What To Do With A 22Caliber Rossi Revolver?

It has value, especially if you ever need it. It is a gun without a background, purchased when it was not legal to identify it as terms of purchase with the buyer. Get a little electronically programmed combination safe and store it. Nobody can get to it except you.
 
I really like your approach to this Mr Pig. How about welding it barrel down to the shifter in the Mitsubishi ? ... I have an old riffle that was my grandpas. I took it apart in about 20 pieces and mounted it to a board in the garage attic. If my son wants it when he gets older, then it will become his burden... otherwise I'll scatter it. Who cares about the monetary value.
 
biscuithead said:
I really like your approach to this Mr Pig. How about welding it barrel down to the shifter in the Mitsubishi ? ... I have an old riffle that was my grandpas. I took it apart in about 20 pieces and mounted it to a board in the garage attic. If my son wants it when he gets older, then it will become his burden... otherwise I'll scatter it. Who cares about the monetary value.
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Agree! Disassemble and use parts with your imagination.
 
http://unblinkingeye.com/Guns/RLS/rls.html

There is virtually nothing in print about the Rossi Princess revolver. It does not appear in theBluebook of Gun Values or the Standard Catalog of Firearms. I could find no mention of older Rossi firearms, such as the Princess, on the company’s U .S. or Brazilian websites. I find the gun first listed in Gun Digest in 1966, where it is described as the Rossi Ladysmith, imported by Benet Arms. Most examples I have seen are stamped FIREARMS INT’L CORP., WASHINGTON, D.C. Rossi firearms were later imported by Interarms, but I don’t believe they ever imported the Princess.

The Princess was manufactured from 1957 through approximately 1985, but was only imported into the United States from 1965 through 1969--another victim of the Gun Control Act of 1968. From the serial numbers I have seen, it looks as though close to a million were made.* The Princess was available with a 2- or 3-inch barrel, in nickel finish only. The 2-inch barrel version was designated by Rossi as the Model 25, and the 3-inch barrel version was the Model 13. The model designations are rarely used in the United States.

When the gun first hit the U.S. market it seems to have been called a Ladysmith by default, but another trade name was needed for it and some marketing genius decided on “Princess.” A less-macho appellation could not have been had, but I suppose some similar name was inevitable given the gun’s diminutive size and resemblance to the Ladysmith.

The serial number is on the base of the grip. The earliest serial number I have located thus far (12551) is marked on the left side of the barrel:

The examples of the 2-inch barrel Princesses I have seen all have a ramp front sight, whereas all the 3-inch barrel versions I have seen have a Rocky Mountain style blade with an integral base. I have noted three different grip plate styles--two in brown plastic, one style small (that doesn’t cover the rear screw on the right side) and one large (that partially covers the screw), and another large style in pearlite plastic.

GripVariants.jpg


 
8593d1306187191-rossi-model-13-princess-rossi-model-13.jpg

Looks like this one. But its chrome is in worse shape. This one looks new, I doubt my Dad fired a box of shells through it. Looks like it would have been bought in the late 60's though.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
BigElCat said:
My Rossi model 351 (.38) is an excellent little revolver at the $300 price point.

I'd be someone interested in a seven shot .22.

I typically buy new, unless I know the history of a firearm.

AFAIK, 'Saturday Night Specials' are cheap .38s.
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Or cheapie semi-auto .22s and .380s like Jennings made back in the `70s & `80s....
 
I once had a Rossi .38 special. It was a darn good gun. The OP could grease the gun up real good, wrap it in plastic or enclose it in sealed pvc pipe and bury it in the backyard. There may come a day he might be glad to be able to retrieve it (granted it will need a good cleaning). After all, it belonged to his dad and this method avoids remorse and wife pressures.
 
So I snapped a couple of pics. Seems to be in nice condition to me.​
 

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Frame looks good but condition is based on the "action", moving parts and the bore.

But, being rarely used, it is probably as good as the manufacture quality.
 
Mister Pig said:
This was my fathers, and my Mom don't want it in the house, nor my wife in ours. Not sure what to do with it. Its in like new condition, I doubt it was fired over a dozen times. But I also doubt if it has any collectors value, I have unloaded it and stored it away, but the wife wants me to make it a priority to get it out of here. But I doubt a gun shop would want this, I would think its a low end small caliber pistol with no value.

Any thoughts?

Regards
Mister Pig
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time for a new wife... :D.

kidding!

that is what is thought of as the original saturday night special. coincidentally i too have a .22lr revolver (may even be a rossi) that my father gave me. i used it to get the wife comfortable shooting. ever since then it has sat in the safe (with many other firearms :D)

they arent worth much. try armslist. its like craigslist for guns. im not sure your local laws but in ks i can sell a gun for cash with little to no hassle.

if you just have to get rid of it go dump it on a pawn shop. they are fun little plinkers but thats all they are good fir... shooting beer cans of the fence post
 
I guess I like to do research. Curious abut the date of manufacture, and the modern day Rossi cannot tell me that. But the importer as Firearms International Corporation which was bought out by Garcia in 1970. They were listed as being imported from 1965-1969, although manufacturing started in 1957. So this would mean it was from the 65-69 time frame. Replacement parts seem to be no longer available, so perhaps there is more value here than I first realized. At least for an excellent condition specimen.

But have yet to locale many examples of sold units, an none currently on Gunbrokers.com

Regards
Mister Pig
 
Mister Pig said:
I guess I like to do research. Curious abut the date of manufacture, and the modern day Rossi cannot tell me that. But the importer as Firearms International Corporation which was bought out by Garcia in 1970. They were listed as being imported from 1965-1969, although manufacturing started in 1957. So this would mean it was from the 65-69 time frame. Replacement parts seem to be no longer available, so perhaps there I more value here than I first realized. At least for an excellent condition specimen.

But have yet to locale many examples of sold units, an none currently on Gunbrokers.com

Regards
Mister Pig
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this is all due to the fact that these were cheap, poorly made guns (keep in mind i have one). the one i have sold for about $20 new back in the day. compared to another brand of revolver you can really tell the lack of quality in these. mine is however blued not chrome and mine is a snub nose. if you dont want to shoot it i would take whatever the pawn shop offers and not look back. you are not holding a rare gem here
 
At least go to your local gun shop that has an indoor range and put a few holes in some paper. You and your wife may find that you enjoy it. If you don't, they can probably point you to a good place to sell it and offer an educated guess as to what a fair price would be.
 
Rossi quality has improved quite a bit over the years and some of the Taurus revolvers are getting pretty respectable. This little 22 however looks very crude. Look at the tooling marks around the flutes on the cylinder. Man that's rough!

When I bought my lever action Rossi (a Winchester M92 clone) it would not chamber a round. This I knew going in from all the reading I done prior to buying it. I must have disassembled that thing 20 times, filing a few parts just a little, reassembling and trying to feed a dummy round from the magazine tube. Finally got it to feed like butter and I have 9 rounds available with 454 Casull or 10 with 45 Colt ammo. We have s-loads of very large brown bears here, sometimes right at the house. I don't hunt, but I don't intend to BE hunted either and guns that can shoot a large caliber blunt nose bullet will stop a bear in its tracks. This Rossi is one of my favorite guns now but was practically a kit gun when I got it with all the work I had to do to it.
 
moewillis said:
you are not holding a rare gem here
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Not necessarily so.

I have an old Rizzuto Estileto switchblade that I bought for less than ten bucks in Mexico back in the 60s. They were made in Japan I believe, and sold mostly for the tourist market. A mint one like mine is now worth well over $100, even though they're technically junk.

The lack of sales info on that gun might make it worth more than one thinks.
 
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