Rossi 92SRC

     Notes:  This is an imported Argentine rifle, often seen in the "spaghetti westerns" of the 1950s and 60s. It is patterned after the 1892 Winchester, with top ejection.  This unfortunately makes it difficult to attach a sight. 

Rossi Puma

     Notes: Essentially a modification of John Browning’s Model 92 Winchester, the first Puma was introduced in 1976.  Though the first Pumas given the designation of “Model 67,” they were often called the “Model 92” (whether mistakenly or otherwise) due their resemblance to John Browning’s rifle.  The Puma is essentially an old-style lever-action rifle, with a straight-wrist stock, a loading gate on the right side with a spring-loaded cover, and a half-length fore-end.  The exposed hammer used a half-cock safety as well as a conventional manual safety.  Construction was largely of steel with some brass touches, and polished walnut woodwork.  The barrels were 20 inches long, with a full-length tubular magazine underneath.

     The Model 65 was the first Puma to enter production in July 1976; the Model 67 could fire .357 Magnum and .38 Special ammunition interchangeably, even to the extent of mixing the different ammunition types in the magazine.  Though they had normal serial numbers until December of that year, a “K” was added at the beginning of the number string to differentiate it from the Model 77 (see later in this entry).  In July 1977, a lighter and less expensive version of the Model 67 was introduced; this was the Model 77, which could fire only .38 Special ammunition.  As with the Model 67, they started out with standard-type serial numbers, but in December of 1977 they had a “B” added to the front of their serial number string.

     Though variants of the Puma firing various .44 calibers had been experimented since the introduction of the Model 67, they were not produced commercially until the early 1980s.  This was the Model 65, which could chamber .44 Magnum or .44-40 Winchester interchangeably.  They were, unfortunately, never made in great quantities, though they were built until 1989.

     At this point, Rossi licensed the Puma name a design to the US firm of Legacy Arms.  In the mid-1990s, they began producing their own Pumas, calling them the Model 92 series; these versions use a longer 24-inch octagonal barrel.  Though they started out making the standard Puma chamberings (except for the .38 Special-only version), they quickly began producing versions with 20-inch and 16-inch round barrels (which they call carbine versions), as well as .44 Magnum, .480 Ruger and .454 Casull carbines with 18-inch round barrels.  Through the years have produced Pumas in some quite powerful chamberings, with the last being the .480 Ruger chambering introduced in 2004.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The Legacy Puma does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Rossi Rio Grande

     Notes: The Rio Grande is Rossi’s newest lever-action offering.  Stocks and pump slides are of walnut, with ventilated rubber recoil pads on the butt; one version of the .30-30 chambering is an exception, as it has synthetic camouflaged furniture.  The receivers are topped with a short length of MIL-STD-1913 rail; iron sights consists of a narrow, high blade front and an adjustable notch rear.  Barrels are uniformly 20 inches in length, but chamberings vary. Finishes also vary; the .45-70 chambering has metalwork which is blued, as is the .30-30 chambering with synthetic furniture; the wood-stocked .30-30 has stainless barrels, with the rest of the metalwork blued; and the .410 chambering can be had in full blued or full stainless finish.  All have exposed hammers; the .45-70 chambering has an enlarged loop lever.

Rossi Gallery Rifle

     Notes: This pump-action small-caliber rifle was based on the Winchester Model 62.  Production of the first version, the Model 37, began in 1962, and is still in production.  The stock and grooved slide lever are of polished hardwood and the stock has a straight wrist.  Though the profile is noticeably compact and slim, it does have a slab-sided receiver with metalwork of steel and with brass touches on certain parts such as the trigger guard and the exposed hammer.  The hammer has a half-cock safety, with an interlock preventing firing until the action is securely locked.  Feed is from a long underbarrel magazine.

     In the US, the Rossi Gallery series is primarily sold through Interarms, though they usually still carry the Rossi name.

     As said, the Model 37 was the first version; it chambers .22 Short, .22 Long, and .22 Long Rifle interchangeably.  The barrel is 23 inches long, and the sights consist of a front blade and a rear spring-leaf and elevator adjustable sight.  In 1980, a version with stainless steel metalwork and a higher quality of brass was introduced.

     The Model 57 Gallery Junior was introduced in 1970.  Unlike other Gallery series rifles, the Model 57 was sold in the US by Harrington & Richardson (and called the Model 749 by H&R), and in the US primarily carried the H&R name.  The Model 57 was sold primarily sold in the US, and sales elsewhere were quite limited.  For that matter, sales in the US were never high.  The Model 57 was basically a Model 37 with a short 16.5-inch barrel, and the tubular magazine ended level with the muzzle.  The Model 57 is the only member of the Gallery series which is no longer manufactured, with production ending in 1972.  However, an improved version, the Model 73 Gallery Junior II, was introduced in 1975 (but not distributed in the US by H&R).  The Model 73 is still being manufactured.

     The Model 59 Gallery Magnum is also essentially a Model 37, but it is rechambered for the .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire cartridge, and the magazine is shortened somewhat.  Though slightly longer than the Model 37, this is primarily due to the longer action required to chamber the longer cartridges.