Rossi 972

I had one, Intnerarms gun back about early 90s. Recent Rossis are better fitted and finished than mine was, but it was still a good gun. It was reasonably accurate and very light to carry. Mine was a 4" stainless model. I carried it while hiking or rifle hunting out in west Texas/New Mexico and took rabbits with it for camp meat and took a Javelina with it once.

I snapped a firing pin on it, sent it back to interarms, came back and broke on the first cylinder full. I took it to a smith who told me it just needed proper fitting. Well, I don't know about that, but it never broke again in a couple thousand rounds until I decided to trade it on a Ruger blackhawk I really wanted. That was one of the best outdoor hiking guns I've owned, rugged, and only about 30 ounces. It was sort of half way between J frame and K frame in size and a rugged little gun. Had lots of ammo through it and it was still quite tight. Rossis have always impressed me with their strenght, though no one on the boards ever mentions that aspect of 'em. But, the ones I've owned have held up quite well through lots of use.

My current 4" M66 Taurus is now my outdoor carry. It's nickel, would prefer stainless, but other than that, it's unreal accurate and only about 3 ounces heavier to carry than the Rossi. That thing will put 6 rounds into an inch off the bench at 25 yards either magnum or wadcutter (small game loads). The Rossi shoot same loads about 2" at 25, which was good 'nuf really, but the Taurus is the most accurate medium frame gun I've ever owned which would include a M19 Smith and a Ruger Security Six. I'm pretty happy with it, so I don't miss the Rossi like I used to. But, the 971 was a really good outdoor carry and I remember it fondly.

Hi,
My two cents...Keep looking for a Rossi (Academy Sports stocks them). From what I gather, Rossi quality has really come up since Taurus took them over. I've got a Rossi 972 in SS. It's a great shooter with an excellent trigger and good adjustable sights. I love the highly polished SS. It has a smooth trigger in DA and a light, clean break in SA (my guess would be about a 4 lb pull in SA). It has very tight cylinder lock up, fit is excellent, finish is very good but not quite flawless. I shoot mostly .38 in mine, but have put some .357 down the tube. .357 just isn't as much fun as .38 especially after 50-100 rnds! Accuracy/grouping is pretty darn good (I don't remember exactly what they were). The only down side is I don't care for the rubber grip. It's great ergonomically, but just doesn't do the gun justice as far as looks. I tried to fit a Taurus med frame Hogue wood grip but no luck, so I returned the grip. I don't think there is a better SS revolver out there for the $$, especially if you consider Taurus warranties them for life. I bought mine new a few months ago from Academy Sports and paid $357.00 out the door. I think its every bit as good a gun (or better) than a comparable Taurus med frame revolver.

The following information is paraphrased from the Rossi website. Since Taurus took Rossi over a few years ago, they (Taurus) are manufacturing Rossi guns under contract on Rossi equipment at the new Taurus Factory in SaoLeopoldo, Brazil. Much of the tooling and many of the machines were acquired from Rossi... BTW, I noticed the Rossi web site is under major renovation/reorganization so many links are broke right now.

Based on that, my guess is that since much of the Rossi equipment is still being used to manufacture the pistols that there is little to no other MIM manufacturing being done on the Rossi guns, save for the Taurus Security System in the Hammer. Again, just my opinion. Take that for what its worth...I'm not convinced yet that quality control for MIM is where it should be yet, but I think it is getting better. As a plus for MIM, I understand that some manufacturers are contracting OEM parts from Taurus so don't be surprised to begin seeing more MIM parts and major assemblies making their way into even our sacred American firearm manufacturers. MIM is likely the wave of the future and Taurus is pioneering advances in this relatively new manufacturing process, so huaa for Taurus!