The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

DaveB wrote:"No semi-autos over .22lr for us Dave :("

Yes I rather thought as much. Pity, you're missing out on a lot of fun! That's yet another reason I like NZ over Australia - they are in almost the same boat as the UK - sold a pack of lies about how banning certain types of firearms would make everybody so much safer. As they say on the Tui beer ads here: "Yeah, Right" .

Not wanting to go off topic but I've seen some of the semi-auto Dragunovs you NZ guys have and it makes me very envious!.

meles meles wrote:Oh ? We thought Marlins were meant to be pretty good, so if the Rossi is better...

The Marlin is a very beefy and strong firearm and will last a century or more...but it is more gun than is needed for the .44 round. The Rossi isn't the quality of the Marlin but it will do the job nicely in a lighter and handier package for less money.

I own a Marlin 336T in .30-30 and my first center fire civilian rifle was a Marlin 336C in .30-30 so I am a Marlin fan. I've had Winchester 94s in .30-30 and .44 magnum and find it to be a clunky action and not at all as smooth as the Marlin since the lever must first break down and then out compared to the full arc swing on the Marlin. But, for a handgun cartridge the 92 Rossi is about the best you can get short of the Browning/Winchester Japanese made 92s. Those are primo.

rufrdr wrote: The Marlin is a very beefy and strong firearm and will last a century or more...but it is more gun than is needed for the .44 round. The Rossi isn't the quality of the Marlin but it will do the job nicely in a lighter and handier package for less money.

I own a Marlin 336T in .30-30 and my first center fire civilian rifle was a Marlin 336C in .30-30 so I am a Marlin fan. I've had Winchester 94s in .30-30 and .44 magnum and find it to be a clunky action and not at all as smooth as the Marlin since the lever must first break down and then out compared to the full arc swing on the Marlin. But, for a handgun cartridge the 92 Rossi is about the best you can get short of the Browning/Winchester Japanese made 92s. Those are primo.

I would agree that the Japanese-made Browning/Winchester 92s are better finished, but recent production runs of these have that un-necessary tang safety which spoils them for me. None of my lever actions have a safety. When I wanted to buy my Winchester 94 Trapper Model in .30-30 in the early 90s I scoured gun shops in small towns across Northern Ontario until I finally found somebody that had one made before angle-eject and before that awful cross-bolt safety. Who needs a manual safety on a lever action with an exposed hammer? I go along with the old-timer who told me "The only safety you need is the one between your ears."