As the OP of this thread, I finally got my own Rossi 92 in stainless steel finish and trapper (16 inch) barrel length, chambered in .38-.357. I purchased it through Gunbroker, and when it arrived at my FFL, I knew that I had a project ahead of me. The action functioned, but it seemed heavy and stiff. The loading gate was super stiff and sharp-edged. It was difficult to load, although it did shoot to point of aim and grouped relatively well. I decided to do some research and see how I could make a silk purse out of this sow’s ear.
Fore end: The fore end looked funny to me and I realized that the section in front of the barrel band was much longer than on the Winchester 92. So I cut ¾ inch off of the front to match the Winnie proportions. Then I carved down (slimmed) the sides of the fore end to match that slim Winnie proportion and feel. I sanded and finished the fore end stock with Tru Oil. The character of the mystery Brazilian hardwood is far better after removing that nasty red stain that Braztech uses and doing a hand rubbed finish with Tru Oil.
Butt stock. I used this Midway USA youtube video , [a href="
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoF1-Q7sfyo "]link[/a] on Pointing and Fluting a rifle stock to add point and flute details to the poorly refined Rossi stock. . I used this Midway USA youtube video [a href="
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cpu5oRQiMzE"]link[/a] on thinning the comb of a rifle stock to address the fat, featureless comb of the Rossi 92 butt stock. Finally, I significantly reduced and rounded the width of the top of the crescent butt plate to be similar to the Winchester contours. I sanded and finished the butt stock with Tru Oil.
If you decide that you just can't stand the wood that comes on the Rossi 92, or you just can't stand the crescent butt plate, there are options available.
Boyd's has a set of stocks for the Rossi 92 in American walnut here, [a href="
www.boydsgunstocks.com/product.htm?pid=27982"]link[/a] for about $70 for the butt stock and $120 for the set of butt and fore end stocks, not including shipping. The butt stock does have the modern adaptation of a hard rubber butt plate in a flat contour instead of the steel crescent butt plate.
At
Precision Gun Works, [a href="
www.precisiongunstocks.com/contents/en-us/d70.html"]link[/a] there is a set of stocks for the Rossi 92 in walnut, but they are inletted for the Rossi's steel butt plate.
Slicking the Action. I installed a Lee replacement spring kit (for Rossi 92, available from Brownells) for ejector, mainspring, lever detent, and trigger springs. I followed this youtube video, [a href="
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Gx7-k8W2eA "] on spring kit installation. Capturing the ejector spring and getting the bolt assembly back into the breach is a real test of patience and creativity. It’s possible for someone with limited armorer’s skills to do it, but it’s a steep learning curve and there’s more to it than the video lets on.
I found that after the spring kit install, the lever was still tight at the end of the throw where the carrier was binding up against the right interior wall of the receiver. The loading gate was also too tight and difficult to load. So I ripped it all apart again to get to the carrier and loading gate spring. The carrier has a small detent, so I removed the spring and carefully ground off 1 ½ turns of the spring and reinstalled the carrier. Both the loading gate and loading port were sharp and needed to be radiused and rounded over with a small pattern file. The loading gate spring is a flat leaf spring that needed to be narrowed by filing about 5-7% of its width from both edges with a small mill file and sanding. After reassembly, the action worked far more smoothly through the entire throw of the lever. The loading gate was also easier to use and doesn’t bruise the thumb or draw blood anymore.
Mag Tube. I replaced the plastic mag tube follower with the stainless version available from Stevesgunz.com. I also cut 5 inches off the magazine spring to ease the spring resistance to loading.
Through all of this I discovered that the fit of all the action parts was pretty good overall. The real problem with the Rossi 92 is that every single spring is waaaaaay too stiff. By replacing or modifying every single spring in the gun I was able to make a poorly functioning gun really sing. It now cycles nearly effortlessly and operates far better than it did out of the box. I don’t have my 92 slicked up to race gun standards, but the action is a joy to cycle and puts a smile on my face.
I think the cosmetic mods I've done to the wood really improve the look of the rifle and bring it a lot closer to the Winnie aesthetic. Its a shame that this gun isn't styled a bit better from the factory. The CNC parts machining make the action mechanically superior to the original Winchester 1892. Replacing the awful springs proves it can be a wonderful performer. But the shortcomings of the wood (and butt plate)styling are a disappointment. Still, with a little help from all our youtube and internet friends, I was able to transform the Rossi 92 from a wall flower into the belle of the ball.
