ROSSI -357mag

[redgum]

Does anyone shoot Cast Semi Wadcutters in a Rossi 357 levergun?
If so, do they present any problems with feeding.
A buddy just bought a new Marlin 357 and it wont have a bar of 'em. It will only take "cowboy style" RNFP's so I was wondering what experiences people are having with their Rossi's.

[hartman]

Mine feeds SWC just fine. It's an old Lyman 357 mold that drops at about 160 grains.

Hartman

[2ndovc]

Mine wouldn't until I had it worked over. My Marlins are hit and miss. The 45Colt and the 41Mag I had would feed anything but my .44 will feed a standard swc but not the wide flat nose.

Sometimes they need a little tweaking.


jb

[JerryB]

My Rossi .357 and my grandson's Marlin .357 will both run SWC ammo as well as the round nose for CAS. Neither have been worked for them.

[runfiverun]

my rossi will feed 357 swc's
my 44 is a bit picky with them i have to seat them rightthere..

[TedH]

My Rossi does just fine with SWC. I cast mine from a Lyman mold, cant remember the number off hand. They are not the most accurate, but they feed okay.

[redgum]

Thanks for the replies fellers.
The Marlin I spoke of just doesn't seem to like the 'lip'of the SWC's and seems to catch on the chamber mouth. When working the lever it would stop on the lip,... you would have to back off slightly and have another go and then it would continue into battery.

[Pisgah]

Funny thing -- my Rossi .45 Colt didn't want to feed SWCs when I first got it. After futzing around with various loads and bullets for maybe 250 rounds, I loaded up some of the original SWC loads -- and they fed slick as could be. Clearly, something has "worn in", which is a good thing as these are the most accurate loads I've tried yet, and work great in my Uberti Cattleman Flat Top Target revolver, too.

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

All our leverguns are length and bullet shape sensitive to some degree. Like semi-auto handguns, they can be picky about what they will run. There are so many different brands and shapes and OAL`s of 38`s and 357's available it is impossible for one gun to cover them all.
Another thing to consider, when these guns are made, the maker has a nominal size for each and ever parts that goes into the gun. But they will accept a part that is plus or minus a few thousands. Once all these various parts are assemble every gun will be slightly different. That's called stackup. I have had consecutive serial numbered gun here. One would run on empty brass, the other would not run on anything without some tweeking.

[azrednek]

My Rossi just doesn't like 357's of any kind. It digests all kinds of 38's like a hot knife through butter with the exception of flush seated, full wad cutters. It swallows round nose 357's with out much trouble but SWC's have to be coaxed in or loaded one at a time. At the loading bench I can seat a 357 SWC bullet deep, with the shoulder seated below the rim and they feed in the Rossi allot better but occasionally need a little encouragement to chamber.

I bought the gun to use as a plinker. At the time of the purchase I had apx 3,000 38 reloads on hand. The Rossi does a good job punching paper and can hunting out to about 50 yards shooting 38 Specials. I honestly can't recall it ever hanging up with a 38 except for the flush seated wad cutters. A few years ago I rolled a coyote at apx 35 yards with it shooting a Remington 38 +P. Just by using it, often shooting a few hundred 38's in a single outing. The action has smoothed out considerably and it now handles 357's allot better than when it was new but the SWC are still stubborn. I just can't justify the cost of tweaking it to handle the 357's.