Rossi Model 13/Model 25 Princess?
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kBob
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Don't know a thing about them but googled your thread tite minus the question mark and got a boat load of info. They look interesting but price would be the deciding factor for me.
-kBob
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WestKentucky
Member
I have shot one and I tried hard to buy it but it wasn’t for sale. Like old school rossi revolvers, they are nice enough but they aren’t superbly finished. The only thing the princess had going for it was it’s small size. I didn’t see any practical use for it though, too small to shoot well and no real advantages over anything else so practically it’s a non-starter, but the cool factor of such a tiny revolver is high.
NIGHTLORD40K
Member
Run away.
Looks nice, but very cheaply made from Zinc and steel castings. Mine sufferred severe topstrap cutting after about 30 rounds- gun was totalled.
On top of that, somehow they have aquired "collector" status and ridiculously high prices.
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OP
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TTv2
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Yeah, you're the main person I've seen posting about this revolver and your round count until flame cutting damage has changed from 50 to 200 to 75 to 30. So, which is it?
I'm not saying your gun didn't get damaged, but I'm wondering if you either got a model that was already damaged or you're mistaking the nickel plating flaking off during shooting for top strap damage.
NIGHTLORD40K
Member
Maybe my memories hazy because it was so long ago.
Maybe my eyes arent still sharp, unlike my mind, and I cant tell the difference between giant, melted pits and flaking plating.
Maybe- and this is a long shot- youll find someone else (besides W.KY) with positive, first hand experience with a Princess. Maybe so.
Go on then, spend your money. Good luck.
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Monac
Member
Look, anybody knows going in that a Rossi Princess is not a really useful gun. It is a collector's piece. In particular, it is the only affordable way to get a copy of the smallest swing-out cylinder revolver ever made, because a functional S&W Ladysmith is expensive. And the S&W's were only made for 22 Long, not Long Rifle.
How much is anybody going to shoot a Rossi Princess? I would, if I bought one, just to find out what it was like (because otherwise why buy one?), but I think my curiosity would be satisfied by 35 rounds, tops. If the top strap demonstrated bad flame-cutting by then, well, then that would be something else I would have learned!
If I was concerned about damage, I would stick to 22 Shorts, BTW. Longs are either no longer made or are priced out of this world, and why bother with LRs in a gun this small if they are supposed to be damaging? Neither accuracy nor stopping power is going to be much different, IMO.
How much is anybody going to shoot a Rossi Princess? I would, if I bought one, just to find out what it was like (because otherwise why buy one?), but I think my curiosity would be satisfied by 35 rounds, tops. If the top strap demonstrated bad flame-cutting by then, well, then that would be something else I would have learned!
If I was concerned about damage, I would stick to 22 Shorts, BTW. Longs are either no longer made or are priced out of this world, and why bother with LRs in a gun this small if they are supposed to be damaging? Neither accuracy nor stopping power is going to be much different, IMO.
NIGHTLORD40K
Member
Incidentally, the Rossi is marked ".22lr."
Its a neat idea, and would be a step up over, say, most NAA minirevolvers if it had been made of better materials. But, realistically, and despite its collector status in the US, it was designed to be a cheap, semi-disposable pocket pistol for defending yourself against footpads in the back-alleys of Rio. In that sense, even if it only survived for a few cylinders worth of shots it served its purpose.
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Carl N. Brown
Member
In shooting black powder era antique .22 firearms (and the Rossi Princess is a reproduction of a black powder era .22 revolver), I have felt comfortable with CCI .22 CB Shorts or CB Longs (both loaded with 29 grain lead round nose bullets to about 720 feet per second velocity).
I would not shoot standard velocity (~1080 fps), high velocity (~1200 to 1300 fps), or hyper velocity (~1500+), .22 short, long, long rifle in a BP era design revolver. (The modern North American Arms mini revolvers being an exception: they are engoneered for modern ammo.)
I would not shoot standard velocity (~1080 fps), high velocity (~1200 to 1300 fps), or hyper velocity (~1500+), .22 short, long, long rifle in a BP era design revolver. (The modern North American Arms mini revolvers being an exception: they are engoneered for modern ammo.)
Monac
Member
The Rossi Princess did not have a problem with firing chamber pressure, which is the problem generally associated with the switch from black powder to smokeless powder. It had a problem with flame cutting of the top strap, which was caused by the switch from making the frame out of steel, as in the S&W M-frame Ladysmiths, to making it out of zinc alloy.
Incidentally, the M-frame was introduced in 1902, which I think makes it a "semi-smokeless" era revolver. As I understand, manufacturers of 22 rimfire ammunition were slow to switch to smokeless powder, in order to keep costs down. That is why John Browning had to design the 25 ACP cartridge for his 1905 automatic pistol, because it could not be made to work with the 22 ammo of the time (too much fouling). That is the pistol that made revolvers like the Ladysmith obsolescent.
Incidentally, the M-frame was introduced in 1902, which I think makes it a "semi-smokeless" era revolver. As I understand, manufacturers of 22 rimfire ammunition were slow to switch to smokeless powder, in order to keep costs down. That is why John Browning had to design the 25 ACP cartridge for his 1905 automatic pistol, because it could not be made to work with the 22 ammo of the time (too much fouling). That is the pistol that made revolvers like the Ladysmith obsolescent.
Gordon
Member
I had one, 20 years ago and it broke a cast frame part. I sold the parts on E Bay years ago. I was very disappointed in that cute gun. I fired .22 ling's std velocity about a box or so. In another session cylinder came off, some part of crane broke off frame and I was out $150 and devestated
Monac
Member
Wow. I had no idea they were that bad. I've never bid on one, but I've thought about bidding on one. Then I managed to get a real Ladysmith cheap (mechanically OK, no finish, cut-down barrel with a home-made brass front sight. I should fire it one of these days).
NIGHTLORD40K knows more than I do, so he is probably right that these were "semi-disposable" guns for "for defending yourself against footpads in the back-alleys of Rio". I thought they were more like gun jewelry, similar to the Colt "Lord and Lady" single-shot derringer reproductions made in the 1950's or 1960's. My understanding is that Colt was considerably surprised when some people actually fired them and were annoyed by their poor durability. Of the Rossi Princess' I have seen on the Internet, if they had a factory box, it was a kind of presentation or jewelry style case, just like the "Lord and Lady" guns.
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