Who makes the best M92 Clone

[Mikey]

Who makes the best Model 92 clone.  I'm looking for a 20" rifle in 357 that functions without hiccups and doesn't have any problem with 38s or swc slugs.  There is Browning, I believe, Rossi, Cimmaron Arms, and at least a couple of others.  This rifle will be used a lot, but will sit behind a door for my wife when it's not out with me.  What do you think.  I am not looking for 'cheap', but realiable and functional.  Thanks for your suggestions.

[Dee]

Mikey, about 6 years ago I ordered a Rossi Model 92 from Navy Arms. I got the Navy Arms "Deluxe" model, and it wasn't cheap. It came with good fit and finish, and nice walnut. It's a tack driver, and is standing next to a crystal display cabinet in the living room as I type. I load a 158 grain jacketed Remington soft point at 2000fps roughly in it, and it's perfect for around the house. Mine is the 24" octagon barrel, and sometimes I wish it were the 20" but it's a shooter, and I ain't gonna mess with it.
As far as feedin SWCs, it's cranky, but round nose cowboy bullets which actually have more nose surface than the SWC feed slick as a whistle in 38s or 357s.

[Graybeard]

Initially only Rossi offered them and many retailers sold them under their own store names. LSI was likely the largest importer of them. I would assume the Japanese made Brownings to be a better quality but honestly I've had several made by Rossi and never yet have had reason to regret any of them. Currently I have only a .357 mag but might pick up a .45 Colt and/or .44 mag one day if I see one at the right price when I have money to afford it.

[Nobade]

I have owned both, and like my 357 mag B92 the best. I had a 44 mag B92, and it was terrible. Guess they're not all the same. If you can deal with the tang safety, I'd imagine the newer Miroku made 92's sold under the Winchester name would be pretty nice.

[ButlerFord45]

I have Browning, Rossi and Marlin (I know, you didn't ask) the Japanese Browning is as good as it gets.

[Rangr44]

Miroku-made 1892's (Browning B92, & current Winchester M1892's) are the pick of the litter, overall quality-wise.

The Italian-made Chiappa/ArmiSport 1892's generally have the best bling, and are among the priciest - but are known to have some internal probs, that are slowly being worked out.

The SA Rossi 1892's are the workhorse of the genre, generally of good quality - but occassionally showing specimens out of character.

AFAIK, NONE are reliable with SWC's, or Keith-type lead slugs, out-of-the-box.

My M92 BrazTech Rossi .357 feeds every other kind of .38 or .357 right out of the box - just no WC/SWC/Keith's.

.

[Mikey]

Gentlemen - thank you, all of you. 

[yukondog]

I have two rossi's in 44 mag. and 454 casull and cant complain about eather one, never a problem.

[gstewart44]

I hope the Quality Control on the new Rossi's is vastly improved over the older ones.  I have had three Rossi M92 clones(purchase new) about15-17 yrs ago for cowboy action shooting.   One of them was a tack driver, the other two POS.    I loaded smokeless powder at 44 special levels for the CAS competition.   

The first PUMA 92 literally came apart during a competion.   the magazine tube walked out of the receiver.   Many attempts to fix it were made but it would not stay in place.    It was sent back to the factory and another was sent in its place.  the second one would not group any better than 4-5 " at 50 yds.    I traded that one for a Ruger 44 carbine (no - not for CAS).  Later I found another Rossi at a good price and bought it.  This one was the tack driver.    I used it for one more season of CAS then got busy with marriage, kids, work and such and suddenly had no more use for it so I gave it to my brother.    He still uses it for deer.   

I hear from others on this site that the quality has improved - I sure hope so because my first two were not acceptable.

[kynardsj]

I have the stainless Puma M92 in 454 Casull. Very nice.

[olydraft]

I just bought a ROSSI M-92 SS .44 mag 20" bbl and couldn`t believe how accurate it was right out of the box, and the quality and workmanship was just fine... Gary

[buck460XVR]

I really like my Rossi Stainless 20'' .357. Very accurate and it eats everything I feed it. Got maybe 1000 rounds thru it in the last year and the action just keeps getting smoother.

[wreckhog]

Walked into my local shop today and a Puma in .357 was $895. They better be pretty good for that.

[navylawdog]

Walked into my local shop today and a Puma in .357 was $895. They better be pretty good for that.

Dang! I guess I should have held onto my Puma in .454 I had! Sold it and the dies for $400. I guess its true every gun owner is a gambler. Sometimes it feels like playing the stock market but now days you are probably better off investing in guns.

Navylawdog

[buck460XVR]

Walked into my local shop today and a Puma in .357 was $895. They better be pretty good for that.

Was probably  a "new" Puma made by Chiappa, in Italy. The one's made by Rossi/Taurus/Braz-tech are not called Puma anymore and can still be had for less that $500 blued and a little more for SS.

[navylawdog]

That would make me feel better. I didn't know there were "new" puma's being made.

Navylawdog

[teddy12b]

Walked into my local shop today and a Puma in .357 was $895. They better be pretty good for that.

Was probably  a "new" Puma made by Chiappa, in Italy. The one's made by Rossi/Taurus/Braz-tech are not called Puma anymore and can still be had for less that $500 blued and a little more for SS.

+1.  What he said.  The new Chiappa rifles are hundreds more than the old pumas for some reason. 

[teddy12b]

I think it depends on what you're looking for in the gun.  If you want the gun to be a work of art buy a Henry.  If you want this to be something you're going to sit with in the rain then the Puma 92's aren't bad.  I have 2 44mags.  One's a 24" and the other is a 20".  If I had to pick just one it'd be the 20" because it's just right.  Not too long, and not too short.  The fit and finish of the puma 92's are good but far from perfect.  You can find them online at budsgunshop.com for pretty reasonable prices.  I keep thinking I need one of the 16" rifles now to complete the collection.

[rn122]

"I'm looking for a 20" rifle in 357 that functions without hiccups and doesn't have any problem with 38s or swc slugs."

The 92's are case length sensitive.  If set up for the 357 mag length, you will have problems feeding the 38 spec unless you seat the bullet out.  Also, some may have problems feeding the swc.

[Dee]

Well rn122, YOURS may be case length sensitive, but MINE isn't nor has it ever been. Mine DOES, and always HAS fed 38 specials every bit as smoothly as 357 mag cases, and I DIDN'T have to "seat the bullet out". I load them the way I have loaded them for the last 40 years. It doesn't like SWC bullets much but will feed them, but not many lever actions do like them, and that's why they make a non-SWC for Cowboy Action shooting, as the SWC is a SPECIFICLY designed bullet, "designed to cut clean holes in paper" and still load smoothly into a REVOLVER.

[teddy12b]

The 92's can be sensitive to case length.  I have a 20" 44mag 92 that feeds 320gr hard cast Grizzley ammo as smoothly as any other ammo.  Then I have a 24's 92 44mag that struggles to feed & cycle that very same ammo.  Same ammo, same manufacturer of the guns, but two wildly different results.  That's my experience.

[Dee]

Now that teddy, is a statement I can believe. Their not all the same. It's like the Model 94s. Many think they are 3 or 4" guns at a hundred yards, and make a blanket statement on all 94s. I have one that a 300 yard shot is not that big a deal, 250 yarders are all day long. But they all won't. With a slight adjustment yours could probably be corrected if you were so inclined.

[teddy12b]

Yeah, I don't think it'd take much to get those rounds to feed well in my rifle, but unfortunately that rifle is in the final stages of getting the new long range sights all setup.  I still haven't had time to get the front sight finished.  Once that's done I'll probably get a little more serious about getting those rounds to feed in that gun.

[Fairshake]

Be very careful about buying the very expensive ones that are made in Italy. They are made by Armi San Marco and they have a terrible track record with any gun they have made. I guess they think that since Uberti can charge as much as they do then then they can also get away with it. Look and find a pre safety 92 that was imported by Navy Arms, Puma, Interarms or the latest EMF hartford models. They are all very good rifles and with some slight work can become great rifles. Steve Young AKA Nate Kiowa Jones sells a DVD on his web site that will take you from a to z for $20. I have owned several 92's and they are the strongest of the lever actions made by Winchester. I started shooting CAS with one in 45 Colt then a 44-40 and now use the Uberti 1873 in 44-40 which is the weakest design but the fastest to lever and shoot.

[Mikey]

Finally got it, a nice plain Rossi M92 in 357.  Sweet little thing and my wife loves the feel and handling of it.  Have not yet taken it to the range but have tried to cycle ammo through to test for functioning and found that it will not extract a loaded 357 round and eject it clear of the action.  It seems to work fine with 38s, cycles, feeds and ejects them better but not as positively or smoothly as I feel this action should. 

I am ready to e-mail Rossi for advice but would rather hear from any of you folk who may have experienced the same or similar problems.  Since the paperwork specifies that the warrantly will become void if used with handloaded or reloaded ammo I even went so far as to buy a box of Remmy 357s.

The extractor grabs the rim but does not seem to have the tensile strength to pull the loaded round all the way out of the chamber and eject it from the action. 

What gives?  Do I need to shoot this rifle to get it to function?  I wouldn't think so.  Any advice?  Thanks all.

[Dee]

Sounds to me like the ejector part of the bolt may be cut a little low letting the case head to move too far down, and out of the extractor. Mine is the "Deluxe" version from Navy Arms and was a little loose in this category. I called them, and they sent me a new ejector and I cut it to fit. Problem solved, it throws them across the parking lot.
That seems to be the problem now a days with MANY rifles. Marlin is not what it once was, and I once ordered a new Ruger stainless in 308 that printed 8" to the left with any scope or mounts they sent me. Sent it back, and they fixed it with a new barrel.
Open the bolt on your Model 92, and put a case head down there to see if there TOO much room. The case head should have very little movement up and down, when fitted into the extractor..

[Mikey]

Dee:  thanks, I appreciate the advice.  I also called the Rossi Customer Service # while I was waiting for responses and they told me to take it out and shoot it a bunch of times to break it in and see if it works properly for me.  Hmmm, sounds like something I would probably suggest........  So, in order not to void any warranties I will break her in on some factory fodder and see how it goes from there.  Thanks again. 

[RIFLE MAN]

The Rossi/Puma 92's are generally good shooters and reasonably
priced. The ones currently made tend to feed better than the
earlier manufactured 92's.

Kindly,
Rifle Man

[olydraft]

got my ROSSI 92 20" SST 44mag at our local gun show in March it was $375

[Mikey]

Got it back from Rossi yesterday - they are incredible.  I shipped it to them via my local dealer less than two weeks ago and yesterday Fed-Ex shows up with a long box and it's the 92 - fixed.  They said it was the extractor and replaced it and this little sweetheart throws loaded rounds 15' to my rear when I cycle the action. 

Thanks everyone for their advice.  I am really going to have fun with this sweetie.