Ruger Forum

WyrTwister · September 3rd, 2010, 02:56 PM

Range Report .357 Mag Rossi Lever Gun
I am turning in to a wuss ( or more of one ) in my old age . And even more of a cheapbastard , as Geoff coined the term .

I have migrated down form a .45-70 lever gun to a .44 Mag to a .45 LC . ( Each step down has less recoil and burns less powder and lead . )

Tuesday I picked up a Rossi .357 Mag lever gun , from lay-a-way .

Loaded the following in .38 Special brass ;

~ 150 grain Lee RNL seated to ~ .357 OAL - Feed great

~ 150 grain Lee SWC seated to ~ .357 OAL - Had to hand feed them , one at a time

~ 150 grain Lee SWC seated to ~ .38 Special OAL - Feed OK , but not quire as good as the RNL

All were loaded with ~ 13 grains of AA # 9

Since I do not own a .38 Special gun , I am not too worried about possessing .38 brass loaded to above .38 Special pressures .

If I owned a .38 Special , it would probably be a different story .

I rested but did not shoot some factory .38's .

Accuracy ? Probably about as good as my vision permits . We shot at 200 meter rams .

I need to file down the front sight , I was close to or at the top notch on the front sight . Had to do the same with the .45 LC Rossi . In fact , it needs a little more filing , too . No big deal .

No idea of the velocity , did not set up the chrony .

The .357 would knock down a ram , but not every time . I suspect , if it hit it high ?

A good time was had by all . :-)

You all ought to try this ! :-)

God bless
Wyr

JereRuger · September 10th, 2010, 03:51 PM

Thanks for the review. I've heard that these guns have a fail to eject issue. Did you experience any such thing? A gun shop rep told me they stopped selling them for that reason.

ap55 · February 10th, 2011, 05:18 PM

Mine would eject fine just wouldn't cycle 357, the gunsmith worked it over and also gave it a triger and action job.One of the last he did before he passed on. It shoots great, very accurate too.

Nigel Croker · February 10th, 2011, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JereRuger

Thanks for the review. I've heard that these guns have a fail to eject issue. Did you experience any such thing? A gun shop rep told me they stopped selling them for that reason.

My roomate has one, and he has the failure to cycle issue with .357 magnum. However the .38 round nose have no problem cycling through the gun. I can only think it has to do with the flat nose bullets on the magnum rounds

long shot · February 10th, 2011, 05:33 PM

I have an early Rossi lever,and enjoy it immensley.The only thing it wont feed is 38 wadcutters seated flush with the case mouth.I also have one in .45 Colt .Mine were made befor the safeties and locks were installed.From what I can gather,quality has nose dived in recent years.I removed the factory rear sights and installed reciever peep sights.These guns are typically rough from the factory.Ive smoothed the actions on mine and they are really slick.Enjoy yours,they are great little guns and real performers in .357.Be safe

robertbank · February 26th, 2011, 03:33 PM

My Rossi .357mag is just a fun rifle to shoot. I have a new older version without the FPB safety. I installed Steves rear peep sight in the dovetail and now wait for this GD winter to let go so I can get out and spend sometime with the gun. Great little fun shooter, very accurate and well made.

I have had ejection problems with nickle brass loaded heavy. I am going to stick to brass, brass for the rifle both in .38spl and .357mag from now on. I'll save my nickle brass for my GP-100 with light competition loads.

I also have the Rossi in .44mag so in time I guess the means a Redhawk in .44mag as well. Jeez one thing just leads to another!

Take Care

Bob

deadhawg · March 19th, 2011, 07:44 PM

My Rossi feeds .357's just fine, but occasionally wouldn't feed .38's. Did an action job using "Steve's Gunz" parts and video, works slick on everything now.

phonejack · February 23rd, 2012, 03:55 AM

Thanks for the round nose suggestion,I'm having the same issues.UPDATE:After the 3rd range trip the chambering issue has left. I guess it needed to "break in". Everything is "hunky-dory" now, lots of fun to shoot!

RdHwk45Colt · February 23rd, 2012, 06:22 AM

The 158 RNFPs might feed better. They have a very slight shoulder and a huge meplat. It cured feeding problems from the sharp shoulders on SWCs in one Marlin and one Rossi that I know of.

lafflin rand · February 23rd, 2012, 06:37 AM

I have a rossi 44 mag and the rifle ejects fine as long as you open the lever with a good bit of enthusiasm. I make sure I operate the action relatively quickly and all the way and ejection is not a problem. If you open it slowly to catch teh brass mine will not eject.

texasred · February 23rd, 2012, 09:22 PM

I am looking at getting a Henry 357 mag or Rossi to go with my gp-100 so that is sumething to think about ty for your review.

robertbank · February 24th, 2012, 06:04 AM

I now have decided to use only .357mag cases in my Rossi to eliminate the need to clean out the ,38spl ring in the chamber. The gun is just a ton of fun to shoot and very accurate. Goes well with my GP-100.

Take Care

Bob

Sr40ken · February 24th, 2012, 06:23 AM

I've loaded .357 w Extreme 125 and 158 plated, Hornady 125hp and 140hp and had no issues at all. Dead zero at 50yd and 4" high at 100 w 125 Hornady.

pricedo · February 26th, 2012, 02:54 PM

Thought I'd misnavigated to the Rossi Rifleman Forum by mistake but I guess not.
I've had no feeding problems with my 16" bbl. Rossi Puma 92 in .357 Mag.
My gun was sold/distributed by LSI and made by Amadeo Rossi just before the Taurus takeover & doesn't have the redundant silly safety that the new Braztech model R92 guns all have.
My gun is also very accurate.