Rossi M92 - How bad/good are they really?

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Hanzo581

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I am tired of waiting on Marlin to start making .357/.38 level action models again. I have looked into the used route, but I am seeing the price creeping up for quality examples, and I would like to stick to around $600. The only rifles in that range in current production seem to be the Rossi. (only looking for side gate loading)

There seems to be little middle ground on the internet, either people think they are great, or they are terrible.

Would I be making a bad decision picking one up? This is just for casual plinking/paper punching, I am not shooting competitions and wouldn't do any fussing with the gun, just straight out the box. I have read consistently the action is rough out the box but smooths up as it gets broken in.

So basically, I'd like to hear your horror stories or your stories about how great yours has been.

Cheers.
 
I had a Border Special '92 in .45LC. It wasn't terrible. It was a little rough, but totally reliable, out of the box. With a little TLC it was great. :cool:
shoulda hung onto it
 
I bought a new 16" .357 a couple of years ago. I honestly expected problems. I was wrong. My gun ran right out of the box. It feed any style bullet I tried with no problems. My only complaint was the factory sights. I could barely hit a paper plate at 50 yards with them. I swapped the sights for a set from Steve's Gunz. They totally changed the shootability for me. Here is a pic of a 50 yard target with new sights. It is now one if my favorite range toys.
 

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I have owned 2 of them, one in .357 and currently one in. 44 mag with both having 24" octagonal barrels. The .357 was extremely accurate for a lever gun. With factory ammo I could shoot 3 shot groups in 3/4" inch at 50 yards off the bench. My friend who is a better marksman than me could do 3 shots in less than 3/4". Like a dummy I sold it. I haven't had much time to try out the .44 mag I have now but it functions like it should and the fit and finish are very good. There is the chance you could get a bad one but I can't say anything bad about them. I do recommend the .357 as it is cheaper to feed and the recoil will be easier on your shoulder
 
So let's say I get a "bad one" and the fit and finish is terrible or I have some feed issues or something. Anyone have any customer experience issues with BrazTech/Rossi? Or would I be dealing with Taurus? Or do they only handle the revolver side?
 
I bought a new 16" .357 a couple of years ago. I honestly expected problems. I was wrong. My gun ran right out of the box. It feed any style bullet I tried with no problems. My only complaint was the factory sights. I could barely hit a paper plate at 50 yards with them. I swapped the sights for a set from Steve's Gunz. They totally changed the shootability for me. Here is a pic of a 50 yard target with new sights. It is now one if my favorite range toys.

I also bought one a couple of years ago, and it worked great out of the box, with the exception of the front sight needing replacing because it was too loose (as I mentioned in another thread). Rather than dealing with Rossi (which I've read can be a trial) I just bought a replacement sight from Steve's Gunz.

I bought mine with the expectation that it might need some work, and factored that into my decision. I figured even if I spent a couple hundred more to get it to run right, it'd still be several hundred dollars cheaper than a Winchester. Luckily, mine didn't need much.

Mind you, the fit & finish isn't a work of art, but it works.

Purely anecdotal, but it seems like most of the complaints I've read about poorly functioning Rossi M92s are either older posts, or are talking about older guns recently acquired. Maybe they've improved their QC in the last few years.
 
It's just hard to justify a thousand plus dollars for a Winchester/Cimmaron/Taylors & Co, since I am just plinking and not looking for something heirloom quality. I could get two Rossi's for the price of one of the high end lever guns.
 
Another option I have been kicking around is just grab the Marlin in 44mag, but then I'd have to trade my .357 Ruger Blackhawk in for a .44mag model since I want them to match. Is a new Marlin that much higher quality than a Rossi?
 
I wanted a lever gun in 45 Colt. I couldn't make up my mind so I got one of each. I got a Marlin, a Rossi, and an 1873. And soon to have a Henry. I also made a Roller in 45 Colt. Sometimes if you can find what you want, you find someone to make it for you. Prices are hard to justify sometimes. Rightly so, but sometimes you have to pay the price for admission. Life is always a balance of things. Back to the Rossi. It wasn't as bad as some say. I did do some mods to it and that made it better, but overall its not a bad rifle for the price.
 
So let's say I get a "bad one" and the fit and finish is terrible or I have some feed issues or something. Anyone have any customer experience issues with BrazTech/Rossi? Or would I be dealing with Taurus? Or do they only handle the revolver side?
If you DO get a bad one, I too would skip rossi/Taurus and send it straight to https://stevesgunz.com for a work over. I havent used his services, but ive bought parts and a spring kit which were excellent quality. Ive also seen nothing but good reviews of his work online.

I kinda like the idea of the .45 colt pairing.
I may actually get rid of my .357 in favor of a .45 Colt cost in rounds isn much different as i reload.

I personally dont want a lever .44 as they use a rather large bore as standard.
 
I think most of the horror stories about Rossi are in the past. The quality of the guns out of the box seems better overall. They may need some smoothing out, but they function well. Customer service though continues to need improvement from what I read.

My .357 worked perfectly out of the box, I just did some mods to make it more to my liking. I paid $415 new less than 2 years ago, go for it!
 
I've got two 16" barrel stainless steel Rossi R92 carbines. One in .357 Magnum, the other one in .44 Magnum. I replaced the rear sights with Skinner barrel mount rear sights. They work surprisingly well. Never had any problems with either. They are handier and lighter than my Marlins.
 
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Alright. I think I'm pretty convinced. Now I wonder the odds of me finding the octagon barrel case hardened version in either 20" or 24" .357/.38. Can't seem to find either in stock online but I am going to a gun show this weekend.
 
I bought a Rossi about 3 years ago, 357 mag. While it wasn't the worst example of something that should not have made it past QC I've ever bought, it was in the top 3. That said, I've examined other specimens in gun stores and they were free of the defects mine had. I guess if it were me, I'd want to have one in hand to inspect it.
 
I rolled the dice and bought mine sight unseen. I figured I'd have to fiddle with it, but it's run like a top. I don't think any fiddling with it will improve it enough that's it's worth risking any reliability issues.

I've got a 16" SS 44mag small loop that's my go to deer rifle the last couple years. I don't know what it slugs too, but it shoots XTP's very very well.
 
I have one from the OLLLLD days. 1970s or 80s when Interarms was importing them. Pre lawyer safety. 20" SRC in 357. Man I LOVE that gun. My dad brought it home from somewhere. Used I'm sure. Never a problem with it. 25 yrds with hand loads and all shots touching. Factory 158 grn JHP were about 1 moa. give or take. Makes a great deer rifle in the brush out to 50-75 yrds, but load some 38 spl LRN and it's a rabbit or grouse gun, too. Then there is the whole cowboy action shooting you can do with it. I wouldn't part with for a grand, and I wouldn't trade it for a Jap Winchester.
 
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I have three Rossi Model 92's. I have a .357 and a .44 with 24" octagonal barrels. I also have a Rossi Interarms Puma .44 20" Saddle Ring Carbine with the Puma medallion inset into the receiver. Some folks don't like that, I think that it's kinda cool. The best I can tell, those were only made a couple of years like 1985 and 1986 or so.

I ordered the Steve Gunz DVD but I ordered my spring kits from the Smith Shop. I like their spring kits better and shipping is a whole lot better/cheaper. I worked all of the rifles over myself. If you are little bit mechanically inclined, it's not a hard job. Steve's DVD will tell you all you need to know to do a good action job on a 92.

All three of my Rossi's are very slick and run great. Everyone of them is accurate. They have all been shot as Main Match Rifles in SASS and Wild Bunch and did just fine. I have no problem recommending them as good rifles for plinking, hunting, woods walking, and having handy.

I do like my Marlins better to shoot in competition, but that is when I'm trying to run my rifle as fast as I can and is due to the Marlin being a shorter stroked mechanism. I have three Marlin .357 1894C's and a .44 1894. I've slicked them up and installed Smith Shop spring kits in them too.
 
Back in 1983 I bought two in 357 mag from the Alaska Commercial Store in Fort Yukon. They were great. Very accurate and killed a few Caribou. Mis-marked at $115 a piece.

In the 1980s I bought a Puma Medallion version in 44 mag which was pretty rough.

Then I bought a half round / half octagon 24 inch rifle version in 45 Colt in the 1990s. It was nice looking but had an oversized bore.

A few years ago I found a used 16 inch carbine at a pawn shop. It shot great but I traded it off like an idiot.

Then I bought a 44 mag 16 inch carbine last year up in Kenai. It has all sorts of problems and is still sitting out in my work shop. It looks like the guts were finished with a giant power grinder. I should have spent double the money on a Browning or Winchester Clone. At least it would not be sitting in the shop ....
 
The only problem I have with my .357 16" is that the loading gate is stiff and will bite me if I'm not careful. I'll get around to fixing that one of these days. The action was fine out of the box.
 
I have the Color case hardened, octagon barreled in 45 Colt. Great shooting rifle. Out of the box they tend to be stiff. Work the action for quite a while before doing any work to it if you choose. I have done springs and a bit of internal polishing on mine and it is a dream to shoot. Brass drops right at yer toes every time. Do check the loading gate for burrs first thing they do smart.
 
I bought new in .357 w/the 24" octagonal a few years ago. At the time couldn't find any reasonably priced Winnys or Marlins. Came from some gun shop out in Minnesota . They shipped it for $525 in a gun case. At that time common complaint was possible stock and/or finish. Some type of Brazilian wood was being used. Mine right out of the box was perfect. VERY good shooter. Windage was spot on but basically everything shot 12-15" high; that was the second common complaint. A call to Steve Gunz there in Texas knew exactly what the problem was as he's dealt with it time and again. A new taller sight took care of that. I also have that questionable plastic piece in the magazine but since i load single round that hasn't caused any issues. Action is smooth.
 
Found my Rossi large loop lever carbine (.45 Colt), at a gun show. It was used but like new in the box with all the paperwork. Action was smooth and easy to work, almost as if someone had already done the hard part for me. The metal was nicely polished and blued and while the wood was nothing to write home about it was still perfectly serviceable. Sights are great and quick to acquire and the gun itself is just so fast and easy to get on target that it just brings a big smile to my face every time I use it. Would love to get one in .357 to go with my Ruger Blackhawk.
 
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