[APS]

Hi Folks!

New to the forum and new to lever actions. A little background info....
I've never owned a lever action before and am looking to purchase one to use in two different matches at my local club. In one match you shoot at a hanging ram at 200yds (you just have to hit it) the other you shoot at little animals on a rail from 40-100meters and you have to knock them off. This is unsupported off-hand shooting only.

Surfing around, weighing my options and my budget I decided on a 24" lever action in 44 mag or 45 Colt; the Rossi specifically due to cost and some of the reviews I've read here seem to indicate it will be accurate enough. I will be mounting a Marbles tang sight on it and replacing the front with a smaller bead sight.

My question for those of you that have mounted the Marbles on your Rossi, is it a direct replacement for the 2 tang screws or do I need to drill and tap the tang. I did a search here and on google and I see some good pics but can't find anyone saying it doesn't need a drill/tap to install.

Thanks!
Adam

 

[Rangr44]

Hi, Adam - Welcome aboard !

Only some Model 92's have the middle/forward part of their upper tang D/T'd for the tang sight base's forward mounting screw - so, depending upon the gun you end up with in your hands, you may/may not need that 2nd hole D/T'd.

AFAIK, the Marble's tang peep sights are sold w/o the longer-than-issue tang screw, needed to mount the sight, and must be ordered separately from the sight (extra $$).

There are two other things you can consider, besides the replacement front sight blade - and they concern the rear barrel sight, it's dovetail, and how you'd like to zero the rifle.

When using any kind of peep sight, receiver or tang, it's best to have a clear/clean sight picture of the front sight/target, unobstructed & undistracted in any way by the rear barrel sight.

You can simply remove the rear barrel sight, and shoot only with the tang sight - in which case you should either order a slot filler blank for the rear barrel slot, or make one.

OR,

You can exchange the issue rear barrel sight for a folding leaf rear barrel sight.

That will enable you to have TWO different zeroes for your rifle - a relatively short range (say 50-75yds) one for the folding barrel sight, AND a somewhat longer range (ay 125 yds) zero for the tang sight.
Both sights WILL zero perfectly, using a front sight blade the same height as the issue blade.

The tang sight is folded for close shots, with the bbl sight then folded & the tang sight raised for a deliberate/longer shot.

.

 

[APS]

Thanks Steve and Rangr44 for the good advice! It'll save me money in the long run...
I had seen Steve's posts and bookmarked all the parts b/c I plan on replacing the same ones as he did. Glad to see that I don't have to mess with drilling and tapping. If the trigger is too heavy I do plan on getting Nate's DVD.

I had mulled over getting a 38/.357 model but talking to a fellow shooter he said that it would make scoring hits on the 200 yard ram a little difficult. I'm not totally convinced b/c the scorers use spotting scopes and watch the ram. I'm drawn to the 38/.357 b/c I already have a ton of brass and dies and bullets are less expensive than .45. Also, on the cowboy silhouette range, there should be less sight adjustments needed with the lighter bullet. Man, I think I may have just talked myself into a .357! I'll be hitting the local gunshow this weekend.

Thanks again, Adam

 

[WyrTwister]

I have a 24" oct bbl Rossi in 357mag with the exact sights you are considering (Marbles tang, folding rear, and 1/16" bead front [vs std 3/32" bead for better accuracy]).

If you use the Marbles tang sight for the Rossi, all you need to do is order the Marbles mounting screw set and it will screw right on without any d&t.

Here are the exact sights I bought from Brownell's for my 357 mag.

* 1ea Marbles 37-W 1/16" Gold front sight - Stock no. 579-103-731 (I got the 1/16" wide one for more precision but they also have a 3/32" wide one too)
* 1ea Marbles Folding Sporting Rear Sight No. 95 - Stock No. 579-000-082 (you need a folding one so it doesn't block the tang)
* 1ea Marbles Rossi 1892 Peep Tang Sight - Stock no. 579-009-807 (made specifically for your Rossi '92)
* 1ea Marbles Peep Tang Sight Screw set (Rossi) - Stock no. 579-000-101 (again, specifically for your Rossi '92)

Note: The Rossi rifles (both 20" short and 24" bbl) are already D&T for the front tang sight screw so all you have to do is screw them on.

(BTW, as to accuracy, it's amazing how accurate my Rossis are [I have both the 24" rifle and a 20" carbine]. Using my rifle and the folding rear sight and smaller bead front sight, I can shoot 8" steel plates at 175 yds with ease with my 158grn 38spl+P loads; switching to my tang sight for 300 yds with my 357mag loads.)

Could you please post a photo with the tang sight folded down ?

Thanks ,
Wyr

God bless

 

[APS]

Wow, that looks nice and tight. Is there a detent that holds it firmly in the up position or do you have to reset after each shot?
Adam

 

[APS]

Well, I found a case hardened 24" Rossi 38/.357 at the gunshow on Saturday and bought it after verifying that I could in fact use .357 at the Ram Bash. I took it to the range today and fired two 38spec and one 357 load through it. No probs with feeding, etc. but the gun did shoot 2 inches or so to the left at 50 yards. It looked like some of the primers on the 357 load were pierced slightly as there was soot in the primer pocket. It was Remington 124gr Golden Saber factory ammo. Anyway, I've ordered the sights and parts referenced by COSteve and hopefully will be able to put them on this week and shoot again next weekend.

The action was OK. I'm not sure if I'll mess with it since it's serviceable and I won't be shooting any cowboy action matches. I would like to smooth out the loading gate area as it shaved a little bit of brass off of each case I loaded. I was able to connect with the 200 yard steel a few times with the 38spec loads but had to hold way over. I'll be working up some 180gr .357 loads for the Ram Bash.

Do you guys remove the bolt to clean the barrel from the rear end? - nevermind... I just saw marauder's pics on disassembly. I don't think anyone would do that on purpose...

Adam

 

[COSteve]

Wow, that looks nice and tight. Is there a detent that holds it firmly in the up position or do you have to reset after each shot?
Adam

The spring of the long arm holds it securely in either the up or down position.