Winchester Model 1892
Encyclopedia
The Winchester Model 1892 was a lever-action
repeating rifle
designed by John Browning
as a smaller, lighter version of his large-frame Model 1886, and which replaced the Model 1873 as the company's lever-action for smaller dual-use rounds such as the .44-40 (.44 WCF).
s for the rifle vary and some are custom-chambered. The original rounds were the .32-20, .38-40, and .44-40 Winchester
centerfire rounds, followed in 1895 by the new .25-20
. A few Model 92's chambered for .218 Bee
were produced in 1936-38.
The Winchester Models 53 (1924) and 65 (1933) were relabeled Model 1892's. Secretary of War Patrick Hurley was presented with the one millionth rifle on December 13, 1932 and Admiral Robert E. Peary carried an 1892 on his trips to the North Pole
.
1,004,675 Model 1892 rifles were made by Winchester, and although the company phased them out by 1941, they are still being made under the Puma label by the Brazilian arms maker, Rossi, and by Chiappa Firearms, an Italian factory and Browning in Japan. In its modern form, using updated materials and production techniques, the Model 1892's action is strong enough to chamber high pressure handgun rounds, such as .357 Magnum
, .44 Magnum
, and the high-powered .454 Casull
round.
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Although the Model 1892 made its debut after the closing of the American frontier, and the true "Guns that Won the West" were the earlier Models 1866 and 1873, nonetheless the '92 became an indelible icon of Western mythology through its use in hundreds of motion pictures and television shows, standing in for its older siblings. John Wayne
famously carried Model 92s in dozens of films and owned several personally, some with the distinctive oversized "loop" lever. Other notable screen 92s were those of Chuck Connors
in The Rifleman
TV series, and Steve McQueen
's "Mare's Leg
" in Wanted: Dead or Alive.
Hollywood studios purchased the '92 in quantity because it was in regular production (until World War II) but looked sufficiently like Old West Winchesters to substitute for valuable antiques, and because in calibers .44-40 and .38-40 it could fire, together with the Colt Single Action Army
"Peacemaker" revolver, the standard Five-in-One blank cartridge. This latter practice mirrored the real cowboys, who found it convenient to carry a rifle and a revolver chambered with the same ammunition.
, Navy Arms, Armi San Marco, and Rossi have continued to be manufactured. Copies or "clone" versions of the Model 1892 have continued to be produced almost continuously since Winchester ended its production run. They range in quality and price from midrange firearms to highly decorated presentation pieces.
Lever-action
Lever-action is a type of firearm action which uses a lever located around the trigger guard area, to load fresh cartridges into the chamber of the barrel when the lever is worked. Most lever-action firearms are rifles, but lever-action shotguns and a few pistols have also been made...
repeating rifle
Repeating rifle
A repeating rifle is a single barreled rifle containing multiple rounds of ammunition. These rounds are loaded from a magazine by means of a manual or automatic mechanism, and the action that reloads the rifle also typically recocks the firing action...
designed by John Browning
John Browning
John Moses Browning , born in Ogden, Utah, was an American firearms designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges, and gun mechanisms, many of which are still in use around the world...
as a smaller, lighter version of his large-frame Model 1886, and which replaced the Model 1873 as the company's lever-action for smaller dual-use rounds such as the .44-40 (.44 WCF).
History
When asked by Winchester to design an improved pistol caliber lever action, John Browning said he would have the prototype completed in under a month or it would be free. Within 2 weeks later, Browning had a functioning prototype of the 92. CaliberCaliber
In guns including firearms, caliber or calibre is the approximate internal diameter of the barrel in relation to the diameter of the projectile used in it....
s for the rifle vary and some are custom-chambered. The original rounds were the .32-20, .38-40, and .44-40 Winchester
Winchester Repeating Arms Company
The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American maker of repeating firearms, located in New Haven, Connecticut. The Winchester brand is today used under license by two subsidiaries of the Herstal Group, Fabrique Nationale of Belgium and the Browning Arms Company of Morgan, Utah.-...
centerfire rounds, followed in 1895 by the new .25-20
.25-20 Winchester
-External links:* * *...
. A few Model 92's chambered for .218 Bee
.218 Bee
The .218 Bee is a .22 caliber centerfire rifle cartridge designed for varmint hunting by Winchester in 1938. The cartridge was originally chambered in lever-action rifles, which may have ultimately led to its lack of popularity...
were produced in 1936-38.
The Winchester Models 53 (1924) and 65 (1933) were relabeled Model 1892's. Secretary of War Patrick Hurley was presented with the one millionth rifle on December 13, 1932 and Admiral Robert E. Peary carried an 1892 on his trips to the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
.
1,004,675 Model 1892 rifles were made by Winchester, and although the company phased them out by 1941, they are still being made under the Puma label by the Brazilian arms maker, Rossi, and by Chiappa Firearms, an Italian factory and Browning in Japan. In its modern form, using updated materials and production techniques, the Model 1892's action is strong enough to chamber high pressure handgun rounds, such as .357 Magnum
.357 Magnum
The .357 S&W Magnum , or simply .357 Magnum, is a revolver cartridge created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, Colonel D. B. Wesson of firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson, and Winchester. It is based upon Smith & Wesson's earlier .38 Special cartridge. The .357 Magnum cartridge was introduced in...
, .44 Magnum
.44 Magnum
The .44 Remington Magnum, or simply .44 Magnum, is a large-bore cartridge originally designed for revolvers. After introduction, it was quickly adopted for carbines and rifles...
, and the high-powered .454 Casull
.454 Casull
The .454 Casull is a firearm cartridge, developed in 1957 by Dick Casull and Jack Fulmer. It was first announced in November 1959 by Guns & Ammo magazine. The basic design was a lengthened and structurally improved .45 Colt case...
round.
The '92 goes to Hollywood
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
famously carried Model 92s in dozens of films and owned several personally, some with the distinctive oversized "loop" lever. Other notable screen 92s were those of Chuck Connors
Chuck Connors
Chuck Connors was an American actor, writer, and professional basketball and baseball player. His best known role from his forty-year film career was Lucas McCain in the 1960s ABC hit Western series The Rifleman....
in The Rifleman
The Rifleman
The Rifleman is an American Western television program that starred Chuck Connors as homesteader Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son, Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show, filmed in black-and-white with a half hour running time, ran...
TV series, and Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen
Terrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination...
's "Mare's Leg
Mare's Leg
The Mare’s Leg was the name given to a customized shortened rifle by Steve McQueen’s character on the television series Wanted: Dead or Alive...
" in Wanted: Dead or Alive.
Hollywood studios purchased the '92 in quantity because it was in regular production (until World War II) but looked sufficiently like Old West Winchesters to substitute for valuable antiques, and because in calibers .44-40 and .38-40 it could fire, together with the Colt Single Action Army
Colt Single Action Army
The Colt Single Action Army is a single action revolver with a revolving cylinder holding six metallic cartridges. It was designed for the U.S...
"Peacemaker" revolver, the standard Five-in-One blank cartridge. This latter practice mirrored the real cowboys, who found it convenient to carry a rifle and a revolver chambered with the same ammunition.
Modern copies
Winchester ended production of the Model 1892 in 1938 however copies produced by manufacturers such as BrowningBrowning Arms Company
Browning Arms Company is a maker of firearms, bows and fishing gear. Founded in Utah in 1927, it offers a wide variety of firearms, including shotguns, rifles, pistols, and rimfire firearms and sport bows, as well as fishing rods and reels....
, Navy Arms, Armi San Marco, and Rossi have continued to be manufactured. Copies or "clone" versions of the Model 1892 have continued to be produced almost continuously since Winchester ended its production run. They range in quality and price from midrange firearms to highly decorated presentation pieces.
See also
- Colt Lightning CarbineColt Lightning CarbineThe Colt Lightning Carbine or Colt Lightning Rifle was a slide-action or pump-action rifle manufactured by Colt from 1884 to 1904 and was originally chambered in .44-40 caliber. Colt eventually made the Lightning Rifle in three different frame sizes, to accommodate a wide range of cartridges,...
- El Tigre RifleEl Tigre RifleThe El Tigre rifle was a Spanish copy of the Winchester Model 1892 made by Garate, Anitua y Cia., an Eibar based arms manufacturer between 1915 and 1938.-Background:...
- Winchester rifleWinchester rifleIn common usage, Winchester rifle usually means any of the lever-action rifles manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, though the company has also manufactured many rifles of other action types...
- The Rifleman's RifleThe Rifleman's RifleThe Rifleman's Rifle was the modified Winchester 1892 that Lucas McCain, as portrayed by Chuck Connors, always carried in the television series The Rifleman...