Wanting a Lever Action in .357 to play with. Locally the Rossi is $180 cheaper. 520 vs 700. I’ve heard good things about the Rossi but is the Henry that much better? Ruled out the new Marlins. Ugliest stamped wood I’ve ever seen. Older Marlins in .357 don’t ever seem to come around

I have had good luck with my Rossis over the years
I own five at the moment. Two are 20" rifles that include the .357 pictured above and a 45LC. The remaining three are all Ranch Hands, chambered for 22LR, 357 Magnum and 45LC

I have looked at the Henry and will most probably get one this year simply because they have offerings chambered for 41 Magnum

Have you considered a Browning B-92?

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SWHF #448

I have 2 Henry 22 rifles, both are super nice with real nice wood and blueing. Excellent rifles. However, in a centerfire rifle I just dont like a loading tube. I have no idea why Henry refuses to use a loading gate. If they did I'd buy one instantly..., heck everyone would. Im not a fan of Rossi either, and the Winchesters have a ****** safety on them these days.

I guess I am odd. I like the Henry loading tube much better than the loading gate on my Marlin. Unloading in the dark after an evening hunt is much easier to me with the Henry and the Henry tube doesn’t seem to be as hard on the ammo. Have had no dealings with a Rossi.

I've had a nice Rossi .357 1892 short rifle (one of the ones Navy Arms imported) for over ten years and really like it. I may have just lucked out, but this is a darned sweet gun.





That said, Henry's goofy twenty-two-style mag tube is a good idea if you want to unload without running the rounds through the action (or ruining your thumb tricking them out of the side gate).

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So far the biggest holdback on the Rossi is the top eject. Red dot mounting gets more complicated if I go that route. Was shooting a 30-30 recently with iron sights and at 80 yards I was as accurate with my 8 3/8” 686 with red dot. I’m sure it had nothing to do with my 62 Year old eyes.

What type rear sight is that. I’m sure it’s better than original.

Wanted a lever gun in 44mag and looked at the Henry. Looked like it was nicely made but when I picked it up... felt like it weighed 10 plus pounds. Came across a new Marlin 1894 with plain but nice fitting wood and really nice bluing. Bought it and it has been a really good rifle.
Which ever you buy I recommend a Skinner peep rear sight.

I own a Browning B-92 .44 magnum but never owned a Rossi or a Henry. But I'd go with the rossi because it's more true in design to an actual Winchester. And it's cheaper. I'd like a 16" loop lever Rossi so I could spin it when watching the rifleman or True Grit.

I own two Rossi 92 357 mags. Both are blued, one 20" and the other 16"

I frequent a lot of gun stores and local shows, good luck finding one. My 357s are the only two I've seen in two years. I have no idea about Henry. There are a lot of them out there but the mag tube loading is a turn off for me.

I have one of the older Rossi model 92 copies, in .357. It is great, but it predates the "safety" that is now being put on top of the receiver. It is a virtual clone of the original Winchester model 1892 carbine. If you can find one of these older models, I heartily recommend it. As has been noted, the new "Winchesters" being made by Miroku in Japan have a sliding tang safety and a rebounding hammer. Other than that, they are very well made, but are really pricy. Here Is a shot of my Rossi:



Sorry... Missed the part about mounting a red dot sight. This might not be the best choice for that.


Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

I put together a Henry Big Boy .41 Mag for my FIL last year. It mounted a red dot really easily. I'm thinking about getting one in .44 for myself.

I don't get the hate for the tube, other than the corrosion issues.

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Psalm 27:2

The Browning B92 and current Winchester 1892 (both made by Miroku) are the best 92's on the market. Fit and finish is a head of the rest of them. They are a bit pricey, but worth it. The current Winchester produced guns have a tang safety unlike the original 1892's. Might give them a look too if you haven't.

I actually like the Rossi gate on the receiver better than the end of tube loading on the Henry.

My .38(.357) is my go-to if I need to investigate something on my property as it shares ammo with my EDC. The gate allows for more straight-forward topping off from a bandolier while being used.

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Certified Curmudgeon

I have both a Stainless Rossi ‘92 in 44/40 and a Henry Big Boy in .357. Both have their uses and both have their drawbacks.

The Rossi is light and easily carried in the hand. It is no slower to load than any other side gate lever gun but it is a bit ‘clunky’ in operation and will occasionally throw a round out instead of chanbering it (probably some operator error on my part). Sights are easy to use and adjust. I will be stripping the Rossi down during our winter and giving it a bit of an internal polishup to try to smooth out the action.

The Henry is much smoother in operation, faster to cycle the lever in competition, but much heavier. Still the weight seems to make the rifle just ‘ hang’ much better on target. The sights are a good, if anything a bit better than the Rossi to my eyes. Elevation adjustment is good but have not had to adjust them for windage as they came right on from the box.

Loading requires stopping, opening the mag tube etc, compared to just feeding the Rossi’s loading gate while walking along. The biggest issue is that the Henry needs to be loaded with .357 length rounds, .38 special length ammo will jam on the carrier and not feed into the chamber (the owners manual does warn of this).

The Henry is the nicer gun and performs better on the competition line. The Rossi is the better field gun being lighter to carry and reload.

Horses for courses.

I've been having both the original Rossi 92SRC like les.b has and a Browning B92 since the 80's. The Rossi is in 357 and the B92 in 44 mag. The Rossi has the prettier wood of the 2 and a slicker action, but that might be because it has been shot a lot more. The B92 kills on one end and maims on the other with full power 44 Mag loads, but the Rossi doesn't mistreat the shoulder with any loading of 357 Mag (and that's to be expected with a lower powered round). Neither of them have a safety, just a half cock step. As for mounting a red dot, that would be a bit tricky I think on either, as they are pretty faithful copies of the old Winchester 1892 and are top eject.

The newer Rossi's are drilled and tapped under the rear sight base. Adding a red dot would not be hard. Stevesgunz.com sells a single slot picatinny rail that would work.

Marble's (it was a gift from a forum member friend). Handloaded Lil' Gun .357s are hell on wheels from that thing.

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Call me snob, but I have always thought the Rossis were junk and i wouldn't own one.

Henrys are real nice and I would buy one.

But, for the caliber and type at hand, IMHO a Winchester Trapper is the only choice.

I prefer Rossi to Henry, namely because I dislike the tube-loaded magazines on Henrys, but also because in my experience the Rossis are actually finished nicer than Henrys.
That being said, most of the Henrys I have seen are small-bore whereas the Rossis are a mix of small and large bore, so I'm unaware how the overall finish between the more expensive big bore Henrys compares to Rossi.

Alright then, you're a snob.

I have a 20" Rossi .357 and it is an extremely fun gun with .38 specials and recoil is about like a .22 magnum and everyone who shoots it seems to like the gun and its accuracy. The Marlins are excellent guns with smooth strong actions but a little heavier and the Henry's just look weird to me.

All the Rossi's I've examined have some sort of silly safety on them.........the new Marlin's too. Go with a Henry!

That's why I advocated the early Rossis, made before the advent of the lawyer mandated safety. They are very close to the original Winchesters. Many of the parts will interchange. I agree, I do not care for the later ones with the tiny, hard to manipulate safety on top of the receiver.

But I think the OP wants something to mount an electronic sight on anyway.

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

The Rossi branded scope mount has been unobtainable for years. An enthusiast has designed an arranged production of a scope mount for the round barrel Rossi 92 imported by Braztech, utilizing the drilled and tapped holes under the rear site. Numerous shooters post good reviews using that mount with red dot, or scout scopes .

Rossi Model 92 Scope Mount P892 Black, NOE Bullet Moulds

The tang mounted orifice sight you noted is a good option. They require adding a drilled and tapped mounting hole on the tang for most Braztech Rossi 92s, unless you have the 24" model.

I've had great fun with my 24" Braztech .357 92, after some minor and well known tweaks.

I have no problem with the tube either EXCEPT you can't add a round to top off, on the move. But, I made 'speed loaders' below, to quickly load 10. With these I know I can load 10 quicker than 10 through a side port by hand.

Also, my Henry Big Boy Steel does NOT have the barrel band like a Rossi. Barrel band gets hot, accuracy suffers.

My Henry is noticeably better made than my Mossberg 464. Same for the Rossi's I have held and tried. That is IMHO, YMMV

That is awesome! More info please on your homemade speed loaders!!!! Willing to share design knowledge?

LOL, red neck engineering. I used the thin PVC tubing meant for faucets. Fits a .357 or .38 perfectly. Home Depot or Lowes have it in 6 or 8 ft lengths. Glued in brass stops they sell for it, after cutting to length to fit 10 rds plus 1/2" or so. Use the foam ear plugs on the other end. Load primer up. When time to use, pull the ear plug, mate open end to top of tube, let them slide in after upending.

Hmmm. When the topic is leverguns, the discussion always seems to come down to Marlin vs. Henry with Rossi getting honorable mention as the only alternative to the two. Why does no one ever mention Pedersoli, Uberti and Chiappa? The Italians took our Western movies and made them better than we ever did...and now they're cranking out fine lever guns with fit and finish beyond anything else currently produced...including the slightly overrated Henry's and the often bashed and underrated Marlins. People tend to forget that, in the case of Rossis and Mossbergs they are paying a measly $400-500...yet at the same time they are demanding the quality level aka "fit and finish" of a $2000 rifle.

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Smith. And Wesson. And Me!

Here's a theory: Because their distribution systems are as haphazard as their military behavior in both World Wars.


E io sono un quarto italiano . . .

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Ah ok. I thought/hoped they were spring loaded to work through the gate of a Winchester / Marlin design. Still very cool.

Not a red dot ......but the Skinner Sights barrel mounted peep sight is very handy on my .357 Winchester Trapper.

Had a 20" Rossi in the late 70s early 80s w/o the safety....... liked it a lot..... but with the .357 figured the 16" Trapper was maxing out the round and was a bit handier............

that was back in my only 4-6 guns years..... wish I'd kept it.

You want something like this

Yep. I appreciate your posts Sir!

I've had 2 Rossi's , no problems . I bought a Henry , it had to go back to the factory .

I bought a Rossi in the early 80's when I was channeling my inner cowboy.
Made it into a takedown. no complaints.