What effect will replacing the lever spring have.

The Rossi Model R92, a lightweight carbine for Cowboy Action, hunting, or plinking! Includes Rossi manufactured Interarms, Navy Arms, and Puma trade names.
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nagantino
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What effect will replacing the lever spring have.

Post by nagantino »

I had a pretty bad day at the last CAS outing. My shooting always suffers in the rifle stage. My Rossi 92 hex is deadly accurate but the gun/me often stovepipes rounds or ejects live rounds. I know that short stroking is probably the issue, so, I was wondering if changing the lever spring would help. I bought the three spring kit a while ago but only the ejector spring was fitted. When I fitted the new lever spring I found the lever to be so loose that I did not fit it. The new trigger spring was so light I thought it was unsafe. Would replacing the lever spring help with the short stroking problem.
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Re: What effect will replacing the lever spring have.

Post by Ranch Dog »

nagantino wrote:I had a pretty bad day at the last CAS outing. My shooting always suffers in the rifle stage. My Rossi 92 hex is deadly accurate but the gun/me often stovepipes rounds or ejects live rounds. I know that short stroking is probably the issue, so, I was wondering if changing the lever spring would help. I bought the three spring kit a while ago but only the ejector spring was fitted. When I fitted the new lever spring I found the lever to be so loose that I did not fit it. The new trigger spring was so light I thought it was unsafe. Would replacing the lever spring help with the short stroking problem.
I've pondered your question for a couple of days it seems, but I don't have a good answer other than to say to change it and see if it improves the problems. I've never experienced any stovepipes, but I'm not "racing" my rifles. I've experienced live round ejection with short cartridge overall lengths but that was when I was experimenting with round balls with my 38 Spl/357 Mag rifle.

I have Gunslinger Kit on all five of my rifles and changed all the springs. As a hunter, I love the trigger.
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nagantino
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Re: What effect will replacing the lever spring have.

Post by nagantino »

I might still try the lever spring, just to see. When I was replacing the springs a while ago I didn't like the "flop" of the lever so didn't install it.
Today I had a go at shimming the cartridge guide. It was a lousy winters day so I stayed home and reloaded. I had read all I could about shimming and thought it too detailed, but I had a go. I didn't like the idea of paper or card shim and idont have thin metal to hand, so I used an old credit card.
What did I learn:
1. First find the correct shim thickness.
2. Start with a large piece of material, don't cut it to size then shape it.
3. Don't try to drill the hole. Punch it then use circulation file.

The credit card is too thick and difficult to thin down. But......I made it and fitted it. A few microns matter here and I could not get the credit card plastic down thin enough. The hole starts to become a major issue as it weakens the little strip you've made. By 4:30 I dropped it into the bin and reassembled the guide. I would do it again but first I will find the shim material. This will involve walking around the hardware store with a digital micrometer.
I made up a good handful of dummy 357's and have been practising load 10, fire 10, eject 10. When I do it right the rifle does it right.
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Re: What effect will replacing the lever spring have.

Post by GasGuzzler »

I keep crushed/useless center fire or fired rimfire cases around to split open and flatten to use as shim stock.

My R92 trigger spring is shimmed with two flattened pieces of .22LR brass.
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Re: What effect will replacing the lever spring have.

Post by Ranch Dog »

Twenty years ago, a fellow gave me a package of gunsmithing brass shim stock through his estate. It came in three sheets .001", .002", and .003"; it was a great gift. The package contained 4"x4" sheets; I think two of each. I've used it for all kinds of stuff, very small pieces at a time. I just looked on eBay and could not find a gunsmith package as I have, but individual small sheets are available of the same thickness.

I need to look at the records I keep on each firearm, but I think I've shimmed two rifles. I do know the 454 Casull was a mess and required the largest amount of fitting. It needed about .004" of shim, and I quickly learned that you must work with both sides, vs. the suggestion I read that you only need to do one side. If you don't, your cartridge hits the chamber off center, which makes sense with one side shimmed, and the cartridge will create a stop.

I gave up on the single shim on the port side of the receiver, and use two small pieces of stock on both sides of the screw hole. I put some grease on the stock and put them in place with a small slotted screwdriver. It sticks them in the track like they have been glued.
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Re: What effect will replacing the lever spring have.

Post by BCRider »

Nagantino, I use my own 92 for cowboy action as well. I've been down the same road as you and here's a few tips I found along the way.

On the lever spring for the locking pin. If it's that loose shim a touch more preload into the spring. Not so much it coil binds and mashes itself up but it only takes a little bit.

On the cartridge guides. As you found credit card plastic is WAY too thick. But a lovely metal shim stock is as close as a pop or beer can. The side metal is excellent quality and it's .01 thick. Which is likely all you'll need. And only one side at that. When you set up the guides don't try to make them both even so the round rises up perfectly. Having to sort of dogleg to the side then back to center seems to be what stops the "point at the sky" jams. But don't go and get carried away by making the rounds try to dogleg too far or it'll feel rough as blazes.

A big part for me was also pulling off the extractor and thinning the inner part of the springy section. Mostly I did it to remove the side to side grinding marks in favor of a much smoother set of lengthwise polishing marks to avoid any sort of stress riser in the sprung portion and a possible cracking. But even that minimal thinning made that last snap into full battery a bit smoother.

And finally I was still getting some rough loading. My final step was with the reloading setup. I got myself a 9mm factory taper crimp die and instead of roll crimping I put on a moderately heavy taper crimp. Heavy enough that the case mouth pretty well blends into the bullet and I can't feel a step. This lets the rounds slip into the chamber like a fresh caught fish sliding around on a teflon dressing board. This will hurt the accuracy for any truly long distance shooting. But out to the usual rifle targets in a regular stage you'll never notice a thing

All in all with the full setup I can "mag dump" into a berm as fast as I can lever and pull the trigger. And a buddy watching me do that thought that there might have been three casings in the air at a point or two.

Back when I did mine I also had to slightly polish the angled openings in the cartridge guides. And to smooth out the sharp "V" in the elevator spring pin plate so it didn't jump up as badly. But the last two i've done for friends had all these spots and a couple of others done already. But if yours doesn't have those spots polished out then do those lightly as well. For this sort of thing I used a rubberized abrasive wheel in my Dremel so it removed metal slowly and left a nice polish all at the same time. A little goes a long way.. And it's easier to go back in and remove more than to try to find a "metal stretcher" to fix something done too enthusiastically.... :D

Hopefully this helps you enjoy your 92 as much as I enjoy mine.

As for short stroking be sure you FEEL the lever hit the end stop. If the backs of your lever fingers are not a touch sore after a stage then you ain't doing it right..... and that's only half in jest. Ideally you don't have sore fingers. But if you have to err on one side or the other than better to feel the pain and adjust from there.
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