Winchester Model 1892 Takedown, Blue Octagonal 24 1/4” Full Length Lever Action Rifle, MFD 1894 Antique

LSB#: 140612AS01

Make: Winchester Repeating Arms

Model: 1892 Takedown

Serial Number: 34241

Year of Manufacture: 1894

Caliber: .32-20 Win. (.32 W.C.F.)

Action Type: This is a lever action rifle with a full length tubular magazine.

Markings: The top of the barrel is marked “MANUFACTURED BY THE / WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS CO. NEW HAVEN, CONN. U.S.A.” and “32 W.C.F.”. The upper tang is marked “MODEL 1892 / WINCHESTER / PAT. OCT. 14. 1884”. The underside of the receiver is marked “34241” at the front and “K” at the left side of the lever. The takedown lever on the magazine tube is marked “PAT. JUNE 6, 1893”.

Barrel Length: The octagon barrel with full length magazine tube is 24 ¼” in length.

Sights / Optics: This rifle is mounted with a “U” notched semi-buckhorn rear elevator sight that is dovetailed into the barrel. The leaf has a fine adjustment for elevation. The front sight is a German Silver blade held in a slotted base, which is dovetailed into the barrel. The upper tang is drilled, tapped and filled for a tang sight.

Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are 2 piece fancy walnut with a lacquered finish, straight grip and crescent shaped blued steel buttplate. The front of the forend has a steel nose cap. The stocks are dark with oil staining around the buttplate and at the front of the receiver. There are several light handling marks and a few dings and drag lines scattered over the buttstock. The forend shows a few dings, several light handling marks and surface loss along its top and rear edges. The wood to metal fit is Excellent and there are no cracks or chips noted. We believe the lacquered finish to be original. The LOP measures 12 13/16” from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate. The buttplate shows surface loss with several dark spots of erosion and a few light handling marks. The buttplate is in about Very Good condition. The stocks are in Fine overall condition.

Type of Finish: Blued

Finish Originality: The finish is original.

Bore Condition: The bore is dark and the rifling shows moderate wear. There are spots of moderate to heavy erosion from the muzzle back several inches. This sounds worse than it is and considering the age, the bore is probably a 6 out of 10.

Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 70% of its metal finish. There is surface loss on the front edge of the barrel, the edges of the magazine hanger, the forend’s nosecap, the edges of the receiver, the upper tang and the bottom surface of the lever. There is thinning on the front half of the barrel, the magazine tube and the sides of the receiver, with a light plum colored patina forming over the barrel, and the top and right sides of the receiver. There are several tiny light marks scattered over the front half of the barrel and magazine tube, and there are also circumferential marks around the magazine tube where it rubbed on its hanger as it was being removed. The receiver shows a sprinkling of tiny spots of surface frosting with a few scratches and several light handling marks. There is also a small ding on the right side of the receiver in front of the loading port and a tiny spot of surface erosion in the lower tang. The screw heads are mostly sharp, but the stock bolts are distressed and a few of the remainder show light marks from a screwdriver. The markings are clear. Overall, this rifle rates in about Fine Plus condition.

Mechanics: The action functions correctly, the lever operates smoothly and the trigger is crisp. The hammer has a half-cock safety. We did not fire this rifle.

Box, Paperwork & Accessories: This rifle comes with a letter from the Cody Firearms Records Office stating that this rifle was made with an octagon barrel and received in the Winchester warehouse on Nov. 22, 1894.

Our Assessment: Per Wikipedia: “The .32-20 Winchester, also known as the .32 WCF, was the first small-game lever-action cartridge that Winchester produced. It was initially introduced as a black-powder cartridge in 1882 for small game, varmint hunting, and deer. Colt produced a single-action revolver chambered for this cartridge a few years later. It has a good reputation for accuracy in rifles as well as the few handguns that have been chambered for it. Because of its low power, it destroys very little meat, making it a good hunting round for appropriately sized game.”. Some years back, Paco Kelly wrote an outstanding article for reloading the .32-20 for everything from varmints up to deer, so please see: http://www.leverguns.com/articles/paco/3220wcf.htm. This is a vintage Winchester 1892 takedown rifle made in 1894. It is in about Fine plus condition with about 70% of its original finish remaining. The rifle shows surface loss on the front edge of the barrel, the edges of the magazine hanger, the forend’s nosecap, the edges of the receiver, the upper tang and the bottom surface of the lever. There is thinning on the front half of the barrel, the magazine tube and the sides of the receiver, with a light plum colored patina forming over the barrel and the top and right sides of the receiver. There are several tiny marks in the finish, circumferential marks around the magazine tube where it rubbed on its hanger as it was being removed, and a sprinkling of surface frosting and light scratches on the receiver. The stocks still have their original lacquer finish. There are several light handling marks and a few small dings scattered over the stocks. There is surface loss along the top edges and at the rear of the forend. The bore is dark with moderate wear in the rifling and moderate to heavy erosion near the muzzle. This rifle probably has a lot of stories to tell if they could be told, and has certainly seen its share of use over the past 122 years. It will make a nice addition to a collection of vintage Winchester firearms. In addition to its nice condition and original finish, it was an early model, made in 1894, and has a rare takedown frame. This is a nice clean gun, and we just don’t see many this nice in .32-20, since most early guns were used as saddle guns or by kids for small game hunting, and just don’t have the nice finish we see on this one.

Winchester Model 1892 Takedown, Blue Octagonal 24 1/4” Full Length Lever Action Rifle, MFD 1894 Antique
Winchester Model 1892 Takedown, Blue Octagonal 24 1/4” Full Length Lever Action Rifle, MFD 1894 Antique