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Winchester Model 1892 Short Rifle By the Guns and Shooting Online Staff  We have now reviewed several of Winchester Repeating Arms Historic product line. These include the Model 1866 Short Rifle, Model 1873 Sporter, Model 1886 Short Rifle and Model 94 Sporters in .25-35, .30-30, .32 Special and .38-55. All have been very functional, beautifully made and finished, classic Winchester lever action rifles. They are produced in limited numbers by Winchester/Browning's long time partner in Japan, Miroku. Not all models are produced every year. Rather, they rotate in and out of the line on an ongoing basis. For 2018, 126 years since the introduction of the Model1892, Winchester is offering it in Carbine and Short Rifle form. The latter is the subject of this review. Both versions have 20 inch barrels, straight hand stocks and full length magazines. The most obvious differences are the Short Rifle's machined steel "rifle" (crescent) butt plate and blued steel forearm cap. The Carbine comes with barrel bands that secure the front of the forearm and the magazine tube to the barrel and a steel "shotgun" (nearly flat) butt plate. It is noteworthy that Winchester literature refers to the Model 1892 as an "engineering masterpiece" and "the ultimate lever action." Winchester has produced more lever action rifles than anyone, so their opinion should not be taken lightly. The Model 1892 was the second lever action repeater designed by John Browning for Winchester. The first was the long action (for .45-70 based cartridges) Model 1886, a big, strong design that was intended to replace the B. Tyler Henry designed Model 1876. The success of the Model '86 created a demand for a scaled down, short action version designed for the popular "combination" (rifle and revolver) cartridges of the day, particularly the .44-40, which was the most popular rifle cartridge in the US at the time. Browning went to work and the result was the Model 1892. The Model '92 was a big success, ultimately selling slightly over a million copies during its long (first) production run (1892-1941). It eventually replaced the beloved Model 1873, B. Tyler Henry's most iconic design, in the Winchester line. Later, after the western frontier had passed into history and legend, the handy Model '92 became a movie star. It was the lever action rifle favored by cowboy movie stars from John Wayne on down. Today, the handy, fast operating Model 1892 is a popular choice for cowboy action competition. It is also a good choice for a home defense rifle, particularly in .357 Magnum caliber, as well as for hunting and plinking. What made the Model 1892 so popular? Browning replaced B. Tyler Henry's toggle link lever action with a shorter, as well as stronger, operating system. The '92 uses a pivoted shell carrier located beneath the bolt, rather than the vertical shell elevator at the front of the Henry action, to significantly shorten the action. In addition, the Model '92 bolt completely seals the top of the receiver when closed, making the sliding dust cover of the Model '73 unnecessary. We measured the length of the Model 1892 action body at 5-1/16 inches, not including the top and bottom tangs. For comparison, the action body of a previously reviewed Winchester Model 1873 measured eight inches long, also not including the top and bottom tangs. This allows the Model '92 to be considerably shorter, lighter and handier than a Model '73 with the same length barrel and length of pull. Incidentally, the actual weight of both rifles is considerably heavier than the 2018 Winchester catalog specifications suggest. Our Model 1873 Short Rifle actually weighs 7 pounds 11.8 ounces (not 7-1/4 pounds), while our Model 1892 Short Rifle weighs 6 pounds 11.6 ounces (not six pounds). Both are supplied with 20 inch round barrels. The Model '92 bolt is locked securely at the rear by dual locking bars that rise vertically into slots in the receiver and bolt when the lever is closed. As well as being more compact, this is a much stronger bolt locking method than the Henry toggle link and the '92 action can easily handle the pressure of .357 Magnum cartridges (MAP = 35,000 psi). In the 1950s and 1960s, before factory produced .357 Magnum rifles were available, this made Model '92s popular candidates for conversion. One of the things we particularly appreciate about the Model 1892 action is that there is no lever safety pin that must be compressed to fire the rifle (as in a Model 94), nor is there a latch to keep the lever closed when the rifle is not in use (as in a Model '73). The Model '92 lever stays up when the action is closed and the internal mechanism prevents firing unless the bolt is closed and locked. Current production Model 1892 rifles incorporate both a rebounding hammer (instead of the original's half-cock hammer notch safety) and a manual top tang ("lawyer") safety. The latter is redundant and unnecessary, but it is unobtrusive and can be left in the forward "fire" position and ignored when using the rifle. It does provide an additional level of safety when ejecting unfired cartridges from the magazine at the end of the day. Specifications
Additional features include all steel and walnut construction, high gloss bluing, steel loading gate and a top tang that is drilled and tapped for a Marble's peep sight that accommodates the safety slider. Sling swivel studs are not provided, but can be ordered from Brownell's. The Grade I black walnut stock on our test rifle is exactly that, Standard Grade wood. It is not fancy, but it is decent. It is definitely superior to Utility Grade walnut (very plain, usually with sapwood) sometimes seen on firearms today. The wood to metal fit of our test rifle is excellent. The trigger pull measured 5 pounds 1 ounce per our fancy Lyman Digital Pull Gauge. A rifle of this quality and price, without question, should be supplied with a three pound trigger pull. On the plus side, the trigger pull is clean and repeatable. Anyone who wants to hunt with this rifle will need to make a detour to their local gunsmith for a trigger job. At the same time, have him fit detachable sling swivel studs, so you can carry the rifle comfortably in the field. Finally, have him mount a tang peep sight to replace the nearly worthless-in-the-field semi-buckhorn rear sight and file a blank to fill the empty barrel dovetail slot left after the stock rear sight has been removed. Shooting the Model 1892 We did our test shooting at our usual venue, which is the Izaak Walton rifle range south of Eugene, Oregon. This facility offers covered bench rests and target stands at 25, 50, 100 and 200 yards. The autumn weather was chilly and generally overcast, with an afternoon temperature of about 50 degrees F, but not raining. Wind was not a factor. Guns and Shooting Online staff members Chuck Hawks, Rocky Hays and Bob Fleck handled the shooting chores. We fired three shot groups for record at our usual iron sight distance of 50 yards, in deference to our aging eyes. We used 100 yard small bore rifle targets, because their big bull's eye gave us a (relatively) easily seen aiming mark. To approximate group sizes at 100 yards, simply multiply our 50 yard results by two. We used four types of factory loaded ammunition, three .357 Magnum loads and one .38 Special +P load. The .357 loads included Blazer 158 grain JHP, Winchester Super-X 145 grain Silvertip-JHP and Hornady American Gunner 125 grain XTP-HP. The .38 Special +P load was the Remington/UMC 125 grain SJHP, with which we have had good results in previous .357 Magnum rifle reviews. Incidentally, the barrel of our test rifle is marked, ".357 Mag. ONLY." However, it worked perfectly with our .38 Special +P loads. It is worth noting that, in a carbine length barrel, .357 Magnum and .38 Special +P cartridges typically achieve around 150% of their rated revolver velocity. For example, Winchester credits their 158 grain Super-X loads with a MV of 1830 fps and ME of 1175 ft. lbs. from a 20 inch barrel. The figures at 100 yards are 1427 fps and 715 ft. lbs., which are substantially better numbers than the same loads produce at the muzzle of a revolver. Shooting Results at 50 yards
Shooter Comments All of the loads tested worked acceptably in the Model '92, but the aluminum cased Blazer ammo functioned with noticeably greater effort than the brass cartridges in our Model '92. The latter chambered and ejected much more smoothly. We attribute this to the tighter chamber tolerance of the rifle (compared to a revolver) and the smother finish of polished brass or nickel plated cases (compared to aluminum cases). We would not choose aluminum cased loads for regular use in this rifle. The tubular magazine loads easily. The loading gate had no tendency to nip our thumbs. The test rifle ejected empty cases with authority. Ejected cases flew in a high arc up and over the shooter's right shoulder. Run the lever with dispatch and the ejected case would bounce off the inside of the roof over the bench rests, a first for rifles tested at this facility! The test rifle's 12-3/4 inch length of pull is unusually short (a 13-1/2 inch LOP would typical for lever action rifles today) and the crescent butt plate takes some getting used to for shooters not familiar with the type. This bothered Bob, but not Rocky and Chuck. The light recoil of .357 Magnum cartridges in a 6-3/4 pound rifle make perfect stock fit less critical that it might otherwise be. We found the lever must be racked forcefully all the way forward, or the shell carrier will not lift the next cartridge up for loading into the chamber. The Model '92 is known for its smooth action, and it is, but by direct comparison we found the Model 1873 action that the Model 1892 replaced to be even smoother. The test rifle's five pound trigger pull is too heavy, but it is clean and caused us no trouble shooting from a bench rest. The supplied semi-buckhorn rear sight is miserable for hunting, but we managed to use it with reasonable effectiveness at 50 yards from a bench rest, shooting at a big, black, bull's eye target. Our senior citizen eyes were the limiting factor in terms of group size. We all had several groups with two shots touching, or very close together, and the third shot an inch or more out due to aiming error. We are convinced that with better eyes behind the sights it would routinely shoot one inch groups at 50 yards. This is a very accurate .357 Magnum rifle. We attribute this partly to its thick-wall barrel. Winchester calls this a Sporter contour barrel, but we would call it a Heavy Sporter barrel. In addition, we have found the absence of barrel bands securing the forearm and magazine tube to the barrel make for more accurate lever action rifles. Despite its relatively heavy barrel, our empty test rifle balances about 1/4 inch in front of the receiver. It feels great in the hands. Conclusion The new Winchester Model 1892 is about as far from the cheap to manufacture, plastic and aluminum rifles touted by 21st Century marketing campaigns as it is possible to get. The all steel and walnut, painstakingly fitted and finished, Winchester Model 1892 Short Rifle should easily last for the next 126 years and proudly be handed down from one generation to the next. The appeal of the great handling Model '92 is further enhanced by its clean, sleek lines. Given the improvements required for a serious hunting rifle (the aforementioned trigger job, sling swivels and tang peep sight), we can see no reason the new Winchester Model 1892 Short Rifle would not make a good jackrabbit, javelina, small predator and woods deer rifle. With .38 Special +P loads it is a fine plinker, fun to shoot with minimal recoil. RIFLE REVIEW SUMMARY
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