Picked up a M 92 recently. Rifle will only feed .357 cartridges 20% of the time. Lever has to be manipulated very slowly in order for the bullet to feed. New to lever actions. Anyone experience similar FTF probs? Any thoughts on correcting before I see a smith are appreciated.

I have not had any feeding issues with my 92 but remember that it feeds like a simi auto pistol, the way the feed ramp pushes up the cartridge, try a different bullet shape and see what that does.

You didn't say whether your '92 is new but if so, it may just be a bit tight and needs a break-in period. If used, Black tail's suggestion to try a different bullet shape is a good one. IME, '92s like round nose, flat point bullets so you might try a similar shaped bullet. If that doesn't help, contact steve@stevesgunz.com ('92ssteve@stevesgunz.com) and run your problem past Steve. He's a Rossi '92 specialist gunsmith with a great reputation. Used to, might still, do the warranty work for EMF guns. Hope this helps.

You didn't say whether your '92 is new but if so, it may just be a bit tight and needs a break-in period. If used, Black tail's suggestion to try a different bullet shape is a good one. IME, '92s like round nose, flat point bullets so you might try a similar shaped bullet. If that doesn't help, contact steve@stevesgunz.com and run your problem past Steve. He's a Rossi '92 specialist gunsmith with a great reputation. Used to, might still, do the warranty work for EMF guns. Hope this helps.
I spent a good deal of time talking to Steve and he is a great help, and a nice guy I suggest giving him a call.

Picked up a M 92 recently. Rifle will only feed .357 cartridges 20% of the time. Lever has to be manipulated very slowly in order for the bullet to feed. New to lever actions. Anyone experience similar FTF probs? Any thoughts on correcting before I see a smith are appreciated.


The pistol caliber lever guns are happier with Round Nose Lead bullets . Some may be happy with Flat Point RNL .

So far in .357 / 38 Spl , .44Mag & .45 LC , none have liked the Semi-WadCutters I have been casting / loading for my wheel guns .

Keep in mind , the original pistol caliber lever guns made in the 1800's were not designed to shoot SWC's and they do not do that gerat now , with the reproduction rifles .

So far , I have bought a RNL mold for .44 and thinking about it for .357 . Fortunatly , I have a .45 RNL mold I had been using for .45 ACP Ball and a .45 Roun Nose Flat Point mold that was probably made for wheel guns ..

God bless
Wyr

Disclaimer: What I know about model 92's I have learned in the last 5 days. I just bought a Puma in 44 mag. I made up some rounds using Hornady 200grn XTP's. They didn't like to feed well. I also had some loads with a more rounded tip bullet. Neither fed like I thought they should. After looking at the action cycle many many times it seemed to me that the round was feeding at to much of and angle and would get hung in the chamber. Not always but enough to irritate me. I noticed when I dismantled the rifle that the left side cartridge guide has a spring behind it. I backed off the screw holding the guide just enough that the space between the cartridge guides decreased. Now it feeds like a champ.

George

This is all great to know, as I just picked up a .357/38 Interarms/Rossi in like new condition. Looking forward to shooting it.

A couple of things to keep in mind about leverguns in general:

-- Most will be a bit stiff when brand-new. This is an irritation, but a good thing, as it allows the action to "wear in". Often, use will correct feed problems. Lube the action and cycle it unloaded a few hundred (or thousand) times.
-- Levergun actions are to be operated briskly. A common user error I have seen with the M92 is short-stroking the action. That last fraction of forward lever travel is what pops the feed ramp up to where it needs to be -- and that's one of the areas where the action will be a bit stiff when new. Work it, work it!

Failing improvements after the above, StevesGunz.com is the place to go to find the expert.

In my short time of experience, I found that crimp and bullet shape are key to good feeding the Puma M92, 357/38 levergun. 38's feed slicker than slick. 357 cartridges are a little finicky.

When I reload my cartridges, I apply a moderate to heavy crimp, and this seems to improve feeding greatly. I had some factory cartridges that would not feed at all until I ran them through my Lee Factory Crimp Die. Once crimped, they all feed fine.

Monarch brand .357 158 grain HP (factory loads) feed best with my gun. They have a big meplat, and a nice crimp (no case mouth edges sticking out around the bullet).