Interarms Model 65 (AKA Rossi 92) .44-40 Carbine

Back in May I picked up an Interarms Model 65 carbine in .44-40. It's simply a rebadged Rossi 92, which is a replica of the Winchester 1892.

The blueing is nicely done and a deep, blue-black. The wood has a dark stain that I like better than the light color of more recently produced Rossis. Wood-metal fit is acceptable.

The exterior condition and the bore are excellent, however the action was rough. This rifle was probably made in the early 1990s, long before Rossi bought new CNC machinery. Not much of attention was paid to the internal fit.

One nice touch is that a prior owner installed studs for quick detach sling swivels. They will come in handy. I ordered a Hunter Company #220-1 1" carrying strap for it. I have one on my Cabela's Hawken and like the simple design.

As typical of Rossi 92s it was oversprung. I installed reduced power springs for the hammer and ejector from Steve's Gunz.

Disassembly wasn't difficult with the assistance of documents found online and a couple YouTube videos. Reassembly, on the other hand, was a BITCH. This past weekend I enlisted the assistance of my friend N. who aside from being a shooter, is a mechanical engineer by training and generally the handiest guy I know.

Aside from fiddling to get it reassembled, we also had to debur the ejector and ejector collar. The action is much smoother than it was when I got it but to feed properly you need to work it like it owes you money. I think as it gets shot more it'll get even smoother. Since I work from home I've been leaving it out and cycling the action several times when I take breaks during the day. I've already noticed that the carrier is working better. (The action is well lubricated with oil and white lithium grease in spots.)

After we got it back together we ran 31 rounds of my black powder, .44 Henry-equivalent handloads through it shooting at a gong. That load is 1.9cc or ~28 grains of 3Fg BP, a 1/8" thick nitro card to take up air space, and a 219 grain bullet cast in an Accurate Molds 43-215C, all in a Starline case. Primers were CCI.

With the reduced power ejector spring the cases cleared the rifle easily but landed near my feet, instead of being launched several yards. The reduced power spring also make fully closing the action easier.

I'd forgotten to bring a bottle of moose milk with me so I just ran a patch with some Ballistol on it through the bore while still at N.'s, then finished cleaning it at home. I first wet brushed the bore and then after about 8 patches they came out clean. There was zero black powder fouling in the action because the thin .44-40 brass seals the chamber so well.

I'm planning to bench the rifle and see how it does at 50 and 100 yards. Because the 1892 and replicas have very strong actions, I might load up some +P loads (taking care to keep them out of my other rifles). I'm not going to get too crazy because at about 5.5 lbs. with a steel buttplate, anything much hotter than a standard .44-40 load is going to suck to shoot. (I did not particularly enjoy shooting my Marlin 1894 .44 Magnum with full power loads, and eventually sold it off.)

Rossi currently sells the 92 chambered for .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, and .45 Colt. You can sometimes find them in .44-40; I found this one on Gunbroker and had it shipped to a local FFL for transfer.

Due to the simpler and easier to maintain design, if I was limited to one I might prefer a Winchester 1873 over the 1892 for a long-term survival rifle. But there's nothing handier than an 1892 carbine and it's a still very viable choice especially since the Rossis are much less expensive than the Uberti or Winchester 1873s.