Intro to my new 92
Posted: 31 Jul 2022 20:59
Hey folks...
Had the itch to pick up a lever action for a long time. Been my favorite style of rifle since I was a kid. Was looking at Winchesters, but jeez, they're pricey for an old gun. LOL...
I went by a gun show a few weeks ago and saw a Rossi 92 blued. Piqued my interest. Asked a few questions, was kinda skeptical, as the price was "too good to be true". The guys at the show indicated it was a solid rifle but a little rough around the edges. I went home and started researching. Found this site, a couple of others, and a bunch of vids about this gun. Since I have a couple of .38s, the 38/357 looked like a good idea for me. Read a lot about the rough action, the fit/finish issues, and the feed problems. Looked into what it would take to smooth it out, and it didn't scare me off.
So I started looking around for one, and the stainless looked pretty nice compared to the blued one. (I know, it's the Ford/Chevy debate all over LOL) I was down in Phoenix last week and stopped into a store and they happened to have that carbine in the 20" barrel for a pretty reasonable price compared to online sales. So I "pulled the trigger" on it this weekend.
Agonized over ammo types (that's a serious rabbit hole for sure!) and figured since it's so hard to find, I'd just take my chances with whatever round nose styles I could find. Picked up some 406 in 38 and 357 158 gr RNFP, along with some Norma in 38 in 158 gr JHP.
Unboxed it yesterday evening and gave it a more thorough going over, cycled the action a bunch of times, and everything seemed pretty solid. Really nice wood (I was really surprised at how nice it looked compared to ones I've seen online), good fit/finish, and the action was pretty crisp and clean.
So I took it out to the range this morning. Didn't do anything to it before shooting as it seemed pretty solid. Started with the 406 38s. Fed the mag just fine, a little hard to push the gate but not bad. No cut fingers, but the edges of the loading port could use a little rounding.
Cycled the rounds just fine. No issues with failure to feed or fire at all. Trigger is crisp and smooth. Sighted it in, but forgot to bring tools so couldn't adjust windage. Sights are OK, not great but workable. Got some nice groups around 2-3 inches at 50 yards.
Moved to the hollow points, expecting more feed issues. Nothing. Smooth as could be. Extraction is reasonable, all the rounds landed within about 5 feet from me. Seems like they've cleaned up the overly strong ejector spring over the years. After my reading, I was expecting to chase brass around but it was all close by.
Got similar groupings with the Norma. Didn't take the .357 with me, just the .38 for today.
I am very impressed with this carbine. It looks good, fed well, shot well, and felt good against my shoulder even after running a hundred rounds through it.
Definitely exceeded my expectations. I'll be doing a full teardown, inspection, and cleaning tomorrow and see what it looks like.
I like this gun. It seems like most of the poorer reviews of it were from a few years ago or more. I think they've done a nice job with it and I'm glad I bought it. Looking forward to finding more ammo (hopefully bulk if I can find it) and shooting the heck out of it for a while.
Charlie
Kingman, AZ
Had the itch to pick up a lever action for a long time. Been my favorite style of rifle since I was a kid. Was looking at Winchesters, but jeez, they're pricey for an old gun. LOL...
I went by a gun show a few weeks ago and saw a Rossi 92 blued. Piqued my interest. Asked a few questions, was kinda skeptical, as the price was "too good to be true". The guys at the show indicated it was a solid rifle but a little rough around the edges. I went home and started researching. Found this site, a couple of others, and a bunch of vids about this gun. Since I have a couple of .38s, the 38/357 looked like a good idea for me. Read a lot about the rough action, the fit/finish issues, and the feed problems. Looked into what it would take to smooth it out, and it didn't scare me off.
So I started looking around for one, and the stainless looked pretty nice compared to the blued one. (I know, it's the Ford/Chevy debate all over LOL) I was down in Phoenix last week and stopped into a store and they happened to have that carbine in the 20" barrel for a pretty reasonable price compared to online sales. So I "pulled the trigger" on it this weekend.
Agonized over ammo types (that's a serious rabbit hole for sure!) and figured since it's so hard to find, I'd just take my chances with whatever round nose styles I could find. Picked up some 406 in 38 and 357 158 gr RNFP, along with some Norma in 38 in 158 gr JHP.
Unboxed it yesterday evening and gave it a more thorough going over, cycled the action a bunch of times, and everything seemed pretty solid. Really nice wood (I was really surprised at how nice it looked compared to ones I've seen online), good fit/finish, and the action was pretty crisp and clean.
So I took it out to the range this morning. Didn't do anything to it before shooting as it seemed pretty solid. Started with the 406 38s. Fed the mag just fine, a little hard to push the gate but not bad. No cut fingers, but the edges of the loading port could use a little rounding.
Cycled the rounds just fine. No issues with failure to feed or fire at all. Trigger is crisp and smooth. Sighted it in, but forgot to bring tools so couldn't adjust windage. Sights are OK, not great but workable. Got some nice groups around 2-3 inches at 50 yards.
Moved to the hollow points, expecting more feed issues. Nothing. Smooth as could be. Extraction is reasonable, all the rounds landed within about 5 feet from me. Seems like they've cleaned up the overly strong ejector spring over the years. After my reading, I was expecting to chase brass around but it was all close by.
Got similar groupings with the Norma. Didn't take the .357 with me, just the .38 for today.
I am very impressed with this carbine. It looks good, fed well, shot well, and felt good against my shoulder even after running a hundred rounds through it.
Definitely exceeded my expectations. I'll be doing a full teardown, inspection, and cleaning tomorrow and see what it looks like.
I like this gun. It seems like most of the poorer reviews of it were from a few years ago or more. I think they've done a nice job with it and I'm glad I bought it. Looking forward to finding more ammo (hopefully bulk if I can find it) and shooting the heck out of it for a while.
Charlie
Kingman, AZ