lever action brands

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hunley1864

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I have been looking at lever action rifles lately, I have always had owned true Marlins and Winchesters all my life.Does any body own or know about Rossi or Uberti brand lever action rifles.Ive looked at them at local gun shops they seem to be made well but thats all I know about them. thanks Chris
 
The Rossi's I've handled were a joke. The butt pads were 1/8" to 1/4" oversized for the gun. Overall VERY poorly finished. All of the Uberti's I've seen were well done reproductions of older 19th century guns. I've shot none of them however.

Based on my admitededly limited experience I like the looks of the Uberti's, If I wanted an accurate reproduction of a rare gun I'd give them serious consideration. If I wanted a gun to shoot and hunt with I'd still be looking for a used Marlin or Winchester. You can still get the real thing used at a better price than the imitators. I'd have to pass on any of the Rossi's I've seen.
 
My experience handling Rossi's has been 180° opposite. They are very well put together rifles for their modest price. No, their fit & finish will never rival any of the Japanese (you get over it) guns from Browning/Winchester but very good for the money. They can be a little rough around the edges but they smooth up very nicely. Local shop has several and I've had a hard time not buying one or two. Uberti's are VERY well made rifles. Their sixguns are good, their rifles are even better. I will say that they are better made rifles than anything domestically produced since 1964. My 1873 Deluxe Sporting Rifle .38-40 has piled every load I've tried in it into 1"@50yds. A 180gr Gold Dot over 10.0gr Unique for 1475fps is very effective on game.

It's since been fitted with a Marbles tang sight.
IMG_7033b.jpg
 
My neighbor has a couple of Rossi lever in guns, one in 357 Mag and one in 45 Colt. I have handled and shot both and I think they are pretty darn nice. The fit and finish are good and the action is smooth. I have a Winchester and two Marlins but I would seriously consider a Rossi if I were in the market for another lever action rifle.
 
I've a Rossi levergun in 45 colt & it has worked flawlessly, every time I've used it. Plenty accurate at reasonable distances too. No complaints here. ;)
 
I own a pair of Rossi the M92 in 45 Colt and the Rio Grande in 45-70 both guns are excellent. I've shot a number of others from Uberti and they are nice also however not as strong as the Rossi 92. I have 3 Uberti pistols and love them all but they aren't a Ruger but closer to the original 1873 Colts.
 
My Rossi was very very rough to operate, much closer in feel to a hi lift Jack that shoots than a fine firearm. Its roughness and crudeness was only surpassed by its unreliability.

A cottage industry exists solely to take rossis from their factory state to a usable state. IME they're very much u finish it kit guns.




posted via that mobile app with the sig lines everyone complains about
 
A cottage industry exists solely to take rossis from their factory state to a usable state.
Click to expand...
Cottage industries exist for a great many things. Such as that for the 10/22, AR-15's, 1911's, Glocks, etc., etc.. Does that make those box stock guns garbage? Absolutely not. Most new leverguns are at least a little rough out of the box. You can't expect a hand fitted action for $400. If yours was unreliable, then that's definitely an anomaly and there was something wrong with it. It is statistically insignificant. If it was so bad, why did you buy it???
 
I bought it because it worked fine till you added ammunition into the mix.

Anomaly. I think not you even commented on a recent thread with several posters agreeing with me.

Rossis run about 50/50 between serviceable and crap and its just the luck of the draw



posted via that mobile app with the sig lines everyone complains about
 
My Rossi Puma M92, which I purchased over four years ago, has been 100% from day one.

I can't say the same for Marlin.
 
The first and only 357 lever I have had is a 77 Marlin 1894c I picked up in 08. After that there was no reason to look further.
 
Thanks for all the post on the Rossi lever action. I went ahead and bought the Rossi short 16" with loop lever in 45 long colt. The action is so smooth,and overall workmanship is fine. I payed 460.00 havent shot it yet but looking foward to taking it to the local range.Also have my eye on a old Winchester model 1894 trapper in 45 long colt,the gun shop is asking 599.00 may have to sweet talk my wife on this one.
 
hunley1864: I shoot a Rossi SS 45 LC with a 20 inch barrel. I have have had this rifle for about 10 years, no problems of any kind. My rifle feeds 250gr to 255gr Lead RNFP bullets better than Lead SWC`s. I shoot Ruger handguns in 45 LC also, this makes for a good combination to carry when you are just out walking around. I have used my Rossi 45 LC to take several Pigs and a couple of Deer, and a bunch of varmints. Great rifle INHO.
ken
 
Yep, has nothing to do with the design of the rifle. Unfortunately, .45Colt leverguns tend to have generous chambers. That coupled with light loads and a thick-necked straightwall case, leads to burned powder debris in your face.

The .38 and .44 WCF's really shine here.
 
I knew the marlin's all had large chambers, I didn't know if the winny's did too. Never had blow back issues with 38 or light 44mag, but 45lc spits like mad, especially around the marlin bolt design. I was hoping maybe since the locking lugs on the 92 go up all the way through the bolt that maybe they kept stuff from blowing into your eyes. Or that the chambers would be tighter. Guess not, oh well. No 45lc for me then. Thanks for the info craig.
 
Well, when it comes to Marlins, I own the obligitory 336 and 39's as well as an 1894 Winchester. Now when it comes to reproductions, I think my absolute favorite is the Browning 1886 carbine. Well fit, finished, accurate and can take .45-70 loads that are hard hitting. Great gun! But I think what you are looking at is a comparison of the Uberti and Rossi rifles. Well, I have both of them too.
My Rossi 1892 rifles are older with the .45 Colt carbine being imported by Interarms and the .38 Special/.357 Magnum rifle being an EMF Hartford. In both cases, neither of these rifles have the idiot button the newer Rossi rifles are coming into the country with. Accuracy wise, both are pretty decent and functional problems were limited to running standard length .38 Specials through the rifle. Handled .357 Magnums fine but .38s would jump off the lifter. My cure for this was found in a group buy several years ago of a 160 grain "Snakebite" mold that cast slightly longer bullets. Now there's no problem with function. Sure, the fit and finish isn't as nice as the Cimmaron Uberti offerings but the price tag is a lot lower as well and those corners that were cut were not ones that effected performance.
Now the Uberti rifles can be a thing of beauty. I still have my 1873 Cimmaron rifle in .45 Colt but my 1866 rifle in .44WCF and 1860 Henry in .45 Colt had to be sold thanks to the ex!:mad: Like the Rossi offerings, function and accuracy is also good here. Where they really shine is in the fit and finish. These rifles are as beautiful as they shoot! It will take some time to get up the money to replace these rifles as well as add an 1876 rifle in .45-60 but I WILL have these rifles again!!!
 
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