My BDay gift Winchester 1892

[texassako]

My father figured my 40th birthday deserved a decent gift that was also a project and sent me a first year Winchester 1892 in .38 WCF. It is not a family heirloom, but it is from his hometown of China, TX from a family he grew up with. They did a number on it over the years. The worst part is shiny copper fouling fooled him into thinking it had a pretty good bore, but it the rifling is still there and the lack of cleaning rod use means the muzzle is not belled(actually gets tighter towards the muzzle with no loose spots). Here are a few pics after cleaning a bore that would give the nastiest milsurps I have cleaned a run for their money. The collectability is kind of shot since someone drilled the tang for some kind of sight; so I will probably spiff it up a bit and maybe do something about the barrel if it doesn't shoot.

New insight on that extra screw tonight after getting the stock off. The wood shrunk and bubba added a wood screw to pull the stock tight against the top tang and stop the wiggle instead of just shimming or bedding the gap.

[Criiter3030]

Nice present. I wouldn't be too concerned about the rough looking bore. I have an old 1892 with a horrible looking bore that shoots great. You'll probably want to slug the bore to see what bullet it's likely to shoot well. The old ones have a lot of variation in bore diameter. Figure out the bore diameter and try to find some cast bullets 1 or 2 thousands larger. I've had great luck with 4.8g of Trail Boss under a 180 flat nose bullet in my 1892 38-40. It's a light load that's easy on the old guns. Have fun!

[osteodoc08]

Looks like a good project gun

[smokeywolf]

I would put some new wood on it, but wrap up the original wood and put it away. Don't think I would do a re-finish on the metal. If the bore is really shot (no pun intended), hollow base boolits with 4198 usually shoot quite well.

[pworley1]

Happy birthday! Nice rifle.

[texassako]

I would put some new wood on it, but wrap up the original wood and put it away. Don't think I would do a re-finish on the metal. If the bore is really shot (no pun intended), hollow base boolits with 4198 usually shoot quite well.

Butt stock had already been sanded(probably) and a crack glued plus maybe cut down since the butt plate does not fit right(need to measure it); so I was just going to leave it on and strip the varnish so it matches the good forestock. I was not going to refinish the metal but rather card off any active rust and varnish with bronze wool and fix/replace the buggered exterior screws. The tang screw is trashed and took me a while to get loose with no screw slot. I think it was a wall hanger at some point because of the shiny varnish in various places that have no need for it like the some bits still on the receiver and bolt.

[Mauser48]

Sounds like you did great. Its free and its a gun! I would be thrilled with a rossi 92! I might have to buy one next.

[helice]

That looks like a couple of months of fun and a number of years enjoyment. A beautiful gift and one that will keep on giving.

[TXGunNut]

Happy Birthday and congrats. I don't know if Graham told you but he has a 38 WCF of similar vintage and bore condition. He couldn't get it to shoot until he loaded up some .401 boolits.

[clum553946]

If you like the old 92's your gonna love that gun! Congrats! Mine's got a terrible looking bore with rifling visible, but she still shoots straight. I like 7.8 gr Unique over 180 gr lfp. Enjoy!

[TXGunNut]

There's definitely something about an old 92.

[texassako]

Yea! It went bang today. Nothing to brag about with a 4" group at 25 yards, but they hit the target straight on and where I aimed. I need to stock up on patches since the rough bore collects a lot of BP fouling. 15 shots of whatever BACO puts in their BP loads needed about 15 patches, but it was at least soft fouling from whatever they use for components and the current high humidity.

[missionary5155]

Greetings and a belated Happy Birthday !
What a super gift! I would cleanout the barrel and enjoy every day with that rifle. I have a couple with "ugly stocks" but that does not bother me. It just means this is a hunting rifle and calls to be out in the fresh air.
Mike in Peru

[dikman]

Very thoughtful dad! (Like to lend him to me for a while, I got a birthday coming up eventually?). I got an old Win 92 that has had a hard life, but it's got real character, and other than cleaning the wood and oiling it I left it alone. Shoots good enough for me (with Trail boss) and surprised everyone - including me - when I hit the target at 200 metres. Accuracy was a bit lacking, though ().

[CLAYPOOL]

Some of the Nicest Gives (sp) have been on this Board... Brain not working so well tonight, but my heart is still in the right place..

[pietro]

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Happy B-Day ! Nice dad/nice gift, too !

If you're sticking to BP loads, I would suggest seasoning the bore (ala: frontstuffers) with Ox-Yoke (T/C) Bore Butter 1000+, to keep the fouling down to a dull roar.

I'm sure there are nay-sayers, but I've been using it successfully since BB was first introduced (1985 ?)




.

[Speedo66]

My '73 in .38-40 has a nasty looking bore, but shoots surprisingly well with Missouri Bullets RNFP cowboy bullets in .401 over 6gr. of Trailboss.

Happy Birthday, and good luck with your new present!