Thinking about picking up a older R92 in 357 mag. Seller wants 425.00 for it. Gun looks great. Has a glossy finish on the stock and a glossy blue finish on the metal. It has a saddle ring and no safety. Is there any benefit to buying a older model vs a newer model or vice versa? Thanks for your input.

I have had two, a 44 mag and a .347.Probably about twenty years ago now I took both apart and smoothed them up.Gav eth44 to my niece. The .357 is my favorite lever to carry in a saddle scabbard. I think the newer ones are more rough. That is decent price now days .

10 years or so ago I bought 92 with top safety in 357 24" octogan barrel very dark wood brass receiver. The rear sight is a true buckhorn. With it I have killed a black bear 200# and a bunch of doe whitetails. A lot of fun to shoot.

Sounds good. I don't care for that safety on the top.
I've wanted one for a while but can't make up my mind, 16 or 20 inch.

Evnin gents, I have one in 454 casull, also one of the early ones. Gorgeous bluing, crapy wood. Shoots good. I load casull brass with 250gr. lead with 9grs trail boss for frog hunting in a flooded sand pit. Ya can get sum pretty good air under them if ya put the slugs right under there noses. Haven't shot any moose or deer with the full loads yet. I have some 250 XPBs & 300 XTPs that should work well. I've wondered if some nice wood off of a Winchester 92 would fit?? It doesn't seem to kick as bad as a 45-70, but it's right up ther with 300s doing 2000fps. I like this one OK, not sure on the new ones, but a stainless in 45 colt would be cool. Bill out. 🐾👣🇨🇦

I generally buy older guns rather than a new one, as production lines across the board are getting [bleep] as time marches on. Rossi is no exception. I'd recommend to hurry up and grab that old Rossi!!!

I don't have a Rossi but I'd recomend the 16" barrel. I've got a Winchester (Miroku) 92 in .45 Colt with the trapper length 16" barrel. It's a right handy little carbine!

I have a Rossi 92 45 Colt carbine with 16" barrel. New, it had the safety on top of the bolt. I replaced the safety with a peep sight, I believe it is a Skinner peep. It's sold by Steves Gunz.

I like lever guns, Ive got several, but this Rossi 45 Colt is my favorite. Light, nice balance, accurate and powerful. I get 300 grain bullets into the mid- 1400 fps, and 325 gr hard cast lead gas checks into the high 1400's, using Ruger only book loads. Mid range jacketed 250 grainers that are 900 fps out of a 4 in handgun get 1250 fps in the carbine. The longer barrel wakes up the 45 Colt.

The longer barrel will really wake up that .357 as well. That's a good price, snap it up!

As an avid early Winchester lever collector/shooter I generally shy away from the newer ones, this changed when I wanted a lever in 454 Casull for hunting purposes. I purchased a Rossi with frankly a lot of misgivings due to the pressures involved with the 454. Needless to say, I have had this rifle for several years and have had nothing but outstanding results. I mounted a scope on it and was averaging 3" groups at 200 yard, converted back to peep sight. Unfortunately it does have the top safety which is pretty lame however I would recommend one without reservations. Oh yeah, the 454 is extremely effective as a short range hunting round!

For you Rossi owners, one general question:

Is the Rossi a reasonable alternative to the win 94 or the marlin 336?
( similar functionality, reliability, etc )

Bought a new Rossi 92 in .357 in 1998. 16" barrel, no safety. It is accurate and a joy to shoot. Favorite of family and friends on shooting outings. I load Hornady lead roundnose bullets with 3.5 grains of
bullseye powder in .38 special cases. One nice feature is that the front sight is rectangular, straight-sided with a flat top, similar to a target pistol. I've found this style of sight makes it easier for me shoot more accurately, especially at longer distances. I would definitely go for it!

I've got a Navy Arms 92 clone, similar to the Rossi.

Mine is .45 Colt cal. Had the barrel cut down to 16" and is pre-safety.

Sure is a handy little "packin" rifle!

Virgil B.

I have both,but prefer the older Rossi in the 92 configuration. It is little slimmer/lighter and rides in a saddle scabbard with less bulk.A nice a carrying around carbine.I never cared for the 336's. Butt ugly in my opinion.The Marlin 94's are better if you get rid of the fat forearm and make it look like a 94.
I think the older Marlin or Winchesters 94's with octagon barrels are the real classics though

Sure would love to get my hands on one in 454 if you all knew of someone that had one for sale . Thanks. Cheers NC

No complaints with my Rossi's. I have a few that are used as regular daily carry around the farm and deer lease.
The one that sees the most use is a stainless 357, 20 inch, quickly followed by a older blued 16 inch 44 mag, a 20 inch blued 454 is sometimes used for Hog control. The wife and daughter use a 410 Ga to control the local snake population around the farm. It only took the wife coming face to face with a chicken snake once while gathering eggs to sell her on the merits of that used Rossi 410 !!