Budget .357 lever rifles

[ilikegunspdx]

Curious if anyone owns or has shot gforce arms or Rossi lever guns. How smooth are the actions? What is you opinion on the gun?

Thx!

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[Andy54Hawken]

Any of the Rossi copies of the Winchester 92 that I have owned or shot...
Worked well...shot well...and did what they needed to do.
Worked well...as in feed any bullet type ( well , expect for wadcutter type , semi wad cutter worked good )
Shot well...as in...easy to load , point and shoot...none of mine were overly picky about ammo either.

In the looks department....
The fit and finish was good...not up to Winchester 92 standards...but the Rossi ain't a Winchester ...
All were dark...dark almost black bluing...and a dark stain / finish on the stocks.

I liked 'em...at one time they were fairly commonly seen and inexpensive...so I didn't feel bad trading or selling them off.
But...like many firearms I do enjoy...they just ain't commonly seen for sale any longer.

Please note that all of the above were the pre dumbazz safety current models.
Andy

 

[Mikej]

Curious if anyone owns or has shot gforce arms or Rossi lever guns. How smooth are the actions? What is you opinion on the gun?

Thx!

The Rossi 92 action is smooth as butter from the get-go. We (Wifey) has one in .45 Colt. I have a Winchester 94 AE 16" barrel, in .38-.357. If you decided you wanted to look closer at one you welcome to come over and fondle both, for comparison.
I believe I heard that some of the Rossi's had a plastic lifter? Ours does not.

Our Rossi is stainless BTW.

 

[CountryGent]

We have a Rossi 92 in .44 Magnum and .357 Magnum.* The latter is an SBR that started life as a "Ranch Hand" model. Both are completely reliable and accurate enough. The .44 one is a tack driver. Prices are reasonable. Only real negative is the stupid and unnecessary top mounted safety. The plastic magazine follower is kind of a cheap out, but they are easy enough to replace with an aftermarket steel version. Other than that, no complaints.

*

 

[Mikej]

Only real negative is the stupid and unnecessary top mounted safety.

I eyeballed a peep sight that replaces the goofy safety. Reviews were mixed. Some complained they didn't fit right an needed some kind of modifying.

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store.stevesgunz.com

 

[Nosferatu]

but the Rossi ain't a Winchester

Hell, a Winchester ain't a Winchester anymore either!

 

[Knobgoblin]

Hell, a Winchester ain't a Winchester anymore either!

Facts

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Hell, a Winchester ain't a Winchester anymore either!

I would prefer an old used Winchester ala 40's or earlier (ideally with much of the bluing gone) but I never see them in .357 (I guess that would be rebored from another caliber?). I like the .357 velocity/energy out of a 20" barrel. Just a bit less fpe than an AR15 with regular loads.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

I would prefer an old used Winchester ala 40's or earlier (ideally with much of the bluing gone) but I never see them in .357 (I guess that would be rebored from another caliber?). I like the .357 velocity/energy out of a 20" barrel. Just a bit less fpe than an AR15 with regular loads.
View attachment 1923910

The original Model 92 Winchester was never made in .357 Magnum...however more than a few of the .38-40 chambered ones have been re- bored / lined or re-barreled to .357 Magnum.
I once had a re-worked Model 92 rifle ....the barrel was cut down to 20 inches...and re-chambered / re-bored / lined from .38-40 to .357 Magnum.
Made for neat "Never was" Winchester Short Rifle....plus it gave new life to an old , abused and neglected rifle.

There are of course new made Winchester 92 Models in that caliber.
Neither the old ones or new ones are what I would call budget rifles...but that would depend on one's budget...
Andy

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Looks like gforce is $500 but barrel band and tube cap is wrong color. Also reciever is aluminum (can be polished). Rubber butt pad is not needed and is unattractive imo.

Rossi is $600 but has stainless receiver, no butt pad, and barrel band is the right color.

 

[Nosferatu]

I would prefer an old used Winchester ala 40's or earlier (ideally with much of the bluing gone) but I never see them in .357 (I guess that would be rebored from another caliber?). I like the .357 velocity/energy out of a 20" barrel. Just a bit less fpe than an AR15 with regular loads.
View attachment 1923910

I'm not certain they exist, but I'm far from a historian.

Buffalo Bore makes some loads that are incredible out of a lever action as well. I would seriously consider one if I needed a short-range deer rifle and didn't already have a gazillion other options!

I have had the thought about making an SBR from a Henry Mares Leg, but in .44 Mag. Haven't moved on it though since I have other things in life to figure out first!

 

[Andy54Hawken]

In that smaller picture above , the upper one...the forward barrel band is in a goofy spot.
I know many new made carbines have 'em there...but it looks wrong to me.
It needs to be where the one is in the lower picture.
Andy

 

[ilikegunspdx]

In that smaller picture above , the upper one...the forward barrel band is in a goofy spot.
I know many new made carbines have 'em there...but it looks wrong to me.
It needs to be where the one is in the lower picture.
Andy

Yea it looks like they moved barrel band backwards due to the large size of the front sight. Because both those are black it looks weird to my eye.

I'm no expert but I've heard a lot of the Turkish guns use parts sourced from all over he country. So that front sight may well be the one found on gforce or other shotguns Fe. Just guessing. In contrast some of the very big military producers such as mke, sars etc seems like they make all parts in house.

 

[Provincial]

It is hard to rate firearms in many cases because so many manufacturers vary in quality control. For instance, Rossi quality has a history of variation.

I bought a Rossi 92 20" carbine in .357 about ten years ago. At that time their quality was questionable. Mine had an acceptable cosmetic appearance, and functioned adequately. It was a little stiff at first, and rather than wait until it broke in, I disassembled it and polished it a little. The machining marks were not going to go away without making the actions sloppy, so I just shined up the contact areas and left the gouges as reservoirs for lubricant. This worked out very well.

The loading gate was very stiff, so I flexed the mounting tang to relieve some of the spring tension. This also worked well.

I haven't changed out the plastic magazine follower, but I don't store it loaded. I believe it could distort if under constant pressure.

One thing I didn't like was the strong ejector spring. No matter how you cycled the action, it threw the empty into "low earth orbit." Hunting for spent brass was difficult. I wound a spring for it that drops the empty by my right foot, and all is well.

As Andy stated, accuracy is adequate for hunting and plinking. I use two loads. One uses 158 grain cast (or coated) RNFP lead bullets with a small charge of Red Dot powder. This produces about 1050 fps, with a mild report and almost no recoil. Great plinking load. The other is 125 grain jacketed flat nose soft points with H110 powder. This gives a little over 2200 fps and a reasonably flat trajectory out to 75 yards.

With these loads it is a fun little gun that is economical for plinking and adequate for Blacktail deer at the ranges seen around here. It isn't so nice that I would worry about getting a scratch on it, so I can use it anytime, anywhere.

 

[Tlock]

Curious if anyone owns or has shot gforce arms or Rossi lever guns. How smooth are the actions? What is you opinion on the gun?

Thx!

I have shot a Rossi, like Andy said it did its job. I ended up going with a new ruger made Marlin in 357

 

[RVTECH]

Something else to consider are Italian repros.

Member New2Reload currently has two Chiappa Mod 92 .357's for sale.

I have looked at, and handled several Italian repros over the years and many of them are very nice with excellent fit and finish and great wood.

They exceed the quality of any Rossi I have ever seen or held - but in fairness I have NOT seen a new Rossi in over 10+ years so maybe they have improved. Also (unfortunately) I wouldn't really classify a new Italian repro as 'budget' rifle but the prices on the used ones I mentioned are pretty reasonable.

Also if you are not 'dead set' on an original model style don't overlook a Henry.

 

[mhayd93]

Curious if anyone owns or has shot gforce arms or Rossi lever guns. How smooth are the actions? What is you opinion on the gun?

Thx!

I recently took the risk on the relatively new GForce Huckleberry rifle as it was under 500$ on Grabagun a few weeks ago.

I have been highly impressed with the overall fit and finish! The action is very smooth out of the box and reliability has been 100% so far (around 120-130 rounds of 357 magnum). The trigger is impressive as well, though I only have a Marlin 1894C to compare it to, which are notoriously not great triggers!

The biggest question mark on the GForce for me is the longevity of the aluminum receiver. With the locking lugs being steel there are valid concerns about how the aluminum will hold up. However, the receiver is noticeably thicker overall compared to a Rossi 92 or Marlin 1894.

Also, the locking lugs and the cutouts in the receiver for the lugs are rounded rather than cut "square." It's nice to see that they were mindful enough to eliminate any potential stress risers. For what it's worth, there is literally no visible wear on my rifle anywhere on the receiver where the locking lugs ride.

One last note, the recoil pad seems unnecessary, but it does help when shooting full-bore 357 loads. The rifle is so light you'll actually feel some stout recoil, almost like shooting 30-30 out of a Marlin 336, minus 10% or so!

 

[ilikegunspdx]

I recently took the risk on the relatively new GForce Huckleberry rifle as it was under 500$ on Grabagun a few weeks ago.

I have been highly impressed with the overall fit and finish! The action is very smooth out of the box and reliability has been 100% so far (around 120-130 rounds of 357 magnum). The trigger is impressive as well, though I only have a Marlin 1894C to compare it to, which are notoriously not great triggers!

The biggest question mark on the GForce for me is the longevity of the aluminum receiver. With the locking lugs being steel there are valid concerns about how the aluminum will hold up. However, the receiver is noticeably thicker overall compared to a Rossi 92 or Marlin 1894.

Also, the locking lugs and the cutouts in the receiver for the lugs are rounded rather than cut "square." It's nice to see that they were mindful enough to eliminate any potential stress risers. For what it's worth, there is literally no visible wear on my rifle anywhere on the receiver where the locking lugs ride.

One last note, the recoil pad seems unnecessary, but it does help when shooting full-bore 357 loads. The rifle is so light you'll actually feel some stout recoil, almost like shooting 30-30 out of a Marlin 336, minus 10% or so!

Awesome info thx!

Would love to get a uberti or marlin (by ruger) but those are out of my price range. I'm kinda tempted to suck it up and get a uberti in 45LC just cuz I like the cartridge and quality of the uberti. The gforce at $500ish and Rossi at $600-$650 are much more affordable. Hmmm...

 

[RVTECH]

The rifle is so light

I watched a review of this rifle and it's like 5.5 lbs approx!

However good to hear a positive report and that you are impressed with the fit and finish!

Range report on accuracy next?

 

[mhayd93]

I watched a review of this rifle and it's like 5.5 lbs approx!

However good to hear a positive report and that you are impressed with the fit and finish!

Range report on accuracy next?

Shooting at 50 yards just using a backpack as a rest was yielding around 2-2.5" groups with a stoutly hand loaded 158 grain xtp.

I am confident it—and I—can do better, especially once I tailor a load specifically for this rifle. I will update once I get a chance to do more dedicated accuracy testing!