Rossi M88

[lowercase]

Here's something I picked up at the LGS.

A Rossi, M88-2 from their old Interarms days. This one is in awesome shape and looks almost brand new.

I've never owned a Rossi before, but have read that the M88s were fairly well liked by their owners.

The gun is nice and tight, and has a decent trigger. Haven't shot it yet, but looking forward to it.

Anyone else have one of these?

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I bought a M68, the blue version, about 25 years ago. It's firing pin cracked within a box or two of shells. I replaced the pin and sent it down the road.

 

[Monac]

Good looking gun, and nice pictures, lowercase. Thanks for putting them up. I'm afraid I don't know anything about Rossi revolvers by first hand experience.

 

[bannockburn]

lowercase

I had one many years ago. Mine was the stainless model with a 3" barrel and an adjustable rear sight. Very well made with a serviceable DA/SA trigger. Great little Kit Gun that I use to carry around on many a backwoods hike. Added a Tyler T-Grip adapter to make it a bit more comfortable to shoot.

 

[RealGun]

Have the M88 snub, also Interarms, no dash #. One of my favorites. Nice find. I note mine has the full ejector shroud.

 

[Slamfire]

While I like the size and trigger pull, and the thing shoots to point of impact with 158 grain bullets, my Rossi M88 blows residue down the cylinder crane. After 50 rounds the cylinder is so stiff it has to be turned by hand. I sent it in for warranty work, but it was after Interarms disappeared. The gunsmith widened the forcing cone but did not really fix the issue.

One thing, these are standard 38 Special loads only. No +P!. The gunsmith stated he had seen lots of blown up M88's, all blown with +P level loads.

 

[RealGun]

While I like the size and trigger pull, and the thing shoots to point of impact with 158 grain bullets, my Rossi M88 blows residue down the cylinder crane. After 50 rounds the cylinder is so stiff it has to be turned by hand. I sent it in for warranty work, but it was after Interarms disappeared. The gunsmith widened the forcing cone but did not really fix the issue.

One thing, these are standard 38 Special loads only. No +P!. The gunsmith stated he had seen lots of blown up M88's, all blown with +P level loads.

I know that problem as not unique to this make and model. I learned that without removing the cylinder during cleaning, it can be put away with the crane full of solvent. I have taken to using a drop of oil and spinning the cylinder until it really feels free. Before shooting again I check for excess oil at the cylinder face. Many guns though are Rugers, on which removing the cylinder is not trivial. I try to make do.

 

[buster94]

I have two of these old Rossi guns. They have really nice triggers and they have always functioned well for me. An M685 looks like new even though it was bought used back in early 90's. The models with the 5 ending are the models without adjustable rear sights. The M885 is the stainless model of basically the same gun as the M685. These guns were first made back in the late 70's.
The M68 and M88 are the guns with the adjustable rear sights. The M68 is a clone to the S&W 36 and the M88 is a clone to the S&W 60. These are clones because they were actually designed and machined copies of the S&W guns while S&W and Rossi were under the same parent company.
I have heard of the hammer pins breaking and was told I should buy some extras. Mine have not broken off so far.
These guns are actually quite accurate and handle 38 spl. recoil very well. I wondered about shooting +P in them and thanks to reading here I will not do so.

 

[MedWheeler]

I just recently got a 68 from around that vintage (the blued version.) Haven't shot it yet, so I cannot comment on that. (I did take it to the range with a handful of other guns last week, but failed to locate it in my bag once there and thought I'd forgotten it!)

But I'm impressed with its feel and lockup so far.

 

[RealGun]

I have two of these old Rossi guns. They have really nice triggers and they have always functioned well for me. An M685 looks like new even though it was bought used back in early 90's. The models with the 5 ending are the models without adjustable rear sights. The M885 is the stainless model of basically the same gun as the M685. These guns were first made back in the late 70's.
The M68 and M88 are the guns with the adjustable rear sights. The M68 is a clone to the S&W 36 and the M88 is a clone to the S&W 60. These are clones because they were actually designed and machined copies of the S&W guns while S&W and Rossi were under the same parent company.
I have heard of the hammer pins breaking and was told I should buy some extras. Mine have not broken off so far.
These guns are actually quite accurate and handle 38 spl. recoil very well. I wondered about shooting +P in them and thanks to reading here I will not do so.

My gun is clearly stamped "M88" and has fixed sights. The picture is shown earlier in this thread.

If +p is a problem with this gun, it must be an issue of metallurgy. The gun is a tank.

 

[buster94]

I opened the crane on my M68 and it is stamped M685 on the crane. The M88 is stamped M88-2. Mine are both without adjustable rear sights. So I stand correcting the M88-2 is a 2 not a 5.
On the Rossi box my M685 came in the model number says M68. Here is a link showing the M68 which has the rear sights.
http://www.thespecialistsltd.com/rossi-68
Okay I called Rossi. The M68 has adjustable rear sight blade and the M685 just has the beveled top no blade. The M88 he said never had adjustable rear blade and the M88- 2 the 2 just means it is an 2" barrel.

 

[Jim NE]

Nice Rossi! The late Interarms era Rossi revolvers are very nice. Functionally, about on par with Smith and Wesson revolvers of the same era. I have a stainless Interarms Rossi M88 with rubber grips, and it's outstanding. One of my best snubbie revolvers in terms of accuracy and trigger. I also have several blued model 68's, some Interarms, some not. Pre-Interarms are probably not quite as well made, though they can be serviceable guns if you dial them in.

I just fired an Interarms Rossi M33 today for the first time at the range today. The M33 is like your gun, only blued and 3" bbl. Got it from gunbroker last week. In near perfect shape, ran flawless and it was incredibly accurate...much better than most from my vintage Smith and Wesson revolver collection, which is about 15 guns. I have about a dozen vintage Rossi's, too. Some of them aren't near the quality of S&W, but some definitely are.

Yours is about as clean a model 88 as I've seen. Congrats.

 

[Jim NE]

My gun is clearly stamped "M88" and has fixed sights. The picture is shown earlier in this thread.

If +p is a problem with this gun, it must be an issue of metallurgy. The gun is a tank.

Correct, and all of my model 68's have fixed sights, too.

I do have the original box and owner's manual for mine, and they do say "no +P" ammo. You are correct though...the gun is much beefier than a J frame Smith, yet the Smith guys say +P are OK in J frames in moderation (even if S&W doesn't say it.) I inadvertently shot a couple of cylinders of +P through one of my model 68's, and no issue at all. But I still don't chance it. Hornady makes some defensive expanding tip .38 rounds for non+P guns, and they should be adequate for SD.

A more adventurous person might shoot +P through an 88 or 68 in moderation and not have problems, but I'm not that person...at least with my old guns.

Another note to the OP - many vintage Rossi owners suggest that dry firing old Rossi's can lead to broken firing pins.

 

[Nathanael_Greene]

I'm a long-time fan of Interarms-era Rossi revolvers. I own three or four, I think, including a stainless M885 (or whatever; Rossi model numbers are tough to keep straight).

I've never had problems with any of mine, though I don't shoot the daylights out of them.

My stainless 3" 851 gets a pretty good workout and is my favorite target pistol.