In our last adventure, I discussed quality European craftsmanship. In today’s Revolver Rant, we’re heading south of the equator. Specifically, to the southern Brazilian town of São Leopoldo, the HQ of Taurus Armas. But we’re not really going to review a Taurus. Not technically. Instead, we’re going to review a Rossi.
So why specifically are we reviewing a Rossi? Simple. Not everyone can afford a $1,000+ wheel-gun. Trust me, I know. I can’t afford what I have either, I just happen to sell blood by the gallon to willing buyers on the black market. Seriously, have you seen the prices of good wheel guns? Rugers are now in the “Jeez, that’s S&W’s league” range. I still remember buying brand new GP100s for under $450 and I thought that was expensive when I was a rookie patrolman.
That’s where Rossi comes in. It’s an affordable revolver for the working-class revolver aficionado.
Rossi’s been a regular feature in the working-class price range of guns for a long time. Being imported by Interarms, Rossi revolvers gained a reputation for affordable, if not exactly always reliable quality control from product to product.
Eventually when Interarms shut their doors, Taurus purchased Rossi and did the same. They were closed and Rossi branded revolvers ceased production and importation into the US.
Times change, though, as we’ve all seen. The revolver market is undergoing a renaissance. Colt jumped back into the double-action market. Kimber came out with completely new designs. Henry’s making very attractive handguns now. And, thankfully, Taurus haws dusted off the Rossi brand and they’re back in the game, too.
I was taken aback when Rossi released their “Magnum Country” commercial on social media a year ago. It seemed full of swagger, bravado, and 1980s action movie cheesiness. I was hooked.
As something of a revolver connoisseur, I was intrigued when I saw their round-butt 3-inch six-shot .357 Magnum chambered RP63 in the commercial and then discovered this little video that Rossi put out about the gun.
What really impressed me was fact the fact that the new Rossi revolvers aren’t just rebadged Taurus guns.These are their own new designs. Yes, there’s a genetic linage to Taurus, but cracking a Rossi open, this isn’t an updated Taurus. It’s much closer to a traditional Smith & Wesson (which Taurus was too, back in the day) and that excited me.
The video even showed a hammer-mounted firing pin. Taurus moved away from that over a decade and a half ago. There’s also no dreaded Hillary hole lawyer-lock.
The RP63 a clean design. It’s literally what one would stereotypically thinks of when they think “revolver.”
In order to keep the RP63 affordable, it isn’t full of forged and hand-fitted parts. It has its share of MIM components. And yes, I’ve ranted about MIM before. But I know deep in the cockles of my heart that MIM is okay. The plane I flew back from Gun Owners of America’s GOALS was full of MIM parts. The turbo-fan blades in the jet engine are MIM parts. I’m just a curmudgeon trapped in a Xennial’s body.
Anyways…Rossi’s RP63 is pretty much everything that I think is just right for the revolver market at the moment. It’s a six-shot .357 Magnum chambered round-butt revolver with a 3-inch barrel. It has a satin stainless finish with simple, but rugged fixed sights. It’s the perfect no-frills carry gun for someone who’s on a budget. And that’s what led me to get one. I wanted to see if this was real and if the juice is worth the squeeze.
Frame size wise, the RP63 is pretty close to a Colt D-Frame. In fact, my HKS speed-loaders meant for Colt D-Frames work perfectly.
That’s a great thing, because I’ve heard from fellow wheelgun shooters who own the Taurus Model 856 that speed-loaders are hit or miss. The Rossi doesn’t have that issue. The ones made for the D-Frame work perfectly, without an issue.
Another good thing is the fact that the revolver comes with a proper ejector rod. None of those tiny little nubs.
Holster wise, rigs meant for my Colt Detective Specials and current production Colt King Cobra fit perfectly.
The RP63 carries well and its 27 ounces of stainless steel don’t drag my pants down.
The factory rubber grips are very similar in texture to Hogues, but not quite as spongy. In the end, I like ’em and I find them very comfortable.
On the range, they do the job even when cracking off Remington 125gr SJHP rounds. You’ll feel a little bit of sting after a box or two, but it isn’t anything like shooting a scandium J-Frame chambered in .357 Magnum.
In terms of accuracy, the RP63 is comfortably minute of bad guy at seven yards. I noticed that for me, the gun was hitting to the left. I honestly think that’s a me problem.
The RP63 has a smooth-faced trigger and is quite comfortable to use. The trigger pull is a little on the heavy side. With the some work and spring changes, that can be lightened if you choose.
In the end, am I going to keep the Rossi? Yes. I like what it offers. But the gun does have some drawbacks. The sights can be a bit hard to see depending on your background (a dab of paint on the front ramp will fix that). The rear trench sight and front sight blade are on the small side. That makes lining them up for accuracy a bit challenging and that’s why I think I was shooting to the left.
Also, the barrel and the frame aren’t perfectly matched. The contours just aren’t there. You can see where the barrel mates with the frame and that no work was put into blending the two pieces.
To be fair, that’s not a huge problem in a budget-priced revolver.
All in all, though, these are minor issues. The gun thus far has been perfectly reliable and it’s very affordable. I’ve seen them hovering around the $350 retail price point. You can’t get gun like this from S&W, Ruger, or Colt for that price. You can’t even get a Taurus revolver in this configuration since their Model 605 is a five-shot revolver.
Again, for working class folks who want a concealable six-shot .357 Magnum revolver, the Rossi RP63 right now is the best bang for the buck. It’s fifty-state legal and at its price point, the quality is more than there.
Specifications: Rossi RP63 Revolver
Caliber: .357/.38 +P
Capacity: 6 rounds
Action: DA/SA
Barrel Length: 3.0 inches
Overall Length: 7.95 inches
Width: 1.46 inches
Weight: 27.3 ounces (empty)
MSRP: $469.99 (about $350 retail)
Luis Valdes is a former law enforcement officer and detective, and is currently the Florida State Director, Outreach Director of Puerto Rico & US Virgin Islands, and National Spokesman for Gun Owners of America. You can follow Luis on X via @RealFLGunLobby.
This one looks interesting. I’m gonna do some more reading, and see if I can get one in hand locally.
I do not like you Luis.
Your articles on revolvers always co$t me.
It is possible we are brothers from different mothers.
I have long appreciated your articles.
SWFL guy myself, not withstanding.
The picture of the internals did it for me. Nice touch.
One can easily do a polish job on the internals and elevate trigger feel & response.
Doe Wilson make spring for Rossi?!
Keep up the good work !
*Does Wilson…..
i picked one up, I was unable to find a stainless so i got the black one.
after 750 trigger pulls and 250 rds through it wow very smooth. I also shoot a little to the left
but a tight group, i personally think its because the trigger is to wide, but this will become my
new winter carry probably with either speer 135 grain gold dot or the old speer 158 grain SWCHP.
Off to the range with it again tomorrow to see how it shoots after installing a green XS big dot night sight
that is made for the Taurus 856.
Pete
Back in the late 70’s early 80’s I had a break in service from active duty US Army for a couple years and family funds were meager. I owned a bolt action 20 gauge, a little H&R 9 shot .22LR revolver with a flip-out cylinder, and a little Rossi .38 Special with a 3” pencil-barrel and a windage-only adjustable rear sight, though I believe it was a 5-shot, (about J-frame size).
The Rossi turned out to be very reliable and provided for everything I needed from a centerfire handgun at that particular time, (or at least while staying in our budget). I wore the Rossi in a pancake holster at four o’clock carrying it nearly everywhere, all the time. The little H&R was in the wife’s jean, coverall, or housecoat pocket nearly as often, (though it was always under her control as we had two children/toddlers at the time). And the 20 gauge was at home “out of sight” in a corner with several loaded mags nearby, but separate. As we lived in a mostly rural environment, the three guns did get used fairly regularly, if not actually frequently. And an additional amount of time was spent informally range shooting, and “fields/woods” plinking also a very common occurrence. The constant use and handling of those three firearms made their use very second nature, so frequent safety reminders were covered and constantly practiced. As familiarity so often breeds contempt!
But, my original point was how handy, reliable, and capable that little 3” Rossi .38 Special turned out to be. Providing usefulness out of proportion to its paltry price. Because many of us have tight financial purse strings at various points in our lives, and still desire and deserve financial access to important tools. It’s often in these financially difficult times we find ourselves at our most vulnerable. And an affordable, reliable, handgun can very often be one such tool we might need.
Like you, I also would like to find these new Rossi revolvers as useful and reliable as I did in the past. And though my financial status may be improved, I’d like to believe my wisdom and discretion have improved as well. And this new Rossi looks like it might well be a smart buy. It’s now a six shot .357 Magnum offering even more flexibly while only very modestly expanding in size and weight. And as I’ve always liked and thought well of the D-frame Colts in its various iterations, this Rossi also might have a bit uniqueness in today’s market place, for both its size and price.