Web    Images    Groups    News    Froogle    more »   Advanced Groups Search   Preferences

Not long after I stumbled across rec.guns back in 1994 I posted a note on
one of my Rossi firearms, imagine my surprise when a fair number of notes
were generated in response indicting Rossi products as "junk" and stating
they were shoddy, low-quality, "Saturday-night-special" firearms of the
same ilk as Davis, Jennings, Raven and other "pot metal" pistol makers.

It was interesting to note that the lion's share of these negative notes
were posted by those who didn't actually own a Rossi, "but they knew they
were junk 'cause they read it somewhere....don't ya know."  There were a
few who also belittled the Rossi products simply because they were made
in Brazil, and not the good old US of A.  As if we have some kind of lock
on building serviceable firearms....the "not invented here" syndrome taken
to the nth degree.   

Here it is almost six years later and I still read notes blathering this
same old foolish noise....nothing could be further from the truth.  Here,
very briefly, is the history of the company as I believe it to be.  I'm
certain I left some important facts out, but this is what I remember off
the top of my head.  Maybe it will be of some interest to a few out here.

If someone from South America, Brazil especially, has something to add
please do so....or correct anything I may have remembered wrong <Grin>.

Amadeo Rossi, S.A. is as well known and famous throughout Central and
South American as Colt, Winchester, Remington, S&W, Marlin or Ruger are
up here in the northern latitudes.

The business was founded by an Italian immigrant to Brazil in 1889, his
name was Amadeo Rossi.  He set up a tinsmithy in the town of Caxias do
Sul in Brazil's most southern state, Rio Grande do Sul.  That small shop
grew over the next 110 years to become one of South America's largest
privately held companies.

Rossi's first venture into arms making was somewhat modest by today's
standards....a single-shot muzzle loader called the Taqiari.  Due to the
demand for this simple, but effective firearm, the business expanded by
moving to the cultural center of Sao Leopoldo (home of the University of
Vale dos Sinos) in 1937.  As an added bonus the new facility was just 18
miles from the major port city of Porto Alegre.

By 1948 the Taqiari was replaced by a more modern muzzle-loader well known
in the States as the Rossi Trade Musket.  As an indication of its success
it remained as part of their product line until 1971. 

In 1949 Rossi produced their first shotgun, the Pomba....a single-shot,
break-open design that is still produced today.  An updated variation is
currently available from the new Taurus/Rossi/Braztech partnership.

The first Rossi pistol appeared in 1950, a side-by-side, double-barrel
design that was very popular in Brazil and other South American countries
....it became famous as the Garrucha.  When I was just a small boy I saw
one of these....at the time I thought it to be a "pirate pistol" of one
type or another.  Heck, I was only about eight years old, it made sense
to me <Grin>.

In 1957, the year following the death of Amadeo Rossi at age 92, two very
important firearms were released for retail sale....the Princess revolver
and a 12-ga. double-barreled "hammer" shotgun.  The Princess was a 7-shot
.22 patterned after a S&W M-frame of the early 1920 period....it became
quite popular in North America where it was known as the Rossi Ladysmith.
The shotgun evolved over the years to become the Overland Coach Gun.  If
you've ever seen a western movie, or attended a CASS event, then it's a
near certainty you saw a Rossi Overland shotgun of one model or another.

During this period, 1960's thru 1970's, Rossi firearms were imported by
Firearms International (F.I.).  This partnership saw the production of 
the Rossi Gallery rifle, a dead ringer for the discontinued Winchester
Model 62 rifle.  Several versions of this rifle are still available today
from both Rossi and Taurus courtesy of their Braztech partnership.

Rossi also reverse engineered the popular El Tigre, as the old Winchester
Model 92 lever action carbines were affectionately known throughout all of
Central and South America.  The result was the Rossi Puma lever action
carbine, available first in South America in .38Spcl (Model 77-775) and
.44-40 (Model 65).  By 1977 production was such that efforts could be made
to export these handy carbines to North America, and in several additional
calibers that were more popular to hunters and shooters here....357Mag and
.44Mag.  Versions of these firearms, known here as the Model 92 series, are 
still available widely carrying the Rossi/Interarms mark....or you might
purchase a somewhat more expensive M92 type from Navy Arms Company, also
made by Rossi of course.

I consider myself fortunate to own a Rossi M65 in .44-40, just one of the
six Rossi long guns I've purchased in recent years. 

During the 1960's Rossi also manufactured several shotgun models for H&R,
including the Model 404.

By the 1980's and on into the 1990's Rossi developed and released a number
of revolvers for export to North America.  The first of these....Model 51
and 70 in .22cal., Model 31 and 84 in .38spcl, and Model 69 in .32S&W....
didn't do that well and none were what you'd call a commercial success.

Rossi corrected perceived failings in their revolver designs through an
intensive R&D program and by the early 1990's the new products began to
find their way into North American, now imported by Interarms.  These
new revolvers, most now manufactured in stainless steel, were seen to be
head and shoulders above their earlier cousins.  They included the Model
518 (.22cal), 515 (.22mag), 68 (blued steel, .38Spcl), 88 (.38Spcl), 851
(.38Spcl), 971 series (.357Mag), 988 (.357Mag) and 720 (.44Spcl).  These
revolvers all reflect the Rossi idea of "good guns at good prices."  I
can attest that mine have been "finest kind" and have given not the first
bit of trouble through any fault of the firearm since I've owned them.

During 1997 economic troubles shook the very foundations of Brazil's
industries with major changes and mergers the norm....in December, 1997
Taurus purchased Rossi's pistol manufacturing machinery, plus the right
to manufacture Rossi handguns.  Rossi retained their rifle and shotgun
production facilities and operate them to this day....selling some models
to Braztech and others to Navy Arms Company.

Taurus now manufactures four revolver models bearing the Rossi name, made
using the original Rossi production equipment.  They are the Models R351/
R352 (.38spcl) and Models R461/R462 (.357Mag)....all snob-nosed revolvers.

What does the future hold for Rossi?  I wouldn't hazard a guess, however
this company has been in existence now going on 110 years, I really want
to believe it will continue....successfully, I hope....well on into the
future, continuing to manufacture "good guns at good prices."

Robert Gibson


----------------------------------------------------------------------
Please find out about rec.guns at http://doubletap.cs.umd.edu/rec.guns