Rossi M92 .45 colt things to consider.

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Sharpie443

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So I've ran into a lot of people looking to buy a lever gun lately. Mostly do to changes in my states hunting laws concerning straight walled cartilages but also just because people seem to be interested in them. I own a number of lever guns but I thought i would talk about one in particular in this video.

The Rossi is a good gun out of the box and is a less expensive alternative to a Henry or a higher end lever gun. it shoots well out of the box but there are a few things to be aware of. The action is rough from the factory and will take a lot of time or money to smooth out. Even if you do the job yourself it will require a new ejector spring, reduced power main spring and mettle follower for the tube magazine. However the end result is a gun just as good as ones that might have otherwise been outside your price point.

Now in terms of caliber I like the .45 colt. The down side is you have to reload to get the full potential of this cartridge. It's capable of out preforming the .44 mag when loaded with a slow burning powder like H110 with a log barrel and good projectile. This gun is capable of using .45 Colt Ruger only loads that turn the anemic .45 colt into a contender with other straight walled magnums and excellent hunting round.

Overall I highly recommend the gun if you are looking to get into a lever gun without braking the bank. Just keep in mind that it is going to take a bit of work to smooth out the action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDrAzdEJoOs
 
Only thing I would disagree with in your post is the description of standard pressure 45 Colt as "anemic." It's quite a capable cartridge as is, it only gets better as it's cranked up.
 
And you don't have to reload - loads from Buffalo Bore, DoubleTap, Underwood, etc. are plenty hot and heavy. As I understand it, the Doubletap 335 grain hardcast load gets 1600 fps from a 16" barrel.
 
I bought a M92 in the past year. It was far from rough right out of the box. I did a home slick up job using Steve Gunz kit. It took me an hour or so to go from a good action to a very slick one.
 
Sharpie443

The action is rough from the factory and will take a lot of time or money to smooth out. Even if you do the job yourself it will require a new ejector spring, reduced power main spring and mettle follower for the tube magazine.

I also must take exception to this statement as my Rossi 92 (in .45 Colt), was good to go right out of the box. The action was nice and smooth and didn't require any sort of work or parts replacement to be done to it.

001_zpseab50252.jpg
 
Wow that was not my experience at all with this gun. It was rough out of the box and absolutely needed a new ejector spring. But a little bit of smoothing out the action and some new parts got it working good.
 
Only thing I would disagree with in your post is the description of standard pressure 45 Colt as "anemic." It's quite a capable cartridge as is, it only gets better as it's cranked up.
Well the standared .45 colt is only about 900 ft/s with about 450 Ft-Lds of energy. That's pretty weak for a cartridge that big compared to everything else on the market. I mean I'm still a big fan of .45 colt guns even if they only shoot standard loads. It's just not what i would use for hunting. .45 colt RO loads on the other hand are more than capable of being used for hunting.
 
Also, don't discount the ability of a large meplat on a couple of hundred grains of cast lead to get the job done, even at subsonic velocities. Elmer Keith proved this with handguns, and it only gets better with the carbine.
 
I've had two of these in 45 Colt, a rifle and a carbine. Both were helped with a take down and deburring. My complaint with them is the chambers. After full length resizing 4 or 5 times the brass started splitting. The chambers are a little large for the hand loader.
 
I've had two of these in 45 Colt, a rifle and a carbine. Both were helped with a take down and deburring. My complaint with them is the chambers. After full length resizing 4 or 5 times the brass started splitting. The chambers are a little large for the hand loader.
I am completely with you on the oversized chambers. I've taken to not resizing the brass just keeping it fire formed to the gun. On lighter loads with fully resized brass you can tell that it's not getting a great gas seal. I've noticed this problem with a number of modern guns not just the Rossi.
 
That's a nice looking rifle bannockburn. Is the large loop factory?
This was my 92 in .45LC (that got away). :(
lever_zpsc4976270.jpg
It was okay new, a lot slicker with a little polishing and Wolff springs.
 
Well the standared .45 colt is only about 900 ft/s with about 450 Ft-Lds of energy. That's pretty weak for a cartridge that big compared to everything else on the market. I mean I'm still a big fan of .45 colt guns even if they only shoot standard loads. It's just not what i would use for hunting. .45 colt RO loads on the other hand are more than capable of being used for hunting.


Still disagree with you. A 255 grain flat nose lead bullet at 900 fps is a more than capable whitetail round. Those numbers are achievable from a 4 5/8" handgun barrel also. There is nothing weak about that.
 
I won a 20" Rossi M92 45 Colt in an auction a few years back for a close to stupid price.

The original owner had already put on a receiver sight and may have slicked it up some... certainly no complaints here, it's fed everything I've put through it. My chamber doesn't appear to be too terribly oversized, and it's at least round (unlike a particular Win 94 I once saw and was considering).

Accuracy is good enough for pop cans at 50 yards, standing on my own two legs.

Oh, I take the no complaints thing back... throw in some BB loads and the buttplate can give you a good swat.
 
stoky

Yes the large loop lever is factory original. Love the way this short barreled carbine handles and have been very pleased by it's overall quality and performance.

005_zps52971e1e.jpg
 
Arkansas Paul....do you mean one like this?:) I got it from a cowboy re-enacter and It was plenty slicked up when I got it! It is a reliable shooter and minute of tennis ball at 100 YRDS.

But it ain't for sale. :mad: Sorry!
 

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...the standared .45 colt is only about 900 ft/s with about 450 Ft-Lds of energy. That's pretty weak for a cartridge that big compared to everything else on the market.

Sharpie443,

Forget about FP's of energy. This is nothing but an arithmetic calculation based on bullet weight and velocity. It does not take into consideration caliber. The .45 Colt kills all out of proportion to it's energy numbers.

Don
 
USSR said:
It does not take into consideration caliber. The .45 Colt kills all out of proportion to it's energy numbers.

Does this mean that a .45 Colt is a better killer than the smaller caliber lever actions like .30-30, .35 Remington, .308, .30-06, .300 Win Mag, etc?
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by USSR
It does not take into consideration caliber. The .45 Colt kills all out of proportion to it's energy numbers.

Does this mean that a .45 Colt is a better killer than the smaller caliber lever actions like .30-30, .35 Remington, .308, .30-06, .300 Win Mag, etc?

Well, that sure came out of left field...

Don
 
And you don't have to reload - loads from Buffalo Bore, DoubleTap, Underwood, etc. are plenty hot and heavy. As I understand it, the Doubletap 335 grain hardcast load gets 1600 fps from a 16" barrel.

I guess my thought is, this thread is about saving money.
I can reload 45 Colt for less than $5 /box of 50.

Yes, I realize I invested pretty heavily to get to this point, but I reloaded ~12,000 various caliber cartridges (on average, per year, over the last 5 years)
And after 5 years, the press, dies etc have WAY over repaid me for the initial investment.

Just my worthless 2¢
 
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