Rossi Princess revolver

[CLT65]

Ever seen one of these? I picked up this tiny little revolver recently, a Rossi model 13 "Princess". It's a 7 shot .22lr, fits in the palm of your hand. Apparently they were only imported for a few years in the 1960s.

I don't know why I bought it, other than it was cheap and looked neat. The frame is an alloy, basically pot metal, so I don't plan on shooting it much. I have a couple boxes of Aguila "Super Colibri" .22 ammo, similar to CB caps, very light loaded. I figure they should be fine to shoot in it. I'm concerned that regular ammo might wear it out quickly. I need to find some CCI CB ammo.

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[red442joe]

Looks good for a cheepie pot metal gun.
Let us know how it shoots with the cb type ammo.

Joe

 

[LDmax]

Awwww

 

[CountryGent]

First I ever heard of them. Looks like a neat-o old revolver. 'gratz.

 

[CLT65]

Awwww

That was my first thought when I picked it up.

Here's a better photo. It actually seems pretty well made for a pot-metal gun. Trigger pull is smooth, timing is perfect, and lockup is tight.

Too bad the frame wasn't steel instead of pot metal; I'd probably shoot it a bunch. I know there's a lot of .22 revolvers with "alloy" frames, but all the ones I've seen have several times the mass of this thing. So, I won't be shooting it with anything besides a few of the very lightest .22 rounds.

Besides, it appears to be "collectible" to some degree. Looking around online, I see that an identical one recently sold on Gunbroker for several times what I paid.

 

[po18guy]

Colt Frontier Scout .22 Magnums are made of the same stuff (Zamak). No one worries about those. and wasn't the ill-fated SW380 made substantially out of Zamak, with a 2500 round lifespan? Even though 22LR is at 24,000 PSI and the .380 only at 21,500 there' a whole lot more of the 21.5K to beat the frame up.

 

[CLT65]

Colt Frontier Scout .22 Magnums are made of the same stuff (Zamak). No one worries about those. and wasn't the ill-fated SW380 made substantially out of Zamak, with a 2500 round lifespan? Even though 22LR is at 24,000 PSI and the .380 only at 21,500 there' a whole lot more of the 21.5K to beat the frame up.

Very true, and a point often missed. I heard it said that since a 5.56 and a .50 BMG operate at about the same chamber pressure, a blow-up with a 5.56 is just as bad. The reality that some people miss is that they may be the same PSI (Pounds per Square Inch), the .50 BMG has a LOT more "Square Inches"!

What concerns me about this little thing is that while it's made of the same material, there's a lot less of it!

 

[po18guy]

The steel cylinder takes the punishment, as the thin 22LR case expands outward, locking it in place at peak pressure. The bolt face absorbs far less, and the bullet everything that's left. There may be a steel bolt face insert, actually.

If it is mechanically sound, I would have no qualms about shooting it with LR.

 

[CLT65]

In my searches online looking for info about it, I found one thread on an old forum where a guy was complaining that flame-cutting at the cylinder gap cut into the top strap badly after only a couple boxes of ammo, and another story of one breaking somehow in short order.

I know that's only a couple of anonymous stories on the internet, that may or may not have any validity at all. I just figured to err on the safe side, since this gun is so "dainty".
I've tinkered with a couple different RG10 revolvers over the years, made from similar materials. I don't know how much either of them had been fired, but how many people shoot thousands or even hundreds of rounds through a gun like that? They were both pretty much completely worn out. Hopefully this Rossi is substantially better quality than the infamous RG10. You could very well be right and it would take it just fine, but I didn't want to take the chance. Besides, I have plenty of other .22 handguns to shoot.

 

[po18guy]

I have seen some Zamak revolvers with a steel "anti-flame cutting" strip dovetailed into the frame just above the gap. It works and it's even replaceable. Seriously, if the B/C gap is OK, I would not hesitate shooting a few through it.

Even here you get the "Neighbor's co-worker's friend's cousin" had such and such happen. Talk is cheap, unless you are in D.C. - then it costs billions.