The 1892 Trader.

[Tanqueray]

My search for a nice 1892 rifle has come to an end. You have to understand that here in New Zealand, 1892’s are not dime a dozen. A handful come up for sale each year, and most look like they’ve been used to stake the tomatoes in the vegetable patch since the Great Depression.
I had an alright 44WCF SRC that I had to sell to fund this new rifle. The SRC was certainly nicer to carry, but I’m a form over function kind of guy. (The SRC also had poor fore end wood, it looked like a seven year old’s first whitling project where someone had tried to remove the barrel band.)

The full length magazine is the keeper. The octagonal button mag rifle came with the trade, but unfortunately I have to sell that to keep the books in the black. Yes, I have a wife.

Here are the photos you want to see (no, of the rifles).

The SRC I had to part with:


The two new additions:






As you may have noticed, the octagonal barreled rifle has no serial number, and a different style of text on the upper tang, and a different rear sight. Are anybody out there able to elaborate on this?

Thanks,
Mitch.

[OldWin]

I think the octagon rifle did, in fact, have a number. I can see what appears to be a 3 for the last digit, and possibly a 2 before it.
This is an earlier production 92, as evidenced by the tang marking. The earlier ones also had lightly stamped serial numbers when compared to later examples. They could be worn thin as a result.

[JerryB]

Those are all good looking 92 rifles. What caliber are your two new ones? I have a 1917 1892 rifle in 32wcf (32-20).

[M. M. Wright]

Twobit should be along soon to tell you all about it.

[1894c]

nice leverguns--good choice... :)

[Blaine]

The old stuff is classy....

[Tanqueray]

On second looks the serial number has been worn off the button mag rifle. Is anyone able to give me a window in which it would’ve been made? The full mag rifle is 1912, and the carbine was 1917.
The fit of the wood on the full mag rifle is excellent, I couldn’t be happier with it. All three are 44WCF, we don’t seem to see any here other than 44-40 and 32-20, and the 44-40 is more suited to the red deer I hunt.

[Aussie Chris]

Looking at the tang and top barrel flat, it has clearly had a lot of hard use. The serial number has been partially removed as the other markings have from hard use. It would have a few stories no doubt. Do you know any of the history?

If you really want to know the serial number you could try the acid techniques. I have seen it used at work (I'm an LEO) but it may ruin the patina of the receiver.

The elevators on both sights appear to be too small width wise. The round barrel rifle appears to have the correct rear buckhorn. Not too sure about the Oct barrel sight.

Good 92s are also hard to find over the ditch here in Australia. I am noticing more and more fudged half mag SRCs converted to full mag 92 SRCS. I saw a full mag SRC sell for $1,400 last year, a closer inspection of the barrel revealed it was faked.

Chris

[Carlsen Highway]

Good work man - I was thinking about that full length rifle myself. What is the bore like on both of them?

I am a great 1892 fan too, and .44-40 one of my favourite cartridges.

[twobit]

Good morning,

Based on the upper tang stamp I can tell you that the octagon barreled sporting rifle was manufactured before mid 1904. If you will post a detail photo of the barrel address stamp in front of the rear sight I may be able to narrow it down further. The rear sight is not original nor is it a Winchester design.

Based on the partial SN of the round barrel sporting rifle I can tell you that it was manufactured during mid 1913. If you will give me the full number I can tell you the exact day on which the serial number was applied to the receiver. The rifle would have been fully assembled shortly after that. The rear sight elevator is not correct for the SN range of the gun.

I totally agree that the majority of Model 1892 rifles in both NZ And Australia are very well worn and it is quite common that they may have non original parts on them. It is also very common for them to have the short "button" or half magazine instead of a full length magazine. I have cataloged several hundred rifles from "down under" in my survey and now have just over 10,900 individual examples. I would love to add a bit more information about the round barrel rifle and the SRC which you traded if possible. You can read more about the effort here: http://forums.gunbroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=606355

Let me know if I can answer any further questions.
Michael

[Tanqueray]

Good work man - I was thinking about that full length rifle myself. What is the bore like on both of them?

I am a great 1892 fan too, and .44-40 one of my favourite cartridges.

The bore on the full mag is very good for its age. It was used to shoot black powder for silhouette, but is mirror like with reasonable rifling, should be a good shooter.
The octagonal isn’t quite so good, still looks reasonable but I can see a dark patch about half way down, and it’s a bit pitted at the muzzle.
I haven’t cleaned either yet, let alone shot them, and the previous owner hadn’t shot the octagonal either.

[Tanqueray]

Good morning,

Based on the upper tang stamp I can tell you that the octagon barreled sporting rifle was manufactured before mid 1904. If you will post a detail photo of the barrel address stamp in front of the rear sight I may be able to narrow it down further. The rear sight is not original nor is it a Winchester design.

Based on the partial SN of the round barrel sporting rifle I can tell you that it was manufactured during mid 1913. If you will give me the full number I can tell you the exact day on which the serial number was applied to the receiver. The rifle would have been fully assembled shortly after that. The rear sight elevator is not correct for the SN range of the gun.

I totally agree that the majority of Model 1892 rifles in both NZ And Australia are very well worn and it is quite common that they may have non original parts on them. It is also very common for them to have the short "button" or half magazine instead of a full length magazine. I have cataloged several hundred rifles from "down under" in my survey and now have just over 10,900 individual examples. I would love to add a bit more information about the round barrel rifle and the SRC which you traded if possible. You can read more about the effort here: http://forums.gunbroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=606355

Let me know if I can answer any further questions.
Michael

Thanks Michael, I’ll send an email through to you shortly for your survey.

Here’s a picture of the top address from the octagonal:

[twobit]

Good morning,

Based on the upper tang stamp I can tell you that the octagon barreled sporting rifle was manufactured before mid 1904. If you will post a detail photo of the barrel address stamp in front of the rear sight I may be able to narrow it down further. The rear sight is not original nor is it a Winchester design.

Based on the partial SN of the round barrel sporting rifle I can tell you that it was manufactured during mid 1913. If you will give me the full number I can tell you the exact day on which the serial number was applied to the receiver. The rifle would have been fully assembled shortly after that. The rear sight elevator is not correct for the SN range of the gun.

I totally agree that the majority of Model 1892 rifles in both NZ And Australia are very well worn and it is quite common that they may have non original parts on them. It is also very common for them to have the short "button" or half magazine instead of a full length magazine. I have cataloged several hundred rifles from "down under" in my survey and now have just over 10,900 individual examples. I would love to add a bit more information about the round barrel rifle and the SRC which you traded if possible. You can read more about the effort here: http://forums.gunbroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=606355

Let me know if I can answer any further questions.
Michael

Thanks Michael, I’ll send an email through to you shortly for your survey.

Here’s a picture of the top address from the octagonal:

Hello Tanqueray,

That barrel address is the first style which was used on the octagon barreled 1892 sporting rifles. It can be found consistently from SN 1 to approximately SN 120000 which corresponds to production during 1899. After this point it shows up occasionally. In all likelihood the rifle predates 1900. One more little point that might help is a photo of the checkering pattern on the hammer. There is a change from the first style with the widow's peak to the second style without it around SN 55000. But, this transition is no distinct at all and stretches over about a year or so.

Michael

[Tanqueray]

Thanks for that Michael. The checkering on the hammer is the standard square pattern. Did you receive the email I sent you?
Thanks for your expertise.

[Ysabel Kid]

The old stuff is classy....

People and guns!

[twobit]

Thanks for that Michael. The checkering on the hammer is the standard square pattern. Did you receive the email I sent you?
Thanks for your expertise.

Yes I received the email with the photos. Thanks so much for the effort. Both rifles have been added into my survey. Let me know if you have any further questions. http://forums.gunbroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=606355

Michael