Rossi Princess Revolver: A Ladysmith Clone?

Few guns are actually cute—perhaps a Baby Browning or the Taurus PT22 qualifies—but the Rossi Princess is a cute gun. Manufactured long before Taurus purchased Rossi, it was popular in its day.

The seven-shot .22 Rossi Princess was sometimes referred to as a Rossi Ladysmith, as it is clearly a clone of the Smith & Wesson Ladysmith. The Rossi was manufactured from 1965-69, but its importation was largely curtailed by the Gun Control Act of 1968 thanks to its two-inch barrel.

The Princess is indeed a small revolver at six inches long and 3.75 inches tall, and it weighs only 11 ounces. It features a bright nickel finish that on my sample has worn well. Blued Princesses exist but seem rare, as are barrel lengths of three and four inches.

The left side of the barrel is engraved “Amadeo Rossi & CIA.” The right side is stamped “.22 L R.” A stylized emblem is found on the side plate. The three-screw side plate makes for a dated design even for 1965. On the left side of the frame is small roundel with “CAL” and “22” inside. It appears hand cut with a scribe and not nearly as nicely engraved as other markings.

Ergonomics and Features

The grips are marbled plastic with a silver-colored Rossi emblem. The lower right receiver is marked “Firearms Int’l Corp, Washington DC,” a large company that imported many affordable handguns.

The Princess uses a rebounding hammer similar to the Iver Johnson design for safety. The Rossi features coil springs rather than the Ladysmith’s leaf spring.

The revolver is primarily constructed of Zamak, a non-ferrous alloy, although the barrel, cylinder and hard use points are steel. The cylinder flutes are etched in a fashion popular in Brazilian revolvers.

The ejector rod is held in place by a spring-loaded plunger. The plunger is pulled forward to release the rod and swing out the cylinder. The ejector rod has plenty of length and leverage to extract spent cases.

Value and Function

The receiver features a raised boss at the rear of the topstrap that houses the rear sight. The front is a rather sharp serrated ramp.

I found the revolver at $150. It is in decent shape, but some would say only a very nice example in the original box is collectible at all. Most are in the $250 range, although I found a boxed example appearing unfired for $500.

The intent of the Rossi wasn’t to offer a collectible but a revolver to be carried, presumably by female shooters. I think many women were gifted a Princess by well-meaning fathers and spouses.

The double-action trigger on this one is atrocious, and pulling a 12-pound trigger against an 11-ounce revolver isn’t good for accuracy. At five yards I was able to put most shots in the X ring, but after firing 14 rounds the gun locked up tight. The trigger was frozen.

Fashionable Accessory?

I thought maybe I could repair it, but old-model Rossis are a challenge. There are blind holes and tiny spring plungers in the side plate that confound the most experienced gunsmith. There was nothing amiss, so I cleaned the action, and tried again. I had the great luck of firing another 14 rounds. Then the gun locked up again. Oh well.

The Rossi Princess is an interesting little revolver from a time when small handguns were regarded as fashion accessories. People purchased it because it was cheap while higher quality than some other imports. Even at twice the price of a Rohm .22, it was that of a Smith & Wesson revolver, and the Ladysmith was long out of print. It is a noteworthy revolver that may rightly be called cute or perhaps quaint.

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