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I got to go out and fire my new (to me!) Rossi Model #62 pump action .22LR 23" barrel rifle yesterday. I was not disappointed! It was quite fun to shoot. The sights are basic, and I did not like them very mush. Functional, but barely so. I have a tang sight ready to be mounted but I didn't get a chance to do that before this range trip. This rifle came with the same low end sights you'd expect on a typical inexpensive .22.
I first shot it with Federal bulk. I found that the pump action requires a definitive actuation. Not hard or forceful, but you want to do it quickly, can't just pull it back slowly. If you try to slowly pull the action back, it will not go. As if there's something that has to be initially overcome with a bit of snappiness. I don't know if this is typical of pump action .22's or mine just needs to be worked in a little. Despite the age of the rifle, I believe it has never been fired. During normal firing and pump actuation you don't notice this. It's only if you try to do things slowly on purpose. It just doesn't work that way.
After learning to cycle the action properly, I did not have any problems. I believe I had one failure to extract, the empty case was left sitting in the action sideways rather than being ejected out. That could have been my error in trying a slow-cycle.
Accuracy seemed so-so initially. Then I switched to some ancient American Eagle lead ammo and I began nailing everything I was aiming it. I don't know whether to chalk this up to the change in ammo, or my gaining experience with the rifle. No problem hitting a spinner that was 50 cent piece in size from 25 yards (does anyone here remember "50 cent pieces"? - I haven't seen one in ages - are they still made?) You can eject and load a new round with these pumps really really quick. I think I was only a little bit slower than I would have been with a semi-auto.
For the "fun factor", this pump rifle ranks right up there with my Henry lever action. Which is to say, very fun! I need to practice with it a little more. It still feels a little odd to cycle the action with my left hand. Every other rifle I have I use my right hand for (although I'm trying to learn the "reach over" method for working my AK's action). Also, I need to find a users manal for this Rossi. There's probably one online somewhere, I just need to search it out. When you cycle the action to load a round, it locks up (as it should). But if you don't want to fire that round, it seems a little kludgey to release the slide to eject the live round. There is not a little lever like I'm used to on my pump shotgun that releases the slide. You have to push the back of the firing pin (easy to do, since the hammer is in it's cocked position). Just lightly pressing the firing pin releases the pump from lockup. I have no idea if this is the way is supposed to be done, but that's the way I found to do it without having any instructions.
All in all, a very nice rifle. I am glad I bought it!
I first shot it with Federal bulk. I found that the pump action requires a definitive actuation. Not hard or forceful, but you want to do it quickly, can't just pull it back slowly. If you try to slowly pull the action back, it will not go. As if there's something that has to be initially overcome with a bit of snappiness. I don't know if this is typical of pump action .22's or mine just needs to be worked in a little. Despite the age of the rifle, I believe it has never been fired. During normal firing and pump actuation you don't notice this. It's only if you try to do things slowly on purpose. It just doesn't work that way.
After learning to cycle the action properly, I did not have any problems. I believe I had one failure to extract, the empty case was left sitting in the action sideways rather than being ejected out. That could have been my error in trying a slow-cycle.
Accuracy seemed so-so initially. Then I switched to some ancient American Eagle lead ammo and I began nailing everything I was aiming it. I don't know whether to chalk this up to the change in ammo, or my gaining experience with the rifle. No problem hitting a spinner that was 50 cent piece in size from 25 yards (does anyone here remember "50 cent pieces"? - I haven't seen one in ages - are they still made?) You can eject and load a new round with these pumps really really quick. I think I was only a little bit slower than I would have been with a semi-auto.
For the "fun factor", this pump rifle ranks right up there with my Henry lever action. Which is to say, very fun! I need to practice with it a little more. It still feels a little odd to cycle the action with my left hand. Every other rifle I have I use my right hand for (although I'm trying to learn the "reach over" method for working my AK's action). Also, I need to find a users manal for this Rossi. There's probably one online somewhere, I just need to search it out. When you cycle the action to load a round, it locks up (as it should). But if you don't want to fire that round, it seems a little kludgey to release the slide to eject the live round. There is not a little lever like I'm used to on my pump shotgun that releases the slide. You have to push the back of the firing pin (easy to do, since the hammer is in it's cocked position). Just lightly pressing the firing pin releases the pump from lockup. I have no idea if this is the way is supposed to be done, but that's the way I found to do it without having any instructions.
All in all, a very nice rifle. I am glad I bought it!
