Here is a little secret. Miroku does not run all of their models continuously. They may not run any particular model in any caliber more than once a year. Some of their runs are only 500 to 1500 of a particular caliber of a particular model. Thus the market will be flush with any particular model only for a short span of time. You have both large and small time distributors and dealers on their list. The stock of any particular model is apt to disappear at any time and may not show up again until next year.
Right now I'm seeing 44-40's and .45 Colt and a few .44 mags. Nobody seems to have any .357 mag other than some of the premium limited run stuff as you mentioned--probably left over from from a previous year's production. The .357mag is a popular caliber choice for the model 92 and I rarely see any carried over from previous years in the online market. I know where a new Miroku short rifle in .357 mag is locally. It's been hanging on their wall for several years because it's just a standard model, but with a price tag of about $1370. That's $300 over MSRP, which nobody in their right mind should pay.
You are rarely going to find one at any local dealer and most shops are going to feel justified in asking more than MSRP due to the scarcity. However, they appear online all the time, but are just as quickly snapped up. I was in the same boat as you last year and did the following. You are going to have to start online with one of the big retailers.
I went online to
Davidson's Gun-Genie to find the model I wanted. In my case last year it was the standard 1892 carbine in 44-40. Oddly, right now that's the only caliber they do have. They did not have any in stock at that time, so I just entered my email to get notified when any showed up. I did the same with Buds gun shop and the also with Grabagun out of Texas. Within a week or so, I got a notification from Davidsons that they had limited number of my caliber in stock. I immediately placed my order. Within a day or two I got the same message from both Buds and Grabagun, which might have been just a bit cheaper because of no sales tax, but the Davidson method is a hassle free and besides, I had already committed with Davidsons.
Once one has their model and caliber selected and it shows in stock, you enter your zip and hit the "get offers" button. Then you will be presented with all the local dealers who use the Davidson distribution system. It will show you your final total price including local tax---shipping is free. Transfer fees are also included and are less than $10.
I got 7 hits within 30 miles of my zip and the prices were quite different--from a high of almost $1000 to a low $840 for the Miroku made model 92. With local sales tax that jumped to $910 total out the door. I simply picked the local shop with the best final price and clicked the "accept offer" button. At that point, I was taken to Davidsons online store where I paid about 30% of the total quoted using a credit card. That's it, you don't have do anything else, but touch bases with the local shop to to ask them to call you when the gun comes in. In my case it was two days later. I drove out to the shop I chose, which was way out in the county so I avoided a 2% city sales tax, paid the balance, filled out the FFL form and I was done. I have a state issue concealed carry license, so I never have to wait for a background check.
With Buds or Grabagun--you are going pay them on line for the full amount plus contact your local FFL to send the dealer a copy of their FFL, wait on that or help coordinate it, then wait until your local shop gets the rifle and have to pay them a fee for filling out the paperwork since that's all the money they are getting. With this method, the local FFL is only handling the transfer and fee, so you may avoid local sales tax. However, you are going to have to find a local FFL that doesn't get upset that you are not buying from them and who does not charge an exorbitant transfer fee. Pawn shops are a good choice for this since they most likely only deal in used guns. However, my closest pawn shop is also in the Davidsons program.
With the Davidsons deal, they are acting more like a distributor so both they and the local store get a cut of the profit. The disadvantage is that--as mentioned, the buyer is completing the sale locally, so they are going to get hit with local sales tax. In my case --the guy handling the local end of the deal was way out in the county and was also dirt cheap because he only took cash. I maybe only paid about $30 more than if I had gone with Buds or Grabagun. The convenience and ease of the Davidsons system was well worth the $30 difference.
Anyway, leave your email with each to be notified and then pick the best deal. None will be more than about $870 before any fees, tax or shipping. They all have cheap or free shipping. Your only hassle with Buds or Grabagun is finding, coordinating, and paying the local FFL to do the transfer. Both have contact with a lot of FFL's around the country from past transactions, so they may have a recommended local FFL that they already have on record. With Davidsons, all of that is handled as part of the placing the order.
Now it's possible that the years supply of .357 mag carbine production has already been produced and sold, but that seems unlikely this early in the year. Regardless if any Miroku production comes available in your caliber, you should get a notice from one of those places. You just have to be ready to act with the funds available--either cash or credit.
As far as getting a Rossi, they are hit or miss on quality and there is no comparison to the Miroku. One is looking at $500 to $600 for a Rossi and only $300 to $350 more for the Miroku standard carbine. I'm talking street prices and not MSRP. That's much less than double the price of the Rossi, but you are getting 3 or 4 times the fit, finish, and quality with the Miroku. Go with the Rossi and take your chances or go with the Miroku/Winchester that will be perfect right out of the box and have a rifle you'll be proud of for a long as you own it. I have an older Rossi 92 in .357 mag, made long before they had the plastic safety switch on the bolt and were part of Braztech. It's still of mediocre quality at best and just doesn't hold a candle to the real thing--whether US or Japanese made.
Cheers
P.S. I just noticed on the GunGenie that there is a choice of either Winchester or Winchester repeating arms. Pick the latter. The first one leads to only a single model.
