Rossis... worth the money?

[dubious]

Hey folks... I'm interested in getting my first 357 revolver. I really like the S&Ws and Rugers, but they are out of my price range. I like the looks of the Taurus, and I have a very reliable taurus autoloader... but they are nearly as expensive as the S&Ws...

Whats up with the Rossi Revolvers? They are made by Taurus, right? And they have a lifetime warranty (probably with the same poor service as Taurus?) And you can get a .357 revolver for less than $300. What are the pros and cons here folks?

 

[M2 Carbine]

I've got a couple Rossi 38 short barrel revolvers.
Since they aren't as expensive as my S&W revolvers I'm not concerned with them getting scratched, like when left in the auto glove box.

I'm pretty sure that they will still be functioning long after I'm dead, so what more can I want.

 

[dubious]

How are the trigger pulls on those things? What qualities do they lack?

 

[461]

I had a .38 Rossi years ago and it went bang every time the trigger was pulled and that's all I asked of it. Taurus does now own the company but I don't know how involved in it they are. My Rossi was better than the Taurus I owned.

 

[Plink]

I own a pre-Braztech Rossi in .44 special. It was the gun that got me interested in that caliber for carry, actually. It's a very accurate gun and has been durable over several thousand rounds. It had the worst trigger of any revolver I had ever fired though. Double action felt like it was 25 lbs and single action was heavy and creepy. It took a set of springs and some stone work but it ended up being a really good shooter all around. I don't know how the Braztech models are, but I would assume they are better than the earlier models. The earlier models were known for lax quality control sometimes. Taurus runs a pretty tight ship.

As an aside, you might could find a used Ruger in the same price range. They are very durable and pretty much last forever, so buying used shouldn't be much of a worry. You'd have a better gun for sure.

 

[Sniper X]

I just shot one yesterday, It had a very weird lockup problem even though brand new. If you didn't make sure the release (cylender) was all the way back to null, the cylender would free spin, like a bicycle wheel! Scarry in a way till I figgured out what the problem was. It belonged to a armoured car company, they bought them to try out, now they all carry GP100s. Can't see them getting rid of the GP100s for those. But they are very cheap for a 4in .357 mag. He said they had to send two of the 10 they bought back before even shooting them.

 

[weregunner]

Dubious. Why not ask the staff and members over at www.taurusarmed.net? Some staff and members have Rossi revolvers of various persuasions. Some have had theirs for a decade or two and the revolvers are still going strong.

There is a Rossi board at the Taurus forum. Small, but it is there.

Rossi is part of Taurus know. Taurus has chosen to keep the two companies as seperate entities. www.rossiusa.com is the website. One can request a catalog from them.

The few that I have shot were nice revolvers. Those were the 461 and the 851. The latter is .38 Special only. While this was for only a cylinder or two, the trigger pulls were ok for me. And I have small hands and stubby fingers.

971 and 972 are the.357 full length barreled versions. 461 and 462 are the snubbie .357 mag. versions.

 

[bpisler]

It really depends on the amount of money
you're talking about,I've seen rossi's on
gunbroker for 350 plus dollars.That more
than i paid for my used but excellent S&W
3" 65-3 and 3" Ruger GP-100.

If you can find the rossi's for under $300.00
dollars new then i think they're a great buy,
i've never had a issue with any of the 3 i've
owned.The biggest drawback is the lack
of aftermarket grips for the rossi's.

 

[JaxNovice]

Buds has Rossis .357 mags for $235.

 

[TonyB]

I bought a 461(2" 357)used for $150..worth at least 2x that.....accurate,tough and reliable......others have had bad luck,but I've had better luck w/ this gun than my s/w 642(had to back to the factory after 400 rounds)and a Dan Wesson mod. 15 that never did get fixed right.
If it passes the revolver check out..go for it.

 

[Shooter973]

Worth the Money?

Not to me,I've never found one that I liked well enough to buy. I've got a little "gun snob" in me I guess. They just don't seem to have the quaility I'm used to. Rugers. Colts and S&W's do and I have a lot of them. But sorry NO rossies. I did have a bad experiance with a Rossi switch barrel rifle. It was a poor rifle and a not very good shotgun. Couldn't ever get the rifle sighted in. Shotgun just was hard to get to hit anything with.

 

[GaryP]

Rossis... worth the money?

No! One was all it took for me. :banghead:

When the subject is revolvers I'll stay with Ruger, Colt, S&W, NAA, & Charter Arms -- Yes I did say Charter Arms.

 

[Greg8098]

I had that exact same revolver, EXACT same one! It was my first revolver and almost my last. As far as lock-up, I think it barely had any. I bought the gun brand new and the timing was already off. Save a couple of hundred dollars and get a Ruger. No really,.... get a Ruger .