I've been wanting a companion piece to my S&W 686 for some time now. I had an older, pre-safety, Puma about 12 years ago, but sold it like a moron. I've really been lusting after a 16" stainless steel, round barrel Rossi 92, but they seem to be unicorns, in that they are damn near impossible to find. The last couple of days, I hit a couple larger local shops, hoping to luck upon one, to no avail. I did find a number of new and used blued Rossi 92's, including a single 16" carbine with a large loop and a number of 20" guns.

Every single one of them had the same problem. The buttplate stuck out further on the bottom than the stock. If you ran your hand backwards, from the lever to the buttplate, your hand would snag on the metal. One of them, a brand new one, was so bad that the buttplate wasn't even snug against the stock, the bottom stuck backwards at an angle, with a small gap between them. I understand they're not as finely crafted as their more expensive competitors; but, damn, that just seems like something which shouldn't be allowed to leave the factory.

I ended up putting a 20" rifle on layaway for $350 plus tax ($381.50, OTD). The shop had several versions out for display, and I hemmed and hawed for several minutes about which one I wanted the most. I decided on one with the saddle ring and normal sized loop, which had both the least amount of metal sticking out and the lowest price tag. As it turned out, it was just a display gun and they had more in boxes. The sales guy went to grab one in a box and was kind enough to let me check the buttplate, so I could make sure I got one with a minimal amount of metal sticking out from below the stock. As luck would have it, the first box he grabbed not only had a minimal amount, it was also a rifle without the saddle ring, which I didn't really want, anyways.

When I eventually pick it up, I'll likely have it threaded for using with my 9mm suppressor, so I may ask the 'smith who threads it to take a grinder to the buttplate and shave it down to where it's even with the stock (and then touch it up with a little cold blue). But, seriously, I shouldn't have to pay someone else to do what the factory could have fixed by ensuring their stocks were cut to the same dimensions as their buttplates.

Basically yes...
I have a thread on here about a new 20" I bought in October. It was a mess it wouldn't feed 357 only 38 and most of the time the hammer wouldn't stay cocked when working the lever or the hammer would fall randomly

I immediately sent the gun in to Rossi and was given a time frame of 6-8 weeks for repair
I contacted them I would say 20-30 times and 2 weeks ago they decided it couldn't be repaired and were going to replace the rifle. 5 freaking MONTHS they had it

So I had to pick out a replacement and they have discontinued the octagon barrels which is what I had .  So I picked a 20" round barrel and guess what after contacting again yesterday the rifle is still on backorder with no estimated time frame

That 9mm suppressor may not be strong enough to handle the blast from a .357 round. I have a couple of .357's and they are "hand cannons".

Mine is at Rossi for an oversized chamber in 357 mag.

Told me 6 weeks.

All they have to do is replace the barrel and headspace....


I'll call every week to check. If I remain silent I feel it will take longer. The guy on the phone said the reason for long delays is if parts are in back order they are shipped from Brazil and they ca man take quite some time.

It's a YHM Cobra, which are overbuilt, in my opinion, and should be more than capable of handling the infrequent .357 I feed it.

I bought mine five years ago this week, and it has a slight bit of overhang on the toe of the buttplate.

You really have to feel for it with your finger, and it is not obvious to the eye.

Wait until you notice that the sights are canted to one side or the other.

Mine aren't.

Rossi Model 92s sell for less than half of what you'd pay for an Armi-Sport / Chiappa Model 1892 replica - from any of the companies that sell them with their brand stamped on it.

Rossi 92s also sell for about a third of what a new Miroku made Winchester Model 1892 will sell for.  

Quality control for a Rossi is largely up to the buyer and while I own three of them, I've purchased all of them from a dealer where I could careful pick and choose and then inspect each one.

Once you get it home plan on some sweat equity to clean it up inside and out, slick up the internal parts, and if you're worried about it, to work on the hand fitted details like butt plate to stock fit that Rossi doesn't spend money or staff time on.

One of the issues with the Rossi is that it has a metal butt plate.  It's very quick and easy to fit an over sized plastic butt plate to a butt - you just wrap the end with a few layers of masking tape and then sand the butt plate down to fit, starting with a belt sander, and then using a sanding block when you get close to final size and shape.

With a metal butt plate it's a bit more complicated to get a "look like it grew there" fit as you have to either start with an over sized stock and sand it to fit the plate, or grind the plate down to fit the stock, then blue or color case harden the plate and finish the stock.  Either approach adds a lot of labor to the finishing process, labor costs money, and that increases the price. You don't get that level of fit and finish detail with a Rossi at the Rossi price point.

You didn't get it with the post 63 Winchesters either.   They used a plastic shotgun style butt plate that was quick and easy to fit.    

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In my experience, their rifle pattern Model 92s (crescent butt plate, 20'' or 24" octagon barrel, and fore end tip with no barrel band) have much better fit and finish than their carbine pattern Model 92s (carbine butt plate, 16" or 20" round barrel, and barrel band).  You'll still have some over hang, but it's less offensive with the crescent butt plate.

24" rifle, blued finish:


20" rifle, color case hardened finish.



Armi Sport, Uberti and Pedersoli do a better job of finish - and all are superior to a post 63 Winchester, but they cost a lot more than a Rossi.

I have an older LSI Puma and the butt plate sticks out a bit.  Otherwise the finish  inside and out is good.  Runs great, I can even feed 38 wadcutters thru it.

Very good write up Sir.
I'm Not one to say "you get what you pay for..". But yes hand labor is expensive.  And that's what it takes to make things pleasing to the eye.  
I personally always buy used or broke firearms.  When you get them for half the price of new. You can afford upgrades.  
And there are a lot of firearms out there that even brand new will need a little tuning.  
This was/is a good post.
Now I have an idea of what I'd pay if I come across a deal on an Rossi.

It is an interesting thread to me.  It compliments my question asked in another thread and the answers - you get what you pay for.

If you want it right, right out of the box, by Uberti.  If you have time and/or inclination to tinker and refit, get a Rossi.

Does that sound about right?

I like to tinker. Rossi's are a tinkering mans gun.


After opening up the Rossi, I was amazed on how simple a lever action rifle is. It's also amazing on how advanced weapons become from 1870-1900.

While I wished mine had a correct chamber, I will get over it as long as Rossi makes it right.

I could have dropped another $180 for a Henry but the lack of a loading gate turned me away.

My first built AR went through some tinkering before it finally purred, Rossi is no different but the work is worth it in the end.

Yep.

I have a 13 year old EMF Rossi 92 that has an interesting quirk. One of the lug raceways has a radius and is not square to the bolt. This causes the bolt to move to the right a bit upon closing as the lug moves through the raceway.

Attached File
 

I call that engineer eye and I have it, too.

After thinking about it for a couple days, I don't think I'm going to bother threading the barrel, as it would also require cutting down and fixing the magazine tube, and that would end up costing more than I want to invest in the rifle. I may just end up going the WECSOG route and fix the buttplate issue myself, since it wouldn't require removing much of the metal.

Hopefully, I'll get lucky and it won't have some of the other seemingly frequent Rossi QC issues.

Me too

If you use a barrel extension you won't have to modify the mag tube.


FWIW I have owned a few Rossi 92s and quality varies from gun to gun.  I bought this stainless 16" .357 a few months ago and the gun is nearly perfect in fit and finish.  I have since threaded the barrel to use a suppressor but will eventually convert it to a SBR once the stamp is approved.  

See, that would be my idea of sexy, especially with a barrel around 12" or so in length.

My 92 was threaded by Class 3 Machining in Dallas, uses the extension.  Very happy with it.

I hear you man, I'm still several months out but am adding XS ghost ring sights and should have this up and running within the next week or so.  

ignore

can you post a link for the barrel extension?