I was looking for a lever-action brush gun to also use for close range (100m and in) Whitetail hunting. I found a gently used 20" Rossi chambered in .44 Magnum with case color hardened receiver and octagonal barrel (a really nice vintage look) in the $400 range.

Fo or No?

Anything in particular about the Rossi .44 I should know?

Sounds nice... I would. I have a few of the rifles, and they are perform fine.

I have 2 ea 357mag Rossis made in 2009 and I love both.  What you are looking at is a Short Rifle version with a curved buttplate, casehardened look receiver, and octagon, 20" barrel and the upper tang is drilled and tapped to accept a tang sight.  If your looking at one that has a near black stock set without a safety on the top rear of the bolt, it's an older version made on the old CnC machines that didn't always provide a well QC'd rifle so check it out carefully before you buy it.  If you're looking at one with a brown, 'mystery wood' versions with either a rear safety or a plug on the top rear of the bolt, it's likely made after 2000 on the new CnC machines and of better quality, however, you should always check it out in person.  Currently, Rossi is consolidating their machining capability and they are only offering their 45 Colt versions so the 357mag and 44mag versions are a bit scarce.

I've got well over 4K rds through each of my Rossis and I love them.  I picked up mine NIB so I also got Steve's Gunz $58 action kit and DvD and did an action and trigger job on each when they were new.  I added a Marbles tang and globe front sight to my 24" rifle and Marbles sights and a saddle ring to my 20" carbine.  Further, I applied a coat of WATCO Danish Oil, Medium Walnut right over the stocks as delivered and both are slick as snot.

I'd grab it, Rossi isn't making anything but the standard saddle ring carbine right now. You might need to slick up the action but I'll bet it'll be a good shooter. My little stainless Trapper outshoots my Browning 92 and any of the Marlin 44s I've had over the years.

Who was the importer?  EMF had some of the color case guns that were finished a bit nicer than the LSI or Braztech guns.

Does it have what seems to be a longer than normal fore arm?  Buds or somebody was closing out a 20 inch octagon 44 with a case colored receiver a few years ago. $400 if I remember right.  I bought one, but had to let it go before I ever shot it.

Thanks for the replies, Gents! From what I recall, there wasn't a safety button on the receiver, the forearm was longer than you'd find on a Marlin and the wood was a rich, warm brown (like a lite maple syrup, if that makes sense). It looked very similar to the top photo by COSteve. I'd have to go look at it again to get more details.

BTW, I've never owned or shot a .44 lever gun before. What degree of accuracy can I expect from it? Recoil?

My wife bought me the 16 inch barreled Rossi in 44 mag a few months ago for my birthday. I've put about 100 trouble free rounds through it. Recoil is stout with full power loads but not to bad considering the butt plate has a screw to bite you with each shot.

I reloaded a bunch of light semi wad cutter loads and it is a lot of fun to shoot with those. Even my petite wife enjoys shooting those.

All shooting so far has been standing so can't really speak to accuracy but I can say it shoots way high with the full power loads. Didn't notice it as much plinking with the light loads.

Having said all that, Love mine and can't wait till I get time to shoot it again!

I have a 20" .44 with the octagon barrel. It had the crescent buttplate that homed in on my collar bone no matter what I did. Friend of mine cut it off, put on a gel pad and covered it with a leather buttcuff. looks good and shooted without pain now. I really like mine, its a 10 shot .44 magnum, whats not to like?
and as soon as I saw the thread title I thought "well, we will be hearing from COSteve". good to see you`re still around.

I have one, and it is the last rifle I would ever get rid of.

If the action is smooth, I'd grab it.

The "sweet spot for bbbl length is 20", I think.

It's not a fun thing to shoot all day, as light as it is.

ETA: I wear a "sissy pad" on my shoulder at the range when shooting it.

I have the 45LC and it is amazing how accurate it is.  You will be thrilled!

The difference between a Rossi M92 20" short rifle and a 20" carbine are as follows:

Carbine:  Rd barrel, banded forearm, shotgun buttplate, upper tang not drilled and taped for a tang sight

Short Rifle:  Octagon barrel, longer, capped rather than banded forearm, curved rifle buttplate, upper tang drilled and taped for a tang sight

anyone finding these anywhere.....tons of places say out of stock.

They get imported in batches apparently by caliber, tons of 45lc rifles on shelves lately.  Tooele shooting supply has a 16inch 44mag at an average price.

Bought a 20" 44 Magnum 7 years ago, ordered the dvd and related parts from Steve aka Nate Kowia Jones and really smoothed out the action.  One of my most favorite rifles, fun shooting for all ages and skill levels.

Paid tree fiddy back then, seems to be a good price for the one you are looking at.

I just bought one this week and took it to the range for the first time today. It's a 20" round barrel I got from Summit Gun Broker.

It is a lot of fun.

Not completely relevant, but I have a .44 Mag with a 24" octagonal bbl.  I love it.  I am not a real lever gun guy, but my friends who are say it has a smooth action.  Recoil is mild, and accuracy is impressive with hard cast Missouri 240 grain bullets and mild loads.

I am thinking you might find point of impact might vary quite a bit with different bullet weights. I would test fire different bullets/loads before you start messing about with the sights