While I don't have a 44 Mag., I do have three Rossi Model 92 Puma's, .38/.357Mag. carbine, 44-40 Win. carbine, and a 45 Colt rifle. All are fine rifles, work well, and are a bunch of fun. I don't know, but just thinking out loud, I suspect a steady diet of full pressure loads in either the .44 Mag. or .454 Casull chamberings would lead to an early demise! Read that as 'loosening things up a bit.

 

Based on my experience with a Marlin 1894 in .44 mag.... it will kill on both ends

Enjoy!

 

I have Rossi 92s in .357 Mag, and .45 Colt (which I have loaded up to 32,000 psi, which gives 44 Mag performance at slightly less pressure).

The .358 Mag is much more pleasant to shoot than a .44 Mag or hot loaded .45 Colt as the recoil on those .4s can be pretty brutal in a lightweight carbine.

The .357 mag is also more accurate. I have a 20” short rifle and 24“ rifle that both shoot 2 MOA with a tang sight. My 20” carbine in 45 colt is more of a 4-5 MOA firearm.

The Rossi 92 offers great bang for the buck, at about half the cost of a Winchester. But they will need a thorough cleaning and benefit from some minor tuneup. Stevesgunz.com has a DVD tnat goes through the process of slicking them up as well as a replace ent ejector spring and a steel magazine follower.

Replacing the ejector spring gives you about 80% of the action smoothing all by itself. The steel follower avoids the inevitable problem of the plastic follower splitting.

Beyond that it’s just shortening the hammer spring and magazine spring, thinning the leaf spring on the loading gate, and polishing the lever detent, the lifter detents and the camming surfaces on the bolt.

Once you do that it’ll be just as slick as a Winchester 1892 or Armi Sport Chiappa 1892.

 

I had occasion, today, to 'racoon' finger a brand new Rossi 92 in .357, stainless steel appearing receiver and an 18" blued octagon barrel, while not a .44mag it had the slickest action of any Rossi 92 I've ever held. Then there's the two I owned when they were first imported in the late 70's in .357 and 20" barrels, great shooters. This was while I was at my LGS, picking up my nice Win 69A in .22

 

My experience with Rossi 92's is they are a good reliable shooter. However, I'll agree with Mike "44 mag in light lever action rifles will kill on both ends". But as a hunting rifle with the shooter dressed in heavy winter clothes it may be a different story.

 

First trip to the range to chrono some 'vigorous' .45 Colt loads through a Marlin 1894 'cowboy' with a 24" barrel did two things..... I was astonished to see 300gr. bullets at ~1700fps over the chronograph, and immediately regretted not holding on to the gun a LOT tighter when pulling the trigger on that first round

I think the gun kicked worse than my .338 Win Mag! Most of the blame for that rests squarely on the Marlin buttstock design. Smacks the heck out of your face. Was glad I had a scope on it with decent eye relief. Hope the Rossi is better in that regard.

 

I own a Rossi Puma in .44-40, and it is a pleasure to shoot and is very accurate. I mostly use 200 grain cast bullets & Hornady XTP 200 grain, sized to .427" . You can shoot .44 Special ammo in your .44 Magnum which will have less recoil.

 

I've always liked those rifles with one Caveat...if you find a 44 Mag that shoots, keep it! I've had miserable experience with accuracy out of a lot of 44 Mag rifles.

Good luck and all the best.

 

I own two Rossi Mod 92's. 1 357 carbine and 1 44 mag rifle with a 24" octagon barrel. Of the pair the 357 is fun to shoot .
The 44 has been shot the most with cast bullets and modest loads. I've used both in lever action silhouette matches that
a club puts on. I had both of mine D&T and installed receiver sights. The 44 rifle has the crescent butt plate and without
using my Past recoil shield can cause some discomfort after a 40 round match.
Only changes I've made is replacing the magazine springs and followers in mine and they have gotten smoother with use over time.
If you go back into the way back machine here you should be able to find threads from CO Steve. He had several 92's and posted some info on his.
They be some fun guns for less money than the Winny or the Marlins.

 

I do have a WInchester 94 Legacy 44mag with 24" bbl. It is fitted with a slip on recoil pad. Even with full house 310 bullets it's no problem to shoot. With the Rossi 44mag , just looking for a shorter Bbl. for carrying aound on the property. Won't be shot that much, & mainly with my 280gr cast bullets at around 1200 fps.Recoil should not be an issue with my load. I hope..

 

If your .44 Mag. shoots like my .45 Colt carbine, you'll be a big fan.

 

I have a 20" Rossi 'El Jefe' lever action in 45 Colt and the fun factor is huge! I'm sure the 44 Mag will be the same - especially if you shoot 44 Specials or handload it.

I can hit a man size silhouette with mine at 200 yards just about every time.

 

I have one caveat and that is butt plate. I have a standard carbine and it shoots great. I had a cowboy model with a very curved butt plate and it was painful to shoot. Both worked well and were accurate.

 

The curved carbine pattern butt plate, and to an even greater extent the crescent shaped rifle pattern butt plate are both designed to be placed on the upper arm just outside the shoulder joint, not in the shoulder pocket just inside the shoulder joint like a shot gun style butt plate.

It makes some sense as it allows the arm and shoulder to flex and move more to absorb recoil. However, they are also normally put on stocks with a longer length of pull designed to allow the shooter to shoot with it at more of an angle across the chest, rather than pointing more forward as is the case with a shot gun style butt plate.

Shoot it as it was designed to be shot and it’s a lot more comfortabl.

 

I was just reading an article on this in American Rifleman, one of this summer's July '22 issue. The drift of the article is how wonderful .44 is to reload, that you can get whatever power level you want in one of these rifles. Reloading for a Redhawk, I've used very fast powder to low velocity, and very slow powder to high velocity. The caliber is not finicky over a very wide range.

 

I had a Marlin in .44 mag and really liked it as a deer rifle. Since Indiana now allows most center fire calibers so I switched to a Winchester 70 FW in 6.5x55. Buy the Rossi, you’ll like it. Also if you handload, the .44 is an easy load to make.

 

They have changed through the years. Steve’s Gunz is the expert on tuning the Rossi M92’s. I have a 16” 357 mag. on my to get list.

 

I've heard good and bad about Rossi. Much like Taurus it's hit and miss with the quality. I suspect you'd be just fine with it.

I have a Winchester 94 top eject .44 magnum and I love the gun. The 92's are an even better choice since the action is designed for pistol calibers vs the 94's rifle caliber length action. I've never had any problems with recoil. Yes, it has some oomph with the hotter stuff but far from being difficult to handle. If you are a hunter and don't have long range shots, a 92/94 in .44 magnum is a dream to carry in the woods.