Rossi R971

Tiger522 · November 14, 2013, 07:49 PM

Hello everyone.

I'm new to posting on these forums, but I have found a lot of useful posts and threads on here, and for those, I am very grateful.

I'm posting today because my wife and I are looking for a revolver for Christmas. We already own one handgun (S&W SD9 VE). We really like our 9mm, but we would like to get a revolver for Christmas. The gun we're looking at is a Rossi R971 .357 revolver. The store we're looking at has it for $329 before tax.

I'm not really worried about the cost of the gun. From what we've seen, this is a decent price for this particular gun. We do have a budget to work with (absolutely nothing over $450).

The question that we have is about the quality of the gun. I've never really heard of Rossi. Is this a good reliable gun? Does anyone have any experience with this particular gun? Any information that can be provided will be greatly appreciated

hAkron · November 14, 2013, 10:29 PM

Rossi has been around for quite a while, and the guns they made in the late 80's - mid 90's that were imported by Interarms were decent S&W clones. Sometime late 90's/early '00's, Taurus assumed stewardship of the Rossi revolvers that are available to the North American market. Current Rossi/Braztech revolvers are essentially Taurus revolvers with different roll marks and slightly different features. Taurus seems to have positioned Rossi as it's value line with slightly cheaper, slightly less polished models as compared to the offers by Taurus proper.

Inexpensive, lifetime warranty, but with the same list of compromises and potential quality concerns folks attribute to Taurus.

$450 would buy you a decent 4" S&W K or L frame (with a little shopping around) that would likely be less risky.

I like the mid 80's early 90's Interarms Rossi guns. I have a few. I would be less inclined to buy a modern Rossi, and if I did, I would expect to have about a 20% chance of needing to send it back, possibly more than once, before it was reliable.

Tiger522 · November 15, 2013, 12:34 AM

Thanks for your reply.

I'm looking for a revolver that is around the same length as the R971 (6.5 inches total length). We definitely want something that is reliable at all times. I know our budget kind of holds us to a certain few guns, but we don't know enough about brands of revolvers to know what to get. Hence why we read these forums as much as possible.

If anyone has any suggestions of other revolvers we are more than happy to look into others. Thanks!

JimmyR · November 15, 2013, 03:36 AM

I had a 971 for a car gun. Nothing to write home about, and ended up getting rid of it before long.

I echo hArkon's sentiments about looking for a used Ruger/S&W. I bought my S&W Model 19 for under $400 after shipping and FFL. My Ruger Security Six was about $480, but it was stainless. (My LGS has a couple of them under $450)

Look for a S&W Model 13/19/65/66 or a Ruger Security/Service Six if you wanna stay in .357. If you're up for a 38, a Model 10/15 or a Speed Six will be nice additions to any firearm collection.

November 14, 2013, 07:49 PM	#1
Tiger522 Junior Member Join Date: November 14, 2013 Posts: 6	Rossi R971 Hello everyone. I'm new to posting on these forums, but I have found a lot of useful posts and threads on here, and for those, I am very grateful. I'm posting today because my wife and I are looking for a revolver for Christmas. We already own one handgun (S&W SD9 VE). We really like our 9mm, but we would like to get a revolver for Christmas. The gun we're looking at is a Rossi R971 .357 revolver. The store we're looking at has it for $329 before tax. I'm not really worried about the cost of the gun. From what we've seen, this is a decent price for this particular gun. We do have a budget to work with (absolutely nothing over $450). The question that we have is about the quality of the gun. I've never really heard of Rossi. Is this a good reliable gun? Does anyone have any experience with this particular gun? Any information that can be provided will be greatly appreciated

November 14, 2013, 10:29 PM	#2
hAkron Senior Member Join Date: March 31, 2011 Location: Akron, Ohio Posts: 318	Rossi has been around for quite a while, and the guns they made in the late 80's - mid 90's that were imported by Interarms were decent S&W clones. Sometime late 90's/early '00's, Taurus assumed stewardship of the Rossi revolvers that are available to the North American market. Current Rossi/Braztech revolvers are essentially Taurus revolvers with different roll marks and slightly different features. Taurus seems to have positioned Rossi as it's value line with slightly cheaper, slightly less polished models as compared to the offers by Taurus proper. Inexpensive, lifetime warranty, but with the same list of compromises and potential quality concerns folks attribute to Taurus. $450 would buy you a decent 4" S&W K or L frame (with a little shopping around) that would likely be less risky. I like the mid 80's early 90's Interarms Rossi guns. I have a few. I would be less inclined to buy a modern Rossi, and if I did, I would expect to have about a 20% chance of needing to send it back, possibly more than once, before it was reliable.

November 15, 2013, 12:34 AM	#3
Tiger522 Junior Member Join Date: November 14, 2013 Posts: 6	Thanks for your reply. I'm looking for a revolver that is around the same length as the R971 (6.5 inches total length). We definitely want something that is reliable at all times. I know our budget kind of holds us to a certain few guns, but we don't know enough about brands of revolvers to know what to get. Hence why we read these forums as much as possible. If anyone has any suggestions of other revolvers we are more than happy to look into others. Thanks!

November 15, 2013, 03:36 AM	#4
JimmyR Senior Member Join Date: February 4, 2012 Posts: 1,273	I had a 971 for a car gun. Nothing to write home about, and ended up getting rid of it before long. I echo hArkon's sentiments about looking for a used Ruger/S&W. I bought my S&W Model 19 for under $400 after shipping and FFL. My Ruger Security Six was about $480, but it was stainless. (My LGS has a couple of them under $450) Look for a S&W Model 13/19/65/66 or a Ruger Security/Service Six if you wanna stay in .357. If you're up for a 38, a Model 10/15 or a Speed Six will be nice additions to any firearm collection.