Just in time for Shot Show, it looks like Taurus is bringing back Rossi's revolvers. I'd prefer to see some partial underlugs and shiny blued finishes in the mix myself, but it's nice to have new options in the revolver marketplace. Hopefully these are distinct enough from their Taurus cousins. I find it interesting that they opted for hammer mounted firing pins.


New For 2023: Rossi .357 Mag. Revolvers | An Official Journal Of The NRA


Rossi Revolvers

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AKA SixToEight

I have owned several Rossi revolvers and currently own a 44 Special Covert model. Simply good old fashioned working man's revolvers. Never an issue. Glad to see the name revived.

I like Rossi always have. The finish on the blued guns is superb for the price point.I just wish the grip was more like a K frame and not the J frame to make is easier to find replacement grips.

Davidson's shows an MSRP of $460.99 for the 3", $620.99 for the 6". The rear sight on the 6 looks identical to the older S&W sight before they shortened the tang.
I also have a couple Rossi's, a 2" M462 stainless .357 and a 4" M511 stainless .22LR. Although the 462 was recalled for a safety issue, I never sent it in, was able to replace the affected part with a S&W hammer block and it works perfectly. That's one good thing about Rossi - the parts are a line-by-line copy of Smith & Wesson, so working on them is simple.

I have had three older Rossi’s and all were great guns that did what they were supposed to without any issues.

I have a thing for fixed sight revolvers so the 3” barrel model caught my eye. But I will wait at least for year to read actual user reports about their quality and accuracy.

Way back in 1983, I bought a used Rossi .38 snubnose for $50.00 OTD. Carried it in my pocket for a while as insurance for where I was working. When things got better, I sold it to a friend for ... $50.00 and gave him what was left of my ammo. I was doing better and he needed it. Little revolver never did anything except exactly what it was supposed to do. Very reliable. Would buy another one. Sincerely. bruce.

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<><

Looks very similar to the new Colt King Cobra 3 inch.

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My Rossi mdl 720 in .44 spl. is a good gun.......Now that taurus owns them (and heritage)......I am leary of anything taurus touches.

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S&W Accumulator

Rossi is my bedside companion!

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Like the OP I also wonder about the decision for a hammer mounted firing pins. In there wannabe Yellowstone advertisement I thought I saw a hammer mounted firing pin and thought they were the way of the past.

I've got 3 Interarms Era Rossi revolvers and they're darn good for the price. Plus my 44 Special 720 isn't so high value like a 696 that I'm not wary of carrying it on occasion.

I've lost count of the number of times I nearly bid on an older Rossi in 38 or 357 in an online auction. I was usually stopped by a more interesting milsurp coming up for sale, or the thought that somebody else needed a cheap gun more than me. Now I wish I had snagged one of those Model 68 guns for $150 or so.

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Release the Kraken

Rossi 720 preceded the 696 by a couple of years. Is smaller too. I carry both. No use wasting a good gun on someone else when I'm gone.

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S&W Accumulator

I snagged a 3" model 68 a year ago. Had to replace a few worn springs and now, it does just what it was designed to do -- go BANG every time I pull the trigger. (And , perhaps, I'll be on the lookout for one in .44 special.)

I had one some years ago that was pretty much a Colt Diamondback wannabee. 38 Special, four inch barrel, vent rib, about the same size. Cool little gun really. Shot just fine. I can't remember which way the cylinder release worked now, but I remember it looked like a Diamondback.

I'm not into revolvers like I used to be, but it's good to have options. I've owned a lot of Taurus revolvers and never had a problem with them, but again they were all older ones from the 70-90's.

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John 3:16 .

I owned a little Rossi .38 years ago. It was a fine little revolver. I remember it had a beautiful blued finish. This new one has really got my attention.

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John

Owning two junk Rossi revolvers in a row is what made me an S&W owner.

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'Merica!

I’ve shown this one before. My Rossi Model 720 .44 Special.
It’s actually a better shooter than my Smith 24-3 6 1/2”.
Maybe they’ll add these to their product line.

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A 3 inch 44sp interests me.

I've got 3
six-shot 3" 22LR (J-frame size)
six-shot 2-1/2" 357 mag (K-frame size)
five-shot 2-1/2" 44 mag (K-frame size)

All have been great guns at a great price.

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Send lawyers, guns & money...

Looks like they finally added the 4" model, the RM64, to the Rossi website. Though I prefer partial underlugs, I have to admit that I really like the looks of this thing. Especially since they appear to have actually blued it. (I could do with it being a bit shinier/more polished, but the satin blue doesn't look bad here.) No internal/hammer lock and a hammer-mounted firing pin too!


Street price seems to hover around $450-$510.


RM64

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AKA SixToEight

I’ll be looking for a 3 inch 44 special.

These are sorely needed. I would jump on a 44, and I've quit buying guns.

I'd be interested if there was a 45 Colt

I would be interested in a J-frame size .32. The prices on the old S&W .32s have gone crazy lately. Maybe as they expand their line we will see some models and calibers that other manufacturers have abandoned.

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Expect no quarter.

Apparently the RM64 will fit K-frame speedloaders. Not sure about the others, but compatibility with existing accessories is always good to hear. I wonder what shape the grip frame is...

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AKA SixToEight

I am certain that Rossi wanted to keep the NEW offerings as affordable as possible.

They were already tooled up for the hammer nose design. Altering what they had would only incur additional startup cost and a change in tooling.

They might also have had a stockpile of the hammers already in the warehouse.

That was probably before Taurus bought them back in 1995


Not a Huge surprise.

Back in the early 70s Bangor Punta Alegre Sugar Corp.(who also owned Smith & Wesson) owned the majority of Forjas Taurus. Bangor Punta was a South American conglomerate with a US presence in Bango Maine

Taurus inherited the old Smith & Wesson tooling which built the Model 10s under contract in Brazil and the two companies shared intellectual properties as well


I LOVE all of my current Rossi firearms

I currently own 6, though none are revolvers even though 3 are handguns

2 are chambered for 22LR
2 are chambered for 357 Magnum
2 are chambered for 45 Long Colt

One is a Pump rifle and the remaining 5 are all lever actions.

The pump is a copy of the Winchester Model 62
The lever guns are all based on the John Browning designed 1892 action

As you may have guessed, 3 of the 1892s are Ranch Hands (.aka Mares Legs)

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"Acta non verba"

Oh Yeah!!! Bring it back!!!

I've had good service from a number of Rossi revolvers through the years. It's good to see the name back.

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Pisgah

Based on the photos that show a screw through the side of the grip it is pretty certain that they are the traditionally-shaped grip frames with two-piece grips (left and right halves).

Unfortunately they don't directly match up to anything in the S&W world.

The medium frame Rossi revolvers that came with the grips in this photo were really close to the size of a square-butt J-frame - though they are slightly different in shape. That is the grip that is on my M971 (2-3/4" 6-shot, 357 magnum) and also on my M70 (3" 6-shot 22lr - which is actually built on their smaller frame).

The revolvers with the next larger frame size have a straight-sided grip frame with a hex-cap screw that goes into the bottom of the grip. This grip & frame type was shared between Rossi and Taurus designs built on that frame. Two examples in my safe would be the Taurus 617 TTi and the Rossi 44C.

This frame is slightly larger than a S&W L-frame and slightly smaller than an N-frame S&W - but it has grips that are K/L-frame sized (externally). However, the "internal" grip-frame has a totally different shape than any S&W grip-frame. They have front and rear backstraps that are parallel, and the butt of the grip is parallel to the bore-axis of the barrel. Basically it is a trapezoidal shape - with rounded corners (the rear corner - aka the "heel" of the grip - is more rounded than the front - aka the "toe" of the grip).

These grips slide onto the semi-rectangular grip frame from the bottom, and then they are secured by a screw inserted through the butt of the grip directly into the frame. Just like this "cutaway" photo of the grips on a Taurus judge (which has an elongated variant of the same intermediate sized frame).

SO, all that being said, the new Rossi 6-shooter almost certainly has the "traditional" grip frame shape with two-panel (left & right half) grips.

Hope that info is helpful to you...

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Send lawyers, guns & money...

That WOULD be nice.

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Who are those guys?

You guys should check out the Taurus 327. Same company, all steel, J-frame, 6-shot revolver, chambered in 327 Federal Magnum. Shoots all the .32 calibers (.32 S&W, .32 S&WL, .32 H&R Mag, .32 Fed Mag) just fine.

Of course you have to get over any anti-Taurus bias you may have acquired first in order to even consider it...

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Send lawyers, guns & money...

I’ve been on the lookout for one, none of my local shops have had any.

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Who are those guys?

I understand wanting to see and handle it first - hence the desire to find one locally.

But FWIW, GunBroker has a BUNCH of them for sale in the $300-$325 range - if you're willing to go that route....

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Send lawyers, guns & money...

Thanks for the heads up, but, as you said, I’d rather see/examine it in person.
Besides, I have a 3” S&W Model 60 on layaway right now that is consuming what spare cash I have.

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Who are those guys?

I can see these getting popular pretty quickly. They look better than the "very" industrial Taurus, IMO. A cheaper revolver which is decent quality will be welcome, I think.

Smith and Ruger all start out at close to $900-1000 or over. That's a heck of a lot of scratch for a person to come up with, especially a young person starting out on their own. I believe some people get a semi over a revolver based on price alone, even though they might feel more comfortable with a revolver. Of course, I could be wrong, just ask my wife!