Rossi Rifleman

I bought myself a stainless steel magazine tube follower for my 45-70 Rio Grande from Beartooth Mercantile. It's a few bucks cheaper than the one offered by Steve's Gunz. I consider it a great investment to replace the stock plastic followers before it gets too hard to find parts for the RG in 45-70.

Beartooth Mercantile 45-70 Follower

The day i saw this, i checked out the site and saw for $14+$5 shipping, a brass follower for the Rossi .45. They have since removed that claim after I got mine and it did not fit. After contacting them they immediatly refunded my charges, said they had personal experience with its use in the 44, so they left that claim on there site. I asked they remove the claim it would fit the 45, they did, asked for a refund, they did, great integrity i would say. Asked if they wanted it back, they said it was their fault and to keep it or trash it, my choice. Pretty decent of them. For that kind of customer service, i will give Beartooth my business when i can.

NavyDoc76-80 wrote:The day i saw this, i checked out the site and saw for $14+$5 shipping, a brass follower for the Rossi .45. They have since removed that claim after I got mine and it did not fit. After contacting them they immediatly refunded my charges, said they had personal experience with its use in the 44, so they left that claim on there site. I asked they remove the claim it would fit the 45, they did, asked for a refund, they did, great integrity i would say. Asked if they wanted it back, they said it was their fault and to keep it or trash it, my choice. Pretty decent of them. For that kind of customer service, i will give Beartooth my business when i can.

Ever have one of those wait a minute moments? If it didnt fit in the 45, hows it going to fit in the 44. As much as that made sense, i had to see for myself. Tried it in the 44 and still a no go. So i chucked it up into the drill press with a stem i made to hold it. Sanded for about five minutes with a piece of emery clothe, then finished with a polish sanding using 600 then 800 grit wet dry. Topped it off with brasso polish, bingo, fits and functions fine. Ive emailed beartooth of this and felt, though not a drop in piece, they deserve payment just the same. Though i didnt measure, i dont think i took off more then .001-.003"

I see on their site where they now say that the brass follower for Marlins may fit Rossi M92s. "The follower for the 30-30, .44, .45, .444 Marlin, and .35 rem Marlin rifles is a very close match to the follower for the Rossi - Puma Winchester 92 replica in .44 mag. The two followers are essentially the same dimension and we have used them in the Rossi Model 92 .44 mag without issue. It has been reported by some customers that the follower occasionally fits tight in the Rossi .44's and some minor modifications are required." I didn't have any issues with the SS follower that they sell specifically for the Rossi Rio Grande in 45-70.