I have three Rio Grande's; a 45-70 Govt and two 30-30 Win, and all are very nice rifles. I'm also a Marlin guy, the JM Marlins, and feel that Rossi could have given Marlin a run for their money but I'm not sure why they didn't.
Marlin has never produced as good of an exterior metal finish as Rossi does, they have never blued a rifle as deep as Rossi can do. I didn't say, but at one time I owned over 70 Marlin rifles, so I do know what I'm talking about. That's important here in coastal South Texas where we have constantly been exposed the salt and moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. If you see an older Marlin here, typical the exterior has started to oxidize if the owner did not take extreme care with the finish. I have Marlins that I bought NIB and have taken the best care possible, I can go out and hunt hogs in the afternoon into the night in our high temperatures and humidity, and when I get back, wipe the metal with a paper towel and the towel will be brown. A Rossi will not do that, not only does that speak for my three Rios but my five 92s and a 351 revolver (with bluing so deep you could shave by it). I'm out at least 150 nights a year trying to kill hogs. Had a line of thunderstorms approaching last night, went out in it because hogs move in the open in heavy weather. I killed a hog with a Rem 600 chambered in 35 Rem. Despite it being one of my more valuable rifles, no worries about its finish.
Internally, the Rio Grande is tighter which is both good and bad. I bet the RG is a CAD designed rifle and because the computer says it should work, it will. Chambers, bores, and grooves are cut to spec, and everything is supposed to fit and function. Bottom-line it needs to be worn in. This is what has given the Remlins fits. Taking two-dimensional drawings into three (CAD) and believing it will work. It doesn't work in practice, and this is where JM excelled in internal fit. It is also why you need fat cast bullets to make a JM shoot well. Won't need that with a Rossi, but they will be more particular about what fits.
You will also need to wear that Rio in. You will need to pull the wood off the rifle and use d/chlorinated parts cleaner to flush out the packing grease. There are places that this grease has collected, it will harden and create all kinds of problems. This is where you should get to know your rifle. Disassemble your rifle and clean it completely (down to the smallest parts). This is a 336 action; it is easy. Don't lose anything and there are plenty of instructions all over the web. The only difference that I can immediately think of between the RG and Marlin is that the RG uses allen screws in the bolt assembly rather than pins. You can bang on the "pins" all day, but they won't come out. It took me awhile to figure this out but what a great idea that Marlin should have thought of a long time ago.
Once the rifle is clean, there are four points that need attention to address the most common issue with the 30-30 Win chamber rifles; scratched bullets and cases. Before the rifle goes back together; deburr and polish:
- The lip of the loading spring (gate), this part should be off the rifle at this point.
- The complete backside of the loading spring, nothing should be sharp.
- The carrier.
- A portion of the receiver port that accepts the magazine tube. Specifically, the upper half radius of the inside edge.
This isn't a lot of work, and you don't want to change the parts, just make sure there are no sharp edges on them. Move an empty cartridge case across all these parts under pressure as they would move in the rifle and correct them until they don't scratch the case. For the record, all Remlins need this as well.
With this done, put the action together, lube it with a quality gun oil, and spread that oil through everything with compress air. Work the action 100 times and then flush the action out with dechlorinated parts cleaner. Dry the cleaner with compressed air, spray it with the oil, use the compressed air, and repeat this cycle at least five times (500 cycles). There are a lot of moving parts inside that the CAD design kept tight, they need to wear. A Remlin is going to take 1,000 cycles of the lever.
The wood is rubberwood, a common Brazilian hardwood. The stain is not weatherproof, but easy to remove. As I mentioned, I hunt in coastal thunderstorms. While on a nilgai hunt and after a thunderstorm passed, my RG45-70 looked like a calico cat, and I was covered with red dye. The good thing is that a Rossi easily accepts an oil finish.
Parts, I'm not sure about Canada as I don't know what RossiUSA has on hand or whether they can ship them there. As your dealer to ask their distributor.
This is probably enough for now.