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Posted: 2/1/2026 11:12:27 AM EDT
[Last Edit: Cheesebeast][Edited]
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I picked up a used 80s era Rossi 92 .357 at some point and threw it into the dark corner of the safe for 20ish years. It was the old version with the front sight on the barrel band and with a faster twist barrel than the new ones. I figured it would be good for the kids as it has no recoil. Well, my kids turned up their noses at the fuddly lever gun and jumped straight to ARs. It had a resale value of at least fifteen dollars, so I ignored it until I found out New Hampshire changed their law so you can hunt with a PCC in a “shotgun only” town. I was already using a loophole that you could also use a handgun in a “shotgun only” town via a goofy long slide G20 10mm with a pistol brace. This new law, though, is a game changer. So, out comes the Rossi into the sunshine and I discovered it was going to need some work. First, my eyesight went to shit in the decades since I mothballed the gun. Secondly it was made to a low price and while the bluing was exceptional the internals had the same texture as a brake rotor left out in the rain. Plus it had tractor level springs in it that made the action hard to operate. I got a Lee spring kit for it and installed that while stoning and crocus clothing out some burrs. I am still mystified about the mechanical relationship of the firing pin, firing pin spring, ejector, and bolt but it went back together. I hammered out the crap rear sight and installed a Skinner peep sight. They make a version for the goofy oversized dovetails on Rossi 92s. I had to file the sight to fit but it was easy. The peep is because my ego won’t admit it is time for a red dot. I can now at least see the sights….mostly. The trigger spring is a little paper clip looking thing and the Lee replacement spring gave me a 2lb pull weight. I rate it as having a mildly scary light but crisp pull. I hit the range and with 180gr XTPs I can get 3” groups at 50 yards with my old man eyes. I declare that Good The F Enough. I am so pleased at how it came out I am getting a 16” .44 Mag version of it (the .357 has a 20” barrel). So, PSA: check your safe and coat closet and drag the lake for any Rossi 92s you forgot about. You might have fun. |
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Look at those velocities!
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Does anyone know of the status of Rossi with these? I can't find a Rossi 16" .357 from any of the distributors since this past summer. I've read that they are moving the R92 line to the Heritage, brand but Heritage doesn't show any plain loop 16" versions. I purchased the .44 mag version this weekend at a gunshow, and I'm excited to try it out. The dealer said it was new, but it was a little hard to believe because the action is super slick (MUCH slicker than my new Ruger Marlins, which have been great guns too). |
| Like the little M1 Carbine, it's easily one of the handiest guns to carry walking through the woods or just in general and it definitely hits with authority and will take deer with no problem as long as the shooter does their part. It shouldn't be an issue these days but make sure that your bullets are up to the increase in velocity, I learned that lesson back in the 80s before bonded bullets were common. My boss at the time loaded up some SJHP rounds for his Marlin and we were getting jacket separation with pieces found in the targets. I've seen it out of my Rossi with some old commercial rounds I had too, the bullets performed great out of a 6" revolver but bullet tech was different and they just weren't designed to be driven that fast. Softer cast bullets will lead the barrel faster at faster velocities too. |
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I've got 2 Rossi .357 Mags I bought new in 2009. A 20" carbine and a 24" rifle and I love both. I handload for all my center fire weapons and I've found that both of these are very accurate; even out at distance when using Zero's 158 grn JSP bullets over Lil'Gun lit by SR primers. I switched to Lil'Gun after 10 years of using H 110 as I found that Lil'Gun's significantly lower peak pressure didn't beat up my brass like H 110 did. I also found that in the longer barrels Lil'Gun produced a 10% increase in velocities compared to H 110. H 110 produced 1,822 fps while Lil'Gun produced 2,005 fps in my rifle and a 9% increase in my carbine. Accuracy is good enough so that I use both to hit bowling pins and 200 yds and when I'm 'on' I can use the rifle to hit them at 300 yds.   |
Joined:
Dec 2024
Posts:
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TN, USA
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Congratulations. I bought a .357 Rossi rifle about 20+ years ago. Used it in some cowboy action shooting in the past and left it in the gun safe. I acquired some steel falling plates and my teenage grandson has been knocking them down with handguns, but also wanted to try a lever action rifle. I pulled out the Rossi and some handloaded lead .38 Spl ammo. He loves it. Hope you enjoy yours! |
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Fun stuff! I picked up a Ruger Marlin .357 1894 and the 125 Lee RNFP are just outstanding and accurate plinkers. I have a similar NOE mold for 135 grain that is supposed to be for 9mm and thusly lacks a crimp groove but it also is a tack driver with them. I hear you with the old man eyes syndrome. I put skinners on the Marlin, then for load development purposes a Leupold 1.5-4x Freedom scope. I wasn’t sure if my heavier cast bullets or my eyes were the problem…..it was both. I also learned that my rifle won’t shoot the heavy bullets at plinking speeds without losing accuracy. Keep it fun! |
The only hyphenated names I like are cartridge names......30-06, 30-40, 38-55 etc.
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Originally Posted By Colt653: So much fun. 3.5grCLAYS with a 125-135 RNFP is great for plinking with little kids, like 22LR. max loads of H110/win296 are amazing https://i.imgur.com/o65YpYx.jpg https://i.imgur.com/6wGfQdi.jpg https://i.imgur.com/eK93aQ2.jpg I reloaded a couple boxes worth of Sierra 110gr bullets for my .357s too. I bet those would be absolutely screaming, and explode like grenades in ballistic gel. |
The “Three Stupid” Rule: “Do not go to stupid places, with stupid people, and do stupid things”
Religion is a handy device for keeping the philosophically deficient in line.
Religion is a handy device for keeping the philosophically deficient in line.
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Phase two: a new (used) Rossi R92 .44 Magnum with a 16” barrel. It is a newer version than my old .357 version. It is marked with “BrazTech, L.C. Miami FL Made in Brazil by Taurus” on the barrel. It has a safety on the top of the bolt and a keyhole lock on the back of the hammer. I don’t have the key for it so it is just another thing to ignore. I think it has a 1:30 barrel twist. It is very light- about 5.5lbs is my guess. It holds nine in the tube but is advertised as holding eight, so ten round capacity with one in the chamber. Ten rounds will have to suffice in case I have to go into Chuck Conners spray mode. The carbine wasn’t shot much and outside a few stock dents it is in great shape. I paid $440 for it. So, now I have to modify it to improve shoot ability as well as convert it into a takedown (sort of) to make it as close to an all state legal carbine as I can. I know it won’t satisfy ultra shitty state laws, but 45? Or so states is good enough…but it still sucks. I will be: Installing a spring kit from Lee’s gunsmithing (30 bucks). Installing a Skinner Peep sight (55 bucks). Installing a Ranger Point Takedown screw (40 bucks). It is a screw with a coin sized slot in it that replaces the single stock screw that attaches the stock to the 1892 style action. I will do that and then get a Skinner Takedown case. Overall length with the stock removed is just under 24”. I think the case will be about 60 bucks. Then I have to find an airline approved hard sided travel case. A Nanak brand case will work but that is about 200 bucks. The hard side cases are heavy- they weigh at least ten pounds, and the rifle/ammo would add about eight to it. I camp when I travel so the 50lb luggage limit is something I have to keep an eye on as I add a tent, bag, sleeping pad, cooking gear, etc. So, outside of that I am considering a Skinner weapon light mount (80 bucks) which has rails on each side of the barrel. I would mount a light on one side and a rail mounted sling swivel to the other side. A rear screw in sling swivel could easily be added to the stock. What am I missing? I will try some different 240gr Jacketed bullet loads for it to see what the carbine likes. Attached File The cats decided to get involved so this pic will have to suffice. 
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Scratch And Sniff
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In the off chance you have a Rossi that needs to be slicked up- the ejector spring replacement is probably where you get the most bang for your buck. The downside is replacing the spring will test your patience as the relationship of the ejector, spring, ejector collet ring and bolt is a PITA to manage. A spent or dummy cartridge will keep the sprongy bits together long enough to put the bolt back in the receiver, and then you get to wiggle in the lever/locking bolts and align everything well enough to slide and then drive a pin in to keep the whole mess together. Because you removed the lower tang with attached trigger and the hammer you may as well replace the hammer spring (retain it with a paperclip) and the trigger spring. Make sure you do what you need to do when you got it all apart to remove burrs and polish things up because you will not want to mess with it again after reassembly. It is unpleasant enough that you might consider cleaning the bore from the muzzle in the future. Invest in a tapered plug guide for the cleaning rod to save your muzzle crown. The results of spring replacement are tangible and worth the hassle. The takedown tang screw from Ranger Precision does the job to make the rifle/carbine a takedown. The carbine measures a smidge over 24” with the stock removed. The peep sight from Skinner is a quality rig but expect it to require filing to fit if my samples of two are representative. Skinner sells a tool called the Wyoming Sight Drifter and it is a tool you need. It is a long spring with a nylon insert on one end and a brass insert on the other. To get the sight out of a dovetail (or drift it in the dovetail) you put one end of the tool on the sight, draw back the spring and let fly. The force applied will remove or drift the sight without marring anything. The guy who invented it should consider his status to be upgraded to Certified Wizard in my opinion. |
Scratch And Sniff
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I really liked the Rossi 92 but I just couldn't get a good one out of 5 trys. I had a 16" model in 44 mag just like the one you have. No matter what bullet I tried I just couldn't get it to shoot worth a darn. I was lucky to hit a basketball size target at 25 yards. I later bought a newer version in 20". It shot a little better but not by much. I do have a short rifle version in 357 that I really like but the magtube is stuck in the receiver. They must of pounded it in at the factory. Its no biggie tho. |
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Originally Posted By golfish: I really liked the Rossi 92 but I just couldn't get a good one out of 5 trys. I had a 16" model in 44 mag just like the one you have. No matter what bullet I tried I just couldn't get it to shoot worth a darn. I was lucky to hit a basketball size target at 25 yards. I later bought a newer version in 20". It shot a little better but not by much. I do have a short rifle version in 357 that I really like but the magtube is stuck in the receiver. They must of pounded it in at the factory. Its no biggie tho. Yikes! I have only begun to shoot the 44 version but so far I have gotten fist sized groups at 25 yards with 240gr XTP bullets and 24gr of 296 powder. I hope to improve that with the new Skinner peep sights I just installed. The 357 version really is a sweetheart recoil wise. Even with max loads it has minimal recoil. The 44 is lighter and it does belt you night and day harder. If someone was only going to buy one I would go with the 357 without question. |
Scratch And Sniff
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I bought an 80's vintage Rossi 92 in 44-40 for Cowboy Action Shooting to go with my matched pair of Uberti Colt clones in the same caliber. Absolutely great rifle even without any modifications. As a purist I shot black powder loaded ammo in all 3 guns. Supremely accurate and utterly reliable. Also killed 3 Texas whitetails with it. Still one one of my favorite woods walker guns. Great gun in an historic caliber. All the benefits of the cartridge in a terrific lightweight package. The 357 mag likely outperforms the 44-40,but I'll wager not by much due to the heavier bullet weights of the 44-40. Shot a friend's Rossi in 44 mag and my response was kinda meh. |
One well at a time, Drill Baby Drill!
If you need more than 8 rounds in a 1911 to solve your problem, you need friends with rifles.
I don't need your PERMISSION in order to voice my OPINION
If you need more than 8 rounds in a 1911 to solve your problem, you need friends with rifles.
I don't need your PERMISSION in order to voice my OPINION
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Originally Posted By sandboxmedic: ... It shouldn't be an issue these days but make sure that your bullets are up to the increase in velocity, I learned that lesson back in the 80s before bonded bullets were common. My boss at the time loaded up some SJHP rounds for his Marlin and we were getting jacket separation with pieces found in the targets. I've seen it out of my Rossi with some old commercial rounds I had too, the bullets performed great out of a 6" revolver but bullet tech was different and they just weren't designed to be driven that fast. Softer cast bullets will lead the barrel faster at faster velocities too. Sounds spot-on. Where does one get the kind of information needed to know whether the bullet can handle the higher velocities? I've never seen it posted anywhere or written on the packaging. It's almost as though there are/should be .357 "rifle bullets" versus .357 "handgun bullets" due to the velocity differences. |
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Originally Posted By Trollslayer: ....It's almost as though there are/should be .357 "rifle bullets" versus .357 "handgun bullets" due to the velocity differences. This guys tests H110 / XTP's with different barrel lengths. Really interesting how the XTP handles low and high velocities  Failed To Load Title  Failed To Load Title  Failed To Load Title  Failed To Load Title |
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Originally Posted By Trollslayer: Thank you, that was perfect! I have a bunch of 125 and 158 XTP's. I use W296 powder, which I've been told is identical to the H110 used in these videos. I have heard that too- I wonder if it was always the case as I have a lot of manuals that have both 110 and 296 recipes with the same bullet yet different velocities? I have been using up some ancient steel can 296 powder I have and wonder if the new stuff will be the same? Anywho I am thinking about adding a recoil pad for the 44 as it belts me with the steel buttplate in an efficient and forceful manner. I also need to replace the front sight on the carbine as the Skinner peep makes the POI way too high. I have one on order. |
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