Columbia SC Police Winchester Model 1892 .38 WCF 24″ Lever Rifle, 1904 C&R
SOLD FOR: $3400
LSB#: 230412SH001
Make: Winchester Repeating Arms
Model: 1892 Rifle, Columbia SC Police Department
Serial Number: 265647
Year of Manufacture: 1904
Caliber: .38 Winchester
Action Type: Lever Action, Tubular Magazine Fed
Markings: The top of the barrel is marked “MANUFACTURED BY THE WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS CO. / NEW HAVEN, CONN. U.S.A. PATENTED OCT. 14. 1884.” in front of the rear sight and at the receiver with “38 W.C.F.”. The underside of the receiver is marked “265647” at the front. The upper tang is marked “MODEL 1892 / -WINCHESTER- / TRADE MARK”. The right side of the receiver is marked “COLA. S.C. P.D.”. The bottom of the receiver is marked “78”, “79”, “82”, and “87” next to the hammer. The lower tang is marked “7” ahead of the trigger.
Barrel Length: 24 1/4″ (24″ nominal), Round
Sights / Optics: The front sight is a blade dovetailed and screw-set to the front of the barrel. The rear sight is a semi-buckhorn “V”-notch elevator sight dovetailed to the rear of the barrel; the notch is fine-adjustable for elevation. The top tang is drilled, tapped and filled for a tang sight (none present).
Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are two-piece smooth walnut with capped forend, straight grip, straight comb and steel crescent buttplate. The stocks have some scattered nicks, dings, scuffs and scratches. Most notably, There are two small portions of material loss on the right side of the wrist at the top and bottom corners. Most of these marks are darkened with age and oil. The wood is generally well fit to the metal. There are no cracks. The LOP measures 12 3/4″ from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate. The plate has gone to a light patina with a few nicks and some minor surface erosion. Overall, the stocks are in about Good-Very Good condition.
Type of Finish: Blued w/ Case Colored Lever & Hammer
Finish Originality: Original
Bore Condition: The bore is mostly bright and the rifling shows wear but is well defined. There is some scattered freckled erosion in the bore. In this writer’s opinion, the bore rates a 7 out of 10.
Many military and C&R eligible weapons have bores that will show erosion. This is not only due to age but to the fact that corrosive primers were commonly used in ammunition worldwide. For example, the U.S. used corrosive ammunition throughout WWII. The U.S. military did not begin to phase out corrosive-primed ammunition until the 1950’s.
Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 80% of its metal finish. The finish is thinning at all edges. There are some light nicks and scratches throughout the metal with more notable scratches on the left side of the receiver. There is some light surface oxidation on the nose cap, a few scattered dustings on the barrel and mag tube, and more notable erosion on the bottom of the receiver. The action has operational wear. There are tool marks around some screw heads. The screw heads range from sharp to lightly tool marked. The markings are clear. Overall, this rifle is in Very Good condition.
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. The hammer has a half-cock safety position. The trigger is crisp. We did not fire this rifle. As with all used firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: A factory letter is included.
Our Assessment: The Winchester Model 1892 rifle and carbine replaced the toggle link action of Winchester’s Model 1873 with a breechblock locked with two rectangular locking bolts that made it much stronger and suitable for the higher pressures of smokeless powder. It was designed by John Browning, and was sort of a scaled-down Model 1886 rifle, the first he designed for Winchester. The Model 1892 rifle was popular with ranchers and later was the rifle of choice for western movies and TV shows, John Wayne used both M1892 rifles and carbines in many of his western movies. The M1892 rifles again became popular in the 1980s with the advent of Cowboy Action shooting, as they were smooth and dependable.
This is a Winchester Model 1892 Rifle made in 1904 that was purchased and used by the Columbia, South Carolina police department. In 1904, the Police Department was comprised of a Chief, a Lieutenant, two Sergeants, two Desk Men, two Patrol Drivers, one Jailer, and one Guard House Keeper, two men assigned to dispensary duty, two plain clothes men and twenty patrolmen. These men worked in two shifts, so that there were ten patrolmen on duty at all times. That is to say that each patrolman has a beat of 8.6 miles and he works 12 hours per day. This rifle was likely carried by one of those patrolmen on duty.
The rifle is chambered in .38 Winchester and has a 24″ round barrel. This rifle is in Very Good condition. While the rifle shows light wear for its age and it retains a good bore and strong mechanics. Please see our photos and good luck!
-Greenfield
