Rossi Leverguns? Personal experience?

...I heard a feller say "fill" a new Rossi with metal polish or toothpaste. Cycle it alot for a while. Disassemble and clean and it will work like it should.

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Folks should run away quickly from those that suggest nonsense of this sort. I'd suggest something far stronger but this IS The HIgh Road and I'm trying to be polite.

The problem is that this is a totally non selective process. Surfaces which do not need metal to be removed get shaved anyway by the abrasives. And yet at the same time this technique typically does not properly or completely remove the machining burrs that should be removed to achieve a proper slickness. And the fit of the areas that ARE good and SHOULD be low in clearance get opened up so stuff gets sloppy. And since you MUST (or darn well BETTER) fully disassemble the rifle anyway to clean out this crud you don't save much or any time at all. Finally since you're doing all this "mud slicking" without ammo in the gun some of the stuff doesn't move correctly and gets NO polishing/working so you can still have tight spots once cleaned out and feeding actual ammo. It truly is a very ignorant way to try to do an action job on a firearm.

Far better to take it apart and use easy to find fine grade knife sharpening stones to do the job right. You have to take the rifle apart anyway at least once and it's a chance to switch out the springs for the reduced power options for the main spring and ejector spring. SO while you're at it you can go over the ejector in particular to remove the burrs that seem to be standard for Rossis n that area and generally LIGHTLY chamfer off the sharp edges of the rest of the action parts. If the bolt and locking bars have somewhat coarse machine marks on them you can use the stone to top off the crests of the tooling marks. But no more than that as you do not want to remove more metal than needed to achieve a smooth feel. And taking off only the crests provides a situation where the flat crests rub against each other just fine for a smooth feel. The good news is that you're doing this where it's needed but not touching anything that does not require some attention.

I have a Rossi M92 in .45 Colt with the 16" barrel and large loop lever. Overall fit and finish are very good, though I would have preferred a lighter stain was used on the wood as it's fairly dark and doesn't show the grain pattern. The bluing is excellent as is the wood to metal fit. The action functions fine with no grittiness or stiffness that some other owners have reported. Accuracy is decent enough and I love the way the gun handles, as it shoulders quickly and easily getting it on target.

I love my 24" '92 in 38/357. Action smoothed out nicely with use and functions/feeds perfectly.

I have owned a couple Rossi 92s for a about 7 years now, one in .357/.38 & one in .45Colt. They are both fine guns & shoot very well! I have had all kinds of problems with Taurus but not Rossi. I would think that things will go down hill as Taurus is a company that has trashed it line of wepons and didn't care! Their C.S. is a joke and if if the company is not turned around it will be gone soon which is to bad as ROSSI put out some fine revolvers! And even Taurus put out fine revolvers for a while! But as a group they all seem to be going down hill! JMO.

not good, but i did become a expert at taking one apart. enough said. eastbank.

I had one about 15 years ago, no ugly safety other than the first click of the hammer, which is standard on all the older lever actions. I never had a problem with mine, but I was getting into the Frontiersman category at SASS and decided I wanted a Winchester model '73.

People who don't like the safety and I'm one of them can get a plug that is easy to install making it function as it did before it was added. It also comes in stainless or blued to match the gun. Steve Gunz sells them and if you don't lose the 3 little parts it can be put back just as quickly as removed.

Here is mine, Rossi Puma 92, .357

In the 80s I worked for a rural Southern Sheriff's Office. Back then we carried revolvers and had to furnish our own guns. I bought this rifle as a companion carbine to my .38 revolver. It rode every shift with me for about a decade. One of the better guns I have ever owned. It's a keeper and will someday be an heirloom.

my 92 is awesome in .357 and my rio grande is, well, a helluva better value than spending $800 on a more expensive brand

I bought a 20" blued .357 about a year ago, expecting to have to do a little work to it. When I got it, the action was a little rough, and it didn't feed the greatest. I found a good how to online and spent and evening tearing it down. Cleaned all the gunky grease out, knocked off a few really obvious burrs, re-oiled and reassembled. No stoning, no spring kits, just a good through cleaning mostly. After that, it has been 100%, action is smooth and light, and feeds everything I've put through it, including XTP hollow points. Accuracy is pretty good, I can get 2" groups standing unsupported out to around 50 yards, and can hold those groups to around 75 from a bench. The biggest hold up for me is the stock sights, they aren't great, but there are good aftermarket options available. I would definitely buy another, they are a great value, and a good shooter as well.

Owned two, still have one. Frequently they need an action job and to have the ejector spring lightened up to make them cycle consistently. Also consider the spring on the loading gate of all things. One was the "old style" flat brown stained stock, the other is a new "Hartford Arms" (also made in Brazil, I think it's the same factory).

Both 92's in 44 Extra Long Russian for cowboy action. Once the action work was done on one, excellent guns, fantastic accuracy as long as I did my part. But that action work is very important. Find a smith to do it, get the price, then factor it into your cost. You will still be hundreds ahead on the cost of a 66 or 73 Uberti.

I did own a Marlin 94 in the same caliber. Stainless steel, great wood, one nice looking rifle. It was not a good experience for me, but I know others have good ones they use all the time. Rough action, lousy accuracy with handloads, black powder, and factory ammo.

I bought my Rossi a bit over ten years ago for $200 new at a gun show. It is a .44/40. I must have been incredibly lucky because not only was the price great; but the action was smooth and the wood very pretty. I mounted a Marble's tang sight on it, and my first group at fifty yards was very near one hole in the ten ring. It continues to shoot like that to this day. You won't find one for $200 now, and the action smoothness and wood may not be perfect; but I think the postings on this thread show you will likely be pleased with it.

gary

I've owned a lot of Rossis. Two 92s, a rifle and a carbine. A 20 ga coach gun. A Winchester 62 22LR clone. A 22 revolver and a 38 revolver. Finish was fair, fit was fair to poor. The 92s took hours of stoning and polishing to work smoothly, the wood finish was terrible and accuracy was unacceptable. The 22 rifle never fed properly.

I gave up on them and sold the lot with the exception of the 22 revolver that I kept as a reminder not to buy any more.

To be fair, I bought my last Rossi ten years ago. It's always possible that they've gotten their act together since then.

I bought my Rossi a bit over ten years ago for $200 new at a gun show. It is a .44/40. I must have been incredibly lucky because not only was the price great; but the action was smooth and the wood very pretty. I mounted a Marble's tang sight on it, and my first group at fifty yards was very near one hole in the ten ring. It continues to shoot like that to this day. You won't find one for $200 now, and the action smoothness and wood may not be perfect; but I think the postings on this thread show you will likely be pleased with it.

gary

Bought my puma 92 in 357/38 for 450.00 and so far a good value.