I picked up a Rossi LWC in .350 Legend last year after looking at them at SHOT. It’s lightweight, compact, and extremely affordable. It came optics and suppressor ready too, which is great, especially for the price. It proved to be accurate and easy to handle, and a perfect host to my Griffin Sportsman’s Ultra Light HD .36 Suppressor. What could make the LWC an even more appealing package? How about the ability to knock even more length off of it for transport and storage? The Rossi Folding Stock for the LWC does just that.
The Rossi Folding Stock
The Rossi Folding Stock Assembly
After I picked up my rifle last year, Rossi announced 5.56mm and .300 Blackout models being available from the factory with a new side-folding stock. I covered them in a news post here on GAT daily at the time. The .350 Legend wasn’t offered, but that was okay.
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Rossi offered the stock separately so that everyone who already owned an LWC could pick one up if they wanted. Not only does it fit the LWC series rifles, but it will also fit their Survival Rifles and Tuffy shotguns. It even fits the Brawler pistols, with proper Short Barrel Rifle paperwork, of course.
The stocks are made from the same high-impact polymer as the conventional stocks. They feature a pistol grip and a streamlined L-shaped stock. The stock folds to the right side of the rifle and has a detent to keep it closed when folded. To open it, just grab it and swing it to the open position. It locks solidly and is released by a detent located above the grip.
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The Folding Stock Kit comes with the Stock Assembly, Stock Screw, and Washer. MSRP is only $59.99. I thought that was extremely reasonable, so I ordered one this past Fall.
Installation
Installation is simple. Just remove the butt plate of your factory stock and unscrew the stock screw. Swap out the fixed stock for the new folder and tighten down the provided stock screw. It only requires a screwdriver and a few minutes of time.
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The stock has a slot for a sling near the butt, but there’s also a QD swivel mounting point above the pistol grip. It does not come with a QD mount installed, however. I ordered one from Magpul, and that was another quick installation once I got it.
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Handling
The Folding stock feels pretty good on the LWC. Its length of pull is short enough to use with a winter coat, but still comfortable with just a t-shirt as well. The push button safety was as accessible with the pistol grip stock as with the conventional stock on the LWC. I have to break my grip to engage or disengage it, but I did with the regular stock as well. I was fine with that in either case. This isn’t a tactical rifle.
My LWC was 29 inches in overall length with the fixed factory stock. With the Griffin suppressor installed, it stretched to 37.5 inches overall. You knock 6 inches off the overall length with the folding stock installed and folded. I ended up with a quite compact 23 inches folded unsuppressed, and 31.5 inches folded with the suppressor installed.
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Recoil with the folder installed was pretty similar to the conventional stock. Neither has a recoil pad, so it’s just a hard plastic butt plate with either stock. The .350 Legend is pretty pleasant to shoot, however. So, at least in this caliber, I found it comfortable to use.
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Roles and Practicality
I already thought the Rossi LWC was a great, inexpensive hunting rifle. It would be a great camp, truck, or ATV gun. The manual of arms is simple, and there’s really not much that can go wrong with it. It fills a niche that was left vacant with the disappearance of the old H&R/NEF Handi Rifles. With the threaded barrels and optics-ready features, it offers a bit more versatility than those older rifles as well.
Adding a folding stock makes it even handier. Especially if you plan on stashing one around camp, in your truck, or on your ATV. It also straps easily to the side of a pack, too, if you’re headed backcountry. Aside from being a functional upgrade, I think the fact that it runs for less than $60 makes it a worthwhile option alone.
If you love it, keep it on all the time. If not, hang on to it and swap it out for the times when you do want to make your already compact rifle just a little more compact.
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