Rossi 38 Snubbie. Opinions

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Noveldoc

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Thinking about a Rossi 38 spl snubbie for CCW and light training use. Anybody know anything about these guns? The manufacturer?

Thanks,

Tom
 
I have a 2 inch snub with about 400 rounds through it....so far so good.
I does not like cheap CCI lead rounds and I had a problems with lead in barrel
but with copper no problems and it pretty darn good shooting little gun.
Oh the firing pin broke and cost me 20 bucks to have it fixed....but the replacement seems to be lots better then the first.
 
I have a Rossi 88 with a 3-inch barrel, and it's far better than any of the Tauruses I've had. I've owned a number of the 88s in my day, and they were all well made, accurate and tight. Unlike some of the Taurus revolvers I'd seen, the 88s had throated chambers! (The Taurus 66 and one of their small snubbies, back in the late 80s, seem to have been drilled straight through. Even large cast lead bullets dropped through the chambers without slowing down and dropped out the other ends.)

The 3-inch model Rossi is the perfect size, and they could take +P .38 in a pinch with no trouble. I also have a S&W 60 2-inch, but I've never carried it, as I prefer the extra inch on the 88's tube.

I also have two Rossi .22LR revolvers, and they're very much like the S&W kit guns (63), only they have ejector shrouds and sport stainless steel sights.

Taurus seems to make very pretty, polished guns, but too many of the ones I've owned had excessive gaps and spaces that needed to be tighter. The Rossis, OTOH, don't have all the spit and polish the Tauruses do, but they seem to be better, more accurate guns.

It took me a year or two to stop trusting the gun magazines and their specially prepared ringers, and to find forums even back in the CP/M days of computing.

So I give a thumbs up to Rossi if you can get one at a reasonable price.
 
"even back in the CP/M days of computing. "

I think you just dated yourself!

I've always kind of wondered if any programmer got sneaky and wrote ballistics software for his new hunting loads for the machines like the PDP-8.

But I'm off subject.
 
I've been carrying one of the new Rossi 351 snubs in .38 for 6 months now and it works as well as any of my Smiths did in the past. My 9yr old daughter loves shooting it. A good knockoff of the S&W 36 for a lot less.

Mike
 
It's available through Davidson's and they say they have a lifetime replacement guarantee. Anybody know anything about that?

Tom
 
I've got an old Rossi Model 68 2" snubbie I picked up 2nd or 3rd hand 7 years ago and it hasn't given me any trouble at all. I've probably put 400 to 500 rds thru it of various manufacture and my own handloads - and I really have no clue of it's previous life before me.................although it seemed to have very little wear on it.

I'm happy with the thing and I carry it most of the time when I carry - much more convienent than my 4" Security Six or my full-size 1911-A1.
 
As for the Taurus bashing, I have 3 Taurus revolvers that will make a grown Smith and Wesson cry with their accuracy. I have a M511 .22 Rossi and an old (bought in 1981) M68 that are Smith and Wesson quality. But, quality varied over the years. It's up in the last 10 years. I've owned several others in the past that were not well fitted or finished, tooling marks here and there, that sort of thing. They functioned well, though. Broken firing pins are STILL a problem with 'em, though. I've had that in the past on a 971, 4" .357 mag. Sent it back to Interarms and it snapped on the second shot at the range. Took it to a smith and had him fix it and it never gave me a problem again. I'm not sure if he fitted a K frame pin or what. He told me (it needed proper fitting). Whatever. But, Rossi has never seemed to put much attention on the firing pins. That's my main gripe with 'em. I carry my Taurus 85UL. With all the firing pin problems with the Rossis in the past and what I read now days, I hesitate to use that old 68 as a carry. I have shot it a lot, but I just don't trust the firing pin. I carry it afield sometimes as a .38 kit gun. I bought it back in the day for my step dad so I could get my grandpa's M10 back that he'd willed me. So, I'm not going to sell it, a few memories in it. Besides, it's an unusually (for Rossi) well finished gun with deep, beautiful bluing and J frame fit, a nice looking and shooting gun.

I love that M511 .22, very accurate little kit gun, all stainless, very rugged field gun. I have many 550 packs of Federal through that gun. It gets fired nearly every range trip and I sometimes carry it on trips to the field. That one has a frame mounted firing pin and it's never given me a problem.
 
Thinking about a Rossi 38 spl snubbie for CCW and light training use. Anybody know anything about these guns? The manufacturer?

I'm a big fan of Rossi revolvers; never had a problem with one in 20 years of owning and shooting them.

That being said, there are lemons in every manufactured product, so if you're thinking of buying used, check it thoroughly, especially if you're going to rely on it to save your life. (Of course, I'd give the same advice for any concealed-carry weapon.)
 
I've carried (and shot) a model 68 snub for years without a glitch. It likes everything I feed it except 148gr lead wadutters for some reason. I trust mine.

be
 
The firing pin issue alone would give me pause. My Rossis have been not as finely finished as my Smiths, but after losing my beloved 63, I replaced it with two Rossi 511s for about the same price. Now I would never trade them for a 63, but dang, I still miss my 63.

Likewise, I like my 88 actually more than my S&W 60. Why? They both have tight, springy actions, but my 88 has a 3-inch barrel, while the 60 has only a 2-. And the Rossi has a rock solid lockup, while the 60 has just a bit of play when cocked. Both fit in my front pocket, and oh yes, almost forgot, the fixed sights on my 88 are much more visible, though they stick out a bit more.

The Rossis still aren't Smiths, mind you, but I'd still rather have two of them over one S&W!
 
I've had a M68 for about twenty years. It was bought as a spare house gun. It's not a Smith in terms of fit and finish but it was only $150 NIB and has never had a problem.
 
The firing pin broke again yesterday after 250 rounds....I will send back to Taurus and wait 2 months to get back and then sell it.
The pin to me is the weakest link on the revolver....look at one and you will see.
Rossi reaaly needs to address this issue before I buy another one.....even at 250.00 bucks.....its a big show stopper
 
I have the model 351 in 38 special and 971 too

I like it a great deal. I have shot hundreds of rounds through it without any problems. From time to time I have heard some disparaging remarks concerning Rossi guns but I do not share those views at all. I have a .357 magnum model 971 that goes in the woods with me frequently and it is a fantastic gun for the money. My brother bought the 6 shot .357 461 and he likes it very much. If I am not mistaken I think they still have a lifetime warranty on their revolvers.
 
Well, I thought I'd raise this thread from near death. I bought a 3" Rossi 38spl, Made by Taurus as part of the Brazil tech LLC outa Miami.

These aren't listed on the Rossi website as they are a distributor special. Sure they'll match anyones price coz nobody save Academy Sports carries them.

Actually for $229 sale price and $249 regular it didn't seem to be that bad of a deal. Thes appear in all likelyhood to be Taurus 85 clones.

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/

21_50_494/products_id/31337

Trigger and hammer seem to be slightly different in the pic, but otherwise a dead ringer, exception to Taurus goodyear vs Rossi rubber, and they want $327 delivered.

http://www.rossiusa.com/product-details.cfm?id=135&category=1&toggle=&breadcrumbseries=

Note that the thumb release pictured didn't come on the gun. The one that's on the previous Taurus pic is the style used. Mix n match I reckon.

It wouldn't be worth for me to pay shipping for a firing pin fix if I encounter that problem.

I'd take to my gunsmith 1st.

However, for those that do ship I think the trick is to buy two and shoot the other one while you're waiting on the first one to be fixed. Make sure the fixed one functions then put it up and keep shooting the spare till it fails.

I haven't shot it. but the guys in Miami say it'll shoot +P as long as it's a steel revolver. Comes kinda dripping of oil and I figure some might be on the sear & hammer coz the SA is a hair trigger.

Anywho, for under 250 OTD, 5-rnd, steel 38spl w/3" brl seems OK.

YMMV
 
The Rossi uses the Smith style hammer mounted firing pin and hammer block. The Taurus' action is transfer bar and floating firing pin. Not the same gun at all. The Taurus has a much better DA trigger on the average, too. The Rossi is basically a Smith M36 clone in design, what it is closest to, not the Taurus.

When I had that firing pin issue, I think it cost me 25 bucks to get it fixed at a good gunsmith's. The fix actually FIXED it, too. :rolleyes: I'd sent it back to Interarms and it broke on the first cylinder. Now days, shipping is a lot more expensive on a firearm.


Taurus has never used a hammer mounted firing pin. I prefer that. I own and have owned Smiths that never gave me trouble with that feature, as well as other Rossis that didn't. Just sayin'. I've also owned quite a few Rugers and just prefer the transfer bar thing. I'm probably biased, though, as a broken firing pin will make you think thoughts like "what if this was a fire fight with a BG?" Good reason, too, for carrying back up, I guess. The guns are accurate, great range guns, great outdoor guns, I just hesitate to carry one CCW ever since that firing pin incident.
 
Thanks Mc I wasn't that familiar w/Taurus or Rossi for that manner. I do have the bobbed hammer Rossi, 44 spl.
I never knew Taurus used the transfer bar. Never owned one. Thanks for the info.

W-man, all I know is what's pressed on the gun. Says Rossi on the brl and made in Brazil by Taurus on the frame. Of course the side plate has the Rossi stamp. I'm not aware of how much the Brazel tech combo intertwines
 
The Taurus people in Miami say that they distribute the Rossi products but Rossi manufactures it in Brazil. Argue with them directly if you so desire.
 
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