Rossi R92 38/357 Range Report

[MG2112]

http://i1151.photobucket.com/albums/o635/MGSR9457/Rossi_50yds_zpsff35831e.jpg

There has been some talk on NES about lever action rifles of late. Thought I would post my range report.


Range Report Rossi R92.

This is the first time I ever shot a lever action rifle. I purchased my Rossi R92 38/357 20in blue around Christmas 2012. I did some feeding test and gave her a pretty good cleaning before shooting. Rails were well lubed with 3 in
1 oil.

I used 50 rounds of RWS Sport 357 Magnum 158 Grain Full Metal Jacket ammo . Outdoor range with a target @ 50yards. Clear day in the high 40’s with little or no wind.


I will start from the beginning of my session and go from there.

With no idea where to place the rear sight so I put it in the middle notch. It was just me and the range officer
so he acted as a spotter for me. A silhouette target (see link) was @ 50 yards and I was missing the target high.
I was sitting in a chair with my R92 resting on my shooting bag on a table. I adjusted the rear site by sliding it back towards the stock. I was not sure If I should have my sight alignment in the lower “V” or the upper “V” – hope that makes sense.

To make things more challenging I discovered my front site came loose about half way through my box of ammo.
After every shot I had to adjust it to center. Sometimes I forgot to center the front site and missed. Now the
front site is completely off. A little loctite can fix that.

I think towards the end of my 50 rounds I started to make some good hits.

The good: Great gun to shoot. My R92 did NOT have a single problem feeding .357 ammo. I have seen reports of some Rossi unable to feed .357. Not mine. Not one single issue. Only one FTF (I hit the safety by mistake) but not
one FTL and/or FTE. I really like this gun and feel I spent my money wisely. I would buy it again given the chance
and look forward to shooting her again. Recoil was noticeable but not shocking. Being my first lever action I had
little to compare it to. I will give some 38spl a run next time.


The bad: Front site came loose then completely off. I can glue it on or have it replaced cheaply.
It will take the shooter, me, a while to get used to a lever action with iron sights. Once I
get her sighted in at 50 yards I think the gun will be accurate. This is the first 50 rounds I EVER shot out
of a lever action. Very little bad to report. Hopefully I can shoot better next time but I had a great time
and look forward to the next range visit.

 

[atilla]

if this was a new rifle i hope you're returning it up taurus' ass--SIDEWAYS. front sight fell off?!

i used to have a ranch hand and i grew to HATE it. my buddy is still in love with it which is why he owns it now.

if you keep it and lay hands on magtech ammo, give that a try. my ranch hand liked magtech .357 the best.

 

[asp]

Let us know how the target looks after you get the front sight issue figured out. I'd be pissed off and tempted to bring it back too. That issue aside, how is the action and the trigger? Smooth or gritty? I have a couple .357 revolvers and I'd love to add something like this to the fleet.

Do you reload or cast? 357 mag is a great one to cast for. I'm making it for $8 per 100 rounds. You could actually afford to feed this thing the diet it wants!

 

[MG2112]

if this was a new rifle i hope you're returning it up taurus' ass--SIDEWAYS. front sight fell off?!

i used to have a ranch hand and i grew to HATE it. my buddy is still in love with it which is why he owns it now.

if you keep it and lay hands on magtech ammo, give that a try. my ranch hand liked magtech .357 the best.

I think I will just fix it myself. If I had a real bad feeding problem or "click no bang" I would send it back. If I send it back I may not get to shoot her for months for something that is easly fixed . I will give magtech a try. Thanks

- - - Updated - - -

Let us know how the target looks after you get the front sight issue figured out. I'd be pissed off and tempted to bring it back too. That issue aside, how is the action and the trigger? Smooth or gritty? I have a couple .357 revolvers and I'd love to add something like this to the fleet.

Do you reload or cast? 357 mag is a great one to cast for. I'm making it for $8 per 100 rounds. You could actually afford to feed this thing the diet it wants!

Trigger seemed fine. Pretty smooth. Want to sell some of those rounds you make?

 

[hminsky]

I just tried out my stainless Rossi 92 .357 20" rifle yesterday. I had put a Skinner ghost ring sight on the barrel, it replaced the factory rear sight, and had done a rough sighting in at home with a laser boresight.

It worked very well at the range, it was sighted in perfectly. At first I had a little trouble feeding the rounds, but after about twenty rounds it was feeding very smoothly. I love this rifle.

 

[asp]

Trigger seemed fine. Pretty smooth. Want to sell some of those rounds you make?

Nice, that's good. Sorry, that's illegal. More than happy to teach you how to cast and load your own, though. Are you close by?

edit: if you save your brass, I'd be happy to buy it from you.

 

[MG2112]

I live in Weymouth. Round filed all of todays brass. I will keep you in mind for next time.

 

[Zappa]

I live in Weymouth. Round filed all of todays brass. I will keep you in mind for next time.

Shooters Rule #14:

Never throw away perfectly good reloadable brass.
Just because you don't want it, doesn't mean that someone else doesn't want it.
Even if you were to sell it for scrap, it's still brass and it's still worth something.
If you don't personally know any reloaders to give it to, there's a brass trading thread here in the Reloading section.
Trust me, somebody WILL want it.

Anyway, congrats on your first lever gun.
Those things get addictive, I have over a dozen myself.
An easy fix to keep that front sight in place is to take a punch and peen a spot in middle of the flat area of the dovetail slot on the barrel, then tap the sight back into place. Don't use Lock-Tite.

 

[ivarr]

i've not heard much great things about rossi over the years. but i am probably buying a marlin lever in .44mag in a few weeks i think.
levers have always interested me, especially in magnum pistol calibers

 

[Zappa]

i've not heard much great things about rossi over the years. but i am probably buying a marlin lever in .44mag in a few weeks i think.
levers have always interested me, especially in magnum pistol calibers

The quality is hit & miss.
I had on older Puma in .357, I posted about it in another thread, functionally it was horrendous.
I have a current production Stainless R92 in .44Mag, which is light years ahead of that Puma in every respect.
I've handled both stainless and blued examples of the current R92's, and they look like they come off two different production lines, with the stainless being superior in overall fit & finish.
I almost bought a blued .45LC version, until I inspected it closely, very rough action, poor finish on internal parts.
I passed and bought the Henry Big Boy instead.

 

[ivarr]

The quality is hit & miss.
I had on older Puma in .357, I posted about it in another thread, functionally it was horrendous.
I have a current production Stainless R92 in .44Mag, which is light years ahead of that Puma in every respect.
I've handled both stainless and blued examples of the current R92's, and they look like they come off two different production lines, with the stainless being superior in overall fit & finish.
I almost bought a blued .45LC version, until I inspected it closely, very rough action, poor finish on internal parts.
I passed and bought the Henry Big Boy instead.

i don't know what model it is, my home gun shop has had it on the used rack for well over a year.
action seems really solid and smooth, though i've only picked it up 2 or 3 times and have never cycled or shot a lever gun before. stainless and i assume 20" barrel.
just figure it's time to grab it especially since i'll get a good price for cash.

 

[Zappa]

i don't know what model it is, my home gun shop has had it on the used rack for well over a year.
action seems really solid and smooth, though i've only picked it up 2 or 3 times and have never cycled or shot a lever gun before. stainless and i assume 20" barrel.
just figure it's time to grab it especially since i'll get a good price for cash.

I'd take a chance on their stainless guns, but the blued ones don't seem to be up to the same quality standard.
20" is the most common barrel length, but they do make 16" & 24" also. I prefer the 16's myself. (aka "Trapper" length)
Just make sure to examine it closely before buying.
Cycle the action, feel the trigger pull, look for tool marks and rough areas down inside the action and check the loading gate area for burrs and sharp edges.
These currently MSRP for $599, but can be had from some dealers (new) for as low as $475.
I certainly wouldn't pay more than $450 for a used one unless it was essentially unfired w/box and papers.
If you know for sure that the one you looked at has been lingering on their rack for over a year, use that as a bargaining point to get a lower price. They don't make squat when they don't move inventory.