Rossi 357 Magnum - RM66 Review...

[dougader]

This is nothing but great news as I see it. I shot a friend's dad's Rossi 357 with 38 Specials and we had to pound the cases out of the cylinder because the machining marks in the chambers were so darn rough. That was in the 90s.

Not in the market for another 357, but I'll go look for one based on the reports here.

[mcquade]

There’s an older (Interarms imported) Rossi 720 (44 Special) for $400 at Ed’s Gun Shop in Vass, NC. They are usually pretty good. www.edsgunshop.com/cproduct/5981/uses-rossi-m720-*44spl-revolver

[gnappi]

Back in the late 70's or was it the early 80's I had a Rossi .357 mag and it was my first revolver. Like yours even back then it was perfect. I later bought a Ruger Security six and started pushing the power envelope with reloads and sold the Rossi to a night time security guard in a "high dollar" (Mercedes, Volvo, BMW etc.) car scrap yard.

I would have kept it but finances demanded concessions to long term revolver acquisition goals :-)

[oldncrusty]

Thanks for the good news. Had a Rossi SS .38 many moons ago and really liked it. Glad to hear they are still turning out great value.

[jeffh]

I have not got to shot my 3" RP63 much yet, but I'm not just rationalizing cost when I say that this new Rossi LOOKS a lot better than most of the most recent offerings buy the most popular makers I've seen in a few years.

Initial short-range results (10 yards) are promising, in spite of the too narrow, too shallow rear sight notch (which I can fix), and I am hoping to get time to give this thing a real workout before it gets too warm out. I especially appreciate that Rossi insisted on sticking with the old style Smith lockwork.

[Encore64]

Picked this gun up today. Impeccable fit and finish. Sights are some of the easiest to see ever on factory guns.

Throats are interesting. From the chamber forward, they taper from .359" down to a loose .357".

Cylinder is plenty long for my SWC Handloads.

Groups were a solid 1.5" at 25 yards. I'll shoot thru the chronograph and report on that another day. My goal is to duplicate the old 38-44 using 357 Magnum Brass.

This is a S6 Sized D.A. Revolver. So far, I'm downright impressed.

If no surprises pop up, I'll probably add the 4" Model RM64...

[Encore64]

So, I'd done some judicial measurements on bullets before starting these loads.

The 158 grn SWC Bullets I wanted to use seated a tad deeper than some mentioned in my 38-44 Research. I knew this wouldn't matter using 357 Magnum Brass.

So, I started with 12.5 grn of 2400. Data that used similar weight and seating depth bullets ranged 12-14.0 grn, starting to max.

The power felt about right, so I saw no reason to work up.

Just came back in from shooting six rounds thru the chronograph. Average velocity was 1185 fps (13 fps ES) and I was looking for the original 1200 fps.

I doubt 15 fps would make any difference in any application. I'll just stop with the first load I tried and call it a good day...

[Encore64]

While there are many factors involved in cylinder strength, this one measures 1.460" O.D.

For Reference:

Clements 38-44 Cylinder 1.460" O.D.

S&W 19 Cylinder 1.446" O.D.

Colt King Cobra Cylinder 1.397" O.D.

O.D. does not indicate strength (or outside wall thickness) as not all chambers are the same distance from the cylinder's center axis.

Gun accepts a MAX C.O.A.L. of 1.620"...

[armoredman]

I am very interested in the RP 63, myself.

[bigbore5]

1.620"? 358429 in 38sp brass sized and will take 38-44 pressures easily? Single-Six size and great quality? Affordable?

Crap. Where's my credit card....

[Encore64]

Mar 19, 2024 11:03:13 GMT -5 bigbore5 said:

1.620"? 358429 in 38sp brass sized and will take 38-44 pressures easily? Single-Six size and great quality? Affordable?

Crap. Where's my credit card....

This was my thought too. I'm more than pleased and can see a 4" RM64 in my future.

[jeffh]

RP63 here.
Overall, this revolver looks way better than any others I've handled in several years. I was thinking about another (older) SP101 or maybe the new Colt, but I'm glad I found this one.

I've had good experiences with a handful of Rossi 720s in the past, but this new one isn't just cheap and a good shooter, it's some kind of classy to boot! Nicer than ANY of the more expensive revolvers I've looked at in the past few years.

I wish some of you lived closer who are considering one.  I'd pass mine around, because I've not had time to shoot it nearly as much as I'd have liked so far.

[armoredman]

If you were in AZ, sir, I'd take you up on that offer!