Winchester 1892

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rs, the 19th
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The classic
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volver.
re
lt
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‘92 is at
e
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toria
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ideAccordin
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ip
h
rs
la
is one is a
o
h
h
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us sc
del
their dubio
Trapper Mo
chester
short, 16”
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Background photo by J.C. Leacock
WINCH E S T E R 18 9 2 . 3 8 W CF
Hollywood gun rental
lever guns over the next
Specifications
firms of the ‘20s, ‘30s
50 years. Admittedly, the
and ‘40s had plenty of
last few years the gun in
‘92s to use, but relatively
the Winchester catalog
few ‘66s or ‘73s.
saw slow sales, but the
They had‘92s because
period around the turn
the gun stayed in proof the century was the
duction at Winchester’s
heyday of the ‘92. Much
New Haven plant until
lighter and handier than
Caliber: .38-40, .38 Spl, .357 Mag, .44-40, .45LC, .44 Mag
1941. It was easy to buy
the ‘73 Winchester, the ‘92
Barrel: 20 inches, 24 inches • OA Length: 39 inches, 43 inches
new ones and get parts
was a very popular gun
Weight: 6.8 to 7.4 pounds (empty) • Stocks: Hardwood
to keep them all runfor special orders.
Sights: Blade front and adjustable rear • Action: Lever • Capacity: 8/10/12-shot mag
ning. Now that the repIn those days, WinFinish: Blued with color casehardened, available in stainless steel on EMF models
lica firearms business is
chester would make alPrice: EMF $540-570, Taylor’s $820-949, Cimarron $973-1103
doing so well, we can
most any reasonable varbuy a top-notch replica
iation to their standard
of almost any variation
models, if the buyer was
of the Henry or Winchester rifles really used. that day. The ‘86 was an instant success and willing to wait and pay a little more. Since
Actor Tom Selleck is a fiend for authenticity Winchester wanted a new rifle to match it. the gun was so light and handy, a little size
in films and he has used such esoteric guns They had done very well with their own reduction made a great little rifle for the
as a replica ‘76 Centennial Model.
proprietary short cartridges: .44 WCF, .38 field. This resulted in significant numbers
However, the demand for SAS (Single Action WCF and .32 WCF in the 1873 Carbines and of ‘92 carbines made with barrels shorter
Shooting) arms is such that we now have a rifles. The rest of the world called these three than standard. For the carbine, the standard
good variety of ‘92 replicas, including carbines, rounds the .44-40, .38-40 and .32-20, but length was 20 inches and a number of guns
rifles and even takedowns. Clearly, we have an Winchester liked the “WCF” (Winchester were made with barrels as short as 14 inches.
Collectors have dubbed these little carbines
abiding fondness for the little ‘92 Winchester, Center Fire) designation.
be it original or replica. That’s grounds for
Basically, Winchester wanted some- “trappers” because of their purported use
taking a look at the Model 1892 Winchester, thing smaller, stronger and smoother for
another of John Browning’s timeless designs. these cartridges. John Browning resolved
the problem by scaling down the already
proven ‘86 action. In doing so, he came up
Gun Details
Browning hit a home run with the first with a gem for anyone who wanted a light,
rifle he designed specifically for Winchester, handy rifle for personal defense and for
the Model 1886 lever-action rifle. This was hunting up to deer-sized game.
a big strong gun chambered for the long,
Winchester’s customers agreed, because
powerful black powder rifle cartridges of they bought over a million of the sleek little
Winchester 1892
(Above) The shorter Trapper ‘92s were prized for their quick handling and ease of use. Some
were as short as 14”. (Right) Although the barrel is short, as well as the magazine tube, the
capacity was enough for most uses in the field.
32 GUNS OF THE OLD WEST
by those who ran trap lines. The National
Firearms Act of 1934 made rifles with barrels
shorter than 16 inches firearms that required
Federal registration and payment of fees, so
the real short ones are pretty much gone
forever. The gun shown with this article is a
16-inch carbine in caliber .38 WCF and it is
not for sale, thank you.
The ‘92 action is slick because of the
way that John Browning designed the arm.
When the gun’s action is closed, the bolt is
directly behind the cartridge in the chamber.
Locking blocks on each side of the action
secure the bolt to the inner walls of the
There were no ‘92s at
the Little Big Horn or the
OK Corral, none in the
hands of Custer, James
or Masterson. The guns
SIMPLY DID NOT
EXIST, but they are
B/W AD
almost invariably used in
WESTERN FILMS
and TV SHOWS.
action. When the shooter strokes the lever
down, an internal link pulls the two locking
blocks down and out of their mortises in the
receiver walls and bolt. At this point, another
contact on the lever pulls the bolt backward
to it full extent, ejecting the fired cartridge
and cocking the hammer.
It’s easier to describe what happens than
it is to tell you about the remarkable smoothness with which it happens. In trained hands,
the cycling of a ‘92 action isn’t much more
than a quick flick of the shooter’s wrist.
Along with lifelong durability and respectGUNS OF THE OLD WEST
33
W INC HEST ER 1 8 9 2 .38 W C F
target work. Black Hills .38-40s produce
a little over 800 fps from the Trapper’s
short barrel. I found that all loads worked
perfectly in the old gun, but accuracy was
a sometimes thing. That’s particularly true
at distance and it’s probably because the
years have not been kind to the bore of this
graceful little carbine. Plinking targets at
close range is a delight. After uncounted
thousands of cycles, the action is as smooth
as butter on a cornmeal muffin.
able accuracy, this is why the gun was so
popular. It also may be why stunt man and
gun coach, Yakima Canutt, enlarged the loop
on a ‘92 and cut the barrel down for use by
John Wayne in Stagecoach. The Duke needed
less barrel to perform that spin-cock maneuver for which he was well known.
Shooting Impressions
Over the years I have had a number of
genuine Winchester ‘92s, but the sample
shown here is the only one in the current battery. It was originally an ordinary
saddle ring carbine, but was shortened to the
handier Trapper length of 16 inches at some
time in its history. The saddle ring guns were
the most common ‘92 configuration, but the
.38-40 (or .38 WCF) chambering was used in
only a small percentage of the guns. Actually,
the .38-40 cartridge, which dates back to the
1870s, is an effective round in both revolver
and carbine. Like all cartridges, the .38-40
has a distinct envelope, outside of which
Final Notes
The basic ‘92 action was much used in
rifles, carbines and even muskets. Many
were made up as special order guns.
B/W AD
Most carbines of all types had this
typical saddle ring on the left side of the
receiver. Used with a leather thong,
it suspended the arm from a saddle.
For the first half of the 20th Century,
‘92s might be found anywhere. Perry took
one to the North Pole and Winchester sent
a great many to the Argentinian police,
almost at the South Pole. Police departments all over the country used them, as did
many prisons. They were preferred armament for Mexican revolutionaries and Texas
Rangers, deer hunters in the eastern woods
and bounty hunters looking for cougars in
the West. They have been copied in Spain,
Italy, Brazil and Japan.
Originals in good condition bring hefty
prices, but you can get a replica in almost
any configuration for decent prices. The ‘92
would have to come after the 1911 and BAR
in my personal hierarchy of favorite John
Browning designs, but it is still one of my
all-time favorite firearms.
✪
i
Essentially a scaled-down version of the
much larger Model ‘86 rifle, the ‘92 locked
by a pair of blocks working in mortises on
the bolt and receiver inner walls.
B/W AD
FOR MORE j
INFORMATION
CONTACT:
Cimarron Firearms
105 Winding Oak Rd, Dept. CAS
Fredericksburg, TX 78624
830-997-9090
www.cimarron-firearms.com
EMF Company, Inc
More often than not, a ‘92 carbine had
a full-length magazine tube and barrel
bands at the fore-end and at the muzzle.
1900 E. Warner, Suite 1-D, Dept. CAS
Santa Ana, CA 92705
800-430-1310
www.emfcompany.com
On ‘92 carbines, Winchester usually used
this ladder-type rear sight. For fast work,
it was left in the down position and the
notch on the base was employed.
34 GUNS OF THE OLD WEST
its use may be less than satisfactory. You
can get about a 100 yards from this one on
man-sized silhouettes. With current factory
loads delivering 180-grain JSP bullets, I was
able to get just over 1100 feet per second
(fps) average. The popularity of Cowboy
Action Shooting has caused some makers
to build low-velocity loads for close-range
Taylor’s & Company
304 Lenoir Dr, Dept. CAS
Winchester, VA 22603
540-722-2017
www.taylorsfirearms.com
GUNS OF THE OLD WEST
35