Rossi Break-Open Shotguns

Photos & Story              
by John C. Krull
Gun Week Production Manager

This has been a really bad year for me for getting to the range and being able to test fire any guns. Sometimes it has been a time conflict and we just haven't been able to get there, shoot, and back in the time we had.

The primary problem has been the weather. Whenever I plan to go and do some shooting, it has rained. Last Tuesday night we planned to go to the range and get in some trapshooting. We got there okay, but ended up on the 12th and 13th squads. After the 5th squad had shot, it started to pour cats, dogs, and a few other unknown animals. We ended up crossing our names off the squad sheets and getting our money back because we knew that if they ever got to the 12th and 13th squads, it would be past the 10 p.m. sound ordinance, so we wouldn't get to shoot anyway.

I really wanted to shoot these Rossi break-open, single-shot shotguns (Braztech International, 16175 NW 49th Ave., Dept. GWK, Miami, FL 33014; phone: 800-948-8029; on-line: www.rossiusa.com) and get this article done for the shotgunning issue. So I asked Joe Tartaro if he by chance had a hand thrower for clay birds. He said he did and that he even had some clays we could use. Great!

We went to the range on Friday and pulled the van right down to the trap house. Got the guns out and got all set up and the thrower wouldn't cooperate. So I ended up hand throwing some birds for Pam and she hand threw some for me. Not a really good way to do it.

So instead we decided to go down on the rifle range and do some shooting with a sample M1A from Springfield, but that's another story for later.

When we came back up on top there was a guy there who said he was real good with a hand thrower. So I gave it to him to try. He had the same problems that we had earlier. We cleaned the thrower. We oiled the thrower. And finally discovered that the arm was slightly bent. After straightening, it worked just fine.

Rossi Shotguns
We had two versions of the Rossi shotguns. A regular-size 12-gauge and a youth model for Pam in 20-gauge. Both are single-barreled, single-shot guns that break open by activating a lever on the top right-hand side. Both have to be cocked before they can be fired. Both have wooden stocks and forearms and are fitted very well. A trigger lock is supplied with each gun like none that I have ever seen before. There is a plastic device that inserts into the trigger guard and goes in front of and behind the hammer. Then you put the supplied cable lock through the plastic device. It's functional but a bit cumbersome. Personally, I don't have a trigger lock on any of my guns. I don't know how I would keep track of which key went to which gun. It's so much easier to just lock them up in the vault.

There are several differences between the Rossi 12-gauge and 20-gauge models. So far we have tried to just tell you the features that remain the same between the two firearms. The 20-gauge has a manual safety on the left-hand side of the gun. If the photo came out good enough, you'll be able to see it in the picture. The 12 doesn't have a safety. After talking with Keeva Segal at Rossi today, I found out that the reason my 12-gauge doesn't have a safety is because it was from an earlier run. So anyone now buying the 12-gauge version will have the safety feature on their guns.

The 20-gauge is designed to be a youth model so the length-of-pull is 2 inches shorter (12 inches) than the 12-gauge's 14 inches. The barrel is also 6 inches shorter on the 20-gauge, being 22 inches, it is chambered for 3-inch magnums and has a built-in modified choke. The 12-gauge sports a 28-inch barrel and is also chambered for 3-inch magnum shells. Its choke is also modified. Another feature that remains the same on both shotguns is that they both have fore-and-aft sling swivels.

Ammo
We used several brands of ammo while doing our testing. I had forgotten to ask any of my ammo suppliers to send me any 20-gauge ammo because I had forgotten that the youth Rossi was on the way. So we had to see what we could find in the ammo locker. We found some Winchester HB 2-inch number 6s, and some Winchester Xpert 7° loads. There was also some Remington Sport loads in number 8 shot, from the days when my daughter Helen use to shoot a 20-gauge.

For the 12-gauge we had offerings from Winchester in the form of their AA Light Target Load with #8 shot, and from Federal, their Gold Medal Paper #8 loads.

Both of the guns handled well, functioned well, and were fun to shoot. We didn't do too well on the hand-thrown birds but scored better once we got the hand trap working properly.

I would strongly suggest to a parent who needs a first gun for his son, daughter or even his wife to get his hands on one of the Rossis. They aren't expensive and should be affordable in almost anyone's budget. The retail price for either gun is just $106.

Matched Pair
The 12-gauge or the 20-gauge are also available as one of Rossi's Matched Pairs. This includes a second rifle barrel that is matched to your action. You have a choice of several different chamberings of rifle cartridges, including: .223 Rem.; .243; .308 Win.; .30-06 (my favorite); .17 HMR; .270 Win., and the relatively new .270 WSM. If you are into rimfires, you can get your 12-gauge paired with a .22 LR or a .22 Mag. barrel, but not for the 20-gauge. So you can actually acquire two guns for little more than the price of one and not let your wife know how much you saved. The retail price of a matched pair is $231.

If you are into muzzleloading, Rossi also has a matched pair which includes a .50-caliber in-line barrel. We did a test of this gun just a few weeks ago in the June 10 muzzleloading issue. Check that back issue to find out the results, or go to: www.rossiusa.com to read the article there.

I'm sure that there are a couple of things that I have forgotten to tell you, but then you can find out for yourself when you get your Rossi.

Overall I would say that Rossi has a decent product at a very decent price. These shotguns or the Matched Pairs would be a good hunting gun for any shooter and are priced right for anyone new to the discipline of shooting firearms. Can you afford not to get one? Who needs more than one shot anyway?

Remember when contacting any of the manufacturers in this article be sure to tell them that John at Gun Week sent you. Shoot Straight.

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