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Old December 12, 2012, 03:10 PM   #1
mongoslow
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.357 Rossi lever action

Im looking at this rifle pretty hard the one im looking at is the 20" barrel in stainless , i have been reading up on it and some of them seem to have feeding problems and a rough action out of the box but it seems like the fixes are pretty simple and the happy owners seem tickled pink with them, i just wanted to hear what any of you who owns one thinks about yours.
thanks for your responses and comments in advance.
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Old December 12, 2012, 09:03 PM   #2
mongoslow
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what nobody here owns one
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Old December 12, 2012, 09:31 PM   #3
alex0535
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I would rather have myself a Marlin 336 in .35 Remington

in fact I do.

I would trust it much more than a .357 magnum for taking down a deer.
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Old December 12, 2012, 09:47 PM   #4
Striker1
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I have one. 20" saddle ring carbine by EMF but made by Rossi. Never had a stoppage with it either using .38 spc or .357 mag.

If I did, I would contact Steve's Guns, he is a specialist on these rifles.

Good info can be found here:

http://www.levergunscommunity.com/vi...hp?f=1&t=22807

Last edited by Striker1; December 12, 2012 at 10:24 PM.
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Old December 12, 2012, 10:17 PM   #5
Shotgun693
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Why do you want one? They are real popular with Cowboy Action Shooters. Combined with a .357 revolver they make a good survival, plinking, light game gun.
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Old December 12, 2012, 11:08 PM   #6
mongoslow
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im consolidating my guns into 3 main calibers to make ammo shoping easier,im going to .38/.357 for ccw, hd, and in the case of the rossi light hunting.

I have 2 ruger 10/22s for fun and my boys to shoot tree rats and rabbits with

for secondary hd and what ever else i want to shoot, my 12 gauge

The Rossi has just really tickled my fancy since i looked at one and im looking for some opinons on it most of what i have read looks pretty good so unless i get some really harsh judgments on it i will own one soon
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Old December 12, 2012, 11:21 PM   #7
mj246
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My brother has one in 357. Yeah pretty much what you said. He has had a few failures to either feed or eject (can't remember which), but not many and they were easy to correct by hand, plus it is a little bit of a rough action at first. If the fixes for them are easy to find and do yourself I would definitely consider one if price is a factor. If your budget isn't constrained, I've heard great things about the Marlin lever guns though.
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Old December 12, 2012, 11:26 PM   #8
Shotgun693
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For what you want the Rossi is a decent gun. The Marlin is some better but not available in SS that I know of. The slickest best handling Lever Action in a revolver caliber is the '73. The '73 is also the most expensive of these.
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Old December 13, 2012, 12:34 AM   #9
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Might want to look at a Henry Big Boy....just say'n
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Old December 13, 2012, 12:49 AM   #10
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Rossi's are good for the money. I have had 3, I now have just Marlin's. The Rossi loading gate was to small for me.
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Old December 13, 2012, 02:05 AM   #11
Water-Man
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I've had one for about five years. It's an LSI/Rossi PUMA M92 20"Octagon barrel.

It's been 100% since day one and better than the Marlin I had.

Steves Gunz is good but has a 10 month lead time last time I checked.
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Old December 13, 2012, 07:00 AM   #12
Rockhanger
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I've got a mod. 92 in .357 had it for around 20 years. I mostly use it for a truck gun. It's been very reliable& accurate.
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Old December 13, 2012, 07:23 AM   #13
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I've had one of the Rossi's in 38/357 for a couple of years now and have never had a moments trouble with it. It is one of my favorite rifles to shoot and is much more accurate that I had expected. The trigger is fantastic and shooting 38's out of it feels like you're shooting a .22. I wouldn't hesitate to get another one.
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Old December 13, 2012, 10:44 PM   #14
mongoslow
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thanks for the replies everyone
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Old December 13, 2012, 11:20 PM   #15
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I had the Rossi 92 in 357 with a 16" barrel. It was awesome, if i would have the funds i would still have it, but i traded it in for the same gun in 44 mag. It's a great hog gun with a good kick! Some day i will Get the 357 again to have a matching set. The 16" barrel is the perfect truck rifle too and IMO it looks so much better than the Marlin:thumbup:

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Old December 14, 2012, 01:13 PM   #16
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I am supremely happy with mine. It's a 20'' blued barrel model and holds 11+1 of 357 magnum or 12+1 38 special. It's fed anything I've ever tried to feed it. I would totally recommend buying it if it's anywhere near a decent price.

For my purposes it's about as versatile as a long gun can get. With good ammo you should be good to go inside one hundred yards. With light plinking loads you can barely feel the recoil.
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Old December 14, 2012, 06:07 PM   #17
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Ive got the Rossi in 30/30 20" stainless. Let me tell you, i will be buying Rossi for all my lever action needs from now on. Shoots like a dream, even though its not a .357 like your looking for, i can attest to Rossi being superb shooters for less $ than most other brands. Only complaint is the first rifle the local sporting goods store took out for me to inspect before purchase had a scratch where a screwdriver slipped off the screw and left a nice mark across the reciever, guessing on final assembly, and 2 screws were marred on that rifle. The 2nd one was flawless and is now the one i own.
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Old December 15, 2012, 12:52 PM   #18
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check it first

I would suggest buying one one you can handle first. Take some 357 snap caps with you and make sure it cycles correctly. I ordered in a 20" stainless 357 like your after 2 years ago its a very good looking rifle but I have fought feed issues since new. I sent it to the service center and after a 3 month wait they sent it back claiming to have fixed a miss machined chamber but did not fix the cycling problem. Frustrated I completely disassembled it myself and found that the shells were hanging on the cartridge guides. Polished them with a dremel and stoned the action and now it feeds 98% of the time with 38 and 90% of the time with 357. Extremely fun gun when its working right.
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Old December 15, 2012, 09:42 PM   #19
4myboys
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Rossi 92

I just bought a SS 24 " Octagonal barrel 357 for my youngest boy - True to form, it is hit or miss on the cosmetics, I missed with very poor assembly on the forearm that will require disassembly, correction and maybe refinish - Funny how the warranty specifically excludes "grips" -

I would have rejected at my FFL. however Santa would not have had a present under the tree .... I'm surprised that you can't easily find replacement stocks and forearms - If it shoots Ok, even with minor corrections I will probably be alright at $500 including shipping ... Steve's Guns has some cool accessories, and I expect to get a ghost ring rear sight.
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Old December 17, 2012, 08:29 PM   #20
Nevmavrick
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Mine is a little blued carbine. I love it!
It's even better now that I shortened the magazine, straightened the butt-plate, and rebarrelled it to .256 Magnum.
Have fun,
Gene
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Old December 18, 2012, 12:27 PM   #21
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Very nice guns. I got the opportunity to shoot one in 45-70. I really liked it. It didn't any issues, looks nice too. My only complaint is when you remove the scope mount there's slight scratches in the finish. The gun is also extremely light too. It's lighter than a NEF in 45-70, so recoil is a bit strong. But with .357 mag it won't bother you any. And if you can, I suggest getting the bigger loop, makes it much easier to cycle.
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Old December 18, 2012, 02:15 PM   #22
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I have a Rossi m92 in .44 mag 24 inch hex barrel. Shoots great with no issues. Only thing I dislike is the plastic from sight, but that is preference.
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Old December 20, 2012, 08:14 AM   #23
mongoslow
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found out that Marlin now makes the 1894 .357 in stainless now, this will put the Rossi on hold until i can get a Marlin in my paws to look at it
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Old December 20, 2012, 09:08 AM   #24
Ironhorseromo
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I've been looking at a Rossi rio grande 30-30 for some time now. After reading all the interesting comments, ill think ill buy 1. That SS really appeals to me. The Rossi does feel more of a solid weapon than the Marlin 336 they have at Walmart for about $325. I can get the Rossi for $400 @ my local gun shop. It's been decided, I'm going with the Rossi!!
Thanks for the input
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Old December 20, 2012, 09:56 PM   #25
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I have shot some Marlins, Rossi, Henry and Winchesters in 357 magnum. Of the ones I shot I would say that the Rossi is the lowest quality and would need more work to break it in.

I saw some one mention the 1873s. Correct me if I am wrong but are those not the weaker toggle actions? I would not trust those to the hotter 357 magnum loads on a regular basis. They work great for cowboy loads but the 73s will not take the hunting loads very long and a failure would result in a bolt to the face.

I do love how the 73s look though. If I could find one that would handle a steady diet of buffalo bore level 357 magnum ammo I would buy it.

The newer Winchester 1892s are really sweet. They are made in Japan but then most lever actions are made out side the USA now days.

The Marlins are nice because they are easy to scope.

Henry's are nice as well but they have 2 major down sides in my book. First they are heavy. Second they do not use a loading gate but use a tube similar to tube loaded 22LRs.
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