Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Puma .357 Rediscovered

I just had to write about my experience last weekend with a rifle I had not taken out of the safe in at least a year or two. I went with some friends up to East Texas and went on a men's weekend to do some shooting and general messing around. I pulled out my Rossi Puma .357 rifle and took it along with four or five other guns to plink with and possibly shoot a hog.

My Puma is of the Rossi/Interams era and it is called a 92 SRC, although it does not have a saddle ring. It has a 16" barrel and is a very handy little dude. It is the pre-safety model. I have a later model in .454 with the safety, but even as anal as I am about some things, I just pretend it doesn't have one and therefore it doesn't bother me.

I am getting old and the eyes are not the best. I have a time seeing the sights on a handgun without glasses and a terrible time seeing barrel mounted sights on a rifle. I hunt with scopes on all my rifles. I had the Puma drilled and tapped and installed a Williams Peep sight which I purchased for about $40. The peep sight solved my "old eyes" problem and I was really surprised how accurate one can shoot with a peep.

I made up some warmish 180 grain manufactured hard cast lead loads in .357 cases and some similar loads in .38 cases with 158 grain bullets. There were three of us there and we all shot this little gem a lot. I had forgotten how well it shoots and the other two guys there came away wanting one of these, although they are not as easy to find as when I bought this on an auction site. I remember that the first time I ever shot it, I put all the bullets in the green at 100 yards. I suppose that is about 6" at my range. I was not really trying very hard and just getting used to the rifle but I was pretty amazed that I could do that. I shot it a couple of more times at the range and did not try it any further. This last weekend, we shot at all types of targets at all ranges and I now realize that this is one of the handiest and most accurate rifles I have ever shot. We baggged beer cans, coke bottles, shotgun shell hulls, clay pigeons, boxes, stumps, paper targets and a 8" triangular shaped gong from ranges of 15 to 125 yards. Everyone could hit the gong at 100 yards on every shot with the 158 grain .38 Specials and they fed and functioned flawlessly. This rifle will hang at my side held in my hand and still have 12" of ground clearance! That's almost as much as my Jeep. It's going hog hunting with me this fall. I guess you can say I like it!

If anyone is interested in a little carbine like this, I would highly recommend one for plinking, hogs, and short range deer hunting. Legacy now sells these manufactured somewhere else and there are plenty of used ones on the market in this and other calibers, though the .357 is a little harder to find. Marlin makes a nice carbine too although they are more modern. I can see why the Winchester Model 92 purists like them so much. They are as handy as a pocket on a shirt.

I've got one of the "old" models in .44 and it is our behind the door varmitbuggergetter. Been thinking about putting a pep on mine just haven't yet. I was looking at the Lyman but will check out the Williams. Mine is also very accurate and I would love to fine a .357 just like it..BG

I have had onne since they 1st came out.I take it to the range and do a lot of practice with it,when I can pry it away from my wife

You can turn that Puma 357 into a Saber Toothed Tiger 357 with Lil'Gun powder. Try a 158 gr jacketed to 2000 fps; a 180 gr cast gaschecked to 1800 fps; a 180 gr non-gaschecked cast to 1600 fps.

Use whatever amount of Lil'Gun is slightly compressed. To much powder and too much compression starts giving lower velocities, i.e., reaches the point of diminishing returns. That's IN MY RIFLE.

I have shot one like yours and yes they do shoot great. A gun that everyone should own!

I had a couple of those in .44 Magnum, the 20" shot very well indeed, the 16", not so much. It was probably my eyes, though, not the carbine. Sure was as handy as a third hand, though.

The 20" was stolen from me back in 2000. If you run across serial number MO36565, I'd sure like to know about it...........

I've got a Navy Arms 92 16" Trapper in .45 Colt.

It's my "go along" gun for walking in the woods, and one of my all-time favorite guns!

Have a Peep sight on mine also.

Virgil B.

These are great "truck guns." My .454 will really kick your bewtocks with full house loads. It really is a mini .45-70. Anyone shooting one of these? I have the Marlin 1895 too and it is very, very accurate.

I have a newer Puma in 357 like yours (cept for thr safety)

The 357 Mag. is certainly a different beast out of a carbine..fine Whitetail combo....I found that a tuff 158 JSP push fast is the ticket...for Whitetail in the thicket..

My Dad handed his over to me with a few 45LC loads and a 454 round. It was fun, almost cute the first 3 shots and then.......IT KICKED THE SNOT OUT OF ME!

Worse than a 338 in a sporter weight rifle.

The .454 in this carbine will really kick bewtocks on boht ends!

Had one of those .454s; traded it to safariman.

GREAT little carbine, but WOW does that thing rock with full house .454s.