When did Rossi start using the bolt safety?

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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When did Rossi start using the bolt safety?

Post by Faulkner »

I did a forum search and there is certainly a lot of discussion about the added (and unnecessary in my opinion) bolt safety to the Rossi 92, but I've not been able to determine what year Rossi started using it.

I know Marlin started using the cross bolt safety in 1983, and I believe Winchester did in the early 1990's. When did Rossi start putting them on their rifles?
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Re: When did Rossi start using the bolt safety?

Post by GasGuzzler »

Mid-90's I think. But there are many other small changes done around the same time that are less than desirable to me.
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Re: When did Rossi start using the bolt safety?

Post by Archer »

Moving the front sight off the barrel band - Good.
Replacing the follower with a plastic cup subject to splitting and swelling - Bad.

Modifying for butterfly bolt safety - aesthetically displeasing.

Not sure about drilling and tapping the round barrel under the rear sight for rail attachment.
Not sure about drilling and tapping the tang on the octagonal for a peep sight.

Not entirely sure what other changes, other than the slapping of a puma coin/logo on the receiver or not were made to the guns.
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Re: When did Rossi start using the bolt safety?

Post by Faulkner »

Thanks guys.

We often hear that the aesthetically displeasing manual safeties added to various lever action rifles is due to "lawyer mandates", but I have never been able to find an actual legal or ATF mandate requiring them. It also seems that Marlin started adding them first in 1983 and it took 8 to 10 years before Winchester and Rossi added theirs. I've often wondered if they all added them because of the "threat of getting sued" or did someone actually require the manufacturers to do so?

There is a lot of internet theorizing on the subject, but I've never seen any actual data as to the "why" did they really do it when so many users/customers don't like them.
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Re: When did Rossi start using the bolt safety?

Post by jstanfield103 »

From what I understand, anything imported into this country has to have a manual safety. Marlin I have no idea why except lawyers.
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Re: When did Rossi start using the bolt safety?

Post by Reese-Mo »

Uberti 92, the 86, 66, 73, 94....
Pietta P models are still 4 click.
Some Uberti P models are 4 click.

Its not an import mandate. May be an importER mandate.
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Re: When did Rossi start using the bolt safety?

Post by Archer »

While it may not be a part of import regulations it might indeed be an import 'mandate'.
ATF is not exactly know to be consistent domestically from one week to the next, from one agent or representative to the next, from one phone call or other communication to the next.

With regards to imported small arms I THINK you may be dealing with the State Department as well as maybe the ATF (maybe also additional departments?) and there has been a decided lack of consistency there with regards to rules changing from country to country as well as no doubt the sorts of advice and council that may vary from agent to agent.

I know at one point some of the government regulatory idiots were trying to ban tube magazine rifles that held over 10 rounds as part of the assault weapon regs even though they are obviously not detachable mag firearms.

It may be a case of a proposed regulation that didn't come to pass, advice given Rossi, or requirements on Brazil not applied to Italy or some other such inconsistent crap from the regulatory agencies.

As I understand it each and every shipment has to be approved/permitted, typically both by the domestic country of the manufacturer/shipper and by the U.S. before it can arrive here in the States. For some reason a few years back Rossi was having major problems getting handgun mags into the U.S. and the implications were permits were being denied rather than product not being produced.

---
As for the lawyers and other factors. Liability lawyers are often idiots. Check the warning labels on ladders and gas cans and note the reduction in companies manufacturing them.

I have a friend who is generally not a lever fan. His experiences with them growing up have convinced him they aren't entirely safe or that they require more strict gun handling than other types. I guess he was nearby when someone managed to get shot by accident with one in addition to other accidental/negligent/unintended discharges with them. I'm not totally on board with his point of view but I will note a few factors that may lead to his opinion:

He maintains that working the lever spooks game and thus hunters using levers want to keep the chamber loaded. This means at best relying on a rebounding hammer or half cock and at worse a hunter moving about with the hammer back. IF the hammer is on half cock he says he's seen them cocked by brush, scabbards or the person holding them without the conscious attempt to cock them. In addition when you work the lever you are in very close proximity to the trigger compared to a bolt gun. I don't find that to be an issue but I do note that it wasn't until the 1873 Winchester that there was a mechanism added to the lever actions to prevent out of battery discharges.

With a bolt action or a semi auto you can often, but not always, dump the magazine as a detachable unit or by opening the floor plate where with a tube fed gun you most often have to run the rounds through the action. This makes unloading many lever actions potentially somewhat less safe.

The addition of a cross bolt hammer block or a tang safety or the butterfly firing pin block negates most of his concerns.
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Re: When did Rossi start using the bolt safety?

Post by GasGuzzler »

My Puma .454 with safety had no coin.

The rear sight is miles better on the old ones.

The old ones have quite obviously better blueing.

The old ones have ZERO plastic.

The old ones have solvent or oil based stain instead of the useless water-base stain of the newer ones and attractive albeit budget wood.

My pre-Puma .357 had no trigger or loading gate problems like the newer ones although it did have the SUPER ejector spring.
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Re: When did Rossi start using the bolt safety?

Post by Faulkner »

Reese-Mo wrote:Uberti 92, the 86, 66, 73, 94....
Pietta P models are still 4 click.
Some Uberti P models are 4 click.

Its not an import mandate. May be an importER mandate.
You make a very valid point. Lever guns are still being manufactured and imported into the county without additional safeties. Uberti lever guns are being imported without any additional/modern manual safety, and to my knowledge, American made Henry lever guns do not have manual safeties.

I suppose we can speculate on why Rossi and Marlin and Winchester have added safeties to their lever guns, but I'd be interested in knowing the actual reason why.
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Re: When did Rossi start using the bolt safety?

Post by Archer »

Faulkner wrote:
Reese-Mo wrote:Uberti 92, the 86, 66, 73, 94....
Pietta P models are still 4 click.
Some Uberti P models are 4 click.

Its not an import mandate. May be an importER mandate.
You make a very valid point. Lever guns are still being manufactured and imported into the county without additional safeties. Uberti lever guns are being imported without any additional/modern manual safety, and to my knowledge, American made Henry lever guns do not have manual safeties.

I suppose we can speculate on why Rossi and Marlin and Winchester have added safeties to their lever guns, but I'd be interested in knowing the actual reason why.
Good luck,

Not sure what sorts of data might or might not have been preserved as Winchester was sold to FN and essentially turned into a limited run commemorative branch with production levels lower than Browning. Not to mention the double ownership shift of Marlin one of which was a bankruptcy fire sale. Figuring out what the heck Rossi has been doing through one or two ownership shifts/mergers and two or three importer imprints has never been easy.
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