The Rossi 92: Some Company for an Old Vaquero

[Sarge]

I picked this up at the annual 'End of Summer Junk Sale' off a fella who had it on his table. It's a 16" Rossi 92 in .45 Colt, barely a year old and with nary a mark on it. The spot on the stock is a bug that lit there to get in the family album.

I didn't buy this right off, but when I priced around they were bringing well over his asking price (plus FFL & shipping, etc.) and this one came with a Steve Young (?) spring, follower, safety plug & DVD, case, sling & swivels, barrel-mounted peep & original sights, box of ammo, 50 230 FMJ bullets, etc... Don't feel like I got hosed too bad with all the extras.

The good news is that it seems to shoot well; plinking off the hood of the pickup yesterday revealed that the gun's good for an inch at 50 yards if I don't screw up too bad. It also feeds any bullet style slick as a whistle.

Only downside is that it's pert near too short in the stock and the buttplate is slick, but I expected that. Action/trigger needs a little help but I can handle that, too. Peggi is aready trying to swap me out of it

PS- This carbine will never see a CAS match but I posted it here for those interested in such things. This-un's job will be to bore big holes through venison.

 

[4V50 Gary]

End of Summer Junk Sale. Whatever "junk sales" you have in your part of the country, I see they're worth attending. I don't see guns at any "junk sale." Then again, in the Big Brother state of California, is that any surprise?

 

[Hawg]

Steve Young (?)

Steve Young aka Nate Kiowa Jones is THE man to go to with a Rossi 92. He specializes in 92's, Rossi's in particular. His name is big in CAS circles. http://www.stevesgunz.com/

That's a fine little carbine. I've got the 20 inch model in 44-40. You can slick the action up by filling it with white lithium grease and working it a couple of hours. It wont be a slick as one of Steve's action jobs but it will still be pretty dang slick.

 

[Smokin_Gun]

That sure is sweet Sarge would love one a them ... Congrads!

 

[Sarge]

*Caution: Post contains .45 Colt loads, within established pressure standards for the modern 92 action, heavy-frame Ruger, T/C and certain rifles chambered for that cartridge. Do NOT shoot these loads in Colts, Colt clones or any 1866-1873 pattern rifles.

Thank you all for your input. I fed it a few more reloads today to get some chrono readings.

I loaded a few 335 Keiths over what we'll call a near-max load of Winchester 296 and they produced 1364 fps from the Rossi's 16 1/8” barrel. I would expect a wound profile in game not unlike the old Trapdoor carbine load, which was known for shooting through several feet of horses & men.

For lighter game, a Sierra 240 JHP can easily be driven to 1550 fps with 27 grains of W296 and I have seen this bullet deck deer from a sixgun, at 1300 fps. The sedate factory duplication load of 7.2 of W231 produced 950 fps from the carbine and insignificant recoil. John Linebaugh's 'working load' (Ruger only) of 13.0 of HS6 and a 255 SWC ran 1232 from the Rossi; and in reality you don't need much more for the anything but biggest of game.

It's been ages since I had a rifle & pistol that shared ammo, but I have to admit it's nice to load some ammo knowing that it'll feed two guns. Being able to load them on carbide dies and roll crimp when seating, makes it even nicer. My .45 Colts aren't long-range affairs, but I've got rifles with some reach for when the need arises. The old cartridge does so many other things so well, I can sure live that small compromise.