Breechbolt--Is it the right one? Could an incorrect one fit?

[Winchester92]

My new '92 (new to me, it's 106 years old) 38-40, octogon barrel shoots fine in every way but... it cycles very stiffly.

I've spent many hours comparing that gun with a very smooth cycling '92, 38-40 round barrel. They look exactly the same in every way. I've made an examination of every part and how they move. I've degunked it, oiled it...but no too much. It still is hard to cycle.

They're is no indication of the gun having been damaged or dropped.

When the two verticle locking bolts come up, it seems they are rubbing against the breech bolt as they come up through the slots.

The finger lever looks exactly like the one on my other gun.

It it possible someone put on the wrong breech bolt on this gun?

Could someone have put on a breechbolt from an '86 or even from an '92 for the 32 WCF? Would the wrong breech bolt still fit on a '92 38-40 and still function even if badly? Please help.

[w30wcf]

Winchester92,

You can rule out the '86 since it has a much bigger breechbolt than the '92.

Is it possible that the ejector spring is too stiff, making the action a bit harder to close?

w30wcf

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

My new '92 (new to me, it's 106 years old) 38-40, octogon barrel shoots fine in every way but... it cycles very stiffly.

I've spent many hours comparing that gun with a very smooth cycling '92, 38-40 round barrel. They look exactly the same in every way. I've made an examination of every part and how they move. I've degunked it, oiled it...but no too much. It still is hard to cycle.

They're is no indication of the gun having been damaged or dropped.

When the two verticle locking bolts come up, it seems they are rubbing against the breech bolt as they come up through the slots.

The finger lever looks exactly like the one on my other gun.

It it possible someone put on the wrong breech bolt on this gun?

Could someone have put on a breechbolt from an '86 or even from an '92 for the 32 WCF? Would the wrong breech bolt still fit on a '92 38-40 and still function even if badly? Please help.

An 86 bolt won't fit but a wrong 92 bolt will. A 38WCF with 32 WCF bolt won't close on a chambered round, though. If your gun works but is just stiff it probably has the correct parts. But just correct parts won't make a smooth gun. They have to be properly fitted.
You said,
"When the two verticle locking bolts come up, it seems they are rubbing against the breech bolt as they come up through the slots."

That tells me your ejector spring is way too stiff. I bet you are getting some damaged case mouths when you extract the fire case, huh?

The next place to look is the hammer spring. Most folks don't know how to install them proper. A heavy hammer spring makes levering the gun much harder than it should be. It's a leaf spring and has a strain screw to adjust hammer tension. The screw that holds it in the lower tang should never be fully tightened. If it is the strain screw won't work correctly.

[Gun Smith]

Also, drag on the bolt as it slides over the hammer can cause hard cycling. I assume you have stripped the gun and checked that the bolt slides smoothly between the frame rails too. It is possible, though rare, that the frame itself could be bent on one side pinching the bolt. It wouldn't take much and be hard to see. Even removing and replacing a barrel can twist or bend the frame. As noted by others there are two sizes of breach bolts with their respective differences, but the one in your gun may have been replaced at sometime with the correct caliber bolt. You never know.