Yesterday’s post about underrated guns made me scratch my head a little, until I remembered the Rossi family of pistol-caliber lever rifles. Here’s the R92, in .357 Mag:
What you get for (ATOW) around $700 new is a lovely trigger and very reasonable accuracy. Longtime Buddy Combat Controller has one of these, has popped dozens of wild pigs with it, and swears by its reliability and performance. It’s his go-to brush gun.
The R92 is also offered in .44-40 and .454 Casull. The latter makes my shoulder ache just thinking about it. Lever rifles are not really geared for heavy or powerful cartridges.
Is the finish as good as, say, a Winchester of the same ilk? No; that extra money you pay for the Winchester gets you that — from memory, the Rossi may have a few rough edges here and there, because at the end of it all, you get what you pay for. But what you do get, as CC can attest, is a silky-smooth action right out of the box — better, in my opinion, than its Marlin 1894 competition.
The hammer-blocks safety catch is pretty simple too, although lever-rifle purists will find it annoying:
I would suggest, however, that for a knockaround brush gun, cosmetics ain’t that important — spend the extra $1,000 for a Cimarron or Uberti if that’s important to you. What is important is the trigger, the action, reliability and accuracy, and Rossi has the first three completely covered. What about accuracy? You’ll need to get the longer-barreled (20″ rather than 16″) model, I think, but anywhere under 75 yards — which is where the .357 Mag works best — it’ll drop pretty much anything the rifle’s pointed at, regardless of barrel length, as long as the shooter does his job properly.
Rossi also makes the R92 in .44 Mag and .45 Colt, if you’re looking for something a little meatier. But for my money, the .357 Mag will work just fine. Regardless of caliber, though, you’ll have a “companion” piece for your Colt, Ruger or S&W revolver in whatever of the three recommended chamberings.
You do have one of these already, right?
Damn you, Kim!
I thought my gun buying days were over. I’m old, the two gun safes are reasonably stocked, and my son isn’t around much to shoot with anymore. And I actually had one of those a while back, except all in evil black, with a large loop and picatinny rail on top. Tacticool, in other words. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking, my tastes run more like yours and I never warmed up to it and sold it a year later. Stupidest impulse buy ever.
You are correct, however, it did have a very nice trigger. And I recently replaced the rubber Pachmayrs on my dad’s old Ruger Security Six (blued, of course) with nice wood target grips. Now that photo has me lusting after the wood stocked traditional version of it.
I feel another stupid impulse purchase coming on, dammit!
JC
It would make a nice front porch gun in case the muzzles or the Pantifa crowd ever showed up in the neighborhood. Ruger, Rossi and a cigar. Just a settin on the front porch. Make ‘em want to go bother the neighbors, not me.
JC .. BAG Day (April 15th) is only 5 weeks away … just sayin’
– Brad in IL
I’d love a 44mag lever action. I think that would be a great woods gun here in New England where shots are usually very short. But alas, the budget for another rifle just isn’t there. The Minister of Finance, the missus says we don’t have the room for it either unless something gets sold or given away.
Absolutely great gun. I got one about a year back, lots of fun to shoot, great accuracy within reasonable range. I was pinging 10 inch steel targets at 100 yards every shot with .38 semi-wad-cutters. Kinda fun to pull the trigger, hear the bang, wait – wait – wait then hear the TINK of the round hitting the steel.
I believe my out-the-door price was well less than $700, more like $600 and some change.
And apparently there’s quite the aftermarket support on these guys. My future plan is to buy a kit to remove the safety and place a blank in that space. I mean, come on, it’s a lever action. Who needs a safety.
Some years back I had some money that needed to go back into circulation and I gave a home to a Rossi 92 with the short barrel and John Wayne lever loop. I tried to learn the spin that the Duke made famous (with an empty gun of course) and decided that I would be lots more dangerous to myself than any bad guy.
If I was forced into exile in a blue state the Rossi would be a great house gun.
Light weight, handy, low recoil even with hot .357 loads, and enough ammunition capacity to solve almost all social interactions.
I am surely wanting a lever gun in .45 and an old west style .45 revolver – both shooting the same ammo.
Oh yeah, add in a10ga dbl barrel coach gun and a .45 derringer (chrome/white) and I’ll be satisfied for a little while.
Throw in a pair of hosses and you’ll never see me again.
“You do have one of these already, right?”
None of your fuckin’ bidnezz.
Have one, in .357, stainless finish. Lovely action, great trigger, and plenty accurate. Was hitting targets at 125 yards with .357, and unlike in a revolver, .357 is not unpleasant to shoot out of a rifle. It’s excellent; my kids are already plotting as to who gets it when a shuffle off. Put .38 special in it, and it feels almost like a .22. .357 is good to go for deer, even for the monster Kansas bucks, and the ranges you’d use a rifle like this.
The only gripe I have is that I wish they had smoothed out the loading gate a bit. It can be frustrating to load, but not awful once you get the hang of it. .38 loads easier than .357 (shorter case), and you get 13 of them in the magazine. Fun. And believe it or not, in .38, seems almost hearing safe.
And just ignore the safety. Turn it off, and leave it off. This rifle has a legitimate half-cock, the correct safety for a lever gun. You don’t need anything else.
Sadly, were I to own a gun, I would be a danger to myself and those around me. People as awkward as I am should not operate firearms or power saws. But I appreciate the herd immunity I get from living in an exurban development on the edge of farm country. Several LEOs live in my development, and all the farmers are, or course, armed. No critter in his right mind would operate where I live, and the ones not in their right minds wouldn’t make it out this far.
I like guns in the abstract. With a few notorious exceptions, they are well designed machines that do exactly what they are supposed to, and many are handsome as well. I also firmly support a literal interpretation of the Second Amendment; my not owning a gun is a personal decision that the government has no business making for me.
I’ve got levers in 357 and 45 lc. And for giggles I have bolts in 357. Got a couple of 9mm in autos. I have pistols and revolvers in the same calibers. As well as some long range toys. Now that the weather gets nice it will be time to get out and punch some holes.
If you practice safe gun handling you should be able to handle a rifle. Shot guns require coordination in some degree. And if you plan on shooting on the draw.
Get a 22 and try it out. Get one of the Leo’s to take you shootin.