Well, after getting some feedback and reading up on lever rifles, I went with the Rossi 92 in 357/38 16" rifle. Out the door for $500, I must say I have no regrets. The action was much smoother out of the box than I had expected. I disassembled the whole rifle and sprayed down all metal with carb cleaner and blew out with compressed air till dry. Then with CLP followed by air, I reassembled and used a dab of white lithium grease on all bearing surfaces. I didn't file, stone or sand anything. The bolt has plenty of "play" in the receiver, like a well used 1911 or AK47. The rifle was now even slicker and smoother. After about 200 dry cycles it was slick as could be, easily cycled with one finger. Trigger pull came in at 4 3/4 lbs., just right for this type of rifle IMHO.

At the range I ran 50 rds. of PMC 130 gr, RN FMJ 38 spec. with 100% feeding and 50 rds. of Perfecta 158 FN FMJ, again with 100% feeding. Ejection was very strong , empties going straight up 4 feet or so , a few falling on my head. At 50 yds. with my 40+ year eyes I managed 2" groups with the 357 and 3" to 3 1/2"  with the 38. With the rear sight set on the second step it shot a few inches high with 357 and a few inches low with the 38's. My plan now it to refinish the wood with some BLO and file down the "horns"  off the buckhorn rear sight. My 10 year old is going to love this rifle, the 38's were like 22 mags and even the 357's felt very mild. I don't know why I waited so long to get into the lever game, this is one fun rifle.

I have a .44 and love it. like most guns, it shoots better than I do.

i really like mine

like it even better after tuning it up with the stevzdvd dvd

I have yet to shoot my 2003 EMF 92.

I feel the same way.  

One of the most fun rifles I own.

Not a fan of the sights.  But that's easy to change.

this is how I smoothed it up...

http://store.stevesgunz.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=14

bought a marble sight from brownells












I keep mine well fed with a DILLON XL650  

I bought a Henry .22 a few weeks ago, now all I'm thinking g about are lever guns. The Rossi .357 is on my list.

I'd need a 650 too if I had a range like that.  

I went with a Marbles bull's-eye rear sight on mine.  So far I like it alot.

Do you have a link to that site ? I didn't see on Brownells site. -Thanks

maybe this    579-066-003mb ?

I'm on my phone at work, so....

this might be it

http://store.stevesgunz.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=20_26&products_id=37

Took my first ever lever gun to,the range Saturday. .44. 20" Rossi.

Love it. 130 ish rounds through it. No problems at all. Action quite smooth. Not as smooth as some of the Henry riffles there but not bad at all. Accuracy was in a par with anything else there give or take just tried it at 25 yards was only going to fire a few and got carried away ( lots or lever guns at our range) I've fired most of them.

Don't regret it at all. I would have bought a Henry but I wanted a loading gate. Glad I bought this Rossi.


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Is that a 16" or 20"?   I'm planning on getting a Rossi 92 in .357 as well, just not sure what length I want..

16"

it's the 1892 version of a CAR-15

.

Thanks, I love the looks of that rifle!

I have a 16in 357. It's the size of a 10/22.    

Hold a yardstick.  It's about 3inches longer.

I'm really torn on the 92 .44. I like the idea of the 16", but the 20" just feels and points so good in my hand.  What a tough choice.

I really wish rossi made the Maverick in .44 too.

20" just felt right for me too.

Any reason you would pick the Rossi over the Henry (I'm sure both are fine guns)? After watching 5 seasons of "Hell on Wheels", I somehow am now itching for a lever gun. I have a Ruger 77/357 and S&W 686 (.357)... so no difficulty deciding on the caliber. ;-)

i picked a rossi over a henry

i just liked it better

after following the DVD and tuning it up, i like it even more

very very smooth little gun

when my daughter was 11, she could cycle the action with one finger

.

I bought a Henry several months ago. Now I'm looking at other lever guns because I really want one with a loading gate now.

I've been looking at Mossberg 464's and Rossi's.

I like the Rossi due to the light weight and reasonable cost, with solid quality.  They are one of those rare firearms that are in the sweet-spot. Don't get me wrong, the others are great firearms too, but there is just something about the Rossis that let them stand out.

The only thing that would be a downside are the reviews I have read about accuracy.  With the Rossi reviews I have read, most people seem to be getting 6-12" groups at 100yrds, depending on the reviewer and load selection.  I think a lot of that is just the sight bead being big, and the twist rate favors certain loads, from what I can tell.  It's still "minute of deer". It's not that big of a deal to me.

The twist rate in mine is supposedly 1 in 30

It's a .44 magnum what weight would that suit?

I was getting good accuracy out of factory loads. Not so great with my hand loads but that could be me.

.240gr truncated cone lead cast .429 diameter with 10 grains of unique are pretty bad

Be careful the levergun thing is additive.  But when you get older and cant see the sights with out tri-focals you can start using red dots.

The top 92 is .45 LC,  the #2 is a Marlin  .44 Mag, #3 is my wifes 92 in .357, and the #4 is my WildWest Co-Pilot in .457 WW. (the flashlight mount, weapons light, and Aimpont was after a brown bear visit at 0200hrs 150 miles east of Fairbanks AK)

I love my 20" 357 magnum carbine. Can't beat it for the money.

I noticed something peculiar with my Rossi.  It's a 16in 357.

Almost all 357 ammo shoots pretty close to poa, maybe a inch or two one way or another. But Federal 158gr jsp shoot way  right.  Even 38s are good for windage, just not elevation.

The federal group great, just almost off the target.

I would assume its best with 240gr loads.  I'm curious how a 305gr hardcast and some 225gr FTX will do.

6-12"? Bench or standing? I get about 6" groups at 100yds with both my 357 and 44 92's (16" barrel on both) but I'm not that good at distance with iron sights. I'd expect others who are more skilled to do better. I always assumed it was me, not the rifle that led to the large groups.

To add to the Rossi comments, I've had both of mine for about 4 years and love them. No issues with them at all. The were good out of the box, better after the Steve's Gunz DVD. Oh, for the 44 I've only stuck with 240's but my brother has run up to 310 hard cast in his with no issues. Seems the OAL on the heavier than 310 bullets caused feeding issues for him though.

I picked up my 20" SS .44 92 today.

Spectacular looking and feeling rifle. I can't wait to take it to the range. So stoked.

I own 15 levers.  They will let you know when they don't like something.  But when you find what they do like, stock up.