Braztech Rossi 92 Pre-Purchase Inspection Checklist

[pricedo]

I do very little ordering of firearms. I am a more "hands-on" type of buyer. If I cannot see it, feel it and work it, I will not buy it. I never special-order my autos or trucks. I always find something I like on the lot and try it out. I will not special-order and be told, "There. It is yours"....and then have to re-fit it or re-build it. I am too old and ornery to change now. I will wait and if not, shoot the new Ruger 10/22 I got while looking for the Rossi.

Likewise !

Goes doubly for Rossi products because the company won't sell you parts if the gun needs to be fixed and you'll have to foot the very substantial bill for shipping costs of the whole rifle to the Rossi repair center to fix their mistakes........they are essentially "throw away" guns. And they're not cheap to buy anymore either.

[Archer]

Probably between a quarter and a half of the firearms I've purchased over the years have been special orders.
Most of the rest were pretty super deals I got on used or barely used items.

I have generally made it a point, with regards to special orders, to purchase items of a reliable reputation through the local shop and produced by companies that have a reputation for getting it right the first time and standing behind it if not right for some reason. I've had generally good luck with special orders of Winchesters, CZs, Kimbers, Rugers and Springfields plus a few other odds and ends.

I have avoided Rossi handguns for that reason.
I haven't picked up a Taurus for that reason although until the last couple years when a buddy had to send one back to them I had the impression they were better than Rossi about customer service.

I've been rather favorably impressed with the Armscor/Rock Island 1911s the past five years or so but haven't picked one of them up either. I gather their rep for durability and customer service is somewhat better than Rossi at the moment.

The 1892 design should be sound. Parts shouldn't be so complex as to prevent the guns from being fixed unless something major goes wrong. I bought a couple of them in spite of them being Rossi guns in part because the Winchesters were unobtainium and very expensive. Time will tell if they were false economy.

I'm sort of with you on the special order autos however. In my limited experience, automotive dealerships and manufacturers are not very good at fixing what's wrong with them and the current crop has so much crap hanging off them mandated by our idiot government that it isn't likely that everything works right to start with.

[pricedo]

Time will tell if they were false economy.

Depends what you bought them for and how much you shoot.

My 3 x Amadeo Rossi M92s have stood the test of time.

Then again I don't go out and run 200 or more rounds down range every weekend like some members do. I shot them a lot at first when determining what ammo performed the best for each of them but now I shoot about 2 boxes of ammo a year from each one.

Assuming he got a good rifle in the first place Mr. stereotypical owner (farmer, rancher or occassional hunter) wouldn't shoot a rifle to destruction in a lifetime considering the box (@20 rounds) or less ammo shot in a typical year. In this tough economy many can't afford the luxury of shooting holes in paper targets.

Many RR members on the other hand like to shoot for the sake of shooting & really put a rifle to the test shooting more in a single range session than Mr. stereotypical owner would shoot in several lifetimes.

A decent NIB Rossi RG or 92 would probably last Mr. stereotypical owner an entire lifetime and as long as it shot every time he pulled the trigger with MOW (minute of white tail.... within a 4" circle at 50 yards or thereabouts) accuracy Rossi CS would never hear from him.

[luangtom]

We have one of the largest gun-shows of the year coming up this weekend soon on us. I will be there looking for what Rossi 92's are available. I saw two at the most recent local show and neither dealer would allow operation of the action. One was all upset I wanted to hold it and look down the barrel to see if it was canted. I told him it was and he replied what I had already heard in a LGS, "Hell, so what? Someone will buy it. These are hard to come by." I put it down and walked away. Not for me. I guess I am too picky in my old age.......

[pricedo]

I think we have all been dancing around one key, undeniable principle for a coupla years and the totality of the accumulated experiences of Rossi owners has been dragging us kicking and screaming back to it time & time again and that principle commonly stated is: "YOU GET WHATCHA PAY FOR" OR "THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH"

[pricedo]

In my limited experience, automotive dealerships and manufacturers are not very good at fixing what's wrong with them and the current crop has so much crap hanging off them mandated by our idiot government that it isn't likely that everything works right to start with.

The Rossi:new car analogy is a rough fit.

There is a lot of competition & selection for persons looking for a new car. The GM experience has taught most car manufacturers what corporate arrogance can lead to. I abandoned GM long before most Americans did because of the smug, aloof "take a hike.....don't bug us" attitudinal experiences I'd had with their dealers with no remedial followup from GM head office in regards to complaints. There were good reasons why the Japs took over the American vehicle market. The domestic auto manufacturing companies & their satellite dealerships had become unresponsive to complaints, arrogant & aloof & took their long standing market dominance for granted and felt they no longer had to cultivate their customer base.

I see the same very offensive corporate arrogance manifest in the BrazTech restricted parts policy and will never buy another as long as it is in place. I think BrazTech needs an objective lesson in customer relations learned like GM by watching their sales volume dive into the cellar.

I am very particular as to which car dealers I'll deal with sticking with one or two who are glad they survived the franchise downsizing. I test drive each & every new vehicle & have MY mechanic go over it with a fine toothed comb. These 3 proactive precautionary measures have kept me out of hot water with new vehicles.

I've never had to rebuild a new car fresh off the dealers lot before it would work properly and auto parts are generally easy to come by either from the manufacturer or after market.

It has been my experience that if something does go wrong in the warranty period it has been dealt with promptly & with no cost to me.

In a worst case scenario most auto companies are in the national domain & suable or otherwise actionable through government agencies with relevant jurisdiction. Never had to go there.

[FrankT]

I'd add check for stripped screws to the list. My 92 came with both Cartridge Guide screws stripped out.

[luangtom]

I agree with the stripped screw/bolt flag. I still have not found a Rossi 92 in .38/.357 for myself. I have picked up and perused a half-dozen at the last two gun-shows that my son and I went to. Canted-barrels and bunged-up sights seem to be the most prevalent problems that I observed. I still refuse to purchase a new firearm that I, as a new owner, have to return to the factory before I even fire it. I will keep looking for one or save up more for a Winchester or something else.

[unknwn]

I was convinced that I needed a Rio Grande 45-70 -UNTIL- I discovered copious forum posts about the poor condition reflected in posts about the Rossi long guns that are coming out of their factory as of late. Stories of rusty crap and metal shavings being washed out of the actions of new guns that wouldn't feed ammo.
I wish the savings expected between a Rio Grande and a similarly chambered Marlin was credible, but from my experience sending a brand new rifle to a lever-gun smith for smoothing and action work easily eats up in excess of $300, and that is only if he knows what is up with that particular brand's offerings.
I'm finding it equally hard to spend a $1000 on a 45-70 chambered Remlin though too.

[Barearmz]

Unfortunately I was not able to do a check when buying online from another state and mine had everything wrong with it. Read my post "rubbish out of the box". It wouldn't load, chamber or eject. But I fixed it's little red wagon. You just have to address each problem by itself slowly all the way from loading the mag to ejecting a round. It now feels like one of my original 92 winnies. Happy happy happy.
Regards
Neil