just bought an old rossi

[eljay]

i have been looking for an older rossi in .38 special, down here in OZ that was not to be, thought i would then look for a .357, posted on an aussie forum, and while no one had one for sale, i did get sent info on where there were a couple. the one i got was advertised on ssaa gunsales for $600 (460 us) and got it for $550 (420 us) the elderly gentleman who owns it tells me its in very good condition, though the photos show the stock finish is a bit worn. bought it sight unseen due to our retarded gun laws so hoping it turns out fine. if it feeds .38 special OK i may shorten the barrel by two threads (2mm) giving me a .38 chamber 20 though deeper than normal (because i can) and shorten it to just over 16" (again, because i can) its a standard 20" barrel, saddle ring carbine, front sight on the band. the serial number is K010234, so after trawling the net, and cross checking different info, i'm thinking this was made in late 1978 early 1979. any input gratefully received. thank you from OZ.

[Reese-Mo]

Thread timing might be tricky, could be a little by guess n by golly on the crush factor to get the extractor groove in good alignment, but.... have a go at it.

[eljay]

i believe the rossi's have 1mm metric pitch, so 2mm should index fine. its only a thought bubble at the moment, if it shoots 38's fine as is, then i wont be touching it.

[Archer]

Personally, I don't think I'd go there on turning the barrel in.

I can always down load a .357 case if I need the lead closer to the lands and don't want .357 level loads.
I'm less comfortable trying to push .357 level loads in .38 SP brass as I've got a couple three guns chambered in .38 sp.

Add to that the fact that my .38/.357 Rossi actually seems to feed .38s ok and I haven't noticed any accuracy issues..

[Reese-Mo]

And.... Shortening the chamber doesn't do a thing for feeding shorter cases. But it "may" result in better 38sp accuracy.

[HarryAlonzo]

You got a great deal! And . . . You need to post pictures.

[eljay]

sorry, got no pictures, but if you go to ssaagunsales, then put rossi in the search, a single photo should come up.

[eljay]

picked it up today, 8 hour round trip, not seen one like it, action, barrel bands and buttplate bright polished, barrel, mag tube, bolt and lever blued, bore is excellent, feeds .38's perfectly, smooooth action, stock need some TLC. inset in the right hand side of the butt is a small(2"x 1 1/2") plaque marked
Rossi
Martin Box
1980
so i am assuming it was a presentation piece, being marked 1980, fits with my guesstimate of manufacture date. sorry, unable to do pics.

[HarryAlonzo]

Mazeltov! Are you still fixin’ to shorten the barrel? 16 inches is the limit in the US. Less than that requires registration and a 200 USD tax stamp. Is there a similar limit in OZ?

I just checked the Ballistics-by-the-Inch website. For both 38 Spl and 357 Mag, a 16 inch barrel yields the highest velocities.

[eljay]

looks too pretty to mess with harry, i will try a few shots on wednesday see how it goes, feeds 158 grain SWC homecast superbly. just feels right at 20" same laws down under, minimum barrel length and overall length.