I purchased a used Rossi 357 (M-92 style) in 2004 and have found it to be accurate and reliable. The dark-stained wood is not pretty and the butt plate is metal, but it is not in any beauty contests and even full house (180gr) 357 loads don't cause much recoil. Stainless steel, "1 of 1,000", no-safety, Marble-peeped, plain Jane efficiency. I used it for ten years of Cowboy shooting (with 38 Special loads) and ran it as fast as I could. It also did the job on a cow elk this past fall, with 357/158 JHP, although I would have preferred to have been carrying something a bit more stout.

My 45 Colt by Puma looks very similar and I am guessing they have a common heritage. It has an octagon barrel with nice bluing, lots of brass for fancy looks and is extremely accurate with big lead slugs. It also wears a peep sight and settles nicely on my shoulder.

I sold my Marlin 357 to finance another gun quest, which was a Winchester 73 in 38 WCF. It gets most of the Cowboy shooting chores now.

Rossi/Puma seems to have come a long way since the 70s. I think they sell dependable rifles at a reasonable price.


“You must endeavour to enjoy the pleasure of doing good. That is all that makes life valuable.”
Robert E. Lee, in a letter to his invalid wife.