The 1892 is indeed a fine design. The 1892 action is more compact than the "toggle link" action of the 1860, 1866 and 1873 rifles. It is lighter and a heck of a lot stronger, too. The 1892 can handle .44 Magnum and heavy .45 Colt loads, for instance, whereas the toggle link rifles cannot. In fact, you can even get the 1892 design chambered in .454 Casull, which is basically a magnum version of the .45 Colt. Modern 1892 reproductions also tend to be cheaper than the toggle link rifles. Retail prices for 1866 rifles are around $750-850, with the 1873 running about $100 more, and the 1860 and additional $100 over the 1873. By contrast, modern 1892 repros from someone like Rossi sell closer to $400 the last time I looked.
You don't see many 1892's at CAS matches, though, and there's a reason for that -- the modern repros tend to be pretty rough out of the box, and can be very sensitive to cartridge length. The actions are much more complicated than the toggle link actions, and are harder to work on. I can detail strip my 1866 and 1873 blindfolded in less than a minute. The one time I tried to take apart an 1892 (that I later sold), I ended up having to deliver it in parts to a 'smith to reassemble. Part of that is my lack of skill, but part of it is the more complicated action.
After the Uberti-made toggle link Winchester designs, the second most popular CAS rifle is the Marlin 1894. It has many of the advantages of the 1892 (stronger action, cheaper) without the disadvantages. The Marlins tend to work better out of the box, are easier to slick up, and have good aftermarket parts support.
If you do decide to go with an 1892, my advise is to either look for one of the Miroku (Japan) built versions imported by Browning as the B92, or buy a new repro from Steve Young at Steve's Gunz in Texas. Steve is known as "the Rossi 92 Specialist" and it's a title he's earned. Steve will deliver a rifle that has been slicked and tuned for CAS and will work like a charm. His website is
http://www.stevesgunz.com