Rossi R92 Lever action opinions

I'm in the process of getting a Ruger Blackhawk 45LC. Ever since I was a kid and sat with my Dad watching all the westerns I've wanted a single action revolver/lever action rifle matching caliber combo, Cowboy setup.

I'd love to have some collector old Winchester lever guns but I want a gun to shoot a good bit with and not be concerned to much about it.

I don't have any experience with Rossi firearms but I've found a slightly used Rossi R92 in 45LC and I'm just curious if anybody has or does have one and their opinion?

I had a Rossi 92 .357 magnum carbine when they were first introduced. Mine functioned fine but was partial to Speer Lawman ammunition. These are not super slick guns, action wise. Plenty of them are used for cowboy shooting competitions and there are several gunsmiths who specialize in tuning them.

I got my first Rossi 92 - a 357 - in about 96. I got my last one in about 2005. So I have no experience with current made guns. I gave the 357 to my daughter, but I have two in 44 Winchester, a 44 Magnum and a 45 Colt. I consider them to be excellent guns, and like them greatly.


Mine have all made the trip to Port Arthur Texas to see Steve Young. Added about another $150 to the cost of each gun, but I consider it worth it.

ColbyBruce said:

I had a Rossi 92 .357 magnum carbine when they were first introduced. Mine functioned fine but was partial to Speer Lawman ammunition. These are not super slick guns, action wise. Plenty of them are used for cowboy shooting competitions and there are several gunsmiths who specialize in tuning them.

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Thanks

I'm not looking for ultra smooth action or high end type fit and finish. Just a decent working gun I can have fun with. One review I read said his Rossi didn't like ejecting the blazer cases but otherwise worked just fine.

Rossi fit and finish is only skin deep. It may take a lot of work to smooth up the action. I'd stick with Marlin, Henry, or Winchester for a lever gun. The only things I've needed with Marlin (Remlin) is a slight stoning of the extractor for smoother controlled feed. There are better trigger assemblies, easily installed, which reduce the pull from 6+ lbs to about 3, and less creep. I haven't handled a new Ruger-Marlin version.

Modern (Japanese) Winchesters work just fine out of the box. The trigger pull is long with creep, but that's because of the positive block action. Nothing you can do about that. Feed is silky smooth.

I have a Rossi in .45. I got it at a good price at a LGS a few years ago. No complaints it does what it is supposed to do. Action as others have said is a bit rough.

Its not that rough and I'm not a competitive shooter with it so I have not considered doing some action work on it.

It is a decent companion piece to my S&W 4'' in the same caliber!

Had an older LSA import. Ran great, never had to do anything to it. Sold it to a friend so his daughter could have a deer rifle.

The Brazilians have been making these things for decades. They have it figured out.

I don't have the Rossi R92 in .45 Colt as Miracle Man asks about. But I have put a lot of rounds through a .38/.357 R92 rifle. I use it for lever action silhouette.

The rifle is accurate enough for iron sights and me shooting offhand. It's a workhorse gun without any aspirations of being a tackdriver. It's pretty crude with a mystery wood stock. The forearm is thicker on one side than the other. Finish might be water. (!) The action was roughly machined, but with use and grease it has smoothed out.

Having said this, it will do 1 1/2" to 2" at 100 yds off the bench. I installed a Marbles tang sight and Lyman 17A front sight. For my eyeballs, the factory buckhorn was useless. I also installed an ejector spring, gate spring and metal magazine follower from Steve's Gunz. The original ejector put cases into low earth orbit, the gate spring was really stiff so loading was a chore and the plastic follower is subject to swelling from cleaning solvents. All of these things are known R92 issues which is where Steve comes in.

The rifle has a 24" octagon barrel so it's fairly heavy. I like the weight and sight radius for silhouette matches. Not long ago I bought a stainless R92 carbine in .38/357. I thought the lighter weight might be beneficial in silhouette matches. I was wrong. It was less stable offhand and the shorter sight radius didn't help things one bit. The stainless carbine was better cosmetically than the 24" rifle, but the barrel looked like a sewer pipe when viewed with a borescope. Not that the 24" rifle barrel is any great shakes either. Still, both of them shot accurately enough from the bench. The stainless gun has since gone down the road to a friend. He may figure the stainless glare gives him a competitive advantage. Or he just likes bling . . . .

FWIW, I shoot cast RNFP bullets over 4227. Neither of them was fed factory ammo or jacketed bullets.

I have a Rossi 92 20” carbine in .45 Colt as well as a Rossi 92 20” short rifle and a Rossi 92 24” rifle, both in .357 Magnum, and I have some history with various other Rossi 92 rifles and carbines going back about 30 years.

Here are my thoughts and observations.

1) Quality of the stock finish has varied over the years. Way back in the at the stock finish and appearance was very similar to vintage Winchester Model 1892s.

From 10-15 years ago until recently, the stocks used were some sort of mystery hardwood with a finish with all the charm of shoe polish. It would even run in the rain. The saving grace was the factory stock finish made an acceptable base stain for an oil finish applied on top, whether it was Tru-Oil, pure Tung Oil or boiled linseed oil. The first couple coats of Tru Oil would take a day or so to dry, but the rest would dry down in the normal 90 minutes.

I did look at a Rossi 92 a few weeks ago in a local gun shop and Rossi is now doing a good job with the stock finish.

2) The exterior metal work and finsih has always been good, with good polish and blue.

3) The “you get what you pay for” side of things shows up in the internal finish of the metal work. A Rossi 92 won’t compare smoothness wise to an Armi Sport, Uberti, or Winchester made lever gun out of the box.

However, those guns all cost at least twice as much as a Rossi 92, and most of the difference in smoothness can be corrected with some not very difficult do it your self work.

Steve’s Guns sells a DIY action job kit for $63 that includes a DVD on how to completely dissemble the Rossi 92, make a few detail changes, and then reassemble it. The Kit also includes a stainless steel magazine follower and a replacement ejector spring.

Rossi 92 - DIY Action Job KIT [DVDComboPak 1] - $63.40 : Steve's Gunz, Rossi 92 Specialist

Much of the action stiffness occurs because Rossi uses a really strong ejector spring. Just replacing that spring with the lighter one in the Steve’s Guns kit will get you about 75% of the way there is terms of improved smoothness.

The rest of it comes from:
- thoroughly cleaning all the preservative grease and left over machining swarf out of the gun;
- lighting the hammer spring by shortening it slightly;
- polishing key surfaces on the bolt and locking lugs;
- polishing the lever detent; and
- polishing the detents in the cartridge guides.

The DVD also covers thinning the spring on the loading gate and shortening the magazine spring slightly to make it easier to load the rifle.

The stainless magazine follower avoids the issue of the plastic follower eventually expanding and cracking, causing cartridges to hang up in the magazine tube.


4) I own an Armi Sport 1892 24” take down rifle in .45 Colt and it was butter smooth out of the box. I also own an Uberti Model 1894 that was also exceptionally smooth out of the box (by Model 94 standards). Neither of the three Rossi 92s I own were anywhere near that smooth out of the box but all three are just as smooth after doing the full Steve’s Guns DIY treatment above.

5’ As noted above, I applied an oil finish on all of my Rossi 92 stocks made during the shoe polish era. But adding an oil finish on top of the original finish puts them on par with other lever gun finishes:

Rossi 92 20” carbine in .45 Colt:




1990s era Wichester Model 94 20” carbine in .45 Colt.



Armi Sport Model 1892 24” take down rifle in .45 Colt:



Rossi 92 20” short rifle in .357 Magnum:



Rossi 92 24” rifle in .357 Magnum:





1979 Winchester Model 94, 2022 Uberti Model 1894, and 2022 Winchester Model 94:




Accuracy wise there are a few things to consider:

- Rifle pattern lever guns (fore end cap, magazine tube hangar and no barrel bands) are generally slightly more accurate than carbines (barrel band around the fore end and another around the barrel and magazine tube).

- In the Rossi Model 92 and Winchester Model 92, .357 Mag is more accurate than .44 Mag or .45 Colt. The barrel walls are a little thicker making the barrels a bit stiffer, and the recoil is a lot less, reducing vibration and improving barrel harmonics.

- A tang sight will improve accuracy over a barrel mounted partridge or semi buckhorn sight.

——

My two Rossi 92 rifles in .357 Mag at solid 5 shot 2 MOA rifles at 100 yards with a tang sight installed. They will launch a hand loaded 125 gr XTP at 2210 fps and a 158 gr Federal JSP at 1820 fps - all with 2 MOA accuracy and without beating you to death.

My .45 Colt carbines are 3 MOA with lighter loads and 4-5 MOA at 32,000 psi, .44 magnum performance levels. The recoil with the heavy loads is fierce in what is a fairly lightweight carbine.


——

In short, the Rossi 92 offers great bang for the buck, and if you put a little DIY effort into it they are very slick functioning rifles and carbines.

I have a Rossi 92 in .45 Colt. It has a 16-inch barrel and is stainless steel. I had it bead-blasted and the action worked by Steve Young as others have mentioned. I've had it now for probably fourteen or fifteen years.

For me, this is a perfect gun for my situation. Like you, the handgun I carry with me when I take the pack string into the mountains is a Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt. The Rossi is a perfect saddle gun and is built on the model 1892 action which makes it heck for stout.

For example, here are some of the loads I run through it. I've shot 260-grain hollow points going at around 1450 fps. I've shot 300-grain jacketed flat-nosed going at around 1325 fps. And finally, I've shot 360-grain wide flat-nosed gas-check hard-cast traveling 1175 fps.

Bottom line, you can run some hot loads through it and it'll handle them with no problem. As you can see, some of my loads are the equivalent of a light-loaded .45-70 and the model 92 action is built for them.

I have several lever guns but only one is a Rossi. It is a 16" Stainless in 357. It was a little problematic running 357 hollow points when I first got it. I sent it to Steves Gunzz in TX for an action job and it is now one of my favorites. Price was reasonable, turn around was quick, and the work he did was excellent. It is a very smooth runner now.

Keeping history alive

Miracle Man said:

I'm in the process of getting a Ruger Blackhawk 45LC. Ever since I was a kid and sat with my Dad watching all the westerns I've wanted a single action revolver/lever action rifle matching caliber combo, Cowboy setup.
I'd love to have some collector old Winchester lever guns but I want a gun to shoot a good bit with and not be concerned to much about it.

I don't have any experience with Rossi firearms but I've found a slightly used Rossi R92 in 45LC and I'm just curious if anybody has or does have one and their opinion?

Click to expand...

I have never heard anything bad about the Rossi M92 copy.
If you like the gun and the price is right it is with consideration. I did own a new model Vaquero. Great gun. One of these in .45 LC would make a good companion six gun.

I do like the Western era myself. I see the Western era as the period from the end of the Civil War to the start of WWI. Most of my collection falls into to later part of the era. It includes 1897 Win brush gun, 1894 and 92 rifles and carbines, 1903 Colt pocket auto .32, S&W Hand Ejectors.38 Spl and .32-20, 1907 .351 Winchester, and a 1909 .45LC Colt New Service. For an historic touch I will be loading some .45 S&W Scofield rounds for the New Service. The manufacture dates for these guns ranges from 1901 - 1915.

I think that shooting old guns or new guns in s caliber that goes back 150 years is a great way to stay in touch with history.

Go luck with the Rossi.

Thanks for all the info fellas, much appreciated. I feel a good bit better about getting it now. And I'm most likely going to get the kit from Steve's gunz.

I just want a decent quality "shooter grade" gun. I'm not going to be in any competitions with it. Oh perhaps a seeing who can take out the egg first at 75 yards, lol. It will just be a fun gun.

Care & feeding Rossi 92's

Over the last 35 years I have owned 10 or 11 Rossi 92's. All but 1 in 45 Colt. The one is a 357 Stainless Carbine (sweet little gun! It is now my wife's)

Rossi 92's are very robust! You need to "Use it with authority!" don't be gentil or it gets finicky!

The 45 Colt Carbine that I kept for myself has about 15,000 rounds of Cowboy Action ammo through It. It has never needed a replacement part or spring!

On of the common hick-ups is in the action bars. When forged, they are often slightly "C" shaped. To remedy, use a sharpening stone to smooth the side with the "points of the "C". Remove only a few 1/1000ths.

The second most common problem is the lever latch. The plunger is under pretty high spring pressure. Use a C-clamp to capture the plunger. While captured is the time to drift out the retaining pin. Be sure the hole for the spring and plunger is clean and empty of grime (I have seen brand new guns with grime almost filling the hole)! After cleaning you may or may not wish to cut 1 1/2 coils from the spring. Reassemble and enjoy.

I had a few 92's that the internal sides of the bolt had rough machine marks. I used a fine or very fine diamond sharpening stone to smooth these. You don't need to remove much, about 75% of the blue is still there when done. Very lightly lubricate, I prefer dry lubes.

Every bubba gunsmith I ever saw, wanted to file on the sear of a 92. I have never found one that needed it, so beware.

The newest models have a lever safety in the back of the bolt. More of a problem than a solution. Companies make a nice peep sight to replace it, but that is against the SASS rules. There is a simple plug too, but just removing it won't hurt anything.

From my experience, you should strip the gun all the way down to small parts when new and every few thousand rounds or 3 years (whichever comes first) be sure to clean out the firing pin channel (it's amazing how much blow back gets in there.)

Ammo: I use mostly reloads at 800 fps with 210-230 RNFP cast projectiles & any brand of brass and large pistol primer, with 6.7 grains of Winchester 231. While mild it is a real powerful round and not a toy! Power is roughly on par with a 45 ACP. I don't think I ever shot that ammo much over 100 yards, but it still will destroy fun targets and mess up varmints and small game. Accuracy has been in the 1-1.5 MOA range from a rest, but that isn't what 92's are best at: Lots of firepower, on target, RIGHT NOW! My guns have all fed and chambered 45 Colt and 45 S&W Schofield ammo (They aren't advertised to do so, but they have) They won't feed 45 Special or 45 Auto Rim!

Judging from the original 92's, John M. Browning's design will last well over 150 years!

Ivan

Rossi questions

BB57 said:

I have a Rossi 92 20” carbine in .45 Colt as well as a Rossi 92 20” short rifle and a Rossi 92 24” rifle, both in .357 Magnum, and I have some history with various other Rossi 92 rifles and carbines going back about 30 years.

Here are my thoughts and observations.

1) Quality of the stock finish has varied over the years. Way back in the at the stock finish and appearance was very similar to vintage Winchester Model 1892s.

From 10-15 years ago until recently, the stocks used were some sort of mystery hardwood with a finish with all the charm of shoe polish. It would even run in the rain. The saving grace was the factory stock finish made an acceptable base stain for an oil finish applied on top, whether it was Tru-Oil, pure Tung Oil or boiled linseed oil. The first couple coats of Tru Oil would take a day or so to dry, but the rest would dry down in the normal 90 minutes.

I did look at a Rossi 92 a few weeks ago in a local gun shop and Rossi is now doing a good job with the stock finish.

2) The exterior metal work and finsih has always been good, with good polish and blue.

3) The “you get what you pay for” side of things shows up in the internal finish of the metal work. A Rossi 92 won’t compare smoothness wise to an Armi Sport, Uberti, or Winchester made lever gun out of the box.

However, those guns all cost at least twice as much as a Rossi 92, and most of the difference in smoothness can be corrected with some not very difficult do it your self work.

Steve’s Guns sells a DIY action job kit for $63 that includes a DVD on how to completely dissemble the Rossi 92, make a few detail changes, and then reassemble it. The Kit also includes a stainless steel magazine follower and a replacement ejector spring.

Rossi 92 - DIY Action Job KIT [DVDComboPak 1] - $63.40 : Steve's Gunz, Rossi 92 Specialist

Much of the action stiffness occurs because Rossi uses a really strong ejector spring. Just replacing that spring with the lighter one in the Steve’s Guns kit will get you about 75% of the way there is terms of improved smoothness.

The rest of it comes from:
- thoroughly cleaning all the preservative grease and left over machining swarf out of the gun;
- lighting the hammer spring by shortening it slightly;
- polishing key surfaces on the bolt and locking lugs;
- polishing the lever detent; and
- polishing the detents in the cartridge guides.

The DVD also covers thinning the spring on the loading gate and shortening the magazine spring slightly to make it easier to load the rifle.

The stainless magazine follower avoids the issue of the plastic follower eventually expanding and cracking, causing cartridges to hang up in the magazine tube.


4) I own an Armi Sport 1892 24” take down rifle in .45 Colt and it was butter smooth out of the box. I also own an Uberti Model 1894 that was also exceptionally smooth out of the box (by Model 94 standards). Neither of the three Rossi 92s I own were anywhere near that smooth out of the box but all three are just as smooth after doing the full Steve’s Guns DIY treatment above.

5’ As noted above, I applied an oil finish on all of my Rossi 92 stocks made during the shoe polish era. But adding an oil finish on top of the original finish puts them on par with other lever gun finishes:

Rossi 92 20” carbine in .45 Colt:

1990s era Wichester Model 94 20” carbine in .45 Colt.

Armi Sport Model 1892 24” take down rifle in .45 Colt:

Rossi 92 20” short rifle in .357 Magnum:

Rossi 92 24” rifle in .357 Magnum:

1979 Winchester Model 94, 2022 Uberti Model 1894, and 2022 Winchester Model 94:

Accuracy wise there are a few things to consider:

- Rifle pattern lever guns (fore end cap, magazine tube hangar and no barrel bands) are generally slightly more accurate than carbines (barrel band around the fore end and another around the barrel and magazine tube).

- In the Rossi Model 92 and Winchester Model 92, .357 Mag is more accurate than .44 Mag or .45 Colt. The barrel walls are a little thicker making the barrels a bit stiffer, and the recoil is a lot less, reducing vibration and improving barrel harmonics.

- A tang sight will improve accuracy over a barrel mounted partridge or semi buckhorn sight.

——

My two Rossi 92 rifles in .357 Mag at solid 5 shot 2 MOA rifles at 100 yards with a tang sight installed. They will launch a hand loaded 125 gr XTP at 2210 fps and a 158 gr Federal JSP at 1820 fps - all with 2 MOA accuracy and without beating you to death.

My .45 Colt carbines are 3 MOA with lighter loads and 4-5 MOA at 32,000 psi, .44 magnum performance levels. The recoil with the heavy loads is fierce in what is a fairly lightweight carbine.


——

In short, the Rossi 92 offers great bang for the buck, and if you put a little DIY effort into it they are very slick functioning rifles and carbines.

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This is a great post with some nice photos of your guns. I had considered buying a Rossi .357 92 SRC copy in the late 70,s. I was looking at the Rossi because I could not find an original Winchester. Before moving forward with the Rossi I found a dealer with a lot of curios and antiques and I ended up with a 38-40 SRC as well as some1892 and 94 rifles.

While I own mostly originals I am also interested in replicas and modern version of vintage guns.

When I looked at that Rossi nearly 50 years ago I noticed the line for line it was pretty close to the real deal. Even more so than my El Tigre Spanish copy. The gun seemed nicely finished, not as nice as the Browning 92. But nice.

The first thang that I noticed about the later version is the change in the receiver shape. The step between the front of the lever and forend has been almost but not quite straightened making the reciever look more like a 94.

I have handled a few newer Rossi and would agree with your observations about the wood. The stock on yours looks great after the refinish.

I have not followed the Rossi product line lately and I am not certain if they were making many of these in 44-40 which would be my first caliber choice.

I may start looking around for a used example in rifle length. It would make a good project doing the tuning and upgrades as well as a refinish of the wood.

I did a refinish of a weathered 1894 Carbine stock and forend. After raising the grain and dents and a very minimal light finish sanding I applied several coats of Linspeed with some Tapadera Winchester Red dye mixed in. It really brought the wood back to life. Should also work good on a Rossi.

I had two Rossi carbines, a .357 Magnum and a .44 Magnum about thirty years ago. I don't recall either being rough in any way. It's been so long ago, however, I don't remember why I sold either. I'm sure the bulk of what I shot through them were cast bullets.

Based on the comments here, I'd be willing to spend a little more and look for a used modern-day Marlin or Winchester if I wanted a carbine rather than buying a Rossi and paying to have it smoothed up; it would still be a Rossi.

I have a Winchester 94AE 16" Trapper in .45 Colt I bought new about 30 years ago. This has been an excellent good quality gun that shoots quite accurately with cast bullets straight-out-of-the-box, unmolested. I don't know how available these are, but they were made in several chamberings.

Inland7-45 said:

This is a great post with some nice photos of your guns. I had considered buying a Rossi .357 92 SRC copy in the late 70,s. I was looking at the Rossi because I could not find an original Winchester. Before moving forward with the Rossi I found a dealer with a lot of curios and antiques and I ended up with a 38-40 SRC as well as some1892 and 94 rifles.

While I own mostly originals I am also interested in replicas and modern version of vintage guns.

When I looked at that Rossi nearly 50 years ago I noticed the line for line it was pretty close to the real deal. Even more so than my El Tigre Spanish copy. The gun seemed nicely finished, not as nice as the Browning 92. But nice.

The first thang that I noticed about the later version is the change in the receiver shape. The step between the front of the lever and forend has been almost but not quite straightened making the reciever look more like a 94.

I have handled a few newer Rossi and would agree with your observations about the wood. The stock on yours looks great after the refinish.

I have not followed the Rossi product line lately and I am not certain if they were making many of these in 44-40 which would be my first caliber choice.

I may start looking around for a used example in rifle length. It would make a good project doing the tuning and upgrades as well as a refinish of the wood.

I did a refinish of a weathered 1894 Carbine stock and forend. After raising the grain and dents and a very minimal light finish sanding I applied several coats of Linspeed with some Tapadera Winchester Red dye mixed in. It really brought the wood back to life. Should also work good on a Rossi.

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I have three pre-64 Winchester carbines all from the early 1950s in very good to excellent condition as well as a 26” Model 94 rifle dating to 1926 with the less common round barrel and a rare trap in the butt plate for a cleaning rod.

As their values appreciate I shoot them less and have started shooting reproduction rifles to take up the slack in shooting, especially in .38-55, which has become my favorite rifle class cartridge in a lever gun.

rockquarry said:

I have a Winchester 94AE 16" Trapper in .45 Colt I bought new about 30 years ago. This has been an excellent good quality gun that shoots quite accurately with cast bullets straight-out-of-the-box, unmolested. I don't know how available these are, but they were made in several chamberings.

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I had a Model 94 trapper carbine in .45 Colt with a color case hardened finish. It’s one of the few lever guns I’ve sold. It just don’t compare well to the Rossi or Armi Sport carbine and rifle I had in .45 Colt.

The Model 94 has a lever link to increase the bolt travel. It’s a necessary evil for longer cartridges based on the .38-55, but the trade off is that it’s never as smooth or fast as the direct action of the Model 1892 action with its shorter cartridges and shorter bolt travel.

BB57 said:

I had a Model 94 trapper carbine in .45 Colt with a color case hardened finish. It’s one of the few lever guns I’ve sold. It just don’t compare well to the Rossi or Armi Sport carbine and rifle I had in .45 Colt.

The Model 94 has a lever link to increase the bolt travel. It’s a necessary evil for longer cartridges based on the .38-55, but the trade off is that it’s never as smooth or fast as the direct action of the Model 1892 action with its shorter cartridges and shorter bolt travel.

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Maybe, but I really liked mine until I tired of the cartridge a few years ago and stopped shooting the carbine. I much prefer the .44 Special over the .45 Colt nowadays.

How about an 1892 reproduction Miroku/ Winchester in .45 Colt? I had one of these some years back. Very good gun with one drawback: the Lyman #454424 260 grain SWC design had to be seated considerably deeper for the '92 repro to function through the magazine as opposed to normal seating length for a revolver.

I have an older Rossi 92 in 357 and a newer one in 44 Mag. The newer one is finished better. Both function and shoot great. Don't like the top-of-bolt safety on the newer one, however.