Hi everyone. New member here.

A little back story. My Dad had this Winchester 1892 44-40 Carbine (#99958 – 1895 Build) hanging on a wall as a decoration in his man cave for decades. I remember playing around with it when I was a kid (different time). When he passed away in 2006, I inherited the rifle. I didn’t think much of it and it sat in a case in my closet for 15 years until I pulled it out one day. The metal is severely pitted and there is a missing piece of the wooden stock. However, when I broke the gun down and inspected it, it was in remarkable shape. The rifling is clear and all metal parts are clean and in working order. I replaced all the springs (cartridge guide, magazine, ejector spring) and cleaned and oiled it.

1^st: It’s works pretty well. However, there is a hitch in it’s giddy-up when I attempt to lever a new round into the chamber as the new round comes up to the cartridge guides It sticks. But if I back off the lever for a fraction of a second, I’m able to complete the action and load the round. To accomplish this, I had to loosen the left cartridge guide screw ¼ turn. Rounds eject with no problems. I’ve tried everything and I can’t figure out why it doesn’t work. Other than the fact that the parts all seem original and are 130 years old. Any suggestions?

2^nd: I did take it to a gunsmith a few years ago who was recommended for antique guns and he was no help. I actually seemed to know more about the inner workings of this rifle than he did. When he couldn’t get it to chamber correctly, he said that I could manually load one shot at a time and shoot it.

I’d like to take it to the range and see how it fires before I attempt the full restoration. But I’m a little leery about taking a 130-year-old gun and shooting it for the first time in decades. I have Black Hills Ammo, smokeless cowboy rounds 200 grain RNFP. Does this sound like a reasonable and safe load for this gun? Any input would be appreciated.