Rossi - lever action .357

[tomwalshco]

I see a couple of you guys have Rossi rifles. I've got a big urge to buy a lever action repeater and figured the .357/.38 would be the least expensive to shoot. But I'm unsure what barrel length to get. 16", 20" 24"?

Also looks like the Pumas and the Rossis are almost identical. Italy/Brazil. Any thoughts?

This would just be for messing around at the range and the woods. I'm no hunter and my eyes are bad so 50-100 yds would be the range. I'm pretty sure a scope won't be in my future. Thanks.

[Jake3501]

I see a couple of you guys have Rossi rifles. I've got a big urge to buy a lever action repeater and figured the .357/.38 would be the least expensive to shoot. But I'm unsure what barrel length to get. 16", 20" 24"?

Also looks like the Pumas and the Rossis are almost identical. Italy/Brazil. Any thoughts?

This would just be for messing around at the range and the woods. I'm no hunter and my eyes are bad so 50-100 yds would be the range. I'm pretty sure a scope won't be in my future. Thanks.

Tom, Last year, the Italian Manufacture bought out Taurus/Rossi on many of their long guns, and took the equipment and the patents and manufacturing rights, so that is the reason the Pumas and the Rossis are almost identical. I've also had a strong interest in a .357/38 sp Lever gun. If I remember right, there are some feeding issues associated with the 357/38 sp models in the Marlin I've read about, but haven't read of any problems with the Puma or Rossi. Mosts of the posts on the Rossi/Puma have been on the .45 colt, The Lightening pumps have actually garnered my attention a little more than the lever guns as I think they would be quicker as well as not having as much interference with the sight picture when rechambering a cartridge.

[tomwalshco]

Thanks Jake. I've read up a but and it seems the feeding issues are with the .38 specials (a little shorter) and hollow points are also given a thumbs down. But I can get standard .357 FMJ Winchesters from Wally's cheap and they're always in stock.

Funny, some guys rail about the crappy Pumas vs the Rossis. Newer Winchesters seem to get a unanimous thumbs down. And the Marlin offerings are well liked by the Cowboy types - a few hundred $ more.

I can get a Rossi .357 w/24" octagonal barrel, stainless steel for $478 delivered.

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/p...ducts_id/56490

.45 LC a little cheaper. $424.

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/p...ducts_id/56508

Pretty, aren't they?

[jcg12001]

I've had several 38/357 lever guns. None of them including the Marlin liked 38 specials. My Rossi 92 had a fairly rough action. A lot of the 92's do. For range work it would be fine but for Cowboy Shooting the lever was tough on the hand at the end of the day. I got away from the 92 action and went to 94's. I will say that it was accurate right out of the box.

[tomwalshco]

Great input, jc. Were the Marlin 94s designed specifically for pistol rounds? Were you using off the shelf ammo?

[jcg12001]

Great input, jc. Were the Marlin 94s designed specifically for pistol rounds? Were you using off the shelf ammo?

Yes, the Marlin was designed for pistol rounds. The rifle is smaller in size than the 336. Mine has a 24" octagonal barrel. I have used off the shelf and reloads. In the 38/357 the carrier assembly that takes the round from the tube magazine to the barrel is longer for the 357 and the shorter 38's don't always feed well. I rapid fire mine at cowboy shoots and have never had a problem with 357's.
I've added a picture that will show the size difference. Top- Marlin 39a in 22 lr Middle-94 Cowboy in 357 Bottom- 336 in 38-55.
I hope this helps

[NativeTexan]

I got my Rossi 92 in the 80s. It feeds .38 or .357 just fine. I have worked up two loads I like in it. My .38 load is a Lee 105 grain cast SWC over 2.3 grains of Bullseye. I get 900 fps and it's 1.5" at 50 yards accurate. My heavy load is now 16.8 grains of Lil' Gun under a 165 Lee cast gas checked SWC. I've killed three deer with this bullet using 2400, but in the rifle, Lil' Gun gives me 100 fps more with less pressure. This load shoots 4" at 100 yards. I can hunt squirrel to deer/hog with this gun and it's a light outdoor companion for hikes. That's versatility. Neat thing, I can interchange ammo with my revolvers. The 165 grain load gives 1900 fps out of a 20" barrel. That's like .35 Remington light. I'd suggest a 20" barrel as a good compromise, still light and easy to carry, but gives a little more umph to the heavy loads in .357.

The one thing I didn't like about it was the cheesy rear sight. I had an aperture sight I really liked on an old single shot .22. I pulled that sight and put it on the Rossi and took the disc off it so it'd be a ghost ring. It also is click elevation adjustable making switching from light to heavy ammo a breeze.

To perfect the gun, I added Uncle Mike's sling studs and a sling.

[NativeTexan]

If you want your Rossi slicked up (I haven't bothered, works fine for me) contact this guy. He's the guru of the Rossi 92. Cowboy shooting has built his business. He knows 'em inside and out....

http://www.stevesgunz.com/

[BigSkiff]

I bought a Puma 45LC Carbine last summer. It's a fun gun to shot. It feeds the ammo well and is as accurate as most guns with iron sights. Mine has the 16" barrel. I've found that it's very convenient to carry strapped to a backpack as well. The sights could be better but for the distance this gun is normally shot at they are fine.

[ASCTLC]

I have a Puma 92 in .357 mag. Was stiff when new but using the DVD from Steve (N.T. posted his link) it feeds and cycles slicker than snot. Literally 1 finger cycling. Was easy to perform Steve's mods following his DVD.

Mine shot way too high with the factory sights. Instead of raising the front sight I ground the rear down a little at a time and increased the depth of the notch. Now it shoots as a standard sight should using 6 o'clock.

I just don't like the receiver or tang sights and actually prefer the blade sights over the aperature sights. But that's just me...

Definitely the funnest gun I have to shoot and plink with.

ANdy