Rossi or Henry

andym79

I have a Rossi Model 92 in .45 Colt and I love it. Fit and finish are excellent, especially the way the metal was polished and blued. Metal to metal, and wood to metal is also first rate. The action was a little stiff at first but has smoothed out quite nicely with use. My gun has the short barrel with the large loop lever.

I can't speak to 45Colt specifically, but I can speak to the quality of the Rossi 92. I own 2 Rossi's, one in 357/38 and a 44-40. Both have excellent wood to metal finish and shoot far better than I can see. Both were rough in lever action at first, but I ordered a spring kit from www.stevesgunz.com and followed his cleaning and buffing procedure and the levers work very smooth now. I wouldn't have any problem recommending Rossi to anyone, + you would save a butt load of money over the Henry (which appears to be a very nice maker). My new Rossi 44-40 which I purchased last week cost $399.99 on sale from CDNN. YMMV

+1 on the Rossi. I love mine.

If you are planning on using any optics, steer clear of the Henry. It is otherwise a solid rifle. The smoothest lever action and trigger pull on any lever action I've handled. Beautiful piece. If I was looking for something to take out on the trail and beat up...I would probably go with the Rossi.

Why steer clear of Henry if using optics

My vote goes to the Rossi. They are very good guns for the money and the 1892 is the best of the pistol cartridge leverguns. IMHO, the Henry is ugly and two pounds heavier than it needs to be.

Why steer clear of Henry if using optics

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Without knowing the exact models in question its hard to say, but most of the Henry rifles are true to their 1870s roots and thus are top eject making a "scout" scope mount about your only option.

OTOH my Rossi .44mag is also top eject so it has the same issue. If he is comparing a side eject Rossi to a top eject Henry then the optic mounting could be the decider if that is a requirement.

Some of the Rossi's are top ejecting too. If you want optics, top ejecting is not convenient. For my .357 I never saw the point in a scope so it was not an issue.

I though you wre talking about Henry Big Boys. I have one in 357 and it is a very nice shooter. Shoots as good as it looks.

I just recently bought my 3rd Rossi lever gun. I have a 45 Colt, 454 Casull in the 92 and a Rio Grande in 45-70. Love them all with a weaver scout scope on the 454 Casull and a Bushnell banner on the 45-70. No complaints with any though I totally dismantle, clean then check for burrs etc and put back together with a few tuneups to suit me.

...most of the Henry rifles are true to their 1870s roots...

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The current Henry Repeating Arms has ZERO 1870's roots.

^^^ Craig beat me to it.

I'm going to go against the grain and say Henry. I have shot both and while the Rossi is a good gun IMO the Henry is better. Fit and finish is a lot nicer. If price is an issue then Rossi if not then Henry.

And btw, optics aren't an issue for Henrys either:
http://www.henryrepeating.com/st-scope-mount.cfm

My own experience with two Rossi rifles is a little mixed.

Four years ago I bought a Rossi under the Puma name to use for cowboy action shooting and just because I really like lever guns. Fit and finish on the outside was DARN NICE given the price point. The inside of the action had some burrs and roughness that slicked up just fine using the online trigger job information that I found. Once that was done the rifle shoots great as far as accuracy goes.

Fast forward to just last spring when some friends bought a new Rossi and gave it to me to do the same sort of action job. Fit and finish on the outside was not as neatly done but there was nothing that glaring. The "varnish" or whatever they use is horrible but serviceable. The metal finish and blueing was a little more "textured" than the nice mirror like surfaces on my own rifle's exterior. But the insides were impeccably done. It needed very little stoning to slick things up for cowboy action work. And in fact her rifle is likely smoother than mine to actually shoot.

Note that both rifles were or would have been just fine right out of the box. But there was certainly some roughness and stiffness to the lever due to the spring selection and newness of the cartridge paths. Some shooting would have burnished these things over time no doubt. But by doing the slicking up work AND swapping the springs out we short circuited things to "smooth as silk" in a couple of hours.

I can't comment on the Henry option other than to say that my two rimfire Henrys are superbly nice to cycle and shoot. And that if this same thing is the case in their Big Boy line than that you can do far worse.

For rough and tumble use in the field I suspect that the Rossi 92 would be a slightly better option. I understand that the Henry is bigger and heavier by quite a lot.

With a full magazine tube my 20 inch round barrel Rossi hangs level in my hand when my pinky is about 3 inches ahead of the front of the trigger guard. So I suspect that the 16" carbine model would hang level with the pinky on or just a hair ahead of the guard. On the other hand if you wanted to fit a sling and shoulder it I'd suspect that the 20" model would be the way to go for anyone taller than about 5' 9" or so. Shorter folks would likely find the 16" model slings over a shoulder neatly without sticking down too far.

...most of the Henry rifles are true to their 1870s roots...

The current Henry Repeating Arms has ZERO 1870's roots

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Yes indeed. The new Henry rifles are ugly and about as Old West looking as a pair of turqoiuse cowboy boots. The Rossi 92 may be modeled after a rifle that came about after the old west period had come to a close but to me it has a much stronger historical look to it than anything Henry is making.

My recommendation would be the Rossi. I bought my carbine used but it was in mint condition. I have no idea if any work was done on it by the original owner but it's smooth and feeds absolutely anything in 38 or 357 from semi wadcutters to hollowpoints and everything in between. It's easily one of my favorite long guns.

I have one of the Rossi 24" rifles in 38/357 and it has been a pleasure to own and shoot. It was a little stiff coming out of the box, but just giving the action a workout over the first few days smoothed it up real nice. It shoots to point of aim and is one of my favorite rifles (although I say that about them all).

andym79

I bought my Rossi used but LNIB a couple of years ago so I can't really comment on current production quality. I have looked at new ones, and at a couple of Henrys too, since then and the quality still seems to be there for both manufacturers. Let us know which one you eventually go with.

The 20"short rifle and the 24" rifle with octagonal barrels are drilled and tapped for tang sights, the round barrel carbines are not.

The question of quality control is a sticky one. I've heard my share of horrible customer service, workmanship,etc. etc.

Mine was flawless out of the box, fit and finish very acceptible, functioned perfectly it's a 24 " blue, blue, 45 Colt.

For evey 10 henrys i sell 1 needs internal polishing to function, 1 goes back to the factory
Rossi is about 1 in 100 have a problem. (mostly sight alingment)

(Fairly equall distribution from multiple wholesalers)

Personaly i would never buy a henry without intense scrutiny of the action

I will probalbe eventualy get a 16" stainless r92 357

Krandock said:

For evey 10 henrys i sell 1 needs internal polishing to function, 1 goes back to the factory
Rossi is about 1 in 100 have a problem. (mostly sight alingment)

(Fairly equall distribution from multiple wholesalers)

Personaly i would never buy a henry without intense scrutiny of the action

I will probalbe eventualy get a 16" stainless r92 357

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Interesting. I purchased a Big Boy about 6 years ago in 44 magnum, and it functioned flawlessly aside from not wanting to chamber ammo over a certain length.

The only thing I didn't care for is that it used a cantilever mount. The reciever couldn't be drilled and tapped either at the time. Brass too soft...manufacturer did not recommend.

Smoothest action and trigger on a lever I've shot to date. Accurate too.

I have a 44 Mag older Rossi that has been nothing but trouble. As soon as one problem is dealt with, another pops up. It started out not feeding ammo. Field stripped it (complete misnomer, no one would ever do this in a field.....) 4 different times breaking things loose before I finally got it functioning properly. A few months later the hammer jammed with a live round in the chamber. Couldn't get the action to open so I stuck an empty between the hammer and the pin and hoped the thing didn't fire on the way home. After getting that all sorted out, the magazine tube recently detached itself from the receiver. It's now welded in place. I'm thinking it'll stay together this time.....

After the action and trigger job I did, it is one smooth SOB. When it works.

andym 79: I have a SS 20 inch barrel 92 Rossi. That I have owned for over 15 years and have shot it a lot Cowboy Action Shooting, Plinking, and Hunting. My rifles likes 250gr or 255gr LRNFP bullets and feeds them smoother than LSWC bullets. My little rifle`s action really smoothed up after just shooting it, for a while. What will you use your 45 LC lever gun for in Australia for, what will you hunt with it. I always wanted to come to your Country and dreamed of Hunting there. I was around at lot of your countrymen in Viet Nam, and respected them very much. I had an R&R sechuled an approved to come to your Country, but Australia was taken off the R&R list and it was cancelled. I always regretted that very much. To old to come now, so I have to be satsiffived by listening to your countrymen`s stories. BTW My 45 LC Rossi is my favorite lever rifle in that caliber that I own.
ken