Went shootin` here the other day with my 1892 .44wcf. Using Magtec ammo 200grain the velocity miked a clean 300 m/sec from a 14" barrel with only a 3-5 meters diviation.


Here 5 shots @ 50 meters from the bench.


Here my friend Bo trying freehand



I can only say I have grown really found of this little rifle. Its a little attention getter. Everytime I pull it out I always get a little smile. They don`t make them like that anymore.


Bo had brought along a Uberti 1873 in .45colt. The thing was the slickest leveraction rifle I`ve ever handled and it was accurate too...darn accurate.



The `86 Pedersoli in .45-7o Bo had was also a winner. I forgot to make pictures of the groups he made but he had made up some hardcast ammo where 4 shots made one hole a 50 meter and the fifth shot was only ½`apart.


400grain hardcast did 560 m/sec which qualify for most game on this planet. The `86
is still a rifle one can count on.



At last I had to make a few shots with the Gibbs .450Nitro using Hornady ammo. The rifle have new barrels but the gun prints too low. A target was made to send to the gunmaker so the sights can be adjusted.

Great post + creative art with pix!

I would like to see more of the Gibbs when you get it back from the gun maker.

Lever guns are great fun! Some are pretty accurate, too. Thanks for posting.

quote:

Originally posted by skl1:
Lever guns are great fun! Some are pretty accurate, too. Thanks for posting.

I bought one of the last runs of Mod 94 trappers, and still have it. It is chambered for 30-30 Win and with Western ammo 170 gr bullets I can bounce a coke can with every shot firing a fast as I can work the lever with this little rifle. I've carried this little rifle in my 4X4 for years and it's not going anyplace. It is one of my favorite rifles!

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I have a first year of production 30-30 trapper that shoots an inch at lest everytime, many times less..I know naysayers are out there, so I will invite anyone who is passing by Filer to stop, shoot and wager..I have won a ton of money with it at turkey shoots, both shooting it myself and renting it out to close friends. I have found the older saddle rings and octagon rifles shoot better than todays Win. Lever guns. Most will shoot under two inches.

The person shooting the double is truly lovely. I just had to say it. Nice fire arms also. DW

I have granddads Win. mod. 92 oct. rifle in 38/40 ser.# 157. Yep first year of production in fact first week of production, ugly bore,looks like a stove pipe inside, but shoots 2 inche groups, Also have his 94 trapper and it shoots pin holes..I love an accurate Lever gun.

I knew an old west Texas cowboy 40 years ago who was in his 90's then. He told me of the literally hundreds of whitetails he'd taken with his '92 carbine in .44-40. We joked about how every gun writer at the time said such a cartridge wasn't capable of taking a deer. His one big complaint was that in the 70's and early 80's until CAS took off, factory ammo was getting hard to find and that which he did find didn't shoot worth a hang in his matching Colt's Bisley model.

I just acquired a replica 1873 in .44-40 and look forward to taking it to the range. It will be a nice companion to my S&W N frame .44-40.

Nice collection of rifles you got there. I especially like the short barreled 92.

I have an original 92 in 25-20 that is a joy to shoot. Ammo is no issue as I cast + load my own.

quote:

Originally posted by NormanConquest:
I have an original 92 in 25-20 that is a joy to shoot. Ammo is no issue as I cast + load my own.

I recently passed on one of those cuz I "needed" something else. Would love to have been able to get both.

The 44-40 and 38-40 with a good handload will certainly kill deer out to perhaps a 100 yards, but you have no room for error for sure..but then so will a 22 L.R. A hole in the brain, spine or heart will drop about any animal, size in this case doesn't matter..Ive killed deer with pops 38-40 and its iffy at best..but I used old ammo back in the day at 1300 FPS and it was a poor killer, Today a good handload with a 180 gr, Hawk bullet at 1900 FPS is your best bet. its as good as a .357 or 44 special pistol on deer, but Im not fond of any pistols killing power on game of any size.

The little Winchester will return to american soil next year.

Original Winchesters are a delight to own and shoot. These '92's made in 1892 are in 38/40

My circa 1905-1908 M92 was converted to .357 Magnum an does a good job on deer and hogs. That is a very accurate 20 inch Douglas barrel and Bishop stocks.
My .357 Pig Pak:

I just sold my model 92 to another AR member. This was built in 1894 in 25-20 + is in excellent shape. Perhaps he'll share photos.

I know an old rancher, rather knew him, his only rifle was a Win. 92 SRC in 32-20 and he shot all his deer with it whenever he needed the meat..says he never lost or wounded a deer with it...In my youth I traded for a Rem mod. 25 pump in 25-20 and it was the worst killer of deer ever, so you only took head shots..I traded it off for a Win auto 401 caliber and it killed deer well enough, later a 351 and it worked well enough, but until I got my 25-35 and used dads 30-30 I didn't know what a real deer rifle was and still is for that matter.

A lot of grand old calibres that we don't see today, Ray. Thanks for the memories.

Jens, great post! Thank you for sharing!

If your 92 came from the factory with a 14 inch barrel, it would be very valuable here in the USA. It would be an original special-order "Trapper" model -- some have 12-inch barrels, also. There were not many made during the original production, and due to our "National Firearms Act of 1934's" regulations requiring a minimum 16 inch barrel on rifles, original Trappers are very desirable. They are exempt from the 1934 NFA. Every one of the few original Trappers I have seen had been used very hard and showed a lot of wear.

It is possible to have a "short barreled rifle" (less than 16" barrel) made with a lengthy background check, bureaucratic delay, finger prints, photo and $200 fee, but they are not collectible like the original, special-order Winchesters are. Every time they are sold, the new buyer has to go through the whole permit process and pay another $200 tax. In 1934, $200 was more than a Thompson Submachine Gun cost, so it was a very high tax at that time. Now, it's not so bad... just annoying!

Winchester has made 16-inch barreled Model 94's over the years after World War 2, and they are known as "Trapper" models, but require no special permits and are reasonably easy to find. The ones I have shot (in .30-30) have been very accurate. A friend had one in .44 Magnum which threw the first shot from a cold barrel several inches out of the group at 100 yards. They were also made in .32 Winchester Special, and in .357 Magnum in the later years of Winchester's production.

Thanks again for sharing your beautiful rifles, and all the best to you!

Sincerely,
John