Rossi 92 .357 purchase from Davidson's Gallery of Guns

[Esel]

Just received my new Rossi 92 .357, large loop, 16" rifle from Davidson's Gallery of Guns. The purchasing experience was smooth as could be and it arrived quickly. However there was noticeable marring of the barrel where the band was slipped onto the forend during assembly and there were 4 small spots of rust on the loading tube, clearly visible . I would think that Davidson's would inspect any firearm they send out as their reputation might somewhat be on the line if they ship items like this. And I would think that Rossi would know how to build a 92 by now without marring the bluing. And how could there be rust on a new gun coming from a major manufacturer and distributor? I purchased a new Marlin 1894c locally last December and it was in beautiful condition, although I have heard that not all of them are that way. The Marlin only cost me $93 more than the Rossi. I did decided to keep the Rossi because it chambered and cycled both the .357 and .38 without any problems and shot both accurately. I was worried that if I asked for a replacement, that might be the case. I'll try and fix the issues I have with the gun myself. All in all, I like the Rossi 92, but I'm disappointed in it's poor condition upon delivery. I wonder if this is a normal experience that others have gone through with Davidson's and Rossi? I'm especially disappointed with Davidson's because their purchasing process was so easy and convenient. Now I would be a little reluctant to go that way again.

[pricedo]

It's funny how some have abandoned Marlin (Remlin) in favor of Rossi and have jumped from the frying pan into the fire or at least from the frying pan into an equally hot skillet.
The lead issue (there are several) is quality control.
I have inspected a few racks of JM Marlins, Remlins and Rossis in my day.
In the good ole JM Marlin days you would be hard pressed to find a defective gun that made it to a shop rack.
Defective Rossis on gun shop racks have always been a reality as are defective Remlins now in the post Remington takeover era.
Don't......DON'T buy Remlins and Rossis sight unseen...........you're going to wind up in some cases with junk that wouldn't sell on the racks.
I have bought and sold Rossis for years and have always went to the shop to select "the pick of the litter" off the rack myself.
I ask the salesman for the gun and actually work the action, inspect the barrel with a bore light and cycle dummy ammo (with the primer pockets drilled completely out and a hole drilled in the case as not to alarm anyone) through it.
It's amazing how variable the quality and functionality is even among a single rack of guns of the same model.
Some new guns I will buy sight unseen but definitely not Remlins or Rossis.
The Rossis I own were actually quality inspected before sale - BY ME !
The scenario is unlikely to change unless Rossis get more expensive.

[Ranch Dog]

Yeah, but many of us have never seen a Rossi in a store. The only rifles I've seen are the Rio Grande and Circuit Judge. For me where I live, a 92 is going to be a mail order bride and geeze, I hope she isn't any worse than her picture. What I have in my favor is that I have my FFL order the rifle and he is who is making the sale that way it isn't mine until I sign the check.

Esel, I sure hope you have expressed your comments to Davidson as they do seem to try to maintain a reputation in the mail order gun business. I've always thought they actually had someone look at each gun in light of there name warranty on everything. I have bought a number of handguns and long guns from them and that thought always weighed in favor of the purchase.

[44-40 Willy]

I haven't seen a new Rossi in a LGS in years. I had to special order my Navy Arms.

[Esel]

I live near 6 large gun retailers and none of them has seen a Rossi 92 in ages. I waited and checked their inventory for quite a long time before deciding to go with Davidson's. By the way, it wasn't my intention to badmouth them. My opinions of Davidson's are mostly positive. I just think they dropped the ball a little in shipping this one. The rust spots were small, but visible. The marring of the finish was noticeable, although not terrible. I didn't give Davidson's a call because I saw that they only had the same rifle in stock. I didn't want to take a chance in getting another one with different issues, as this one shot well. If they had the stainless versions available, I would have asked for a replacement. I'm sure Davidson's would have taken care of me as they seemingly have a great reputation for satisfying their customers. Rossi, on the other hand, should be able to produce a 92 by now, without damage. They've had lots of practice. And they should be able to get their guns to the distributor without surface damage and rust. I just wanted my new rifle to look new. I agree, this firearm is one that should be viewed and handled in the store before purchase. But that's impossible if no one has them in stock. My problem is that I like lever guns and there aren't many affordable models available. So I took a chance. Hope this helps others who may be considering purchasing a Rossi 92. Maybe my expectations were a little to high.

[pricedo]

I live near 6 large gun retailers and none of them has seen a Rossi 92 in ages. I waited and checked their inventory for quite a long time before deciding to go with Davidson's. By the way, it wasn't my intention to badmouth them. My opinions of Davidson's are mostly positive. I just think they dropped the ball a little in shipping this one. The rust spots were small, but visible. The marring of the finish was noticeable, although not terrible. I didn't give Davidson's a call because I saw that they only had the same rifle in stock. I didn't want to take a chance in getting another one with different issues, as this one shot well. If they had the stainless versions available, I would have asked for a replacement. I'm sure Davidson's would have taken care of me as they seemingly have a great reputation for satisfying their customers. Rossi, on the other hand, should be able to produce a 92 by now, without damage. They've had lots of practice. And they should be able to get their guns to the distributor without surface damage and rust. I just wanted my new rifle to look new. I agree, this firearm is one that should be viewed and handled in the store before purchase. But that's impossible if no one has them in stock. My problem is that I like lever guns and there aren't many affordable models available. So I took a chance. Hope this helps others who may be considering purchasing a Rossi 92. Maybe my expectations were a little to high.

Quality control is expensive and manufacturers save money by eliminating it from their production lines.
If you got a Rossi with just a few cosmetic issues you lucked out.
I consider Rossis or Remlins "kits" that 1/2 - 3/4 of the time are going to require some tinkering out of the box to get them up to snuff.
For 100% out of the box quality/reliability you need to go to Turnbull, the new Miroku made Winchesters or Italian imports at 3X the cost of a Rossi.

[GunnieKev]

Just received my new Rossi 92 .357, large loop, 16" rifle from Davidson's Gallery of Guns. The purchasing experience was smooth as could be and it arrived quickly. However there was noticeable marring of the barrel where the band was slipped onto the forend during assembly and there were 4 small spots of rust on the loading tube, clearly visible . I would think that Davidson's would inspect any firearm they send out as their reputation might somewhat be on the line if they ship items like this. And I would think that Rossi would know how to build a 92 by now without marring the bluing. And how could there be rust on a new gun coming from a major manufacturer and distributor? I purchased a new Marlin 1894c locally last December and it was in beautiful condition, although I have heard that not all of them are that way. The Marlin only cost me $93 more than the Rossi. I did decided to keep the Rossi because it chambered and cycled both the .357 and .38 without any problems and shot both accurately. I was worried that if I asked for a replacement, that might be the case. I'll try and fix the issues I have with the gun myself. All in all, I like the Rossi 92, but I'm disappointed in it's poor condition upon delivery. I wonder if this is a normal experience that others have gone through with Davidson's and Rossi? I'm especially disappointed with Davidson's because their purchasing process was so easy and convenient. Now I would be a little reluctant to go that way again.

Esel - I'm Kevin Wilson and I work for Davidson's, Inc. & Gallery of Guns. I wanted to chime in here to let you know that as a general rule we do not open boxes from the manufacturers. We receive literally hundreds of guns at a time and the vast majority of our dealers and end-consumers actually prefer to receive a gun that has not had any broken factory seals.

I can assure you that if you received a gun through us that is not up to par, we will do everything possible to make it right - including replacing it with a new one - not a problem at all.

Please call Diane Anderson here at Davidson's at 1-800-367-4867 and she will help you with this. Please give her my name and tell her I sent you. I'll also forward the details of your situation to her.

Thank you and all of the rest of you for your support of Davidson's and Gallery of Guns. If you need any further assistance, do not hesitate to contact me directly.


Regards,


Kevin Wilson
Davidson's, Inc.
http://www.galleryofguns.com
http://www.facebook.com/galleryofguns

kevin.wilson@davidsonsinc.com

[akuser47]

welcome aboard Kevin and thanks I have always loved your company you work for and with service like this I think it will continue for years to come. Looks like problem solved. I am not the O.P. but just happy to see Customer Service like this keep it .

[44-40 Willy]

Thanks Kevin for the info and letting us know how good Davidson's customer service is.

My 44-40 is a Marlin that came through Davidson's about a dozen years ago and it's long been my favorite rifle.

[Esel]

Thanks for chiming in here Kevin and offering your personal help. I will call Davidson's tomorrow.

Esel