Anyone own a SS Rossi in .308?

[Chainsaw]

I noticed the .308 on the web literature and was wondering if anyone here owned one and what your thoughts were on that offering. Does case ejection problems that plague the NEF/H&R seem to come into play? What type of system ejects/extracts the spent case?

Will these rifles stand up well to the thrust created by the higher pressure centerfire rounds they are made for? Any thoughts would be appreciated......Chainsaw

[george]

I bought my rossi 308 a few weeks back from a friend, he had it since new and it had only shot a few boxes of ammo so it had no problem.

It's a little ammo-fussy, you'll have to try a few to see what it likes.

It failed to fire several rounds of pmc (white box), quite disconcerting when you drop the hammer on a round 4 times and nothing happens even after turning the round in the chamber to try to hit a different part of the primer. :?

Next up was the remington express core-lokt 150... wow talk about a hot load! :eek: The 'bang' seemed twice as loud, it was blowing back past the primers and cases were a pain to extract. Two cases didn't budge (the extractor just popped past them) and so I tapped them out with a cleaning rod.

Winchester powerpoints in 150 and 180 were fine, as were winchester ballistic silvertip 150's, and pmc 'gold' barnes-xlc 150's.

Accuracy? The remingtons were the best but I wont use that load in this rifle again. Probably will work fine in yours, every chamber can be a little different I guess. The pmc-gold was also accurate. All three winchester loads were average.

You asked about the extractor... well I don't know how to describe it but it's a big claw that grips about 20% of the bottom of the case. Apart from those hot remingtons, it worked fine (and it was only 2 of the remingtons that got stuck, the rest of that box was fine too).

I luuuuurve my rossi, small light carry all day and still a 308 hit when I use it. I am attempting to fit ghost rings to it, a real pain for both the front and rear... best idea so far is to use the XS-Sights rear designed for a winchester model 70 (!!!) and for the front, I'll try to make a post myself to fit into the rossi front sight-base. Any help on ghost rings actually designed to fit the rossi would be greatly appreciated!

[anweis]

Hi Big George,
did that .308 of yours shoot consistently enough (accuracy wise) for hunting? There's a pawn shop here in town asking $90 for a .308 Rossi, and they said i could have it for $75. I am tempted.
Also, how is the trigger? Creepy, heavy, or "good 'nough".
Thanks.

[george]

Anweis,

Yep accuracy was no worries... with the open sights I was grouping within a few inches so whatever you shoot will certainly be dead. Try a few brands of ammo first, mine is fussy as you've read. If you're scoping it then the rifle will shoot as accurately as you can, I'm still heading down the ghost-ring path.

The trigger? Kindof heavy and no movement at all! It just sits there as my finger presses it, and then it decides to let go once the pressure is high enough.

[single shot shooter]

if you can get it for $75 and its in decent condition buy it. I would. the rossis are better than people think/say.

[Chainsaw]

Big George, Thanks for the info on the Rossi.........Chainsaw

[anweis]

a friend of mine bought the Rossi .308 for $65 from a pawn.
There is nothing wrong with this rifle. We played with it a few days.
The trigger was adjusted by a gunsmith to 3 lb., and we installed a 4x32 scope on it.
we tried 8 kinds of ammo in it.
The Hornady light magnum gave us 2  stuck cases, but otherwise ok. all other ammo shot fine. So we shot Portuguese and Aussie surplus, and a selection of Winchester, Remington, Federal, Hornady, and Black Hills. All 70-75 shots combined were within 3"  (145-165 gr. bullets)
we did cleaning between shots, and i also loaded and fired some Tubbs Final finish lapping bullets. I also used a fired case and some fine grit lapping compound to polish the chamber just a bit, by hand. It made a big difference!!! No stuck cases, and Hornady, Remington,and Black Hills shot 7/8 - 1" groups. Good rifle.  Good handling, lightweight, i like the safety.
It is not of lesser quality compared to NEF/Handi.

[gwhilikerz]

A 308 ss Rossi is on my "want" list. I intend to get either that or a  "survivor" 308 soon. The other will follow shortly :grin: