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Working the Winchester model 1892 lever-action rifles: with over one million originals manufactured along with numerous modern replicas, the Winchester Model 1892 is one of the most popular lever-actions ever produced.

Article Excerpt
Winchester s Model 1892 is another one of those wonderful John M. Browning lever-action designs that will always be hard to improve on and will always be admired by those who appreciate Winchester's fine lever guns. All these designs have been a source of fascination for me, and the Model 1892 in particular is one of my all-time favorites.

The 1892 is actually a simplified, small-scale version of the Model 1886, and was intended to be the replacement for the venerable Model 1873. Known worldwide for its dependability, the popular Model 1873 was a hard act to follow. Based on the equally popular but older Model 1866, the Winchester 1873 incorporated elements of the Henry, the Volcanic, and an 1850s Smith & Wesson design. The system used a set of toggle links to lock the action, and though it had a wonderful feed system and was quite reliable, it was never known for strength. On top of that, the Winchester Model 1873 was a complex and expensive design to manufacture.

Unlike the Model 1873, the altered Browning design used in the 1892 had a very strong action, was lightweight, and very much simpler. It seemed to have answered all the 73's shortcomings in one tidy little package. Similar to the mid-sized Winchesters before it, the 1892 was built to handle revolver cartridges. That meant an owner could carry a rifle and a handgun chambered for the same caliber. Winchester offered the Model 1892 in .44, .38, and .32 Winchester centerfire calibers. We know these cartridges today as the familiar .44/40, .38/40, and .32/20.

With the introduction of the Model 1892, the famous New Haven, Connecticut, rifle company had a truly dependable, ultralight and brutally tough little lever-action to take into the new century. Anyone who loves Winchesters will quickly notice that the 1892 looks like a scaled-down Model 1886. That's essentially what it is, as I mentioned earlier, but the 1892 is also simpler than the 1886, using fewer internal parts. Both, how ever, share the same rugged John M. Browning breech design.

Winchester sold over a million 1892s between 1892 and 1947,...

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