Rossi M92 .357 16" barrel - anyone have one?
- Thread starter AEA
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Virg461
Member
I like mine. My son deer hunts with it. I've personally killed a couple with it. As long as you're using a stout load and keep it to within 100 yards, it does the job. Very light and handy too. Some of them (mine included) are a little rough to start with, but after a few hundred rounds things slick up nicely. There are several discussions on the web about action jobs that people have done to improve the function for things like cowboy action shooting. My son likes to shoot cans with using .38's. He's 12, so it's a very good size for him. Very little recoil, and .357 out of a rifle is a much different animal than it is out of a 4 inch revolver.
It has always seemed to me that this would be a very useful HD gun. Light, 8 round capacity, short enough for moving from room to room.
I'm thinking of getting a 20 inch in .44 mag to serve ask this one's big brother.
It has always seemed to me that this would be a very useful HD gun. Light, 8 round capacity, short enough for moving from room to room.
I'm thinking of getting a 20 inch in .44 mag to serve ask this one's big brother.
And now the bad... Rossi can be very hit or miss concerning the quality of their rifles. Fit and finish concerns. Some of the dual caliber rifles (.38/357, 45lc/454) have issues with the cycling one round or the other. It's not all their rifles, but you can find enough reviews of users having issues. There's even a page dedicated to some of them that I'm too lazy to look it up.
Again, not all their levers, but I would advise being there in person and have the ability to actually cycle rounds if possible to see if its the gun for you. Some levers I'd trust sight unseen. Rossi isn't one of them.
Again, not all their levers, but I would advise being there in person and have the ability to actually cycle rounds if possible to see if its the gun for you. Some levers I'd trust sight unseen. Rossi isn't one of them.
BCRider
Member
I got the 20 inch since the 16 won't quite hold the 10 rounds of .38Spl I need to use in CAS events. Sadly the 16 would only hold 9.8 rounds of .38Spl. That last one wouldn't go in without the aid of a hammer.
As a budding gunsmith who's been doing hobby metal machining for many years I used the information found on the web along with a few hints from our local gunsmith that specializes in CAS slickemup jobs to slick my own M92 up so it is now a super nice handling gun for these sort of matches and for general plinking.
There was nothing all that much wrong with it right out of the box other than being a little stiff if you want to load and shoot quickly.
One thing you WILL find is that they do not like SWC ammo. That stuff jams up real easy. Stick to round nose, truncated cone or at least reasonably well rounded hollow point ammo.
As a budding gunsmith who's been doing hobby metal machining for many years I used the information found on the web along with a few hints from our local gunsmith that specializes in CAS slickemup jobs to slick my own M92 up so it is now a super nice handling gun for these sort of matches and for general plinking.
There was nothing all that much wrong with it right out of the box other than being a little stiff if you want to load and shoot quickly.
One thing you WILL find is that they do not like SWC ammo. That stuff jams up real easy. Stick to round nose, truncated cone or at least reasonably well rounded hollow point ammo.
lonestardiver
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Should be good to go... I have the trappers m92 in 44mag.
It would only hold 8 or 9 in the magazine. When I used it on the
stages in CAS I'd pull a round from the belt and top feed it into
the chamber with the action open. Sometimes I could put it on
a cross member of the stage or on the window sill.
It would only hold 8 or 9 in the magazine. When I used it on the
stages in CAS I'd pull a round from the belt and top feed it into
the chamber with the action open. Sometimes I could put it on
a cross member of the stage or on the window sill.
From my experience, it's a lot better than the Marlin, and comparable to the Winchester 94 (the one with the ugly safety going through the receiver). The sights could be better (as on most factory lever guns), but you might be able to find a decent ghost-ring set, and all will be good. SWC's have worked well for me, in either .357 or .38 Spl. Like an old original Winchester 92 it locks up tight, and will also smooth out with considerable use.
greyling22
Member
+1 to what bcrider said.
I had one. nice trim gun, can be made to run silky smooth. smoother than a marlin. cheaper and lighter weight too.
the bad: you may not like the wood. the sights are so-so and not as easy to replace as a marlin. an action job is a lot harder to do yourself. (mostly because dis assembly is a bearcat if you don't know what you are doing.)
All in all, I sold to rossi to a relative and kept the marlin 1894c. If rossi/taurus will make a stainless one with a synthetic stock (either brushed or bead blasted so I don't have to do it myself) I'll buy another one in a heartbeat.
I had one. nice trim gun, can be made to run silky smooth. smoother than a marlin. cheaper and lighter weight too.
the bad: you may not like the wood. the sights are so-so and not as easy to replace as a marlin. an action job is a lot harder to do yourself. (mostly because dis assembly is a bearcat if you don't know what you are doing.)
All in all, I sold to rossi to a relative and kept the marlin 1894c. If rossi/taurus will make a stainless one with a synthetic stock (either brushed or bead blasted so I don't have to do it myself) I'll buy another one in a heartbeat.
Thanks Onmilo for the warning. I do not buy into that with regards to factory flat point ammo. I can see where reloads and/or pointy tips could possibly have that problem but I do not plan on reloading.
I have yet to see any confirmed documented reports of ammo firing in the tube in any lever action rifle with factory TMJ ammo. I'm not saying it is not possible, but it is certainly not something that happens often (if at all). Additionally, in order for it to have a chance to happen, the recoil energy has to be great to accomplish a primer strike in the tube. A .357/.38 just does not have that recoil energy.
This is exactly what I plan to do.BCRider said:
I have yet to see any confirmed documented reports of ammo firing in the tube in any lever action rifle with factory TMJ ammo. I'm not saying it is not possible, but it is certainly not something that happens often (if at all). Additionally, in order for it to have a chance to happen, the recoil energy has to be great to accomplish a primer strike in the tube. A .357/.38 just does not have that recoil energy.
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BCRider said:
Just curious about this.....
First, were you shooting round nose ammo? Did you try flat points like TMJ's that MAY have given you that extra fraction of an inch overall in the tube for your 10th round?
Second, did you cut the recoil spring so that there is only 3 rounds length of the spring sticking out of the gun before compressing/installing? Some springs are longer and really not needed. If yours was, it was also making that 10th round harder to get in.
I will check/cut my mag spring to have only 4.5" sticking out (length of 3 -.357 rounds).
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I actually had the 1894c and sold it. It would never cycle right and I did not feel like fooling with it. I decided to go with the Rossi M92 for it's easier smoothing out and well known stronger 92 action.greyling22 said:
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AEA your rifle, do what you want, I own an 1860 Henry reproduction and have actually seen one tube detonate while the shooter was dropping cartridges into the mag tube and it detonated on the seventh or eighth cartridge so the drop wasn't long.
Fair warning.
I have had 3 Rossi rifles over the years, a .357, a .44 mag, and a .44/40
I used lead cowboy bullets in all of them with no issues and the .44/40 was by far, the most accurate rifle I have ever owned in that caliber
Fair warning.
I have had 3 Rossi rifles over the years, a .357, a .44 mag, and a .44/40
I used lead cowboy bullets in all of them with no issues and the .44/40 was by far, the most accurate rifle I have ever owned in that caliber
Old judge creek
Member
I have a Rossi 92 44 Magnum with a 16' barrel. It's a real thumper! Your 357 should be a handy-dandy rifle as well. The simple fact is I'm one of those guys that once I learned of the extreme benefits of Trapper length rifles (and that means short barrels - generally in the 16' range these days) I wan't happy until I had a Trapper in each of my handgun calibers... and two in rifle calibers.
My 44Mag is a 16" Rossi M92
My 44-40 is a 16" Uberti (1866 Yellowboy)
My 357 is a 17" Browning M92
My 45 Colt is one of 500 Marlin 94 Trappers
My 30-30 is an original Winchester 94 when Winchester was still Winchester
And my M1A is a 16" barreled SOCOM16
Load 'em with the proper powders (that will complete the burn in a short 16" barrel) and I don't believe you could find a handier, all purpose rifle.
YMMV
My 44Mag is a 16" Rossi M92
My 44-40 is a 16" Uberti (1866 Yellowboy)
My 357 is a 17" Browning M92
My 45 Colt is one of 500 Marlin 94 Trappers
My 30-30 is an original Winchester 94 when Winchester was still Winchester
And my M1A is a 16" barreled SOCOM16
Load 'em with the proper powders (that will complete the burn in a short 16" barrel) and I don't believe you could find a handier, all purpose rifle.
YMMV
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greyling22
Member
AEA, my 16" m92 wouldn't take 10 no matter what we did. cut spring, replace follower, etc.
Flashcube
Member
I did not have good luck with my 16" stainless Rossi M92... Jam-city right out of the box, and never ran right even after some tweaking. I bought it to shoot .38 specials at my local indoor range during the winter, but it would not feed them reliably enough to be any kind of fun.
The amusing thing about it though... is that it didn't actually jam with the .38s like it did with the .357s ... it never even loaded them. You'd throw the lever and the next live round would follow the empty out the top, lol.
Sold it to someone who thought he could fix it and bought a Marlin.... and then decided I really just don't like lever guns and sold the Marlin too, lol.
The amusing thing about it though... is that it didn't actually jam with the .38s like it did with the .357s ... it never even loaded them. You'd throw the lever and the next live round would follow the empty out the top, lol.
Sold it to someone who thought he could fix it and bought a Marlin.... and then decided I really just don't like lever guns and sold the Marlin too, lol.
Got mine today - Woo-HOO!
Boy these things are hard to find. Managed to get one last week from "The Exchange" in Brookings, SD (onlinegundeals.com).
Got it today from my local FFL and boy am I happy!
Looks like I got a good one!
Only thing wrong with it out of the box was the rear sight was drifted off center. Quick fix. Also, when I removed the Mag Spring Plug to install a SS follower, it was a bit hard to get out and even harder to get in. I tried it without the spring and it was almost impossible to get into the tube. I used a bit of fine sandpaper to smooth up the plug and also the inside of the tube end and violla.....works perfect now. I cut about 3" off the Mag Spring leaving about 5" still sticking out (4.5" is the length of 3 - .357 mag rounds and what Steve's Gunz suggests). I left an extra half inch to be safe.
Loading gate is not as stiff as I was expecting. Pretty good actually. I will not be cutting the spring there. Although I have already bought the Gunslinger spring kit, I doubt that I will use it (at least for now). Reason......after flushing the gun with brake cleaner and then oiling it up, it is pretty smooth as it is. I will shoot it awhile the way it is and if necessary, install the spring kit later on.
Installed Steve's Gunz safety delete button. Used a sewing needle & loop to scratch out the cheesy green and red paint on the "F&S" stamped letters. The paint was actually soft........could have been the brake cleaner...... Used a toothbrush to get the edge corners of the letters clean. 2 Min job.
Interesting to me is the keyed lock on the back of the hammer (similar to S&W revolvers). I never heard anyone mention this before, but it is there, along with 2 keys that came with it. With the keys is a paper that says "Taurus Lock" so I can only assume this has been present since the takeover in 1997? Strange that in all my readings I had seen nothing about this. Wonder if there is a replacement hammer available somewhere without the lock or hole?
Wood is on the medium-dark side and looks really good. I am pleasantly surprised. It's dull finish is the only downside and I may see about adding a clear semi-gloss later on.
Won't get to shoot it for awhile, but have already cycled .38's and .357's with no problems with either. And yes, it only holds 9 rounds in the 16" version, but CASS shooters should be able to put +1 in the chamber (not sure of the rules)?
Did I say.................I am happy!
Boy these things are hard to find. Managed to get one last week from "The Exchange" in Brookings, SD (onlinegundeals.com).
Got it today from my local FFL and boy am I happy!
Looks like I got a good one!
Only thing wrong with it out of the box was the rear sight was drifted off center. Quick fix. Also, when I removed the Mag Spring Plug to install a SS follower, it was a bit hard to get out and even harder to get in. I tried it without the spring and it was almost impossible to get into the tube. I used a bit of fine sandpaper to smooth up the plug and also the inside of the tube end and violla.....works perfect now. I cut about 3" off the Mag Spring leaving about 5" still sticking out (4.5" is the length of 3 - .357 mag rounds and what Steve's Gunz suggests). I left an extra half inch to be safe.
Loading gate is not as stiff as I was expecting. Pretty good actually. I will not be cutting the spring there. Although I have already bought the Gunslinger spring kit, I doubt that I will use it (at least for now). Reason......after flushing the gun with brake cleaner and then oiling it up, it is pretty smooth as it is. I will shoot it awhile the way it is and if necessary, install the spring kit later on.
Installed Steve's Gunz safety delete button. Used a sewing needle & loop to scratch out the cheesy green and red paint on the "F&S" stamped letters. The paint was actually soft........could have been the brake cleaner...... Used a toothbrush to get the edge corners of the letters clean. 2 Min job.
Interesting to me is the keyed lock on the back of the hammer (similar to S&W revolvers). I never heard anyone mention this before, but it is there, along with 2 keys that came with it. With the keys is a paper that says "Taurus Lock" so I can only assume this has been present since the takeover in 1997? Strange that in all my readings I had seen nothing about this. Wonder if there is a replacement hammer available somewhere without the lock or hole?
Wood is on the medium-dark side and looks really good. I am pleasantly surprised. It's dull finish is the only downside and I may see about adding a clear semi-gloss later on.
Won't get to shoot it for awhile, but have already cycled .38's and .357's with no problems with either. And yes, it only holds 9 rounds in the 16" version, but CASS shooters should be able to put +1 in the chamber (not sure of the rules)?
Did I say.................I am happy!
Tommygunn
Member
AEA said:
AEA, do you mind telling me where to get this? I have a Rossi "Ranch Hand" with the **** safety and I think I might like to remove it.
Thanks!
greyling22
Member
greyling22
Member
yeah, notice his dovetail blank is 9 or 10 bucks? midway's got it on sale right now for 4. Now, I understand economies of scale, niche products, and turning a profit, and I appreciate stevesgunz for making upgrades to the rifle, but I also appreciate walmart and costco.
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