Old rossi revolver serial numbers
I don't know just when the safety was introduced, but I bought a Puma in 2001 that was equipped with one. So, it would appear that an 1892 coming from Taurus/Braztech today is the exact same Rossi made in the same factory as prior '92's imported from Brazil by LSI and Interarms, except earlier models didn't have the goofy safety on top of the bolt. Rossi also still makes the Model 92 and they are usually Braztech marked, and/or marked "Made in Brazil". The bad news is that the prices seem to start at around $800. They also do not have the pigtail safety on the bolt. The Armi-Sport/Chiappa version of the Puma rifle is considerably more expensive than the Rossi version of the Puma was, but the quality is excellent in terms of smooth function and a nice finish. This has generated a fair amount of confusion as in the space of a couple of years the same Puma 92 rifles and carbines have been re-sold by LSI, but made by 2 different manufacturers (Rossi and Armi Sport / Chiappa). If a "Puma" 1892 does not have these features, it was probably a model manufactured by Rossi prior to January 1, 2009.
#Old rossi revolver serial numbers serial
They will normally (but not always) have a prefix of "T" for their serial numbers. All of the Armi-Sport / Chiappa made rifles and carbines made for LSI are marked "manufactured by Chiappa Firearms for LSI". Consequently, since January 1, 2009, all "Puma" Model 92s have been manufactured by Armi-Sport / Chiappa, although you may still encounter a Braztech Rossi Model 92 in a Puma box - which adds to the general confusion.
LSI then contracted Armi-Sport / Chiappa of Italy to manufacture a Model 92 clone under the same Puma name for them and the current LSI Puma rifle is made by Armi-Sport / Chiappa in Italy.
When that happened, the contract to supply the Puma rifle to LSI was terminated. Then, a few years ago, Taurus became involved with Amadeo Rossi and formed the Braztech Corporation to become the exclusive importer of Rossi 1892 rifles. Legacy Sports (LSI) is one of the successor companies to Interarms and prior to JanuAmadeo Rossi made the Puma rifle under contract with LSI after Interarms closed up shop in the mid 1990's. There are some qualitative differences in them based on the level of finish, walnut stock, etc, requested by the re-seller. Rossi made the Model 92 for Navy Arms, EMF, and Interarms. Some interesting stuff I came across and compiled about Rossi/LSI 1892's.