Rossi .357 mag

[MikeH1]

Turners has a Rossi .357 mag w/2" barrel for $299. Worth it?

[SDM44]

Not to threadjack the OP.....

But comparing the Rossi .357, is the quality better/worse/same as say the Taurus M605 that Turner's has on sale for $30 more? Both are blued, both have 2" barrels, both are .357 magnums. Only the Rossi holds 6 shots and the Taurus holds 5 shots, and the Taurus is slightly smaller.

I was looking at buying one of them this week, so I figured they were a good comparison (not to take away from the OP's post, but any answers can be extra help).

[WWDHD?]

A friend has one and I shot it once. The double action trigger was WAY shorter and lighter than I expected. Grip felt a little odd but could get used to it. Not a bad gun overall. Don't know about long term durability.
Seems like a decent gun for the money. I still prefer my Ruger SP-101 but the Rossi does have the extra round.
Good luck to you.

[sequoia_nomad]

The Rossi is probably a little nicer, a little smoother than the Taurus in my experience, although I haven't handled a newer Rossi so for all I know quality may have gone south. Neither is comparable to a S&W, but for the money they are decent work mules. Almost bought a new Taurus M605 a year or so ago, they brought me one out in a factory sealed box from the back, unwrapped it so I could check it out and it already had rust on the top strap! Needless to say I was quite appalled and didn't buy. Held off awhile and found a used 686 for $450, couldn't be happier.

[K1LLROI]

I had one of the exact models. I liked it. It kicks like a mule, but you expect that from a snub nose. IMO, it's worth it. If it's going to be your only revolver I vote nay. If it's going to be part of a family, go for it.

It tends to be a little rough around the cylinder, just make sure its well lubricated, and your g2g.

Good luck on your decision.

[MikeH1]

Thanx everyone for the info, it's for a friend, and I was curious as I had never heard of Rossi before.

[Greg-Dawg]

You get what you pay for.

[Cokebottle]

Rossi = Taurus

Same company.

[Joe]

get an sp101

[Cokebottle]

get an sp101

Or a GP100 for a 6 shot.

Keep in mind, in .357, generally, 5rd will be an equivalent to a "J" frame. Smaller, lighter, better for concealment, but also a bit more recoil, and of course, only 5 rounds.
The 6 rounders will typically be the larger "K" frame. A bit heavier, more manageable recoil, an extra round, with the tradeoff that it's a bit harder to conceal.

[SDM44]

So I went and checked out both the Rossi and the Taurus M605 today at Turner's. I always hate when I read people saying "you get what you pay for" since it's not always the case. But this time, it definitely is the case when looking at some cheaper (in price) revolvers.

Not to get away from the OP's original question, but this is more of some good comparisons that I noticed today when checking out closing the Rossi 357, the Taurus M605, the Ruger SP101, and even the Armscor M206 revolver. From those 4 that I checked out, here was my opinion on each.



Rossi 357 ($299 on sale this week) - Has a nice blued finish and the grip feels good in my hands. It holds 6 rounds of .357 magnum and .38 spl , and it's barely larger than the Taurus M605. However, the cylinder was very tight to release from the frame as I had to push it pretty hard to get it to pop out. The DA trigger was a little hard but nothing too bad. But the thing that I didn't like at all was the SA trigger, when the hammer is pulled back. Seriously, it took maybe 1-2 lbs to pull the trigger when in SA. It surprised me the first time as I barely touched it and the hammer came down - easy enough to have a AD or ND. Overall, the look and feel is good. But it's lacking in the quality dept.

Taurus M605 ($329 when on sale, like past Wed) - Has a nice blued finish but the grip is slightly smaller in my hands, but that was expected. It only holds 5 rounds of .357 magnum or .38 spl, but then all J-frame revolvers do. The DA trigger felt slightly smoother than the Rossi, but it just could've been the new guns and not being broken in. Same with the SA, as the M605 needed a little more pressure to release the hammer than on the Rossi. The cylinder did also take some effort to pop it out from the frame like the Rossi, but it felt slightly smoother. I like the look and it feels good, but it's a little expensive and not too far off from a Ruger SP101 when on sale.

Ruger SP101 ($419 when on sale, like a couple of Wed's ago) - Has a stainless finish, which some people may like but I'm looking for a blued revolver. The grips feel a little small in my hands, and the revolver actually feels a little lighter than the Taurus M605 (I didn't look at the specs, maybe I'm wrong but I'm just going off what I noticed today). The main thing to note is the trigger pull in both DA and SA felt really good and smooth. The cylinder was smooth when releasing it. Overall, for less than $100 more compared to the M605 or just a little more over the Rossi, I now see that "you get what you pay for" comes into play. Great gun, and my recommendation on a starter .357 mag / .38 spl revolver should you get one as your first.

Armscor M206 ($189 when on sale, like a couple of Wed's ago) - talk about a big turd that thing is. I was all set on buying one when I saw it on sale a few couple of weeks ago, but when I actually held it and pulled the trigger and released the cylinder, I knew this was no where a good revolver to have as my first one, and to serve as a night stand gun. It's good if you just want something to plink with at the range, but then it's also kind of a waste IMO. The trigger was extremely gritty feeling and really rough and heavy to pull in DA, and same in SA. The cylinder had a lot of play when I released it, and I didn't really care for the parkerized finish (even through I want a blued - "black" colored revolver) as it just had a real rough look to it. Sure at less than half the price of the SP101, it sounds pretty attractive.... that's what I almost fell for until I actually handled it. But the main thing to note is that it's not a .357 magnum, but only a .38 spl revolver. All of the others I listed are .357 magnums so they can all use .38 spl and +p ammo.


So in conclusion, for revolvers especially, you definitely do get what you paid for. Some of the S&W revolvers I checked out were even nicer, but then you are getting into a higher price.

[MikeH1]

thanx for sharing the info SDM44.

I was thinking the same thing about the Armscor, that's just way too cheap, more like a Sat nite Special!

[scarville]

A lot of Rossi's I've seen have a poorly fitted cylinder bolt that cause them to sometimes be difficult to open. They use an old S&W design but don't take the time to fit some of the parts well.

[sequoia_nomad]

.357 magnum or .38 spl (didn't see any +p listing)

A .38 Special +P (or +P+) is essentially a "hot" .38 Special that shoots at higher pressures. Any revolver that is chambered for .357 Magnum can shoot standard .38 Special and +P rounds as well. Some revolvers will be labeled as .38 Special +P, this is the hottest load that can be safely shot in them. As the .357 is a much more powerful cartridge, the frame of a .357 revolver will naturally be made much stronger and can easily accommodate the increased pressure of a .38 +P, whereas a gun labeled .38 Special should only be used with standard loads.

[kperry]

My father's got that Rossi .357. He's had it for about ten years, and is really happy with it. I've shot it quite a bit, and it's a decent little .357, with a fairly good double-action trigger, and is pretty accurate for a 2" barrel in single-action.