Winchester 1892 situation/ Pics/ Now with range report

[Dave]

The other day a guy called me and said he had a Winchester 1892 he wanted to show me. He showed up with a octagon rifle in 38-40. It was made about 1910.
Condition wise it is a gray gun but is all smooth metal, some very tiny pitting scattered but not bad at all. The loading gate has been replaced with a homemade job, but whoever did it did a very good job. It does not have the usual dented mag tube, beat marks on the side of the rear sight, bent front sight, boogered screw heads, any of that stuff.
The wood is very sound. It has not been sanded and has no cracks or bad dinks. There are four small notches cut in the fore end. Overall I would say the gun is in better than average condition since it is original and unmolested except for the loading gate.
The bore was very dark but after I cleaned it up it has good rifling all the way and is bright. There is one place that looks like a ring and is pitted about 4 inches from the muzzle, but there is no bulge you can feel on the outside of the barrel. My thought is it would still be a shooter with jacketed bullets, but you would have to shoot it to find out. If only someone had cleaned it before they put it away!
Anyway, I don't know what he wants to do with it. I don't know him very well. He said the gun belonged to an uncle and has been in a closet forgotten about for about 30 years. I think the gun would bring between $550 -$750 around here since they are very hard to sell and the bore is unknown.
It would be prime for a restoration though. It could be sleeved to 44-40 or rebored to 44-40 or even 44 Magnum. Once that was done and it was reblued and recolor cased it wouldn't be worth much and someone would have a ridiculous amount of money in it.
My question is would you say the gun is too much of a collector gun to mess with since it is so old and really pretty nice but with no finish? I have had it over here a couple days and am growing fond of it since it has the "look" and "feel" I like so much. My eyes are at the point I don't think I could really hunt the sights as I need a peep now to shoot iron so I guess it doesn't make sense to worry about this gun for a hunting rifle.
What would you want to pay for such a gun? I could post some pics tomorrow.
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Here are some pics of the 92. You can see the screw heads aren't boogered, the metal is smooth, the wood is unsanded and tight, and the front sight is not bent or dinged. Getting all the dust out of the action and oiling it has really smoothed it up! I was going to buy a box of jacketed rounds and shoot the gun and see what happens. Then I found out a box of 50 rounds was almost $70! I am going to call the owner and try to talk him into buying a box of shells so I can see how the gun will group. If it shoots, I may kill a deer with it over the next couple weeks if he doesn't mind. I don't think he wants to sell it at this moment, but I don't think he cares if I keep it a while. If it wasn't for that one spot in the bore this gun would be really nice.













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I broke down and bought a box of Black Hills lead bullet loads. They were a lot cheaper than the Winchester jacketed stuff. Here is the gun at 50 yards. I was shooting with both elbows on the bench, no bags or anything. It is hitting about 4" left, but I didn't try to adjust the sights. It doesn't feed reliably with the homemade loading gate. My eyes were fuzzy today and I had drank about a pot of coffee too.
I am chickening out on shooting a deer with this gun. If I had some top loads I would do it, but these loads seem like cowboy action pop loads and I don't want to mess around. I talked to the owner and he said he would sell the gun. When I asked him if he had a price in mind he said "whatever you think". Gulp!
Really though I am broke and unless it was $100 I can't get it. A buddy of mine is wanting to get it for $400 tops, but I think that is not fair to the owner. I am thinking $500 would be fair to both parties. Around here you would be lucky to get $650 for a gun like this one. I guess I will shoot it a little more and clean it up and give it back to the owner. I am just going to give him my buddy's phone number to get out of the middle of the deal.
I have to say this gun has a lot of "cool" factor and will shoot well enough to use. Can't get them all though. Lord knows I have tried in the past


5 rounds at 50 yards w/flyer

[Hobie]

I would shoot it before paying anything.

[Mike D.]

Without seing photos and judging from your description of the rifle, I would not pay much more the $300-350 for it. Too many problems, especially the "ring" in the barrel and resultant pitting. Loading gates are available, and you could shorten the barrel since the gun is not in collector condition. I have had '92s with what appear to be "bad" bores that shot like a dream, especially with jacketed. Lead will give you fits in a cruddy bore, so I would steer clear of them.

[bogus bill]

When I was a kid in the 50s I bought a shot out 92 rifle with the long octogon barrel. Think I paid $20. It had no finish. It just sat around for 20 years. In the 70s I think I had ward couser in ariz bore it out to .357. I had a local gunsmith friend fit it up, bush the fireing pin and blue it. I also found new wood. When we got through with it, it was pretty as brand new. I probley had close to $200 in it counting all. Sure wish I hadnt sold it! I was dumb many years ago and did a old winchester 73 that was a shot out 32/20 in to .38 special also. I imagine it would cost a mint to do the same now days. A few years ago I seen a nice 92 done up in .256 win mag. Now that would really tempt me. You would have to be carefull about useing pointed bullets of course. I once had a martini built up in .256. That is a SWEET cartridge in a light rifle. Always wanted to find a marlin 62 in one.

[Gun Smith]

Look on Gunbroker.com. Look at the pictures for comparision. That description fits many of those listed. Prices run from $700.00 on up , a little less for a ringed barrel. Original guns shouldn't be restored unless they are in really poor condition, in my opinion. Some beginning collector would love to get his hands on that level of gun.

[Dave]

Bump with some pics. I hope I can post a range report soon.

[Rimfire McNutjob]

Decent looking shooter. What amazes me is that the screws aren't bugger'd on it. In 100 years, you can usually be gauranteed that someone who doesn't know what they're doing will take a screwdriver to a gun. You can probably get a new spring cover for it fairly cheap. Since it has a barrel ring near the end, it's probably a good candidate for a short rifle makeover project ... assuming the rest of the barrel is good.

[gamekeeper]

I wouldn't mind finding that in my closet! I would love to shoot it to see how it groups.

[marlinman93]

You can beat $70 a box at several places. That's really steep! Check a list of sellers here:
http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&q= ... 1&ct=title

I would shoot it, and see how it shoots before purchasing, or rebuilding it. From the pictures it looks like a respectable gun, and I would enjoy it as-is if it shoots well.

[KirkD]

Ain't nothin' wrong with that gun. It's all original (the loading gate can be replaced with new one antiqued up a bit). I'll bet it shoots just fine. Ignore that little cosmetic section in the bore. The 38-40 is one of my favorite calibers. With a Model 92, you can stoke up the load to match Winchester's original H.V. load, which sent a 180 grain bullet out the muzzle at 1,770 fps. That is plenty good for Whitetail Deer.

[Guncase]

Nice rifle! I'm saving your pics for reference. That's what my 25-20 should look like. Someone before me chopped the barrel and stock. It is one of my favorites, and maybe someday I'll restore it.

[1886]

Look on Gunbroker.com. Look at the pictures for comparision. That description fits many of those listed. Prices run from $700.00 on up , a little less for a ringed barrel. Original guns shouldn't be restored unless they are in really poor condition, in my opinion. Some beginning collector would love to get his hands on that level of gun.

Sounds about right to me. 1886.

[Pete44ru]

Here in New England, that is easily a $1100 rifle, as pictured.

Last year I sold a restored 1907 M-92 with a button mag, for almost $2500 at a gun show.
I paid $700 for it at a local gun shop because it wasn't in "original" condition, and was offered over 3X my cost when I took it to the show.

.

[Gobblerforge]

It appears to me that the metal is a little proud of the wood, indicating that has been sanded at some point. The color of the stocks doesn't match, also. My pictures are coming in realy poor and I'm having trouble seeing them so don't count on this. The wood to metal fit appears to be nice though.
Gobbler

[Borregos]

gamekeeper +1

[AndyM]

even with a "bad" bore - I do not think $400 - $500 is all that high for a 1892

[Dave]

BTT with range report

[bogus bill]

Looks like it wants to shoot. I am not up on prices nowdays, but it looks worth a safe $450 to me. I had one that looked a lot worse that I had built into .357 many years ago, and it looked close to factory new when my gunsmith friends finished it! I would love to do it again in .256 win mag. I seen one in .256 years ago.
Guncase, if that 25/20 was mine I would convert it to .256 mag in a new york minute since it already has been messed with. (if the bore is good), if not, it would be bored to .357 just as fast! Think bane & davis redid my barrel in 25/20 to .357. (35 years ago)

[RIHMFIRE]

Ain't nothin' wrong with that gun. It's all original (the loading gate can be replaced with new one antiqued up a bit). I'll bet it shoots just fine. Ignore that little cosmetic section in the bore. The 38-40 is one of my favorite calibers. With a Model 92, you can stoke up the load to match Winchester's original H.V. load, which sent a 180 grain bullet out the muzzle at 1,770 fps. That is plenty good for Whitetail Deer.

Kirk is right....I would just clean it up a bit,
replace the gate,
slug the bore...
and buy the reloading equipment...
The group you shot... is great for 50!
Once you find the right bullet and the right powder.....
who knows how much better it will shoot....
it will be hard to find one at a better price too...

[jlchucker]

When I was a grade school kid, in a 3-room village schoolhouse--another time, when America was different, and Vermont was a State of the Union and not the Kingdom of Hippie Socialist Libtards, I can recall a few boys bringing 38-40's like this one to school during deer season. That's right--to school. Ok if you were in 6th, 7th, or 8th grade--the "big kids' room". You turned your deer rifle in to the principal (the man teacher--the other two rooms were run by ladies)--and after school you got your rifle and kept your eyes open as you took short cuts home thru the woods. Nobody ever thought anything about it. Nobody ever shot anybody or even considered it. The kids that used those 38-40's (I even remember one pump action 25-20) never wasted precious ammo when they bowled over their bucks on the way home from school. Their parents were poor working folk--loggers, textile mill workers, machinists, and farmers. Not welfare leeches. Money was tight, and a box of 50 rounds of ammo was typically expected to last for a few years. That rifle of yours likely represents rural American history, and maybe some long-dead rural kid's memories of hunting--either alone or with his Dad. Try all of that today. Where did America go??

[cshold]

Ain't nothin' wrong with that gun. It's all original (the loading gate can be replaced with new one antiqued up a bit). I'll bet it shoots just fine. Ignore that little cosmetic section in the bore. The 38-40 is one of my favorite calibers. With a Model 92, you can stoke up the load to match Winchester's original H.V. load, which sent a 180 grain bullet out the muzzle at 1,770 fps. That is plenty good for Whitetail Deer.

Kirk,

I don’t know much about the 38-40.
Is that “Winchester's original H.V. load” using 40 grains of black powder?
If not what were the ballistics of the 38-40 using BP?

Thanks