Got Two, Now What?

Value priced adult & youth top break handguns, rifles, & shotguns chambered for centerfire & rimfire cartridges as well as shotshells. These arms are offered as single chamberings as well as a Matched Pair, Pick Four combinations, Trifecta, & the Wizard.
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fflincher
Posts: 4
Joined: 11 Aug 2014 20:55
Location: Bexar County, TX

Got Two, Now What?

Post by fflincher »

I was looking for a single shot rifle so a friend of mine could fit a 5.45X39 barrel to it. That search ended at a local pawn shop where a silver-tongued Devil talked me into taking home a green plastic youth model Rossi in .223, the one with the old non fiber-optic open sights.

It'll be September-October before he gets back home to work on the project, so meantime I've been fondling and researching my new prize. Range trip showed it needed optics to measure accuracy, so I ordered a scope base from Rossi. Customer service couldn't send my whole order, some parts were out of stock, so I asked for two shipments. Installed the base when it came, along with a 3-9X40 Bushnell scope on low rings. Needed the hammer extension. Shows promise: 1/2 inch three shot groups at 50 yards with 55 grain fmj Sellier and Bellot. MUCH larger groups at 100. Interestingly, at 25 yards 75 grain Wolf bullets print perfect keyholes in about a two inch group. Great anti-personnel load! Someone in this group mentioned twist rate for the .223 at one turn in 12 inches.

Played with the rubber washer trick mentioned, I believe, somewhere in this group's posts. I took a rubber gasket from a Harbor Freight selection that stretched around the barrel nut that mounts the fore end and tightened the forward sling mount screw to moderate finger pressure. That's when things started getting better.

Meantime, on http://www.survivalistboards.com/ I found Rossi Wizards were on close out at Kentucky Gun. Got their last .223 (youth) Wizard.

It feels remarkably good. Front sight leans too far to the left to be useable, so put on high rings a 3-9X50 no-name cheap Chinese scope on the factory mounted scope base. Hammer extension not required. Feels like a good hold for shooting standing. No neck contortions or straining. Good from bench, too. Tried the washer/gasket trick, but couldn't finish sighting in because the extractor either broke or worked loose.

Sorry to get here just as promised spare parts are being denied. Wizard no longer mentioned in the catalog, just a "W" single shot http://www.rossiusa.com/hot_items-w-wizard.cfm
I figure the "Wizard" label ran afoul of some trademark or such and Rossi had to drop the "izard".

1. Where, please, can I find disassembly/reassembly instructions?

2. Anyone else have extractor problems?

3. Anyone know of a replacement/fix?

The more I shoot these the more I like 'em.
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Re: Got Two, Now What?

Post by Ranch Dog »

fflincher wrote:Wizard no longer mentioned in the catalog, just a "W" single shot http://www.rossiusa.com/hot_items-w-wizard.cfm
I figure the "Wizard" label ran afoul of some trademark or such and Rossi had to drop the "izard".

1. Where, please, can I find disassembly/reassembly instructions?

2. Anyone else have extractor problems?

3. Anyone know of a replacement/fix?

The more I shoot these the more I like 'em.
The Wizard or W was dropped completely from the 2014 Catalog so there has been some very good deals if one is interested. I had a 44 Mag and 45-70 Govt and they had no issues. I also had a 7.62x39 but it had an intermittent light primer strike issue that try as I might, could not resolve.

As far as I know from my ownership, no parts are available. Any work needed for either the Single Shot or Wizard requires that the rifle be returned to Rossi. I did find a good supply of Single Shot parts on ebay from fellows parting out rifles when something broke. I suspect parting one out is worth more than the sale price of a used rifle in need of repair. I personally did not experience the extraction issues.
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fflincher
Posts: 4
Joined: 11 Aug 2014 20:55
Location: Bexar County, TX

Re: Got Two, Now What?

Post by fflincher »

Read somewhere, maybe here, that light primer strikes can be remedied by shaving down either the hammer face where it contacts the action above the firing pin transfer bar, or the face of the frame where it is struck by the transfer bar.

Check with the action open by measuring protrusion of firing pin. By cocking the hammer and pushing the back of the frame mounted firing pin to see its maximum protrusion. Note that protrusion. Then let the hammer down on the firing pin, keeping the trigger back and then measure the protrusion of the firing pin. In both my rifles, the interference of the frame and the hammer limit the firing pin protrusion, which is greater when the firing pin is manually depressed to its maximum. Wearing away the interface increases firing pin depth an equal amount.

I am interested in a 7.62X39 barrel for either of my Rossis. There is a UTube short of a guy who got one and rechambered it to 7.62X54R. He flinches slightly when attempting to fire it the first time and discovers there's inadequate firing pin protrusion for that cheap, surplus ammo. Don't blame him for the flinch. My MN 44 (Hungarian) is a lot heavier than the little Rossi and recoil is right at the limit of "having fun".

If my friend can fit the 5.45 barrel, I may also have to adjust firing pin protrusion.

My vision was to have an inexpensive single shot with adequate accuracy, combined with cheap and available ammo sufficiently simple to teach basic gun handling and to arm a person I would not want to have one of my more prized possessions if things came to that.
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