Rossi R95, lever issues

Hamburgler

Hamburgler

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Hey all, I just bought a Rossi R95. It's my first lever gun so I'm not familiar with what is normal and abnormal.

When the lever is actuated and brought back to the rifle body, it doesn't take much force at all to dislodge the lever. Very minimal pressure with one finger will set it loose. Is that normal? Thanks
 
Yeah I recently bought a Rossi R95 in 45-70 and had the same problem. Actually my lever wouldn't stay closed at all.
Found this video that helped me fix the problem. It's a Marlin vid but the same lever problem.

 
Had a new in box Rossi that came with broke Cartridge Guide. Fail out of the box, traded it as it was needing repair at a loss & got a old school JM Marlin.

Rossi has lost me for life as a customer after the warranty wouldn't send me a potmetal part that probably cost them 75¢ to make and would rather loose a customer because the gun did have a bill of sale (was a raffle gun)

Never ever again will I touch one, honestly even free Id say no thank you!!!

I hope you guys are the lucky ones and can have some luck. $1500+ rifle broken before I can shoot it not fun at all
 
Hamburgler said:
Hey all, I just bought a Rossi R95. It's my first lever gun so I'm not familiar with what is normal and abnormal.

When the lever is actuated and brought back to the rifle body, it doesn't take much force at all to dislodge the lever. Very minimal pressure with one finger will set it loose. Is that normal? Thanks
Click to expand...
Your first problem is buying a Rossi.....:(

And your second problem, is now owning a Rossi!......:(

No warranty support, no parts availability, Rossi doesn't care........:(

Sorry for being so cynical, but Rossi isn't the best lever gun to be laying down your hard earned money......:(

See post #3!
 
Old Rossi handguns from the 1980's that were a cloned copy of the S&W revolvers were pretty decent.

I've owned a few over the last 45 years or so. However Rossi lever guns of today, no thank you....:(

Sell it at a loss, disclose the issue, and buy a JM Marlin, Ruger/Marlin or a Henry lever gun.

Henry has the best customer service, warranty, and customer satisfaction of any firearm make in North America.....:)

Rossi makes some real cool looking lever guns, their stainless/laminate lever guns are beautiful. But with no warranty in Canada that I know of and no customer support, why would anyone buy a Rossi firearm?

If things have changed with Rossi warranty in Canada, please let us all know......:);)
 
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AlbertaJohn said:
Yeah I recently bought a Rossi R95 in 45-70 and had the same problem. Actually my lever wouldn't stay closed at all.
Found this video that helped me fix the problem. It's a Marlin vid but the same lever problem.

Click to expand...
I watched and now I see the issue. The small detent on mine rifle seems too small to file much away. I'm going to return it and see if they can find me another. Seems they are in short supply. Apart from that, the rifle seems to be decent quality.
 
AlbertaJohn said:
Yeah I recently bought a Rossi R95 in 45-70 and had the same problem. Actually my lever wouldn't stay closed at all.
Found this video that helped me fix the problem. It's a Marlin vid but the same lever problem.

Click to expand...
Hey AlbertaJohn, do you mind taking a pic of your fix? I went back to the shop today and they said their policy is "all gun sales are final". They also stated the lever retention was decent, in their opinion.
 
Hamburgler said:
Hey AlbertaJohn, do you mind taking a pic of your fix? I went back to the shop today and they said their policy is "all gun sales are final". They also stated the lever retention was decent, in their opinion.
Click to expand...
Two things, first they are correct about the final sale. However if no warranty exists in Canada for Rossi firearms, how can they do this with a straight face?....:(

One mans opinion on a faulty working firearm may not be the same as yours or mine......:(

If this Rossi is really not working properly, why would they not at least set you up with warranty, or offer to ship it to Rossi for you for repair?

You may want to call out this dealer so we all know not to shop there!
 
Hamburgler said:
Hey AlbertaJohn, do you mind taking a pic of your fix? I went back to the shop today and they said their policy is "all gun sales are final". They also stated the lever retention was decent, in their opinion.
Click to expand...
So the problem with my Rossi is that the plunger that I'm pointing at with a pen was to thick to slide over the pin in the receiver when the lever is closed hence the lever would fall open.
So I took a file and gently filed down the side that the pen is pointing at. Now the plunger is thin enough at the end to slide up and over the pin and now the lever stays closed. I can easily open the lever with two fingers but the best part is that I can vigourously shake the rifle up and down and the lever stays in the closed position.
My only advice would be to use a smaller file, I used a bigger file and as you can see I left some marks on the lever itself but it is not visible with the lever closed.
654378243_1634961017641427_3373967169725131224_n.jpg
654811644_1634961174308078_2002995556293789233_n.jpg
 
Thunderhog said:
Two things, first they are correct about the final sale. However if no warranty exists in Canada for Rossi firearms, how can they do this with a straight face?....:(

One mans opinion on a faulty working firearm may not be the same as yours or mine......:(

If this Rossi is really not working properly, why would they not at least set you up with warranty, or offer to ship it to Rossi for you for repair?

You may want to call out this dealer so we all know not to shop there!
Click to expand...
Hey Thunderhog,

It seems that is the norm for the industry so I can't fault them for that. They took the rifle back with the intention of contacting the warranty agent for Canada to see what they can do. I tried another Rossi at the store and it was the same deal.

At this point, I'm thinking of retrieving the rifle and making the modifications that AlbertaJohn outlined.
 
Hamburgler said:
Hey Thunderhog,

It seems that is the norm for the industry so I can't fault them for that. They took the rifle back with the intention of contacting the warranty agent for Canada to see what they can do. I tried another Rossi at the store and it was the same deal.

At this point, I'm thinking of retrieving the rifle and making the modifications that AlbertaJohn outlined.
Click to expand...
Hey Hamburgler,

I'm glad they at least offered to help you out, that is the proper thing for them to do...:)

The problem is Rossi rifles are just a tad better than Chiappa in my opinion. And although there are some nice Chiappa guns, there are more junk ones than good ones.

I've seen some very nice Rossi rifles, and I used to own Rossi revolvers. The issue is why isn't there a warranty center in Canada when so many dealers sell Rossi Firearms?......:(

I hope you figure out the issue that is plaguing your lever gun. It's a pain in the butt when brand new stuff doesn't work properly. It happens with all manufacturers these days. Except Browning and Tikka, their quality control is usually pretty good.

Please advise who if any is the warranty center for Rossi Firearms in Canada? Everyone should know this.....:)
 
Thunderhog said:
Hey Hamburgler,

I'm glad they at least offered to help you out, that is the proper thing for them to do...:)

The problem is Rossi rifles are just a tad better than Chiappa in my opinion. And although there are some nice Chiappa guns, there are more junk ones than good ones.

I've seen some very nice Rossi rifles, and I used to own Rossi revolvers. The issue is why isn't there a warranty center in Canada when so many dealers sell Rossi Firearms?......:(

I hope you figure out the issue that is plaguing your lever gun. It's a pain in the butt when brand new stuff doesn't work properly. It happens with all manufacturers these days. Except Browning and Tikka, their quality control is usually pretty good.

Please advise who if any is the warranty center for Rossi Firearms in Canada? Everyone should know this.....:)
Click to expand...
They mentioned some place in Quebec. I retrieved the rifle but they told me they would let me know what the warranty center says.
 
AlbertaJohn said:
So the problem with my Rossi is that the plunger that I'm pointing at with a pen was to thick to slide over the pin in the receiver when the lever is closed hence the lever would fall open.
So I took a file and gently filed down the side that the pen is pointing at. Now the plunger is thin enough at the end to slide up and over the pin and now the lever stays closed. I can easily open the lever with two fingers but the best part is that I can vigourously shake the rifle up and down and the lever stays in the closed position.
My only advice would be to use a smaller file, I used a bigger file and as you can see I left some marks on the lever itself but it is not visible with the lever closed.
View attachment 1114278
View attachment 1114279
Click to expand...

I'm not familiar with working on these rifles, but can you not drive out that pin to drop the plunger out of the rifle so you don't mark the lever while filing?
 
Hamburgler said:
Hey Thunderhog,

It seems that is the norm for the industry so I can't fault them for that. They took the rifle back with the intention of contacting the warranty agent for Canada to see what they can do. I tried another Rossi at the store and it was the same deal.

At this point, I'm thinking of retrieving the rifle and making the modifications that AlbertaJohn outlined.
Click to expand...
The repair is stupid simple, Ive done lots, pop the plunger pin out and remove it, sharpen the angle of the plunger with a "small" file and reassemble, takes 10 mins, completely fixes the problem
 
Ive owned many rossi firearms, most have been excellent, have had a couple "issues" id say on par with what albertajohn experienced that i just fixed myself in a few minutes. One was a super stiff loading gate solved by shortening the mag spring, have also had to sand down the edges on ALOT of lever guns, bloody fingers after loading is not cool (have had to do this on marlins too btw) overal id say dont buy a rossi if you dont possess basic gun tinkering knowledge. For me saving a thousand bucks and having to do maybe 15 mins of ####ing around with the gun isnt a big deal. I have many marlins and many rossis, i like both and will continue buying and more importantly shooting both.
 
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