help me understand revolvers !!!!!

[neomentat]

i recently purchased my first revolver, a Rossi model 461 .357 magnum. i havn't shot it yet, it's a da/sa revolver, does that mean after I shoot the first shot in double action then it will recock itself and shoot single action for the rest of the round like a pistol?

btw does anyone have any experience with the Rossi revolvers? they're made by Taurus now and the finish is excellent, but i heard these revolver's firing fin are prone to breaking.

this one i have atm has a 2'' barrel, and i will be shooting .38 special +p with it. but i want another one to shoot .357 magnum, should i get a 4'' barrel or a 6''?? would the extra 2 inches make a big difference???

thanks

[markymark]

i recently purchased my first revolver, a Rossi model 461 .357 magnum. i havn't shot it yet, it's a da/sa revolver, does that mean after I shoot the first shot in double action then it will recock itself and shoot single action for the rest of the round like a pistol?

No. You can shoot every round in DA without having to cock the hammer. You can also cock the hammer at any time for a SA shot. Every shot after any type of shot (DA or SA) will be DA.

[DB2]

i recently purchased my first revolver, a Rossi model 461 .357 magnum. i havn't shot it yet, it's a da/sa revolver, does that mean after I shoot the first shot in double action then it will recock itself and shoot single action for the rest of the round like a pistol?

No. It means that you can pull the trigger with the hammer in the forward position, or you can pull the hammer back and squeeze the trigger. Much shorter trigger pull with it cocked back.

No experience with a Rossi revolver. But I have a Taurus Tracker in .357 with a 4" barrel. It's a great shooter.

[mike100]

a double action revolver is DA when pulling the trigger, but can be put into single action by cocking the hammer with your thumb before the shot. this is what you would do if you wanted to make a long distance shot or for accuracy.
the double action nature of revolvers makes them inherently safe since you aren't going to set it off with a hard grab out of a holster.

newer guns aren't going to go off from a hard drop either, although some guns made before 1970 or so may have issues and old school revolver guys would carry with an empty chamber under the hammer and when you ppulled the trigger, the cylinder rotated to the next chamber and shot normally. you definitely can't have an accidental discharge if the chamber is empty, but these days all revolvers use a transfer bar to seperate the hammer from the firing pin unless the trigger is being pulled....

anyhow... 4" 357's are the standard length... longer ones just don't holster as well, but i guess it depends how far away you want to shoot and if you want maximum ballistic performance that longer barrels offer.

[rick1881]

Had a Ruger w/a 2.25 barrel...hated the damn thing...it was like a bad dog.

[sargenv]

Rossi's are ok for the money if you don't shoot a lot. If you want something to shoot a lot, a Ruger or S&W are far better built, especially if you want to fire full power 357's in them. However, the K frames tend to shoot loose with a steady diet of 357's, the L and N frames can take an amazing amount of punishment and still keep going. Ruger framed 357's tend to last and last and they are the equivalent of the L frame S&W's. The Larger Redhawk frames tend to be more N frame comparable. S&W's tend to have the ability to have the best triggers with work though.

Vince

[Bongos]

did you have to take a handgun test before you can buy a pistol in CA? I believe this question is on the test

[railroader]

I use to have a couple of rossi revolvers, a 2" 38 special and a 4" .357. Both were well made, had really nice bluing and good triggers. They weren't as accurate as my s&w 686 but they still shot well. They are a good value. Mark

[neomentat]

thanks for the replies, I think i'll buy another Rossi with the 4 inch barrel for some 357 magnum shooting. the DA trigger on my revolver is a little tight, but the SA is great, should I dry fire it until it loosens up?

[neomentat]

crapy firing pin

crap, it is to my dismay to report that the FIRING PIN on my Rossi 461 broke after only 200 rounds of .38 special

i love the fit and finish on the revolver but it seems like their firing pin are made of cheap material and is prone to breaking. after my first trip to the range I will have to sent this gun back to Rossi for warranty service already. that kind of sucks and I hope they will reimburse my shipping fee hassle free.

does anyone know how good their customer service is?

[Omega13device]

For you sake, I hope it's better than their firing pins...

[TMC]

Here's how to shoot a revo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giSaNiQ-Wb4

[Aluisious]

Wow, 200 rounds and a breakage that was feared before the shooting.

That's some poor quality.

Get a Taurus/SW/Ruger next time.

[mike100]

I have heard some bad about Taurus in the past, but anybody I actually have met in person with one says theirs have been fine.

S&W and Ruger cost a bit more, but you will not have issues with those. Used revolvers are just as good as new if they haven't been shot too much so look in the for sale section here.

[neomentat]

the firing pin on my Rossi is made of a cheap tin/lead like metal and it looks and feels fragile.

instead of sending it back to the manufacture and get the same firing pin, can I take it to a gun smith and have a firing pin of better steel installed? or are all firing pins on revolvers made of such cheap metal?