Winchester Model 1892 92 24″ Octagon .38-40 W.C.F. Lever Rifle 1895 Antique
SOLD FOR: $1,001.00
LSB#: LSB260301RW104
Make: Winchester Repeating Arms
Model: 1892 Rifle
Serial Number: 10288
Year of Manufacture: 1895 / Antique
Caliber: .38-40 W.C.F.
Action Type: Lever Action, Full-Length Tubular Magazine Fed
Barrel Length: 24″ Nominal, 24 1/4? Measured, Octagonal
Sights / Optics: The front sight is a patented beaded blade dovetailed to the barrel. The rear sight is a v-notch elevator sight. The notch is fine adjustable for elevation. The tang has a drilled, tapped, and filled hole for a tang sight.
Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are two piece wood with straight grip, straight comb, crescent buttplate, and capped forend. The stocks display typical aging. There are losses along the front upper edges of the forend. There are cracks on each side of the toe. There are scattered nicks, small gouges, minor chips, scratches, and compressions throughout. The LOP measures 12 7/8″ from the front of the trigger to the rear of the buttplate. Overall, the stocks rate in Fair condition as antique.
Type of Finish: Blued, Case Color Hammer & Lever
Finish Originality: Original
Bore Condition: The bore is dull and the rifling is defined where not interrupted by erosion. There is modest erosion throughout along with some deeper pitting at the midlength. In this writer’s opinion the bore rates 4/10.
Overall Condition: This rifle retains about none of its metal finish. Nearly all of the finish has worn to white. The case color has muted on the lever and hammer. There is mild to heavy erosion throughout the metal. There are scattered nicks and scratches. The action shows operational wear. The screw heads range from sharp to tool marked with usable slots. The markings are clear. Overall, this rifle is in Fair condition as Antique.
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. The hammer has a half-cock safety position that trips with enough pressure. 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: None.
Our Assessment: The Winchester Model 1892 is one of John Moses Browning’s most elegant lever-action designs and remains one of the classic repeating rifles of the American frontier era. Developed as a stronger, more compact successor to the Model 1873, the 1892 used a scaled-down version of Browning’s Model 1886 locking system, giving it excellent strength and smooth operation in popular pistol-caliber chamberings. This 1895-manufactured rifle is chambered in .38-40 W.C.F., a cartridge widely used in both rifles and revolvers during the late nineteenth century and valued for its versatility on the trail, around ranches, and for short-range hunting. With its 24 inch octagon barrel, full-length magazine, crescent buttplate, capped forend, and antique manufacture date, this rifle has the classic configuration and profile that many collectors associate with original black powder-era Winchester sporting rifles.
This example shows the heavy age and honest use expected of a 130-year-old working rifle. The original blue finish has essentially worn away, leaving the metal mostly bright-to-gray with areas of mild to heavy erosion, scattered nicks, scratches, and muted case colors on the hammer and lever. The wood shows substantial antique wear, including losses at the forend edges, cracks at the toe, scattered chips, gouges, scratches, and compression marks, rating in Fair condition as antique. The bore is dull with defined rifling where not interrupted by erosion, showing modest erosion throughout and deeper pitting near the midlength, rating 4 out of 10 in this writer’s opinion. The action cycles and the trigger is crisp, though the half-cock safety position trips with enough pressure, which is typical of these antiques. Overall, this is a genuine antique Winchester Model 1892 rifle with desirable early manufacture, classic octagon-barrel configuration, and strong frontier-era character, best suited for collectors who appreciate honest, well-aged Winchester lever guns. Please see our photos for a better understanding of the condition and good luck with your bids! – L.S.