Winchester 1892 in .32-20

[Hawkaaa53]

I'm comfortable in most aspects of shotgunning , however , I'm fairly ignorant about an "old" rifle that my FIL gave to me .

It's an 1892 Winchester Carbine and the Blue Book of Gun Values
shows a respectable value even at 10% condition . I've been told by "some" that if it shoots O.K. that it has to be better than 10%.

Will some shooter(s) , please, give me some idea as to how to judge this relic ? It shoots fairly accurately for the type sight it has but w/o a peep sight or scope , my eyesight and the open sight is a "hit or miss" arrangement .

Replacement wood is available and the gun could stand refinishing but obviously , would look refinished .

Any advice will be be appreciated , Hawkaaa53

 

[Jim Watson]

I am not going to get into the value and condition thing, I haven't seen the rifle. I will only say that my Winchester collecting resource is of the old school that says "5% original finish in protected locations" is better than even the finest refinish because 100% refinish is zero original finish. I tend to agree when it comes to a hardware store buff and blue with a coat of varnish on the wood. But you can spend the money and have a real restoration done. I wouldn't mind that on a common variety. But it won't be cheap. Mostly I leave them alone. My CAS rifle is a '92 in .44-40 rebored from .38-40, drilled and tapped for a receiver sight (which I had to take off for CAS) with no finish on the receiver and much wear on barrel, mag, and stock. But it shoots and looks realistic to me.

As to the shooting, assuming the bore is ok, you can improve accuracy with a tang peep sight. Get one made with hole spacing for an original '92 and it will fit without new holes in the gun. The sight radius will nearly double and you will get the optical benefit of the aperture.

 

[Alex Johnson]

I agree if the gun if in fine condition with some finish leave it alone. If you do want to refinish it, I would suggest Doug Turnbull as a prime source for that service. It won't be cheap though, I would say it could easily run over $1000 for a complete wood and metal refinish, but it would look about as close to its original appearance as your likely to get.