Rossi Rifleman

Hi Everyone,
After numerous rain-outs I finally got my Rossi 92 to the range for the first time this afternoon. Mine is a 24" octagon barreled model chambered for .45 Colt. I was able to shoot 1" groups at 50yds using a marbles tang sight and a lyman globe front sight which I think is pretty good considering how lousy my eyes are. I shot ~40 standard pressure target loads (250gr. cast, 8gr. Unique) with no issues but encountered an issue with the magazine tube starting to back out once I tried a few +P hunting loads. I loaded up 5 rounds of some factory Doubletap loads (335gr, listed as 27,500 psi) and fired them with no issue but upon trying to reload I noticed that the follower was stuck and that the magazine tube was now protruding past the muzzle by ~1". I suspect that perhaps the retention screw might have loosened a bit but it was still tight enough that I needed to loosen it further in order to slide the magazine tube back into place. Does anyone have some tips for preventing this in the future? I am thinking of putting some blue loctite on the retaining screw and maybe small strips of friction tape inside the collars that the tube slides through.

Thanks,
Steve

Retention screw? I thought it was held in place by a pin. I do know that they changed the 454 Casull mag tube due to this problem.

You should be able to loctite the retention pin and it will be gtg otherwise somthing is not in spec.

44-40 Willy wrote:Retention screw? I thought it was held in place by a pin. I do know that they changed the 454 Casull mag tube due to this problem.

There is a screw that runs through the end cap of the magazine tube which has an unthreaded portion on the end that enters a blind hole on the underside of the barrel. Technically I guess this would make it a pin since the portion that engages the barrel is unthreaded. In any case I'll start out by just making sure it's screwed in good and tight and will try a little blue loctite. Failing that I will probably just use a bit tamer loads next time around as these were not exactly pleasant to shoot. Recoil was similar to the .30-06 bolt action that one of my friends was sighting in but the steel buttplate on the Rossi made it a bit more punishing.

Just my thoughts on it and that and a buck will get you a cup of coffee provided you stay out of Starbucks.

The Model 92 was designed around black powder cartridges that didn't have much recoil and Rossi has stayed pretty faithful to the original design. +P 45 Colt and especially 454 Casull ammo is a bit beyond that. As an ol' gearhead I liken it to stuffing a massive big block engine into an old car. Sure it might fit, but will the rest of the car hold up to all that extra horsepower or are other parts going to self destruct in the process? Rossi solved the problem in the 454 by threading the mag tube into the receiver, but as far as I know the 454 is the only one to get that treatment. But that was after the problem cropped up in the early 454s.

Anyway that's my thoughts on it...

I've got old original Winchesters and the modern Rossi steel is harder and stronger.
If I was going to shoot 45LC+P I'd be buying the R92/454 because of the much stronger mag tube configuration.

Is this change also in the .44 magnum model? I've not had any issue with mine and I'm running some fairly max loads through mine.

Maximumbob54 wrote:Is this change also in the .44 magnum model? I've not had any issue with mine and I'm running some fairly max loads through mine.

Just the newer 454 Casull Rossi 92s have the re-configured double threaded magazine tube assembly.

The 454 changes are not present on my 44 mag carbine.

However, the mag tube is held in place by the previously mentioned pin as well as both barrel band screws. The mag tube has notches to clear both screws.

Doesn't help you rifle owners, though.

William

I've shot several hundred heavy, heavy 45 Colt loads with heavy bullets out of my R92 without issue. It is the carbine, not the rifle, so it has the Magazine Ring (10), some refer to it as the "forward barrel band", and the Magazine Plug Screw (9). The plug screw has a threaded shank but the end of it looks like a pin. After it passes through the magazine tube the end of the plug is secured into a "dimple" machined in the barrel, in effect forming a pinned tube.

Just not sure what the configuration the rifle has as I've never had one in my hand and don't know if the setup is the same. If it is, I would say that the Magazine Plug Screw is not tight enough or is not matched up with the barrel's dimple. The screw must be deep so that solid contact with the dimple is made.