Rossi 92's What's "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly"

[Bugs]

OK obviously I love shooting lever guns and want to try something different. I do not do SASS Cowboy Shooting but shoot frequently, shoot fast, shoot every other weekend and typically 200-300 rounds through a couple of guns so figure I will put 100 rounds through my lever gun every other weekend. We typically shoot at steel plates at various distances (25, 50, 75 yards) and I like the .357 in a lever action; it's just fun to shoot. I am also not afraid (as most of you know) to completely tear down and work on guns. I do trigger jobs on Smith Revolvers, 1911's and Glocks, replace sights/parts but I am not a machinist and do not have the equipment to heavily modify or produce my own parts. I also shoot jacketed bullets in lieu of lead and tune my guns with different handloads. My go to load for .357 is 14.5 gn's Alliant 2400 behind a 158gn Zero jacketed flatnose hollowpoint or similiar Montana Gold bullet.

I have been looking at several lever guns with loading gates specifically Uberti's and Miroku Winchesters. From my research both would need some fine tuning work to get them to operate for faster, fun shooting. Wondering how the 1873 Uberti's and Miroku variants with the "toggle design" would hold up to a steady diet of the load I am currently utilizing. I know I could shoot a tamer load. Then there is the pricing. Uberti's @ $1100 anf the Win's a little higher and still need some work to slick them up and reduce trigger pull.

So I started to look at the Rossi 92's which seem to be a more robust design and pretty easy to work on. I guess what i am asking is how is the Rossi quality from people who own and shoot them. The stainless version looks nice and I'm wondering if with a little work I can have a slick little lever gun that will do what I've outlined above for a whole lot less $$$.

What say you???

[Mistered]

From my research both would need some fine tuning work to get them to operate for faster, fun shooting. Wondering how the 1873 Uberti's and Miroku variants with the "toggle design" would hold up to a steady diet of the load I am currently utilizing.

The toggle action is not something that will lend itself to 'faster' shooting. I was looking at an Miroku 1873 WInchester recently and came very close to buying it but thats another story. I don't know what you mean by 'faster' but if you are looking to rip 'em off like Chuck Conners in the Rifleman forget a toggle action. With regard to the Rossi I have never owned one but looked at many and shot a couple and because many of them need work out of the box when new to get to operate satisfactorily I think it would be a good candidate for what you want to do. Since you plan on modifying it to 'speed' it up AND because the Rossi's have no 'intrinsic' value to worry about modify away!

[tx gunrunner]

The Rossi I had NEVER hiccups or broke in 16 yrs . It was a 44-40 [ bottleneck brass ] and it smooth up perfect with lots of work . 38/357 The 73 type action is super smooth out of the box but wouldn't like hot load . .

[North Country Gal]

Can't help you on the Rossi, but I have friends in CAS that shoot modern 1873s like the Uberti and haven't been able to wear out the toggle actions. I think modern steels and alloys pretty much eliminate the problem, compared to the originals. No, I wouldn't shoot a steady diet of 180 357 bear loads or even 158 hunting loads, but other than that, I wouldn't worry about it.

[Jdl447]

http://stevesgunz.com/

The Rossi specialist.

[Jdl447]

Lots of info here also.

http://www.rossi-rifleman.com/index.php

[RudyN]

I have a Rossi 1892 that was smoothed out for CAS by Steves guns and it is a great shooting rifle. It is more accurate than I will ever be.

[BigAl52]

Can't help you on the Rossi, but I have friends in CAS that shoot modern 1873s like the Uberti and haven't been able to wear out the toggle actions. I think modern steels and alloys pretty much eliminate the problem, compared to the originals. No, I wouldn't shoot a steady diet of 180 357 bear loads or even 158 hunting loads, but other than that, I wouldn't worry about it.

Im glad you chimed in on this thread NCG. I just bought a Uberti 1873 Trapper 18 inch barrel in 357. Its a beautiful gun. Shot it for the first time in Washington. Showed it to SH while at his house. This toggle link in the 1873 will never out live the bad rap from yester year. I have owned a couple of Ubertis and they are great guns. Bought this one from JD Outfitters in OKC,OK. The guy is a huge CAS shooter and sells many of these to those types of people. Never had a minutes worth of trouble with mine and Im not Skeered of that toggle link at all. As for the 1892 alot of guys own them and really like them. Me I have not ever owned one and wont due to the customer service I did not get when owning a Taurus gun. They are a terrible company. Al

[tractortad]

I think if you like to tinker with guns, a Rossi 1892 clone is a great choice. I don't own one (got a Miroku 1892 that I like a lot), but I've handled a few I really liked them. They don't have anything close to the fit and finish of a Winchester or a Henry, but they are built with the same action as the original 1892's and they are pretty reasonably priced. They have a reputation for being kind of rough out of the box, but they can be tuned up to be pretty darn smooth, and I think their actions are still pretty much all original - i.e. no rebounding hammer or tang safety. I thought of getting one just to play around with as a diy gunsmith project - and 357mag would be a nice caliber.

No such thing as a bad lever gun, only some lever guns better than others...

[North Country Gal]

I'd love to get an 1873 clone, but we already have a Marlin 357 and don't shoot it as much as we would like, now. I probably wouldn't get a Rossi since I wouldn't want to take the time to work with it, but I could see it being a fun project.