust you check the net for the place in ohio for stocks. One caveat, there is a lot of fitting involved. And you will have to get a different buttplate, which they also have.

try here

http://www.gunstocksinc.com/

good folks to deal with.

[Charles]

My bet is the bluing salts were not properly killed. After the rifles was assembled the exposed wood got a good wipedown with some kind of perservative and those live salts under the wood continued to do their things. I have seen it happen before.