by Eight Bits
Following are the steps I performed on my two Rossi's to slick them up and
improve functioning. I am not a professional gunsmith, just a shooting
enthusiast and hobbyist, as well as a tinkerer. If you are unsure about
any of the following procedures, please defer to a
qualified gunsmith. For polishing I use wet/dry 600 grit emery paper wetted with Hoppe's gun oil.
To remove metal I use a jeweler's file, then polish as above. For stoning I use
a hard Arkansas stone. To polish pivot pins I use oiled 600 grit emery paper,
or oiled automotive crocus cloth. Work slowly and carefully and check
functioning frequently. It's always easy to remove a little more metal, but
adding metal is very difficult. As we learn, we may have to replace a part of two that we over work. That's part of the risk of the adventure.
Aways, wear safety glasses while working with springs or sanding.
Disassemble the rifle and thoroughly clean all parts
Disassembly Instructions Alternate Diassembly Instructions with PICTURES
Trigger Assembly
____1. Polish sides of trigger
____2. Polish trigger spring and trigger mating surface
____3. Lighten trigger spring by bending up
____4. Stone/polish hammer mating surfaces inside the lower tang
____5. Polish trigger pivot pin
Hammer Assembly
____1. Polish hammer strut
____2. Polish hammer sides where they contact the lower tang
____3. Polish hammer face
____4. Remove 4-6 coils from mainspring and flatten end
____5. Polish hammer pivot pin
Carrier
____1. If the carrier is too tight in the receiver, remove some metal from the
right side of the carrier.
____2. Polish both sides of the carrier at the pivot pin holes
Ejector Assembly And J.P. Withers notes from the SASS Wire: Rossi 92 "Puma" - Lessons learned
____1. Remove all burrs
____2. Polish shaft
____3. Polish all mating surfaces
____4. Replace the ejector spring Spring from Stevesguns.com or Lee Spring Kit from Brownells or Rossi Assembly/Disassembly
byJ.P. Withers, SASS 68019
Hopefully I'm not re-inventing the wheel here but I thought I'd pass along some experience gained from working on the like-new Rossi “Puma”copy of the WInchester 92 SRC I picked up a while back. This carbine is chambered for .38 special/.357 magnum.
First, Marauder's webpage is a great resource. Marauder's Rifle Page But you probably already found that since you are here.
Make sure you pin the hammer spring before attempting to remove the hammer screw. If you don't do this you can still get the screw out but you will bung-up the threads (embarrassed shrug).
As others have said, the magic word for this rifle is "SPRINGS"! I would never have believed how great the impact of the ejector spring is to the overall functioning of this rifle. I thought the hammer spring would have a big impact but was very surprised about the ejector spring.
The original (heavy) ejector spring made the rifle pull, chamber, and eject everything I fed it (including some step nosed LSWC rounds) but made the lever action so heavy I had to put a leather wrap on the lever to keep from bruising the back of my index finger. Looking at the rifle you'd think the resistance was coming from the locking bolts... it doesn't, it's totally the ejector spring inside the bolt.
(Safety tip, DO NOT MESS WITH THE LOCKING BOLTS they set the headspace for the rifle)
A weak (just slightly too weak for my gun, actually) aftermarket ejector spring made the rifle cycle as slickly as you can imagine, BUT it also caused my particular rifle to have trouble cycling the longer .357 rounds and also have random trouble ejecting any type of rounds.
I don't personally recommend this, but if you intend to try the "cut and expand" method on your springs (see Bull Schmitt's instructions about 1/2 way down the page here...) Bull Schmitt's Instructions then have extra ejector springs handy -BEFORE- you start experimenting or you'll sit idle for a while - while you get new ones. WEAR SAFETY GLASSES when working with springs! (The shortened springs don't hold up for most folks.)
The original hammer spring is too damn heavy. Don't bother messing with it, just buy a replacement at Brownells. (But shortened springs can work, if you prefer.)
If you feel the need to remove the cartridge guides, inspect the left one (with the swivel on it) carefully before re-installing. If the swivel pin drops down even a tiny bit the part will NOT seat back in correctly (even though it looks like it's in place it acts like it is shimmed out) and NOTHING will feed. I spent about an hour of frustration before I figured that one out.
Check the retaining pin for the firing pin. If somebody has been dry-firing the rifle a lot (especially with that overpowered factory spring) it's likely that this pin is BENT. Replace it before it bends too far and/or breaks and you will save yourself a lot of trouble later on.
Morgan Astorbilt made a very good suggestion about thinning the extractor just a bit to reduce the resistance it creates just before the bolt finishes closing. In my particular case I like that last solid "click" as it slams home so I didn't modify that at all on my gun.
Guess that's about it for now.
JP
EDIT: more to the adventure. Let me tell you about the wonder of White Lithium Grease! Most of this rifle works fine with your favorite oil but if you take some white lithium grease and put a thin film all over the locking bolts (especially the front where they "lock" the bolt forward), the sides of the bolt, and the swivel pin for the hammer, you will suddenly have the slickest 92 you ever imagined. My 92 now cycles as smoothly as it did with the "too light" ejector spring.
Final Edit 7/3/2006 - Post shooting range testing. Took the 92 to the range and the final verdict is 5 stars and two thumbs up! I ran 20 cowboy .38 special RNFP and 20 cowboy .357 RNFP through it as fast as I could with nary a hiccup. Then I put 20 full power .357 mag JSP then followed with 20 full power .357 JHP. I had one JHP round catch slightly on the edge of the chamber but a gentle shake and it dropped right into place and we were off and running again. Cycles smooth as a baby's bottom and kicks those shells right out of the way when it's done with 'em.
One Parts Sourse:
M&M Gunsmithing
204 S Union St Alexandria, VA 22314-3326
(703) 739-2150