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Old December 10, 2018, 12:56 PM   #1
mk70ss
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Informal .22 Comparison....



So I have recently acquired two similar type .22 revolvers. Both are typical kit gun, small game getters, and plinkers. One is a blued Rossi Model 70, the other a stainless S&W Model 63. The S&W is a mid 70’s vintage, the Rossi is early 80’s. Both were bought used but in excellent condition. The Rossi is a 3 inch barrel, the S&W is a 4 inch. I decided to do a little comarison of the two.

The Rossi has a far better and smoother trigger than the S&W in both single and double action. This is an informal comparison, so trigger pull weights were not measured. The S&W has far better sights than the Rossi. The Rossi has a drift adjustable rear that is pretty small, but looks very durable. The front is just blued steel ramp as part of the barrel. Tough getting a good sight picture, especially against a dark colored target. The S&W has typical S&W fully adjustable rear sight, with a stainless ramp with orange insert. These are far superior to the Rossi.

The S&W came with a very nice after market, walnut grip with finger grooves that fits my hand perfectly. The Rossi had checked, factory walnut round butt grips that were perfectly sufficient for a gun with no recoil.

Shooting from the bench using a rest, the little Rossi actually gave smaller groups than the S&W with both CCI SV ammo and CCI MiniMags. I didn’t measure them but you can judge from the photos.


Above is the Rossi


Above is the S&W.

Easy hits were made on a 5 inch steel plate using double action at about 50 feet standing using either gun.

The S&W was far more than twice the price of the Rossi, and the Rossi is a great little revolver, but if I could only have one, it would be the S&W. So no surprises here, the higher quality, more expensive gun is my choice.
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Last edited by mk70ss; December 10, 2018 at 04:57 PM.
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Old December 10, 2018, 01:29 PM   #2
TruthTellers
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Will the S&W last longer/have less issues over time than the Rossi? Yes, most likely. Does that mean the Rossi can't be a good .22 revolver for a few decades? No.

I'm sure the S&W can group tighter with different ammo, but my issue with .22 these days is I'm tired of having all my .22's shoot best with a different ammo. After the .22 shortage years ago when you were stuck with what you could find, not what you want or what your guns shoot best with, I decided on limiting what .22 ammo I buy to what's common. That's means I mostly have CCI and Winchester, some Aguila. If the .22's I buy can't shoot well with any of that ammo, they're not worth keeping.

I don't like expensive .22 revolvers; too many variables with how revolvers get their best performance, .22's are usually ammo picky, and the DA triggers are generally poor no matter what brand you get.

The only thing that would make me hesitant with the Rossi is factory warranty, idk if Rossi warranties their guns. If you got the Rossi for free or a really low price, I'd live with it, you got your monies worth.

If owning revolvers with a more prestigious name or higher value is your thing, more power to you. They both look like they're good guns.
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Old December 10, 2018, 01:34 PM   #3
mk70ss
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Nooooo.....prestige ownership has nothing to do with it. I bought both didn’t I? They are both good guns. It’s just that between these two, at least for me, the more expensive one is easier to shoot well.
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