Rossi 94 454 casull hammer following bolt

[Jessesky]

Hey guys,

I purchased a Rossi 92 this August. The rifle is in 454 casull and in the little 4.7lb gun it kicks. So much so that it’s causing issues with the gun.

First day on the range, work the lever as normal and I fire one shot. Now the lever won’t cock the hammer all the way, but I can still manually cock the hammer.

I think “okay” take it home and take off the stock and do a minor field strip. Starts cycling fine an do it another 50 times or so to be sure the hammer gets cocked by the working of the lever.

Day two at the range, first round chambered cycles fine and then the second shot the hammer won’t cock through working the bolt and it follows the bolt back to halfcock again!

Short summary: the lever won’t cock the hammer all the way, then follows the bolt to half cock, but I can still manually cock the hammer.

 

[Drail]

The sear is either too long or the hammer is not being fully cocked by the lever's parts because they are not moving the hammer far enough to clear the edge of the cocking notch. Something is out of spec. and is limiting full travel when cocking with the lever. You need to get this repaired because shooting it like that will round off the sear nose and the edge of the hammer notch.

 

[Jessesky]

The sear is either too long or the hammer is not being fully cocked by the lever's parts because they are not moving the hammer far enough to clear the edge of the cocking notch. Something is out of spec. and is limiting full travel when cocking with the lever. You need to get this repaired because shooting it like that will round off the sear nose and the edge of the hammer notch.

I figured that much, but what got me confused is after I took it apart and reassembled it started to work fine. That threw me off a bit since the hammer was engaging the dear back at my home workshop. Maybe I’ll mail it in and wait the six week turnaround time.

 

[RecoilRob]

I had a 45 Colt Rossi 92 that had a burr on the cartridge lifter that prevented the lever from being able to fully rack the bolt. Wondering if your recoil is making a similar thing happen where the lifter prevents the lever from full travel?

When the problem is happening....is the lifter coming up all the way? Does it feel worse with rounds in the tube? I ended up stoning the front of the lifter and it worked slick ever since. Might be worth a look.

 

[Drail]

If you can send it back to Rossi they will correct the problem. Good luck. Sounds like a cool rifle. I have a Winchester 94 Trapper (16"bbl) in .44 Mag. and I love it. It needed some fine tuning to get it to run reliably. Everybody told me it would not feed .44 Spl. It does now.

 

[Kp321]

I run into this often on vintage lever actions. As the hammer is cocked by the bolt it is abraded and eventualy enough metal wears off to prevent full movement and cocking. I would be surprised to see this on a new rifle unless the hammer is too soft or otherwise damaged.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Hammer isn't caught by the sear. Bad sear spring? Broken hammer notch? Bad fitting sear?

 

[ZGunner]

I had problems with my Rossi 454 as well. Mine were a little different though. I wound up filing a bit of material off the hammer because it was being pinched in between the bolt and the tang. Since then I have had a problem.

Your issue does sound like an out of spec hammer.

 

[Jessesky]

I had problems with my Rossi 454 as well. Mine were a little different though. I wound up filing a bit of material off the hammer because it was being pinched in between the bolt and the tang. Since then I have had a problem.

Your issue does sound like an out of spec hammer.

I’m tempted to just purchase a hammer rather than wait the quoted 12 week turnaround. Do you know if the 454 hammer is the same dimensions as all the other Rossi 92 hammers?

 

[Jessesky]

Okay, peculiar update. I determined from testing when the hammer doesn’t cock from the lever throw, if I only pull off the buttstock the lever throw WILL cock the hammer. When I put the stock back on, it also WILL cock. But, when I shoot it once, it will NOT cock from the lever throw anymore. Something is being set back in place from the recoil, and I’m not sure what. It’s a 454casull in a 4.9lb gun. Not 45 colt