Are they any good, reliable? accurate?

I know they aren't S&W and I have a number of S&W revolvers already.

Is it reliable as a carry gun? My FFL has one, the first one I've ever seen. They are owned now by Taurus.

Are they any good, reliable? accurate?

I know they aren't S&W and I have a number of S&W revolvers already.

Is it reliable as a carry gun? My FFL has one, the first one I've ever seen. They are owned now by Taurus.

I have seen the Rossi weapons written up in Gun Test Magazine a time or two. That is a pretty good rag, they take ZERO advertising and buy their weapons on the open market so they don't get hand-picked creampuffs to evaluate and they call it like they see it. The last one they did have some issues, if I recall a couple of burrs here and there that were easy to fix but caused serious functioning issues in that particular weapon and which should have been caught by their quality control but were not. I expect that, if you get a representative sample, they are OK. I don't recall I have ever fired one. I have fired a couple of the Taurus, they are not as smooth or nice as S&W normally but are decent weapons.My opinion, for what that may be worth.

I just sold the only Rossi revolver I had ever owned. It did what a gun is supposed to do, and was very accurate. One thing that amazed me was the SA and DA trigger...I could not believe that an economical gun could have such a nice trigger...somebody at the factory did a great job! Be that as it may, for the money they are acceptable, but, the fit and finish is what one would expect for the money spent. I imagine, that if someone had the where withall to buy one, and really sit down and "refine" the Rossi product, it could be a very nice gun...for the money. I know folks that love thier Taurus handguns, but most admit that they are not of the quality of Smiths or Rugers, etc. I imagine if they were, they would cost twice as much. Hnadguns like the Taurus and the Rossi are manufactured to fill a "niche" in the market for a decent gun at a reasonable price, and I think that they do quite well in that respect.

TenMan, Along with my "name brands", I have a Rossi model 88 with a 3" barrel. Its a 5 shot Stainless .38 spl that is basically the same size/weight of a steel J frame Smith. It is the only Rossi I have ever shot, but it offers better accuracy potential than I can muster. I have no problem keeping every round on a 9" paper plate offhand at 25yrds as long as I pay attention. It is my glovebox gun and I have never felt underarmed with it.

They made one called the Model 720 in two variations. One with an unfluted cylinder and adjustable sights, DA/SA. And one with a fluted cylinder,fixed sights, no hammer spur, DAO. .44 Special, five shot. K frame size gun, stainless, rubber grips.

The 720's were actually nice guns and command good prices on the used market. I have both versions. The adjustable sighted one gets used around the ranch as a killing gun. With the 200 grain Gold Dot Blazers, it can kill just about anything with a perfect shot between the eyes. If I have a down goat and hope is gone, that's the gun I go get.

I gave both of mine to my gunsmith to tear down, lubricate, and generally smooth out. He liked what he saw enough that he tried to buy one of them from me.

Gregg

I'd like to come across a 720 to add to my collection. A buddy has one and it's a dream of a .44 spl. Shoots nice and a bit smaller than my 696.


Rossi 720


Rossi 720F with fixed sight

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Memory of Randy Freas-Rimfired

Well now, if we are going to post photos...

The weird thing is that your photo of an adjustable sighted model has a fluted cylinder. They are supposed to be unfluted!

Anyway, here are both of mine with a S&W M296 thrown in.

Gregg

Others are correct when they tell you quality is not the same as a S&W but with that being said I have a fantastic little Rossi Model 68 that I use as my CCW gun. Gun is very accurate and functions flawlessly and I have no reservations about it. Nevertheless, I would like to find a set of smooth grips to replace the factory checkered grips on it so if anyone would like to make a trade please let me know.

The Rossi I just sold was a LNIB 720...it was listed on this forum for some time, but, since nobody wanted it, I advertised it on three other forums and it was gone in two days! I will never sell any other brand on this forum except S&W...thatel teacha!!!!

I have always liked Rossi and found them very good for the money. Taurus has taken over, so I will reserve judgment as Taurus is uniformly junk in my experience.

If Taurus leaves Rossi alone, they should be fine.

All I know about Rossi revolvers can be summarized in a comment made by a good friend who worked in a small gunshop (both of us really like Smith & Wessons). He said that if I ever bought a Rossi he'd shoot me with it - so I have never had one.

I think they came either way.



Sold it cuz it was not a Smith.
Miss it cuz it was not a Smith.(I could drag it anywhere and do any thing to it and never feel I was beating a classic.)
LESSON Don't be a gun snob. There are lot's of guns out there that do just what they are supposed to do.

Now I got to go find another beater.

A buddy comes out to shoot and brings his only .357...a Rossi. He's very fond of it. I'll have to shoot it next time he comes over to shoot!

Bob

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"Onward thru the Fog"

I agree with Needsmostuff. Everyone needs a beater gun. An old asthetically challenged S&W, or a Taurus or Rossi bought on the very cheap are perfect. If a Taurus or Rossi needs work go with a local smith, fix it yourself, part it out, or get rid of it. Taurus's repair department are beyond incompetent, so do not waste your time with those fools. My beater is a Taurus 605. It's accurate and reliable, just not very well made. I carried it while building a retaining wall in the creek next to my dad's house last summer. I was appendix carrying it and up to my crotch in water. I wouldn't have wanted to carry one of my nice Smith and Wessons under those conditions.

I had a Rossi, first pistol I ever owned. I think it was the equivalent of a J frame in 38 special. I bought it shortly after I moved from the City of Los Angeles to Santa Fe, NM for college. I was not a gun nut then, I'd just always wanted a snubby 38.

It was used almost exclusivley for shooting beer cans and bottles. The ammo was whatever was the cheapest ammo money could buy, I wish I could remember the name but the box said somthing along the lines of "quality reloaded ammunition". I still remember how smokey it was.

What it did best was provide comfort to a (at the time) confirmed city boy. I'd never slept on the ground or under the open sky at that point in my life and I'd certainly NEVER heard coyotes howl at the moon. Scared the you know what out of me! That little snubby made me feel better about the night and critters that came with it back in those days.

I sure do miss those times.

Years ago when I worked at a gun shop I ordered several Taurus revolvers because the wholesale cost was cheap and we could move them quick. Customer service is outstanding, the downside is that their quality control seems to be lacking. We had to send several guns back to the distributor due to rust being on the guns. Another issue we had about 8 customers complain about was the cylinder locking up at times when they attempted to pull the trigger on DA. Like I said, their customer service is great but thats not going to do you much good if you are using the gun to protect yourself. I guess it all boils down to you get what you pay for.

I hate to dig a old topic up but i will lol..

I been trying to dig around the internet on Rossi (pre Taurus) days as why they look so much like Smith & Weeson as i have a model 88 in slainless steel and it is so close to my J frame it couldn't tell in the dark which was which.
Some where i read that there was ties between the two companys as i heard S&W sent engineers to Rossi (pre Tauras) to help them improve there guns and some feel this is why parts from S&W guns will work in some of the Rossi guns.

With what has happen with S&W and many will not buy a current made gun by them .. then the (pre Taurus) Rossi guns are a gem for there price.

The later adjustable sight 720's came with fluted cylinders.Only the early ones were not fluted. I have one of the early ones.......Preceded the s&w 696 by about 2 years. Never had any trouble with mine.

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S&W Accumulator

I just traded a Rossi 44 mag snubby for a 22 hornet rifle. The Rossi worked okay. Had a fiber optic front sight that was crooked though. Shot as well as I could hold it.

Can't speak of the current guns , (Rossi is now owned by Taurus)but the older Rossi's imported during the Interarms days were fine guns at a great price. I'd take one any day of the week and twice on Sunday over a Taurus.

FWIW, I do have an older Rossi pump .22 that I will never part with.

With all due respect, I'd like to know if some hideous experience with one made him say that, or if he was talking through his chapeau because they aren't Smiths.

I can't speak to the new ones, but fifteen years ago when I was not financially able to afford a J-frame I bought a new Rossi M88, an approximate clone of a Smith 60, for under $300. Fit and finish weren't half bad, and it shot quite well with a very smooth DA trigger. I had the hammer bobbed and pocket-carried it for months till I could buy a dashless 640 (after a fling with a couple of Glocks). Really nice little gun for the money.

I think a lot of people are too quick to equate inexpensive with cheap and cruddy.

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Oh well, what the hell.

Rossi makes a decent product line - many models not available elsewhere in their rifle line. The Rossi revolvers I've owned have been Yeoman pieces that functioned fine and shot well albeit lacking that extra amount that makes a Smith & Wesson.

I was recently in Sports Academy looking at Taurus and Rossi. Trying out the Rossi, I could totally lock up the gun by holding the trigger back and trying to slowly drop the hammer with my thumb. At first I thought it was just a fluke, except I could do it multiple times. I bought the Taurus Protector Poly in 38 Special and have been extremely satisfied with the quality and the results.

I have owned two brand new Rossi .38 Special revolvers. They were the copy of the S&W Chief's Special J-frame in stainless. Both had issues right out of the box. I didn't even fire the first one. The dealer took the first one back and exchanged it for the second one. The second one went back to Rossi after the first range session. Gun wouldn't fire in double-action mode. Cylinder would rotate, but hammer wouldn't function. When it came back from Rossi (Interarms), I picked it up at my dealers and promptly listed it in the local classified ads. I wouldn't take a Rossi, even if it was free. They're junk in my book.

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'Merica!

I picked this M88 up the other day at my LGS and i really like this gun as fit and finsh appears to me as good as my smiths. full lock up is very tight with no play and this gun checks out great so far but i havn't shot it yet so i will report back when i do. It appears to have been made around 1993 and way before Tauras bought them.


The gun scream S&W as i have heard some smith parts will work in it and i have seen them with pinned barrels and flat latchs as it's almost like Rossi bought frames from S&W to make these or something.