Rossi .38 Pt.2

Fatstrat

I have found the model number on the Rossi .38 SPL I post about on an early thread. It is a Model 351. As to the original question. Is this gun safe for +p ammo?

rufe-snow

I use to sell the older pre Taurus Rossi's, way back when. They were entry level, economy guns for folks who didn't want to spend a lot of money. I wouldn't be shooting Plus P's in them unless it's a emergency situation.

charliemeyer007

I'm with rufe-snow, in a emergency all bets are off. A good 38 special load is enough, and can be quite snappy in a small gripped, short barreled light gun. I try and have people only shoot one load in their gun. I only know two guys that shoot 357 in their 357's as a rule, everyone else shoots 38 specials. Myself if I'm putting up with a 357 then I'm shooting my 44 Mag and I never load specials.

beantownshootah

quote:Originally posted by Fatstrat
I have found the model number on the Rossi .38 SPL I post about on an early thread. It is a Model 351. As to the original question. Is this gun safe for +p ammo?


Define "safe".

Will one round of .38+P ammo instantly blow the cylinder and or revolver topstrap apart? Despite the intrinsically crappy nature of these guns, not only do I strongly doubt this will happen, but if it were really true, the gun would not be safe with "ordinary" .38 ammo either.

Will hundreds or thousands of rounds of .38+P ammo eventually knock the gun out of time, and or/distort the frame? I'd say there is a good chance this is true, and this sort of "wear and tear" will be greatly accelerated with overpressure ammo.

Bottom line, if, as I suspect, this gun is going to sit in a drawer a lot, and be shot very little (if at all), then I don't think having one cylinderful of +P ammo in there for "emergency" use is going to hurt anything.

If you're worried about this then either don't use +P ammo, or (far better yet) just trade the gun in for something else. Life is really too short to worry about stuff like this.

If you're going to shoot this a lot, then just trade it.

If you look hard (or maybe not so hard) you can probably find a decent servicable used Ruger, Smith, or Taurus medium frame gun for $225 or so, and all of those are rated for +P ammo in unlimited quantity, plus are better choices for novice shooters than a snubnose gun. Assuming you can get $125 for the Rossi, I'd say another $100 invested in a better gun is well worth the piece of mind.

Edit, responding to below: My understanding is that all of the older Rossi-branded guns are out of warranty. Specifically, the current importer/distributor of Rossi guns ("Braztech") will not repair older guns at all, let alone honor any warranty on them.

Edit #2: Responding to below.

Feel free to call them, but I wouldn't actually expect any help here from Rossi USA.

Newer Rossi *handguns* are manufactured under license by a subsidiary of Taurus, and distributed in the USA by a separate American subsidiary called "Braztech". The older Rossi guns were actually made by Rossi in Brazil, but distributed in the USA by Interarms, (which I believe is defunct).

This corporate structuring is confusing, but the point is that even though the NAME is the same, the company that is currently making Rossi handguns is not the same company that made them 30 years ago, and the company that's importing them is also different.

If you call Rossi USA to ask their opinion about +P ammo, since you'd effectively be asking them about a gun they didn't build, import, or currently support, the most appropriate answer they can give (and they only one I'd expect) is "All of our current production .38 revolvers will handle unlimited amounts of +P ammo, but if the word 'Braztech' isn't written on your gun, we don't support it, and can't comment on it".

Furthermore, regardless of the actual safety of the weapon, if they WERE willing to answer, the ONLY legally appropriate answer they *COULD* give about an older gun is "don't use +P ammo in the gun". Anything else assigns them liability, with corresponding zero benefit.

Edit #3: If you're talking about a current production model Rossi revolver, these are actually made by Taurus, and they are all rated safe for unlimited amounts of +P ammo. Again, if this is the case, the word "Braztech" will appear somewhere on the gun.

Riomouse911

Can it fire them? yes. Should you fire +P in your Rossi? I say no, as has everybody else who commented on that particular question. It will wear and break sooner, it might void any warranty, it won't do much more than regular high-quality defensive .38's, and it **might** cause damage or injury to the shooter **if** the gun fails because of the increased pressure of the +P loading (**doubtful, but possible).

I had a 5-shot Rossi in stainless many moons ago. I stoked it with Federal Hydra-shok regular pressure loads. It looked good and it worked, but the cylinder was a bit off-kilter and the barrel/cylinder gap would sway from about .002" to .009"-.010" as it rotated. I only fired it a few times before selling it, fearing the cylinder face would bind against the forcing cone if I fired a few in defense. I now own a Ruger SP101, which is rated for +P ammo, and it is loaded with +P loads.

Whatever you choose to shoot in it; it's your gun, to do with what you want. Stay safe!

rsnyder55

I don't remember, but did you contact Rossi USA to get their opinion? They make/import the revolvers.

EDIT 05/26/12

I don't know what generation your Rossi is, but the 351 and 352(stainless) are listed production items as R35102 which MAY or MAY NOT be applicable in your case.

http://www.rossiusa.com/gun-search.cfm

Fatstrat

Thanks for replies. It was my recently deceased FIL's gun. Now MIL plans to use a home defense weapon. It will likely not get fired much if at all.

Riomouse911

Stoke it with standard pressure .38's, which should have a recoil level that she can handle, and leave it at that. She'll be just fine with it.

JLawsonTXRH

Your MIL won't know the difference in a +P round or not, and the gun will probably (hopefully) never be used by her. Lets fact it - it is more of a security blanket than anything for her.