What's wrong with Rossi?

[firecrackerktm]

I have seen some negative opinions in a couple of threads here, but I missed the reasons why.

I've been considering a snub .38 and see some good deals locally on Rossi and Taurus.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I had a Rossi snub 20 years ago. It was a decent carry piece.

 

[mesinge2]

The older pre Taurus Rossi revolvers are of pretty nice quality. I have one Rossi, a Model 88 5-shot 38 SPL and it has never left me down. My only complaint is that replacement grips for this gun are non-existent.

 

[mdThanatos]

My experience with Rossi/Taurus has been bad quality. I am not saying all of them are bad but the experience I had was enough to turn me off. I had a Rossi 461 .357 that the firing kept breaking, had to utilize the repair service 4 times so for 4 months out of the 6 that it was under my ownership it was at the repair center in Miami. I have seen others that had issues with Taurus auto-loaders, mainly on the millennium pro the magazine kept popping out when fired.

 

[Jaymo]

I've only owned one Rossi. It was a nickel 68 and it never failed me.
I sold it to help fund a Marlin .44 mag for deer hunting.
I've owned many Taurus revolvers and autos, and never had a single problem with any of them.

SOP is, you buy a Smith and if it breaks, you send it back to Smith and rave about how great their customer service is, whether it takes a week or a year.
You buy a Taurus and if it breaks, you send it to Miami and bitch about how crappy the product is because it broke in the first place, whether it takes a week or a year to get repaired.
My LGS has a like new Taurus 58-high cap .38 that I'd like to get.
Trouble is, they also got a very nice Ruger Single Six that I'd really like to have.
Since .22 ammo is so much cheaper than .380 (you know how this sentence ends)...............

 

[joecil]

I own 2 Rossi Rifles the M92 in 45 Colt and Rio Grande in 45-70. Had a minor problem with the M92 called Rossi, got a return label on the same day and had the gun back repaired in 5 business days working perfectly. Rio Grande is the best fit and finish gun I've ever owned and I own a lot of guns in 47 years owning guns.

Now as for their auto pistols (never owned one of their revolvers) I have a PT92, PT911, and a PT 111 Pro. All three have been shot a lot well over 1000 rounds at least. Never had a problem with any of them.

I've also owned Colts, S&W, Ruger, Armscor, Remington, CZ, Sigs and others some had problems with mixed results on repairs. Rossi/Taurus over the last year seems to have better QC and service faster if needed. The single best CS I found with all of them is Armscor bar none but Rossi/Taurus and Ruger are also high on my list.

 

[MedWheeler]

Never had an "actual" Rossi, but I do own a Taurus M66 revolver I've had since 1987. Only issue has been an ejector rod sleeve that works loose from time to time, binding the cylinder shut. Easy fix (Loc-Tite.)
I'd have no qualms buying a Rossi were I in the market for an economical revolver.

 

[Jaymo]

I forgot that I own a Rossi model 59 and 62. They are .22 LR and Mag pump rifles. I haven't shot them in a few years. They've both been fun shooters.

 

[waidmann]

We've had a 3" adjustable sight 5 shot .38 in the family for over 30 years. Its been passed around as different ones have come of age. Not a bit of trouble.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I do not dislike the pre/Taurus Rossi revolvers but I'm not too sure about the new ones///

 

[skidder]

I had a pre-Taurus Rossi 971 and never had a problem with it. One of my friends kept bugging me to sell it to him. I finally caved and sold it.
I think they bought Rossi in 1997, but could be wrong. Check the manufacture date of the gun (not sure how to do that ).

 

[mesinge2]

I do not dislike the pre/Taurus Rossi revolvers but I'm not too sure about the new ones

I'm in the same boat. I know about the pre-Taurus models but I have never even handled a Rossi that was made after their acquisition by Taurus. So my advice above pertains to only pre-Taurus model Rossi revolvers. I don't offer advice about weapons of which I have no personal experience.

 

[joecil]

I had a pre-Taurus Rossi 971 and never had a problem with it. One of my friends kept bugging me to sell it to him. I finally caved and sold it.
I think they bought Rossi in 1997, but could be wrong. Check the manufacture date of the gun (not sure how to do that ).

If you go to the Rossi site at http://www.rossiusa.com/find-model.cfm and put in your serial number it will give you that information as well as some other stuff.

 

[CajunBass]

I've never owned a Rossi, but I have looked at them, and I have owned a few Taurus revolvers over the years. IF I was "just looking for a gun", I can't think of a reason why they wouldn't do just fine. I'd check them out the same as I would a Smith & Wesson or a Colt, (there is a "how to buy" at the top of the page) and if it checked out...

Sure a Smith & Wesson is better. It should be. It costs a lot more. That doesn't mean a Rossi or a Taurus can't do the job.

 

[DocRx]

I've never owned a Rossi per se, but I have owned two (still have one, and wish I never traded the other) Taurus firearms. I traded my Taurus PT740Slim in on a revolver (Ruger KLCR .357mag). That pistol was flawless with over 300+ rounds through it, a great .40cal IMO, especially for SD carry. I still own an "infamous" Judge .410/.45Colt, 6.5in that I use for hunting and home defense. Not a minutes problem with this revolver either, and fun to shoot (clays, doves, pheasants,etc. In .410 and deer in .45Colt). I won't hesitate to buy another Taurus or a Rossi if it "felt" right for my intended use. Take care.

 

[mesinge2]

If you go to the Rossi site at http://www.rossiusa.com/find-model.cfm and put in your serial number it will give you that information as well as some other stuff.

Apparently that only works for Taurus Rossi Guns as my SN has no results when I submitted it.

 

[Nicky Santoro]

My only complaint is that replacement grips for this gun are non-existent.

Pachmayr Compac. I have them on my model 68. Good fit. I'm not sure they'd be any better than the the drips shown in the picture. I changed them out because my Rossi came with skinny, slippery wood grips which made the gun difficult to hold consistently.

 

[mesinge2]

My only complaint is that replacement grips for this gun are non-existent.

Pachmayr Compac. I have them on my model 68. Good fit. I'm not sure they'd be any better than the the drips shown in the picture. I changed them out because my Rossi came with skinny, slippery wood grips which made the gun difficult to hold consistently.

I was looking for some wood finger groove grips like the ones made by Hogue, no luck.

 

[popeye]

I've only owned one Rossi and it was similar to mesinge2's in that it was SS and VERY MUCH similar to a J frame Smith. My gun had a square butt. I've found most S&W grips will fit Rossi/Taurus guns of this frame size. I'll bet if your gun has a SB the Smith grips will fit also. These are Taurus sambar stags on my 640. The pin hole had to be relocated but the profile fit perfectly.

 

[marcclarke]

Highly variable quality control.

 

[weregunner]

http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/rossi-revolvers/6275-lets-see-your-rossi-revolver-photos.html

As a source use the http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/rossi-revolvers/
as a source of info. Scroll down through the archives or scroll down through the threads,recent and old.
This is to be used as a source.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=661453
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=665843
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=662115
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=658923
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=626109
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=632244
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=587047
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=577363

 

[MagnumDweeb]

I've carried and shot a Rossi 462 snub nose .357 magnum for more than three years now. I've fed it the Winchester 110 grain Self Defense JHP and the Remington Green Box 125 Grain JHP (they've done just over 1200 fps out of my snub nose on a buddies chrony once). I've fed it Remington +P .38 Special 125 grain JHPs, I've fed it all kinds of FMJs and it is still reliable and I still carry it nearly everyday in my pocket. Sometimes I carry my Glock 23 in my pocket (yes 23 not 27).

It shoots well out to twenty yards (eight inch groupings on DA, and six inch and tighter on SA). It gets cleaned every two weeks. Regularly dry fired to maintain function and every month I put around fifty rounds through it of the latest JHP I'm carrying. Right now it's the Remington Green Box. And yes my hand hurts after a trip to the range.

It's a good inexpensive beater that I can and do trust my life to. It will get replaced eventually by a Ruger Sp101 2" (I own the 3.16") if I can find one in DAO for less than $400 OTD. Even after it gets replaced it will be made a permanent truck gun (right next to my Taurus PT92 that sits in my glove box 24/7) and reside in my center counsel. I owned an old 817 and sold it to a cousin who still uses it on rare occassion.

I'm a fan of the 462(and 461) and I'll keep buying them if I need them. My fiancee unfortunately doesn't like revolvers and my mom still has her Ultra Lite 85 Taurus that I bought her. So the Rossi might sooner die of rust than shooting.

 

[JERRY]

i had a Rossi 720 concealed hammer fixed sight .44spl years ago. i foolishly let it go. i now have another Rossi 720 non-fluted cylinder adj. sight .44spl. ive ebbn impressed with the Rossis ive owned.

 

[H&R Glock]

My Christmas preseant Rossi M92 in 38/357 turned out to be a beautiful gun that soots fine and looks great, but will not feed!

See my other letter in another thread. The cartridge will never feed into the chamber because it is at too steep an angle. In order to fire the gun I had to load through the breach manually.

Rossi seems to have an engineering problem with the 38/357 model. Mine was just sent back to Taurus, in Miami, for repair. If I knew it would be this much trouble, I'd have ordered it in a different caliber.

I hope Santa leaves Ross a stocking full of spent primers, or coal!

 

[DNS]

I bought the 2" 351 several years ago, just after Taurus got Rossi. Works and runs great and i enjoy shooting it. The finish is better than my old model 10 if you overlook all the extra "owned by Taurus" crap on the right side.