Rossi Rifleman

Congratulations

Mazeltov, and welcome!

Saw two at a local gun show this weekend. A 44 for $800 and a 45 for $795, both blued, both new. Price might have been negotiable, but impossible to say.

New and blued is good news. Haven't heard of many if any new ones that weren't stainless. An original non-safety in .45 with a 20" barrel is my grail but they hardly exist any more for sale and local.

I dont own any 45 colt rifles of any kind.
also looking for a non-safety model lever rifle.
Been looking at the chiappa 92s, uberti 73s and uberti 1860 Henry.
I have one of the first 5000 45 colt Ruger Blackhawks, has the Elmer Keith front sight.
Elmer Keiths presentation model had a ser# 45-043xx.
Mine has the # 45-047xx.
Just did a Kirst Conversion on a uberti 1860 Army revolver.
So would like a lever rifle to go with.
The uberti 1860 Henry, handled one at the LGS, extremely heavy.
Not handled a 73 yet.
92 would be the way to go for a strong robust action.

Mad Trapper wrote:Been looking at the chiappa 92s . . .

Well worth looking at. I have a Chiappa 1892 in .44/40. I also have a Browning B-92 in .44 mag and a Rossi R92 in .38/.357. The fit and finish of the Chiappa is even better than the Browning, which is really saying something. And parts availability and Chiappa Customer Service is great.

dlidster wrote:

Mad Trapper wrote:Been looking at the chiappa 92s . . .

Well worth looking at. I have a Chiappa 1892 in .44/40. I also have a Browning B-92 in .44 mag and a Rossi R92 in .38/.357. The fit and finish of the Chiappa is even better than the Browning, which is really saying something. And parts availability and Chiappa Customer Service is great.

thank you dlidster for the info.
Hey dlidster, how do the internal parts look?
do they look like good quality parts, the lifter,ejector, extractor,etc.
I have a rossi 92 in 44 mag, year or so back, I reworked the lifter so it would take the original Keith bullet 429421, mold dates to around 1929 to the early 1930s, single cavity, no vent lines with square grease groove.
Filed back the cartridge stop on the lifter just enough so the 429421 would clear the magazine and chamber with a 44 mag case.
Thought the lifter would be cheap soft cast metal, but it was hard and cast properly.
Took some time to remove enough material with a jeweler file.

I've been planning a photo comparison of the Rossi, Browning, and Chiappa 92s, but haven't gotten around to it. I hope I can address your questions with a few comments and observations.

On the Chiappa 1892 don't be concerned about the internal parts. All are ground flat and smooth and are polished. The inner surfaces of the frame and all surfaces of the bolt are the same -- ground and polished with no machine marks. The bolts slides in the frame like a piston in a cylinder. While my Rossi is so loose and limber it will almost cycle itself, the Chiappa is not like that. It feels precise and I like it that way.

Screw heads have narrower slots than most are accustomed to and the heads are polished. Those who have experienced Italian shotguns will know what I'm talking about.

Wood to metal fit is air tight. And the exterior surfaces where wood and metal metal meet are flush; the wood is never proud. The bluing on my barrel and magazine tube is quite nice. The frame and all other parts are color case-hardened. The surfaces feel like glass.

The Chiappa 1892 has a flat (leaf) main spring, not a coiled spring. In the place of the lever and breech bolt pin there's a screw. It's easier to remove and replace than the punch-driven screw in most 92s. Roll pins are used instead of pins through the bolt to secure the extractor and act as a firing pin stop. Frankly, I prefer the look of pins, but these seem acceptable.

The lower (forward) surfaces of the grooves in the cartridge guides are curved to duplicate the arc of the rim as as the cartridge rises on the lifter and is pushed into the chamber. On my Rossi and Browning this is a straight cut. My handloads of cast 200 gr RNFP bullets cycle perfectly.

The barrel is bored and rifled to .44 mag SAAMI pistol specs, so .430" bullets are a good fit. The six-groove, 1:38 rifled barrel shoots very accurately.

Notes on Chiappa CS: This rifle, which I bought used, has a ladder sight. The sliding "ladder" part was missing. I called Customer Service and asked if replacement parts were available. A very nice lady said "sure" and asked for my mailing address. A week later I received the "ladder," a tiny detent bearing, and spring . . . for $12..00.

Last summer the ejector in my Rossi 92 broke. I replaced it with an ejector from Steve. Then, just for the heck of it, I called Chiappa and talked to the nice lady about ejectors. I was told they were $8.00 for the ejector and collar. I ordered two and, a week later, put them into my parts box. They'll work in all three of my 92s.

I really like this rifle and dealing with these people.

Thank you dlidster for your time and patience.
This greatly helps me in my decision for a 45 colt lever.

The the Chiappa have a safety and is it available in BLUE with a 20" barrel? Yep, SKU 920.067.

GasGuzzler wrote:The the Chiappa have a safety and is it available in BLUE with a 20" barrel? Yep, SKU 920.067.

No safety. It's true to original 92.