Howdy
Been having problems with Photobucket recently, but hopefully that is ironed out now.
The Winchester Model 1892 was basically a scaled down version of the Winchester Model 1886. Before John Browning developed the Model 1886, all the Winchester lever guns had Toggle Link actions. This would include the original 1860 Henry design and the 1866 design, which both fired the 44 Henry Rimfire round. Not a particularly powerful round, it carried a 216 grain bullet and held about 26 grains of Black Powder. When the Model 1873 Winchester was developed, a new centerfire cartridge, the 44-40 round was developed for it. The bullet weight was reduced to 200 grains, but the powder charge was increased to 40 grains of Black Powder. While the bronze framed Henry and Model 1866 rifles were strong enough for the 44 Henry round, the 1873 model featured an iron, and later steel frame, to be strong enough for the heavier powder charge.
I have removed the side plates of this Uberti replica Model 1873 to show how the toggle links functioned. In the first photo, the links are lined up so the pivot points are all in line. This puts the rifle in battery, ready to be fired.
In this next photo, the lever is all the way forward. The extension of the lever has drawn the middle pivot of the links down. The rear pivot pin is attached to the frame, so when the middle pivot moves down, the links fold and the front pivot pulls the bolt back, extracting a spent round, and cocking the hammer. The carrier lever has ridden up, carrying a new cartridge to the chamber level. You can see the top of the brass carrier protruding above the frame. When the lever is closed, the bolt will move forward again, shoving the new round into the chamber and the links will again be in line, and the rifle will be in battery, ready to fire the next round. This is the way all the toggle link rifles worked.
This system was also used in the Model 1876 Winchester, basically a larger version of the Model 1873. The Model 1876 was chambered for longer, more powerful cartridges, such as the 45-75 WCF, which held about 75 grains of powder and delivered about twice the punch of the 44-40.
The drawbacks of the Toggle Link guns was they did not have locking lugs in the modern sense. They depended on the Toggle Links to be lined up straight for the gun to be in battery. If the trigger happened to be tripped before the links were fully lined up, the recoiling cartridge would drive the bolt back, folding the links. Very bad things could happen. That is why from early on the Model 1873 had a lever safety, preventing the trigger from being pulled until the lever was fully closed.
The other weakness of the Toggle Link guns was the frame was not solid. It was basically a skeletonized frame, with side plates covering the mechanism, as can be seen in my photos. The sidplates did not add any significant strength to the frame.
When John Browning designed the Model 1886 Winchester, he started from scratch. Gone were the Toggle Links, replaced by two sturdy lugs attached to the lever and straddling the bolt. When the lever was closed, the locking lugs were in place locking the bolt to the frame like a bank vault, and the bolt was not going anywhere. The Model 1886 did not have a lever safety because it did not need one. If the trigger were tripped before the lever was fully closed, the lugs were raised enough to prevent the bolt from going anywhere.
This photo shows a Model 1886 at the top and a Model 1892 at the bottom, with their actions open. The locking lugs are attached to the levers and have been drawn down with the levers. You can see how massive the locking lugs were on the model 1886. The two cartridges are a 45-70, for the 1886, and a 44-40, for the 1892. Each cartridge is crammed full of Black Powder, so their relative sizes are an indication of their relative power.
Here is a view looking down at the top of the 1892, with the bolt in battery and the locking lugs in position.
The Model 1892 was kind of the little brother of the 1886. The internals were not exactly the same, there had been some modifications made, but the locking system was pretty much the same, just scaled down for the smaller cartridge. The Model 1892 was first made available for the venerable 44-40 round, later it was chambered for 38-40, 32-20, 25-20, and later still the 218 Bee. In addition to the Model 1892 being stronger than the Toggle Link Model 1873, with the same barrel length the 1892 was a full pound lighter, and it cost less to produce than the 1873.
The Model 1892 was overbuilt when it first appeared. I have no idea what the pressure is of a Black Powder 44-40 round, but I can tell you that for my first couple of years in CAS I fired nothing but Smokeless 44-40 ammo through that Model 1892, which was made in 1894. Clearly a Black Powder era gun, but the lock up is plenty strong enough and the barrel wall is thick enough that I never hesitated to fire Smokeless ammo through it. Not something I would do with an old revolver. The current SAAMI Maximum pressure spec for 44-40 is kept purposely low at 13,000 CUP, because there are so many old 92s like mine floating around. Compare that to the SAAMI Maximum pressure for 44 Magnum of 36,000 PSI. (Yeah, I know that CUP and PSI do not correlate exactly, but they are not all that far off.) Modern Model 1892 rifles made by Rossi are chambered for 44 Mag and they can take the pressure. Just for the fun of it I looked up 454 Casul. SAAMI Max pressure is a whopping 65,000 PSI. I'm sure the Rossi 92s chambered for 454 Casul have been proofed for that cartridge and can take the pressure.
HOWEVER..............
The Model 1892 is a relatively light rifle. Remember I said they averaged a pound less than the 1873? Looking at the Rossi web page, it looks like their carbines have 16" and 20" barrels. A bunch of years ago I won a Rossi Model 1892 rifle chambered for 45 Colt, with a 24" barrel, as a door prize at a big CAS match. I never fired it, I sold it for the down payment on my Henry. It did weigh about the same as my 44-40 24" Winchester. And yes, the action was rough and needed some stoning. But I sold it and did not put any money or work into it.
But a '92 carbine chambered for 454 Casul is going to have a nasty recoil. I have no interest whatsoever in such a beast.
And here is one more thing to consider. At the top of this photo is my 44-40 Winchester 1892 rifle. At the bottom is a Winchester 1892 Saddle Ring carbine. Study the photo carefully. There is more than barrel length that defines the difference between a rifle and a carbine, at least there was in the old days with Winchesters. Notice the rifle has a forend cap and the magazine is suspended from the barrel by a dovetailed hanger. The carbine has no forend cap, and the magazine is suspended by barrel bands. But most important, look at the shape of the buttplates. Winchester rifles typically had a crescent shaped buttplate, carbines typically had a less sharply curved buttplate. I can tell you for a fact that if you put that crescent shaped buttplate on the meaty part of your shoulder and fire a heavy recoiling round you are going to regret it. The sharp points of the crescent will dig into your shoulder and it will hurt like the dickens. I learned this the hard way many years ago when I had a cut down 30-30 Winchester Model 1894 rifle. The barrel had been shortened to 20", and the magazine cut down to half length so it was very light. But it had that crescent shaped butt plate. I was very young, and knew very little about rifles. When I shouldered that rifle and fired my first round of standard 30-30 ammo, the points of the crescent dug into my shoulder and it hurt like the dickens. After about five rounds my shoulder was screaming and I was flinching like crazy. It was not until many years later with my 1892 that I learned one does not place the crescent on the meaty part of the shoulder, but instead hikes the butt out a bit further so the points of the crescent encircle the bicep. This way, the points keep the rifle from sliding up or down, and it does not hurt.
So, a word to the wise. If you want a '92 chambered for a round that has heavy recoil, give some thought to that butt plate.