Rossi

[Mooseman]

I have one of the full size, stainless .357 revolvers from back before Taurus took over. Never gave me any trouble. I really like the grips and sights on it. The action/trigger is serviceable but not extraordinary.

 

[gixxergreg]

I have a stainless steel circuit judge... love how it feels shouldered up.

 

[wriggly]

I owned a Rossi model 62 pump back in the 1980's, and I still lament getting rid of it.

Today, I own a model 92 .357 and I also did the Steves Gunz mods to it, and it beats my Marlin hands down for function and smoothness.

 

[Jim NE]

"Some time back I had a Rossi Model 88, a nice stainless J frame sized revolver in .38 Special with a 3" barrel and a slightly adjustable rear sight. It was the kind of gun that at the time S&W should have been making..."

The model 88 is a true unappreciated classic. The timing is perfect, lockup is awesome and is accurate and completely reliable. One of the local gunshop owners used to rave about them. Mine is easily the equal of my two j-frames in terms of quality. They haven't made them in a while, though.

Don't know about the new Rossi revolvers, though. I've seen/heard about new ones going in for repair, but I've also heard good things about them. One of the reasons you may not hear a lot about Rossi revolvers (if that's the configuration your asking about) is that they don't offer a very wide range of weapons. Just .38 and .357, I think.

 

[DammitBoy]

I've been researching opinions of Rossi lever guns on here and other forums for a while because I think they look nice and I might be able to actually afford one someday soon (in .357).

The opinions range from "it was pretty good" to "they stink." It doesn't seem like anyone is blown away by the quality, but many are quite pleased considering the price, etc. I probably don't know enough about gun quality to form an expert opinion once I buy one. So if it cycles rounds and is fun, then I'll probably be happy. I won't be going into it expecting a masterpiece, just a fun tool.

My rossi/puma legacy stainless in .454 is beautiful and very well finished. Worth far more than I paid for it in my opinion. I'd be willing to stack it up against any quality lever gun.

 

[iLikeOldgunsIlikeNewGuns]

glad to see a general-ish Rossi thread pop up here, I'm pushin 30 now, but as a teen (before I knew much about guns and brands and quality difference) I was very attracted to the Rossi Cyclops's looks, does anyone have any experience with that particular model? I pretty much forgot about it several years ago, but it's been creeping into my mind lately. I have zero experience with Rossi's revolvers, and have read much different feedback about 'em in both directions.

 

[gym]

Funny it was my first handgun when I was a kid. I somehow got hold of a 38 snubby about 50 + years ago, I remember my dad found it, and that was more or less the end of that, I guess I was 14 or younger. I just remember taking it out and looking at it, That's when I knew I liked guns.I remember him asking me what I was doing with it. That was my first experience with rossi,and my last. I remember we shot it at a Dump, and that was a big deal when you are a kid.

 

[RugerBob]

I have 2 Rossi leverguns , both in 45LC and have had no issues with them. I use them for cowboy action. My fav is the mod 92 with 24" octagon barrel.

 

[PapaG]

I have three. 51 with 6" barrel in 22lr, 971 with 3" compensated 357, and 720 in 44 special. All three are smooth, more smooth in the action than any Taurus I've ever had and I've had a few. Don't plan on parting with the 22 or the 44 anytime soon.

 

[Resto Guy]

I bought this 4" M851 .38 in '96 and it is my favorite shooter. Comfortable and accurate out to at least 50 yards, it's had over 1000 rounds through it.

 

[wrs840]

I have an Interarms-era Rossi M971 .357 Mag Revolver, ‘92 or '93 mfg Stainless 4"bbl that I think is a good revolver. It was a Pawn-Shop find and I bought it cheap, in great condition.

No complaints. That's pretty-much all I know about them though.

 

[gspn]

I've only owned one. I bought a Rossi Tri-Fecta for my sons first gun. It came with .22 long, .20 gauge, and .243 barrels. It lasted one season before it broke. Something inside it started slowly causing it to strike primers lighter and lighter until you couldn't fire it at all.

When I tried to contact them to get the issue resolved I discovered their poor customer service. I still have the pieces in my garage...I need to throw them away and be done with it.

I'll never buy another Rossi...I don't have time for another problem like that in my life.

 

[joecil]

Rossi and Taurus Customer service has greatly improved over the last year or so. Perhaps you should call the Rossi CS number listed on their web site and get it fixed. If older than a year then you pay the shipping to them they ship it back but that might have also changed (new boss). At any rate turn around time on a buddies gun was 7 business days and came back working perfectly. Oh and a note on dealing with them simply follow their directions on what to send with the gun and method of shipping.

 

[medalguy]

I've owned several Rossi wheel guns over the past 50 years. All were very nicely out together, and while they aren't Smiths, they are very nice guns.

I had a Rossi Model 585 .38 Special 2 inch blued drop into my lap just today, at an excellent price. The gun looks like new and is nice and tight. Interestingly, just as I got home, I spotted a small rattlesnake in the flower bed right by the driveway, so I quickly loaded the Rossi up and shot the snake from about 10 feet and got him in the head. I hadn't fired this gun before, so I'm suitably impressed with the accuracy too.

Now the question: Does anyone know anything about this model? I googled Rossi 585 and found nothing, so does anyone know when this particular model was made, and how many were made?

 

[orionengnr]

I guess I'll be the dissenting voice, and to be honest, I'm surprised it took so long for one to show up.
My first revolver was a Rossi M-68 .38 snub, bought in '83 or '84.

Every time I pulled the trigger, it would go bang, and then the cylinder would un-latch and come open about 1/8 inch--just eneough so that attempting to pull the trigger again had no effect.

A sharp slap on the left side of the cylinder would re-engage it...for exactly one more round.

Being a mechanic by training and livelihood, I ordered and replaced the ejector rod, the spring and whatever else I could think of. No change. I took it to a 'smith who looked, scratched his head, and said that it would cost more to fix than the gun was worth. (I guess that proved that his gunsmithing abilities were approximately equal to mine.)

Being young, impetuous and seriously frustrated, I took my frustrations out on it with a sledge hammer, then threw the remains into Lake Berryessa, where (unless someone has a strong magnet and a serious case of bad luck) it remains to this day.

 

[DammitBoy]

gspn beat you to it three posts ago, yesterday...