I have always wanted a classic wheel gun and today was the day to fulfill that desire.  I had no plans initially of getting up early and standing in line and the BS associated with Black Friday shopping.  But I reconsidered after see Academy's advertisement for a ROSSI .357 Magnum, 3" Barrel Blue @ Academy for $200, regularly $300 (Black Friday Special).  Academy's add stated this a 5-round revolver, but low and behold, it is a 6-round revolver.  When I saw this offerred for Black Friday Special, I decided to search the net and see what I could find out, which in fact, not much all.  I determeined this revolver is likely just like thier other blued revolvers.  There were models found for the 2" & 4" version, but notta for the 3" version.  So, I hope this post may be helpful to those looking to get one and/or discuss and what not.

I was able to get some range time with it this afternoon.  I was pressed for time and was only able to shot 12 rounds total.  This handgun has a nice feel to it.  The grio is rubber with the different size nodules spread out.  This grips appears that it will handle well when wet.  I ran 12 rounds of .357 Mag by UMC (brass) and no problems at all.  I forgot just how dang heavy the triggger is on revolver right of the box.  There was nothing fancy about the hadgun's appearance, just a basic blue finish.  Man. the trigger pull on this hadgun must be around 6 plus pounds, but once I cocked it back, it was a sweet trigger pull.  Anyway, here are some pics...............................










SMSP

i picked one up as well along with one of the $99 .22 single action revolvers (which is really nice). I hadnt really intended to buy the rossi but have been wanting a revolver and after reading alot of good reviews of rossi decided to give it a shot. Pretty happy with it so far i'de like to get the da trigger pull down its waaay heavy. I didnt find much info on these either someone had said they may have been a special run just for academy.

Yeah, that trigger is a workout, I may look into a trigger as well.  I'd like to shoot our local Combat Pistol match with it, but with's current trigger pull, I'd likely pre-cock every shot.

SMSP

Good deal.

For $199 I thought it was a pretty good deal too, so I picked one up yesterday. I got to the local Academy at noon and they were about out of all their Black Friday guns. People were lined up three deep at the counter! They had 3 left when I got mine. I've got a SW 637 Airweight and a GP100, but adding another wheel gun to the collection is never bad. I hope to shoot it today.

I'm dying for a 6 shot 3" .357.... thanks for posting!

Wonder if it will be like the PT-101 they sold last year and it will be on sale again later in Jan or Feb?

That looks like a decent gun.



I used to have a Rossi M677 that looks a lot like this one.  It had the same heavy trigger pull.



Pull the grips.  If it has a coil spring for a mainspring, a S&W J frame spring will work.  I played with a few spring weights and got the pull weight down enough to make it halfway decent and avoided light primer hits..



 

A buddy of mine bought that same revolver a month or so ago, and I was really surprised at how accurately we were able to shoot it at 20 yards or so.

I don't know how good Rossi revolvers are mechanically, particularly after a lot of use, but in the accuracy department it was no slouch.

Got myself two of them!  Perfect truck/boat gun.  Not a huge fan of Rossi, but for $200 I couldn't pass them up.  Also thanks Zeke for the advice on changing out the spring, for a lighter trigger pull.  I'll let ya'll know how that goes

I saw a fella what out with 3 of them plus 2-3 others handguns, dang!

SMSP

$200 I would snatch it up.

Was there Friday night buying a $10 Cowboy jersey and decided to walk over to the counter to see what they had.  To my surprise, I purchased the last model (excluding display) and folks walking up behind me were getting the 4 inch as substitute.  Apparently, the local store was having problems with NICS all day so the reason for inventory.

Trigger pull is rough so I'll need to fix it.  Otherwise, I like the small pistol and would compare with my SP101.

I picked up a 2" not too long ago.  It locks up nice and tight, times correctly, and shoots great.
Although Taurus owns Rossi, it seems the Rossi plant is building revolvers the nicer of the two.  The Rossi guns that come into the shop are usually tighter, have less machine marks, and an even cylinder gap.

Not Taurus bashing, just saying that the Rossis appear to be nicer.

Enjoy your new pistolas!

Finally had a chance to test/compare with my Ruger.  It is lighter and takes more abuse than the SP101.  Problems I encountered:  1) Timing 2) Spent casing ejection

1)  I shot about 100 rounds thru the Rossi and had issues after about 30 rounds with timing where it wouldn't lock up and/or fired out of position.  It worked for the most part but there were times I almost felt like the gun exploded and then I looked at my primers and noticed the indention on the edge.  I pulled the trigger on the spent round again to confirm the action was off.  NOT good.

2)  Also, due to design flaw, the ejector does not push the casings entirely out of the cylinder like all my other revolvers.  It is about 1/2 inch too short so would be perfect for a 9MM.

So, based on my experience, I STRONGLY recommend AGAINST purchasing this firearm.  It looks nice if you plan to keep it in your safe but I would be hesitant to loan to a friend or sell to a stranger.  I'm going to need to contact the mfg to see what my options are but this gun is not safe or reliable and I would NEVER want to rely where fast reloading is required.  I am disappointed and reaffirm my position that I will never buy anything associated with Taurus.

I hope others have better experience but PLEASE be safe.

I bought one about a month before they went on sale.
With +P .38s, or any .357 round, I couldn't fire it DA.
The cylinder would lock up, and I'd have to open it to clear the jam.


It would fire single action though.???

I also don't recommend this gun.

48 rounds of 125gr .357s through mine again to day with no problems.  I hope Rossi takes care of you guys having problems.  We haven't had any problems with any of the Rossi's sold through the shop in the last few years.  Can't say the same for Taurus.

had a Taurus .44 Special snub a few years ago that did this too –––– my gunsmith fixed it for 35 bucks –– he stated that although Taurus would fix it for free,  it would take 2 months to get it back