Rossi Rifleman

I own a Rossi Rio Grande in .30-30 Win and a Browning BLR in .308 Win.
My BLR is a 81 Lightweight Takedown with a Leupold 2-7x33mm "Rifleman" scope on it.
My Rio Grande has a Bushnell Trophy 1.5-4.5x40mm scope on it.
Top Ratings
Trigger - RG by far
Smoothest Action - RG
Appearance and bluing - BLR
Accuracy - RG by far
Furniture & Checkering - BLR
Balance & handling - RG
Weight - RG
Portability - BLR (takedown)
Iron sights - BLR (fully adjustable for elevation & windage)
Scope - Bushnell Trophy scope on RG was bright and crystal clear, noticeably more so than the BLRs Leupold 2-7x33mm "Rifleman"

The Bushnell Trophy scope on the RG had brighter & clearer optics than the Leupold on the BLR which is an older model I've had for a few years. The ballistic superiority of the .308 Win cartridge over the .30-30 Win was a point in the favor of the BLR combo.
The biggest point of superiority of the RG over the BLR was the trigger. The trigger on the RG is the best I've ever experienced on a levergun and the trigger on the BLR the worst.
The RG in my opinion stacked up head over heels over the Browning (Miroku) BLR which retails for over 2X the money I paid for the Rossi RG.
If I had to pick a gun of the two to hunt with for the rest of my life it would be the RG hands down despite the price difference.
If you do proper due diligence at the shop & separate the chaff from the wheat and get a good Rossi you have a superlative levergun on your hands.

Very interesting report pricedo, thanks! I've had a couple of hunters float through here with the BLR and their comments have mirrored yours, "it looks good but really think about whether you want one or not".

Bushnell seems to really have their stuff together.

Ranch Dog wrote:Very interesting report pricedo, thanks! I've had a couple of hunters float through here with the BLR and their comments have mirrored yours, "it looks good but really think about whether you want one or not".

Bushnell seems to really have their stuff together.

If a person wanted to extrapolate the abilities of the .45-70 to the maximum then the BLR would be THE platform to build the Super .45-70 on.
I would re-chamber the BLR .450 Marlin to .45-70.
The BLR action is rated to 65K PSI............you'd be hand loading Ruger #1 rated ammo.
You'd get as a bonus.........takedown, light weight, detachable box magazine feed & no need for flat nose or FTX style bullets.
I don't think the conversion would be all that expensive.......probably cost less than Ranch Dogs RG .30-30 > .38-55 conversion.