Rossi 720 44 Special

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Me239

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Hey everyone! Been awhile since my last post, but I thought you guys might appreciate my latest purchase, a Rossi 720! Bought this as a broken gun for $200 from a local gunshop, as the cylinder couldn't spin freely and was a bear to swing in and out. Turns out all it needed was a little acetone and a toothbrush to get it back into shape! Took it out with some HSM 44 SPL Cowboy loads and packed a great whallop against steel targets out to 50 yards. Now all that brass is loaded back up with 7.2 grains of SR4756 under a 240 grain plated bullet, waiting for its next trip to the woods.

I've been curious about owning a 44 SPL only revolver ever since I learned about Skeeter Skelton and Elmer Keith's work with them, but could never find anything besides expensive old Smiths and Charter Arms Bulldogs. I have a beastly 9.5" Ruger Super Redhawk in 44 MAG, but something about having this little revolver that I can quickly aim and fire definitely beats that heavy thing when hiking.

Anyways, I'd love to hear what 44 guns you have and your favorite loads (magnum and special). I'm looking to get a mold for 44 bullets in the near future, so any advice on that is also welcome!
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Fine revolver. Even better because you were able to buy it at a good price and so easily return it to effective service. Load 240 gr. bevel based SWC bullets over a starting load of Unique. Work up to what you require for accuracy ... and power. Not much you can't handle with such a load. JMHO. Sincerely. bruce.
 
Thanks for the response! Turns out someone must have tried to hide it in their pancakes or something cause it was caked in goo just around the cylinder. Revolver handles like new and I hope to get many years of use from it. I'll also look into using Unique for some loads. I'm looking into getting a 240 grain Lee mold in 44, but can't decide if it's worth it to get the gas checked version for use in my magnum revolver.
 
Nice Rossi. I own two and would never part with them.As to yours it’s amazing that a Gun Shop wouldn’t be able to do exactly what you did to sell it for more.Rossi will be harder to find in the used market since no longer being imported for sale in the U.S.The .44 special is near perfect as a defense and fun to shoot round.Enjoy your new gun.
 
My father still has one of the Rossi 44's I bought him for his birthday years ago. It's worked fine with limited shooting and services as his house gun. A friend bought one and it would bind up after shooting a few rounds. I don't think he ever did figure out what the problem was with it.
 
Damn I'm sorry to hear. Mine's been fine so far, but I'll keep an eye out for any issues. Only issue I've found is it's easy to unscrew the ejector, but I feel a good twist with some pliers and some locktite will iron that out.
 
You have a nice 44 special and let's keep it that way . Don't try to turn it into a 44 mag using EK's 44 special load . You will find that 7.0 grs of Unique with a 240 gr cast / jacketed / plated bullet is a real nice load . You can switch over to HP38 / W231 , real common powder among reloaders . I personally use / like Ramshot Zip in 45 Colt and 44 spl loads . Ramshot True Blue is another great powder for guns firing lower psi rounds that has found great favor with me . For molds ? I have no problem using LEE molds . They are inexpensive and they work just fine for me . Yes I have more expensive molds , " Accurate , LBT etc " but to get started I would suggest the LEE molds . The bullets I cast for 38 spl are a LEE mold , my 38-55 rifle , 45 Colt is again my LEE mold .
On tightening the ejector rod nut on the end . BE SURE that you place several empty cartridges in the cylinder before you tighten it . PLEASE DO NOT use pliers . You will over torque it and bend it . I use a wooden clothes pin , the spring loaded kind . I place the hollowed out spot on the clothes pin over the nut and just grip it with my fingers . Bring it up to snug , then just about 1/16 to 1/8" more and stop . I did not say 1/8th of a turn , just 1/16th to 1/8th of an INCH more . Your pliers will also leave teeth marks , very very unsightly . Regards, Paul
 
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I've got the exact same gun and like loading up 200gr Extreme plated bullets, 8 grains of Power Pistol and whatever primers I have on hand.
 
I purchased a 720 last Summer, and I have been very pleased with it.
 
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if Rossi still offered service or at least parts for a real gunsmith to replace worn parts.... I'd still have mine. I can't upload pix anymore, says security token is missing?
 
Over the years I've acquired 3 Taurus' and a 4" Charter Arms. I have a 441, a blue 431, and a stainless 431. The 431s were projects a few years back, converting the square butts to round butts. Very effective carry revolvers.
I load 240 gr. semi wadcutters over Universal. It meters much better than Unique and burns clean. I also load the 200 gr. Gold Dots or the old Berry's hollow points over Universal.

ETA: Taurus, not Rossis. Almost same difference.
 
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The gun is a wicked stopper for close in defense. They used to make a high-explosive tipped .44 load that could be found at gun shows in the 90s. VERY effective.
 
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The problem with the binding is poor ammo selection. Some .44SPL round cases arent crimped. After firing a few rounds the recoil causes the lead to slip forward in the casing. The tip then sticks out the front of the cylinder and jams on rotation.
 
GT Bullets offers several great .44 Lead Hollow Point Bullets that are soft enough to expand at 44 special velocities. I like the 190 grain in my 3" model 696. Very accurate from my testing with water jugs, will make a super SD Load. They also have a 240gr SWCHP with and without a gas check.
 
I have one of the Rossi 431 blue 3"44 specials. Bought it before finding and buying a 3 S&W 696. My groups on combat targets remained the same with the 696. Nice gun, but won't do anything more than that 431
 
I just bought the exact same 720 model a couple weeks ago at a gun show. It was a little sluggish but I guessed the lubricant inside had dried out and turned to glue over the years and that it had not been cleaned since purchase (quite likely from the looks of it, that it was either never fired, or fired once and put away for years).
When I examined it at the show I immediately realized it was not the same kind of junk that Taurus and current production Rossi's are known for and grabbed it. I had to pay $400 but have no regrets. Cleaned it up, did a trigger job and it functions very nicely. It is clearly a copy of the older S&W long pull trigger mechanism and the rebound slide is terribly rough (too much to just sand out). But the main drawback is Rossi's only departure from a straight S&W copy: the hammer spring is a coil spring, instead of flat.
This is apparently a precursor to the 696 as it came on the market 2-3 years BEFORE the S&W. It is also not an L frame.
A number have claimed that it is a K frame, but that is not true either. The Rossi frame is slightly larger than a K frame and significantly smaller than an L frame. For me it is a great fit.
It handles 215 grain heavy (for 44 special) loads (really just my range loads) very well but the cylinder walls are thin enough that I wouldn't put any of my carry loads in it: just the range loads, or standard factory defense loads.
Now I have the bug and on the lookout for these.
dk
 
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I have used this 3" 24-3 for some time, with the same SR4756 load behind some old swagged 240 OEM bullets I had come by. Very accurate. I also loaded up some shot loads for when out in the So Dakota Prairie Dog fields in case of rattlers. I don't like the RB combat grips, so I made up my own RB to SB stocks by re-making some much larger stocks.
 
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Interarms-era Rossis are fine guns. The 720 and the 22lr Model 518 are my favorites. Not quite a S&W, but I’ve never had one to fail. I’ve bought a couple broken ones and had to repair them before I could use them. Small repairs, ran fine afterward. I’ve bought broken Colts and Smiths and Rugers too, though. Nothing much wrong with any of them, except for an old Colt Detective Special. Made me lose my enthusiasm for old Colt double actions. Still love Colt Single Actions. I used to own these two 720s. One of these doesn’t have a pinned barrel. It’s the only one I’ve ever seen without a pinned barrel.
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