Did an action job on my Rossi 1892

[rbertalotto]

I bought the "Lee" spring kit for the 1892 Rossi Winchester Clone. This rifle has the brass frame and a SS octagon barrel.



First thing I did was measure the effort it took to open the action and the trigger pull.

Using a Lyman digital trigger pull gauge, I attempted to measure the force required to open the lever fully. The gauge's max limit is 12 pounds and this lever friction exceeded this! The trigger pull was 6.2 oz.

After the action work, the action opened to full with 3.6 pounds of pull and the trigger is now a nice crisp 3pounds, 2 oz.

The springs that are replaced are the hammer spring, the trigger spring, the lever lock spring and the ejection spring.

I'll post a full review with pictures at some point.

Every single edge within the receiver on this rifle were knife sharp. Using a set of India stones, a small file and 400 grit wet/dry sand paper on a piece of perfectly flat granite, I rolled all edges and any area that showed signs of rubbing.

I decided to do a bit of jewelling on areas that were exposed. Jewelling not only looks neat, it holds oil a bit better than polished steel.







The rifle is now slick as snot! It's amazing how rough this action was before. Taking your rifle apart, installing a spring kit and doing a bit of smoothing of all surfaces is highly recommended.

More pictures here:
http://public.fotki.com/Rbertalotto/thi ... -brasssta/

[AJMD429]

I'd like to know more about how you did the jeweling - it looks really nice...!

[TMair]

Thanks for the write up, how do you jewell?
Terry

[rbertalotto]

To Jewel.......

Polish the piece to a mirror finish.....

Us a drill press with an indexable vise or a milling machine. You need some type of indexable vise to get the spacing correct. If you try to do it by eye and hand it will look terrible.......

Using a small brush, coat the surface of the piece to be jeweled with 800 grit valve grinding compound.....

I use an RCBS Stainless Steel Primer Pocket Cleaning Brush to do the swirls. You can buy other types of brushes, cratex sticks etc at Brownells. But nothing works as good as these RCBS brushes.....

Start at one end and run a row of overlapping circles. I use one revolution of the hand-wheels on my milling machine. But you can vary it as you see fit.

After the part is done...DO NOT WIPE OFF THE GRINDING COMPOUND. You'll scratch the heck out of your work. Soak the part with WD-40 and very gently whipe off tyhe grinding compound keeping the surface quite wet.

DONE!

[Griff]

Very well done. Jeweling is just one of those details that sets off a nice job, from a stunning job!

[Warhawk]

Very nice! You're making me want to find one of these stainless and brass leverguns.

Anyone ever see one in .357 ?

[claybob86]

Very nice work! Thanks for the photos!

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

I bought the "Lee" spring kit for the 1892 Rossi Winchester Clone. This rifle has the brass frame and a SS octagon barrel.


First thing I did was measure the effort it took to open the action and the trigger pull.

Using a Lyman digital trigger pull gauge, I attempted to measure the force required to open the lever fully. The gauge's max limit is 12 pounds and this lever friction exceeded this! The trigger pull was 6.2 oz.

After the action work, the action opened to full with 3.6 pounds of pull and the trigger is now a nice crisp 3pounds, 2 oz.

The springs that are replaced are the hammer spring, the trigger spring, the lever lock spring and the ejection spring.

A word of caution, I'm not sure if that is the same spring kit but one of the kits comes with a "U" shaped wire trigger spring. This wire spring tends to take a set and you end up with a trigger that is really light and can cause the hammer to eventually follow the bolt or worse. Hammers following are usually because that “U” shaped wire trigger spring will be just fine for awhile but it only gets really light as it takes a set. Then because the pull is so light you don't follow through to pull the trigger nose out of the way of the 1/4 cock notch that’s battering the nose. It usually shows up as a miss fire but eventually the trigger nose gets battered to a point that it will not hold consistently so the hammer follows the bolt.
I see 3 or 4 guns every year with this problem. If this is the same spring kit you have you may want to go back to the flat spring just reduce it some.
Also, if this is the same kit that has the hammer spring that is much smaller in the diameter than the stock spring you may experience FTF's because the spring can slip into the spring stop there on the lower tang binding the hammer spring strut. You can still use that spring but you will need to flare the stop end so it can't bind in the stop.

[rbertalotto]

Thanks Nate!

Yes, it is the "U" shaped sping.

I'll have to keep an eye out for this condition.

The other issue was the ejector spring. No way in heck could I fit it and had to remove two coils so it would physically fit. It is much thinner than the original, but much longer.

Do you have a spring kit that you sell to us "Kitchen Gunsmiths"? I'm sure I'll have more of these Rossis I'll want to breath on..........

[pricedo]

I don't have the money for fancy grinders & computer assisted lathes.

If you're one of us "financially embarrassed" galluts you gotta use what you got.

I worked over the rough spots & sharp edges on mine with a small 3 sided file, a electric drill mounted grinding stone & emery paper.

Quite an improvement.

[pricedo]

I bought the "Lee" spring kit for the 1892 Rossi Winchester Clone. This rifle has the brass frame and a SS octagon barrel.


First thing I did was measure the effort it took to open the action and the trigger pull.

Using a Lyman digital trigger pull gauge, I attempted to measure the force required to open the lever fully. The gauge's max limit is 12 pounds and this lever friction exceeded this! The trigger pull was 6.2 oz.

After the action work, the action opened to full with 3.6 pounds of pull and the trigger is now a nice crisp 3pounds, 2 oz.

The springs that are replaced are the hammer spring, the trigger spring, the lever lock spring and the ejection spring.

A word of caution, I'm not sure if that is the same spring kit but one of the kits comes with a "U" shaped wire trigger spring. This wire spring tends to take a set and you end up with a trigger that is really light and can cause the hammer to eventually follow the bolt or worse. Hammers following are usually because that “U” shaped wire trigger spring will be just fine for awhile but it only gets really light as it takes a set. Then because the pull is so light you don't follow through to pull the trigger nose out of the way of the 1/4 cock notch that’s battering the nose. It usually shows up as a miss fire but eventually the trigger nose gets battered to a point that it will not hold consistently so the hammer follows the bolt.
I see 3 or 4 guns every year with this problem. If this is the same spring kit you have you may want to go back to the flat spring just reduce it some.
Also, if this is the same kit that has the hammer spring that is much smaller in the diameter than the stock spring you may experience FTF's because the spring can slip into the spring stop there on the lower tang binding the hammer spring strut. You can still use that spring but you will need to flare the stop end so it can't bind in the stop.

All stuff that I'm sure will come in really handy when you're lining up that once in a lifetime 12 point buck.

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

Thanks Nate!

Yes, it is the "U" shaped sping.

I'll have to keep an eye out for this condition.

The other issue was the ejector spring. No way in heck could I fit it and had to remove two coils so it would physically fit. It is much thinner than the original, but much longer.

Do you have a spring kit that you sell to us "Kitchen Gunsmiths"? I'm sure I'll have more of these Rossis I'll want to breath on..........

I do have a spring kit, sort of. I have the Rossi 92 - DIY Action Job KIT. It has the DVD a stainless mag follower and unlike the one in the Lee kit the correct length ejector spring. The DVD shows you how to modify all the other springs including the extractor. But, because that ejector spring travels so little there's no good way to modify it without possibly running into ejector problems down the road.
That's another one of those things I see 3 to 5 times a year. Some folks cut coils off that stock ejector spring and then down the road that spring takes a set and doesn't eject so well. It usually shows up as ejecting all but the last empty. That's because the last one doesn't have another one under it to help push it out.

[pricedo]

I bought the "Lee" spring kit for the 1892 Rossi Winchester Clone. This rifle has the brass frame and a SS octagon barrel.



First thing I did was measure the effort it took to open the action and the trigger pull.

Using a Lyman digital trigger pull gauge, I attempted to measure the force required to open the lever fully. The gauge's max limit is 12 pounds and this lever friction exceeded this! The trigger pull was 6.2 oz.

After the action work, the action opened to full with 3.6 pounds of pull and the trigger is now a nice crisp 3pounds, 2 oz.

The springs that are replaced are the hammer spring, the trigger spring, the lever lock spring and the ejection spring.

I'll post a full review with pictures at some point.

Every single edge within the receiver on this rifle were knife sharp. Using a set of India stones, a small file and 400 grit wet/dry sand paper on a piece of perfectly flat granite, I rolled all edges and any area that showed signs of rubbing.

I decided to do a bit of jewelling on areas that were exposed. Jewelling not only looks neat, it holds oil a bit better than polished steel.







The rifle is now slick as snot! It's amazing how rough this action was before. Taking your rifle apart, installing a spring kit and doing a bit of smoothing of all surfaces is highly recommended.

More pictures here:
http://public.fotki.com/Rbertalotto/thi ... -brasssta/

That thing is way too purty (& heavy) to drag through the bush.

I'd buy it & hang it in a dust proof cabinet, polish it every Sunday & buy a Rossi 92 with a 16" bbl or a 336 to hunt with.

[pricedo]

Thanks Nate!

Yes, it is the "U" shaped sping.

I'll have to keep an eye out for this condition.

The other issue was the ejector spring. No way in heck could I fit it and had to remove two coils so it would physically fit. It is much thinner than the original, but much longer.

Do you have a spring kit that you sell to us "Kitchen Gunsmiths"? I'm sure I'll have more of these Rossis I'll want to breath on..........

I do have a spring kit, sort of. I have the Rossi 92 - DIY Action Job KIT. It has the DVD a stainless mag follower and unlike the one in the Lee kit the correct length ejector spring. The DVD shows you how to modify all the other springs including the extractor. But, because that ejector spring travels so little there's no good way to modify it without possibly running into ejector problems down the road.
That's another one of those things I see 3 to 5 times a year. Some folks cut coils off that stock ejector spring and then down the road that spring takes a set and doesn't eject so well. It usually shows up as ejecting all but the last empty. That's because the last one doesn't have another one under it to help push it out.

Steve's kit works just fine.

A little intimidating at first for the not so technically inclined but if I with 2 left hands (all thumbs) can do it anybody can.

Just take the time, don't rush anything, use the proper tools and correct screw drivers & you'll get it right the first time.

[COSteve]

Deleted

[JerryB]

I'll vouch for Steve's slick up kit. I bought the DVD and springs a couple of years ago and that little .357 sure works fine and smooth.

[pricedo]

That thing is way too purty (& heavy) to drag through the bush.

I'd buy it & hang it in a dust proof cabinet, polish it every Sunday & buy a Rossi 92 with a 16" bbl or a 336 to hunt with.

Heavy? I just weighed my 24" Rossi 357mag rifle at 7lbs 5oz as pictured below:



My 20" Rossi 357mag weights in at 5lbs 14oz as pictured below:



Plus, 357mag calibers have the heaviest barrels because the smallest bore leaves the most metal. His 24" Rossi 45Colt rifle probably weighs 1/2lb less than mine so it would come in at under 7lbs. While it may be too purty to take out into the woods, carrying it all day is not a chore at all.

Yes, Rossis are deceptively light in relation to the power of the cartridge the guns are chambered for.

My .44 Mag Rossi 92 (16" bbl) weighs 4.8 pounds.

The 20" bbl Rossi 92 in .454 Casull comes in at 5 pounds which is light for a gun that puts out the power of an equivalent .45-70 lever in another brand that weighs over 8 pounds.

The Rossi Rio Grande in .45-70 weights 5.8 pounds.

[pricedo]

That thing is way too purty (& heavy) to drag through the bush.

I'd buy it & hang it in a dust proof cabinet, polish it every Sunday & buy a Rossi 92 with a 16" bbl or a 336 to hunt with.

Heavy? I just weighed my 24" Rossi 357mag rifle at 7lbs 5oz as pictured below:



My 20" Rossi 357mag weights in at 5lbs 14oz as pictured below:



Plus, 357mag calibers have the heaviest barrels because the smallest bore leaves the most metal. His 24" Rossi 45Colt rifle probably weighs 1/2lb less than mine so it would come in at under 7lbs. While it may be too purty to take out into the woods, carrying it all day is not a chore at all.

It's probably me being naive again but I could never grasp the need for a barrel over 16" or 20" to shoot a cartridge like the .357 Mag or .44 Mag that are loaded with fast burning powders designed to reach optimum ballistic efficiency in vented revolvers with barrels less than a foot long & yet I see guys lugging these "well furnitured" monsters with 24" or even 26" octagonal barrels through the bush on deer hunts.

Maybe it's historical value & nostalgia.

I'm a dyed-in-the-wool hunter & don't have the patience, dexterity or the skills to produce work like I see pictured on these pages and the guns sure do look purty. They're way too purty to bounce around in the water, the blood, guts & dirt in the back of 1/2 ton pick-ups like my guns do.

I do however require a nice smooth action so I can hold my line of sight while shooting at game.

If your action is slick and you follow the proper shooting technique and keep your gun shouldered until you're finished shooting you can hold your line of sight as good as with a semi-automatic firearm.

If you have a "rough" levergun that requires a lot of "armstrong" to work the action holding your line of sight will be impossible.

My guns may not win any beauty contests but the actions are slick & the sights are true.

I'd have to look hard in my gun locker to find a gun without a scratch or gouge in it.

[rbertalotto]

Old eyes need a long sight plane. Longer barrels tend to a bit more accurate shooting off hand. They tend to hold a bit better on target. And a long, octagone barrel is a manly thing!

[claybob86]

And a long, octagone barrel is a manly thing!

And all this time I thought it was a thing of grace and beauty!

[pricedo]

Old eyes need a long sight plane. Longer barrels tend to a bit more accurate shooting off hand. They tend to hold a bit better on target. And a long, octagone barrel is a manly thing!

I'm glad my pre-safety Rossi Puma in .454 Casull is the 20" version rather than the 16" version for the "old eye" reasons you speak of.

The old shoulders located just below the old eyes don't like recoil much either & a less than 6 pound rifle putting out that kind of horsepower generates plenty of recoil.

When you shoot full power hunting ammo like I do the extra weight of 4" of steel barrel & that recoil pad further justify themselves in less severely dislocated shoulder joints.

That ole girl is definitely "sassy" with heavy loads.

[rbertalotto]

That ole girl is definitely "sassy" with heavy loads.

[pricedo]

And a long, octagone barrel is a manly thing!

And all this time I thought it was a thing of grace and beauty!

Beauty yes, but when a 24" octagonal barrel gets up close & cuddly with tag alders, hazelnut switches & overhanging tree branches laden with dew or snow grace is not the word I'd use to describe it.

[pricedo]

Old eyes need a long sight plane. Longer barrels tend to a bit more accurate shooting off hand. They tend to hold a bit better on target. And a long, octagone barrel is a manly thing!

Speaking of "sight plane", I just bought a Bushnell Trophy 1.5-6x40mm scope for my Rossi Rio Grande in .30-30 WCF seeing as how the gun comes with an integral mounting rail for the grand sum of $139.

The Bushnell Trophy line of scopes is the best buy for the money scope I've ever used.

I have 4 of them in active service on various guns in my arsenal now.

One old Trophy 3-9x40mm scope has withstood numerous shots while perched on a bolt action .300 Win Mag for 15 years without a hint of a problem.

I am going to set up the scope up with Warne QD mounts & carry it in the pack sack just in case that 225 yard shot opportunity happens on a monster buck.

I have used the Warne QD mounting system before & the gun is always "on zero" without fail whenever the scope is remounted.

The scope dismounts & remounts in seconds without tools.

I'm going to call the scope & QD mounts in the pack sack my "Old Eye Insurance Policy".

[COSteve]

It's probably me being naive again but I could never grasp the need for a barrel over 16" or 20" to shoot a cartridge like the .357 Mag or .44 Mag that are loaded with fast burning powders designed to reach optimum ballistic efficiency in vented revolvers with barrels less than a foot long ....

Actually, my 357mag loads using H110 or W296 are ideal in barrel longer than 20". My 20" carbine produces 158grn Zero bullet, H110 velocities at 1,789fps while my 24" rifle will produce 1,822fps and heavy load H110 velocities at 1,941fps and 1,977fps respectively so the extra 4" barrel adds velocity to a 357mag loaded with the slower burning, magnum powders. Check out Ballistics by the Inch testing of 357mag loads HERE.

[Canuck Bob]

I've always been a working gun advocate until I bought my Winoku 92 TD in 32-20. It was a Davidsons long barrel deluxe model I imported to Canada. It does get carried and used in my oilfield sales travel. After getting a muzzleloader with an octagon I was amazed at how the long flat really directs the eye when shouldering. I also wanted a rifle that had some of the features of early levers like a crescent plate and long barrel.

For me my 444 with its 22" tube is the ideal hunting rifle. I personally think anything shorter than a 94 or 336 at 20" is too short. I tried out a short Rossi and didn't like the way it swung. I've hunted tangled fresh snow muskeg swamp after moose a lot and found no problem with my 444. After all the hunter has to go where the rifle goes.

I do find my 32-20 24" tube a bit barrel heavy. The hole is fairly small in that long octagon barrel and shifts balance more forward than I expected. If I don't warm up to it, it may get trimmed to 20" some day.

[pricedo]

It's probably me being naive again but I could never grasp the need for a barrel over 16" or 20" to shoot a cartridge like the .357 Mag or .44 Mag that are loaded with fast burning powders designed to reach optimum ballistic efficiency in vented revolvers with barrels less than a foot long ....

Actually, my 357mag loads using H110 or W296 are ideal in barrel longer than 20". My 20" carbine produces 158grn Zero bullet, H110 velocities at 1,789fps while my 24" rifle will produce 1,822fps and heavy load H110 velocities at 1,941fps and 1,977fps respectively so the extra 4" barrel adds velocity to a 357mag loaded with the slower burning, magnum powders. Check out Ballistics by the Inch testing of 357mag loads HERE.

You're probably right.

I'm usually one of the pushers on our deer hunts in our area because dogs aren't allowed.

After the rut the deer won't move around much in broad daylight & tend to hang out in deep cover.

The pushers are the guys who work the heavy cover to get the animals moving out of their beds in the daytime so the shooters in the ground blinds & tree stands can get an opportunity for a shot.

The gun recipe for pushers is short, light carbines that don't get "emotionally involved" with the tag alders, switches and overhanging tree branches laden with dew or snow.

I carry a 16" Rossi Puma in .44 Mag (4.8 pounds) cause the farthest I'm going to see a deer at "in the jungle" is 20 yards or so.

If I figure more horsepower is needed I won't go to a 24" "alder-luvin" octagonal barrel, I'll truck rack the Rossi and pack my 18.5" bbl Remington 7400 carbine in .308 Win.

[COSteve]

Reading this and other barrel length threads it's clear that the environment we each hunt in is a contributing factor. Out here in the West we're much more likely to see open country than back east. As a kid I lived in a suburb of St. Louis and the tangles and brush made traversing the woods an 'adventure' more likely than not so I can see how a shorter barrel would be appreciated back there.

[pricedo]

Reading this and other barrel length threads it's clear that the environment we each hunt in is a contributing factor. Out here in the West we're much more likely to see open country than back east. As a kid I lived in a suburb of St. Louis and the tangles and brush made traversing the woods an 'adventure' more likely than not so I can see how a shorter barrel would be appreciated back there.

In areas with lotsa open country both the Rossi & the Remington 7400 would be "in stir" in the gun cabinet & my Savage Model 116 FCSS in .30-06 Sprng & Bushnell Elite 4200 2.5-10x42mm scope would be gracing the gun rack in my pick-up. It's wonderfully accurate (1/2 MOA) with my hand loads using the Barnes 168 grain TSX bullets & has achieved 1 shot kills on deer & Canadian moose.

It's all about using the right tool for the job.

[Griff]

It's probably me being naive again but I could never grasp the need for a barrel over 16" or 20" to shoot a cartridge like the .357 Mag or .44 Mag that are loaded with fast burning powders designed to reach optimum ballistic efficiency in vented revolvers with barrels less than a foot long ....

Since when does "NEED" enter into it? Just to be picky about it, that be "sight radius", as the distance between the sights increase, so too does the probability for better alignmment!

Then too, there's always, "because I can!" Sufficiently good reason, no? But, as you point out, in picking the right tool, one should consider all factors. But in the final analysis, there's only one opinion that counts.

[rbertalotto]

Then too, there's always, "because I can!" Sufficiently good reason, no?

PERFECT!

Merry Christmas!

[Canuck Bob]

Good point about environment Steve. The evolution of the popular mountain rifle is really interesting. Once (read O'Connor here) it was a lighter, say 7 to 7.5 #s scoped long barrel rifle. Now it is a very light rifle with short barrels to get weight as low as possible for many. If I built a rifle for prairie or high mountain work I would still want a 22-24" barrel. A BLR stainless in 300 Mag with its 24" barrel would do fine. Much finer than any side grabber.