.357 OAL required to Cycle - 1.550 - 1.555 ??

The Rossi Model R92, a lightweight carbine for Cowboy Action, hunting, or plinking! Includes Rossi manufactured Interarms, Navy Arms, and Puma trade names.
RadarsRUs
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.357 OAL required to Cycle - 1.550 - 1.555 ??

Post by RadarsRUs »

Howdy All, anybody else required to set their COAL at only 1.550 to 1.555 to get 158gr. RN-FP rounds to cycle most smoothly? Model is a Braztech 20” octagonal, case-hardened receiver with the Forend stock cap.

I have smoothed internals a fair bit with stone and 1500 wet paper. Gun cycling when empty is Words smoother, nicer than when first got it. I Still want to get rid of / change out the “Orbital Launcher extractor spring” though.

The bullets are Armscor FMJ’s RN-FP and they really are Not happy above 1.557+

When set at 1.560 one of several will always do it’s nasty Hang-Up going into battery. At 1.570 it’s a total rock-crusher to run :cry:

Eager to hear others experience

I hope this is OK here and not in the Reloading board specifically (let me know if it has to move]
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Re: .357 OAL required to Cycle - 1.550 - 1.555 ??

Post by cavelamb »

My rifle is a 20" Stainless Braztech.
It took some love to get it running right, but it was worth it.

My normal rifle load is a 180 grain XTP hollow point over 13.4 grains of H110 at 1.575.
I've never tried loading them longer than that.
It's the recommended length for that bullet.

My pistol loads are 158 grain powder coated case lead swc powered by 6.6 grains of CFE Pistol at 1.585" long.
They feed in my rifle just fine, but it's like shooting a BB gun, so I seldom bother with them.

Do yours hang up going into the chamber, or stop after aligning with the bore?
What does the bottom edge of the feed ramp look like?
Does it need to be chamfered a bit?
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Re: .357 OAL required to Cycle - 1.550 - 1.555 ??

Post by GasGuzzler »

My 20" blued Amedeo Rossi cycles 1.48" through 1.615". Haven't tried shorter and longer won't fit the Blackhawk.

1.56" is more like a .38 Special.
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Re: .357 OAL required to Cycle - 1.550 - 1.555 ??

Post by sandog »

.38 Specials feed great in my R92 no matter the bullet shape.

The ammo loaded using .357 brass wants to hit the top of the chamber as the round is being chambered.
There is a slight "hitch" when the round is going in.

I polished the top of the chamber where the rounds go in, maybe it helped a little.

My longest rounds are ones that use the MBC 180 gr. Pugnose, they are seated to 1.590".
They feed better than JHP or RNFP loads that are seated to 1.575".

Also, my Rossi feeds LSWC better than RNFP, and slightly better than a JHP like the XTP.

I believe shorter .357 rounds that are closer in length to .38 Special would work better, I'm just not willing to deep seat bullets or trim my .357 brass down below minimum specs to do so.

I have a lot of lead SWC (loaded in .38 brass) and also the 180 Pugnose (loaded in .357 brass),so I will end up shooting a lot of those, a good thing as those two feed the best.
I also have 400 rounds of 158 XTP loaded up, and they feed fine, just not as smoothly as the WFN.
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Re: .357 OAL required to Cycle - 1.550 - 1.555 ??

Post by mr surveyor »

I've found is a couple of cases where it's not so much the OAL that gives my .357 R92 fits as it is the fat ogive on some of the cast RNFP's (even 158 gr) that just will not cycle. I ended up shooting most of those in my Ruger SP-101, and probably still have a few of those bullets left. Most likely give them to one of my buddys that cast and let him recycle the lead for a better purpose.

Point is, consider the ogive as well.


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Re: .357 OAL required to Cycle - 1.550 - 1.555 ??

Post by Headhog »

I've been loading my 357 Mag rounds to 1.585", which is just 0.005 below max. They cycle perfectly in my 92 and also work great in my Cimarron Pistolero. As for brass most of mine is Starline with a mix of whatever I've picked up at the range. I use a Missouri 158 gr. RNFP coated bullet. they are reasonably priced and I get no leading in the barrel of either gun.
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Re: .357 OAL required to Cycle - 1.550 - 1.555 ??

Post by RadarsRUs »

Thank you gent’s for the input. It is encouraging. The catch seems to happen after the rounds have entered the chamber and are abut 1/3 the way in.
They come to a stop and need a little relaxing of lever then a second drive home. After that they will chamber fine and always eject (into orbit) without a hitch.
Does anyone know if smoothing the Underside Corner of the “cartridge guide rails”(?) could make an improvement??
It looks like the underside of those tracks that the bolt runs on left and right have really sharp edges that chew on the outer edge of the case Rim a little as it travels towards being in battery.
I only use Starline brass and good quality / dimensions control as I am a pretty experienced reloader and detail nut.
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Re: .357 OAL required to Cycle - 1.550 - 1.555 ??

Post by GasGuzzler »

1.615" using this 180 grain NOE

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Re: .357 OAL required to Cycle - 1.550 - 1.555 ??

Post by cavelamb »

RadarsRUs wrote:Thank you gent’s for the input. It is encouraging. The catch seems to happen after the rounds have entered the chamber and are abut 1/3 the way in.
They come to a stop and need a little relaxing of lever then a second drive home. After that they will chamber fine and always eject (into orbit) without a hitch.
Does anyone know if smoothing the Underside Corner of the “cartridge guide rails”(?) could make an improvement??
It looks like the underside of those tracks that the bolt runs on left and right have really sharp edges that chew on the outer edge of the case Rim a little as it travels towards being in battery.
I only use Starline brass and good quality / dimensions control as I am a pretty experienced reloader and detail nut.

cartridge guide rails are easy enough to remove and dehorn.
Stone and sandpaper. Maybe a fine file.
I spent a full day going through the innards of mine smoothing and fitting.
The results were worth the time spent. She's sweet.

I had to modify the cartridge stop to get it working properly.
Seems to be an issue on all Braztech made rifles.
Notice in the pic below how far into the magazine path the cartridge stop moves.
There is a notch on the back side that isn't formed correctly and the stop doesn't
rotate in enough (by far!)

Use this guide for a detail strip and reassembly.
Rossi M92,take apart and put back together in 4.30 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKAucKBnbes

As for the cartridge binding going into the chamber?

I'd examine the bottom lip of the chamber edge.
See it it is smooth enough for a round to slide in on.
Perhaps dress that corner a bit?

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Re: .357 OAL required to Cycle - 1.550 - 1.555 ??

Post by RadarsRUs »

Thanks for the great responses here. GasGuzzler those are some righteous lookin’ gas-checked Beasts you are pushing there! Cavelamb, thanks for the pictures into action on your rifle. Interestingly, I don’t have those 2 notches cut into the bottom of my feed-ramp, mine is just a slight beveled ramp. (I like your red magazine follower) I wonder if is because mine is Braztech and yours is Taurus or something??

I have a new ejector spring and metal mag. follower coming from Steve’s Gunz (ordered anyways) and when they arrive I will take this thing apart again and try to analyze and then correct what is going on with this choking on regular length cartridges.

I’ll repost when I get it sorted out.
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