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10 Rounds in 16" Rossi 92?


Curly Pete

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Is it possible to get 10 rounds in a 16" Rossi 92 in 357?  I am trying to set up a rifle for my daughter who is pretty small and size and weight of the 16" carbine seems to fit her the best.  I have not purchased the rifle yet because I want to be confident that I will be able to get it to work for her first.

 

My first idea is to use 38 Short Colt brass, I am just not sure those short little cases will feed correctly out of the rifle.  If they will feed correctly  there should be no problem getting at least 10 rounds in the magazine.  Does anyone use these little rounds in the Rossi?  If so, which bullets are you using in them?

 

If the Short Colts will not work, will the Long Colts work?

 

The person that is selling the rifle told me that it does not feed wadcutters so are there any type of bullet that will feed in the rifle and allow 10 38 Specials to fit in the mag?

 

Any advice will be greatly appreciated. 

 

Thanks

Curly Pete

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A friend has a short 66 that he loaded with .38 special for his short wife. I think it was a 16” barrel so if it worked in the 66 I would think it would work in a 92. 

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Don't know of any lever rifle that likes wadcutters. Poor choice of bullet for any lever gun.

 

Most of the 92's I have seen, seems to like a little longer bullet than many of the other rifles used for SASS.

 

But Nate would be a great person to ask.  

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Yeah, Nate will know.  I think I've heard of them feeding ten, but not easy.  You can't compare it to the '66 or '73 because the last round loaded on those is not in the mag tube.

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You will have some really fun problems getting a '92 to feed anything shorter than 38 Spl cases.  You'll have some real fun problems trying to get it to run with real short bullets.  Your best bet for case/bullets would be 38 Spl cases with 125Gr Truncated Cone bullets.  '92s are notoriously finicky.  Entirely different feed than a Toggle Link Rifle.  I don't personally know anyone who had gotten a '92 to run with 10 in the magazine of a 16 inch rifle.  You can get a 16 Inch '66 or '73 to run 10 however, be a bit more expensive.

 

PLUS ONE to all the suggestions to contact Nate Kiowa Jones.  He is THE '92 GURU.

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I have sent an email to Nate but have not heard back from him.  She may just have to start lifting weights so she can hold up the 20" version.

 

 

 

Hummm, I sent you a reply yesterday.

 

"Hi Dale,

If you shorten the ammo, use the minimum mag spring you may be able to get 10 in it. But, it may not run well. The thing to keep in mind is these modern straight wall pistol caliber ammo leverguns (all, not just the 92’s) are a lot like semi-auto handguns. There’s just some ammo they aren’t going to work well with.

All leveraction, pump action and semi-auto guns (long guns or handguns) are ammo length and bullet shape sensitive. Some more than other. For example, you don't think about it much if you are dealing with a rifle cal. like 3006, 308 or 223 and even 30-30. Those are bottleneck calibers. Bottlenecks always feed better than straightwall ammo, whether it is a rifle cal or a pistol cal. That's because you have a small diameter bullet going into a really big hole by comparison, the bottleneck chamber being much like a funnel.

     The original Winchester 92's were designed to work with bottleneck ammo in the 1.5" to 1.6" OAL with round nose flat point bullets. Ammo like 44-40, 38-40, 32-20 and 25-20.

   What that means is they may not work well with really long 357’s or really short 38’s.. The really long 357’s are too long to clear the cart  stop coming up or they tend to hit the top inside of the chamber before they make the turn into the chamber.

    The most common problem with the shorter 38's is the gun will throw out, flip or stovepipe live rounds with the empty's. This is because the shorter 38 coming on to the carrier from the tube can bounce forward enough that the rim is too close to the rim slots in the guides and when you lever it fast the carrier just catapults them up or out with the empty."

 

Get her the 20" but cut the stock down to fit her. As in her thumb no more the an inch or so from her nose when shouldering the gun. 

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The 16 " Rossi 92 cannot be made to work correctly with rounds short enough to get 10 in the magazine tube. Buy her the 20" in stainless steel with the round barrel. The Stailness Steel version is a little lighter than the Blued. Local shooter tried for over 6 months and when the rounds were short enough they had major issues feeding in the rifle.

 

If you are handy and mechanically inclined you can buy a video and the parts from Nate Kiowa Jones www.stevesguns.com and make a Rossi 92 into a pretty good rifle. If not I suggest you buy one from Nate that is already set up.  Ask him about a shorter stock that fits your daughter. You can even cut the existing one down and then add the piece back on as she gets older.

 

BTW I own 2 SS 20" Rossi 92s and a 92 with a 26" octagon barrel. They all run just fine for CAS.

 

 

 

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A 94 Marlin is in the same weight class as the 92 and they can be made to function with 38 special ammo. Any Marlin with a barrel length linger than 18" will hold 10 .38 specials in the mag tube.

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Ten 38’s loaded at 1.49” overall are 14.9” long.  That only leaves 1.1” for the follower, compressed spring and end plug in a 16” barreled M-92.  With a Model 73 or 66, the tenth round is loaded onto the carrier, not the tube.  That is what makes it possible to get 10 rounds in a toggle link rifle but not in a 92.  
 

I haven’t tried to fit 10 in a 16” Marlin but they don’t like super short cartridges either.  
 

Your best bet may be to get a 20” carbine (round barrel) and shorten it to about 18”.  If you do that make sure to do some measurements to be sure that you can get an overall length round that will feed and get 10 of them in the shortest possible magazine.  There isn’t much difference in the weight of a 16” Trapper and a standard 20” carbine though.

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Unless you are just REALLY stick on a 92.

 

I would suggest doing your daughter a favor and rethink.

Marlin Carbine to me would be a MUCH better choice. Kids don't have fun if

they are fighting there rifle the whole time. 

In my opinion the Marlin would serve her MUCH better.

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Ten 38’s loaded at 1.49” overall are 14.9” long.  That only leaves 1.1” for the follower, compressed spring and end plug in a 16” barreled M-92.  With a Model 73 or 66, the tenth round is loaded onto the carrier, not the tube.  That is what makes it possible to get 10 rounds in a toggle link rifle but not in a 92.  
 

I haven’t tried to fit 10 in a 16” Marlin but they don’t like super short cartridges either.  
 

Your best bet may be to get a 20” carbine (round barrel) and shorten it to about 18”.  If you do that make sure to do some measurements to be sure that you can get an overall length round that will feed and get 10 of them in the shortest possible magazine.  There isn’t much difference in the weight of a 16” Trapper and a standard 20” carbine though.

 

I was going to post just this sentiment, but was beat by a more eloquent poster.

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I have a '66 from Cimarron, with a 16" barrel. I trimmed the spring and with a 1.5" OAL, it will fit 10. Like any of the '66 and '73's, once the OAL gets too short, it won't lift/feed reliably. The basic design supports a 1.6" shell max, but in reality it likes them a bit shorter. Any less than 1.45" and it starts to get iffy. 

 

One downside to loading 10 in a short magazine, in a '66, is the ammo puts a bit of extra force on the ladle tab, and it will break more often. 

 

Unfortunately the '66 is a heavy gun, not good for smaller stature'd folk, the '66/'73 design is long(ish) as well, and the butt is dropped a bit too much, for me. When I bought my '73 I made sure it had the crescent butt plate. The gun stays put better on the shoulder. 

 

I'd like to see a redesigned '73, one with a bit shorter carrier, so it would feed 38 LC. It would have a shorter stroke as well, would be easier to get to minimum. BITD Winchester did have a shortened design for 22 RF IIRC.

 

According to online info, on a Marlin, the lifter can be reworked to feed 38 LC. My 38 LC ammo is pretty short, less than 1 1/4". which would mean the barrel and mag tube could be shortened a few inches. 

 

I prefer a short(er) rifle for those stages that have us sitting on a horse prop and pulling the rifle from the scabbard. 

 

The '92 is a bit fussy on OAL. Too long and it jams, too short is just as bad. My '92 was a 44-40, and it works well with a 200 gr bullet at an OAL of 1.6". Most bullets for the 44-40 have a groove that allows you to crimp at that length, danged convenient is you ask me. 

 

O6isF6sl.jpg

 

One suggestion was to get a stainless '92. They are light, even with a 20' barrel. In the picture, a '20" '73 on the top, a 16" '66 on the bottom, and a Rossi '92 in the middle. Way more metal in a toggle link action. 

 

Here's a thought, why not go to a bigger caliber. My '92 is a 44, bigger hole, less barrel weight. ammo would weigh a bit more. Perhaps there would be a net gain.

 

My son's '92 weighs 6 1/4 #, and balanced at the trigger, it has 1 # of weight at the muzzle. 

 

My '66, in 38 Spl is a wee bit under 8 #, with about the same weight at the muzzle. 

 

My '73, in 357/36 is 7 3/4 #, and is 1 1/2 # at the muzzle, balanced at the trigger.

 

All weights no ammo. I'd say going to a larger caliber would lose about the same amount of muzzle weight as going to a 16" barrel.

 

I ramble, my bad.

 

BB 

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