Log In
Members
Home
Add Reply
Add Topic
I was inspired by Kirk’s recent range report with his 106 year old SRC and decided that it was time to shoot my second oldest 1892 SRC. Both of these carbines were built with Model 1873 components including the barrel, rear sight, and butt plate. Wood is all walnut. I have had this rifle (SN 6691 / Late 1892) for a couple years but had never fired it yet. My plan is also to use it for hunting hogs at my ranch so I definitely needed to get a bit familiar with it. Most of my feeders are set at approximately 50 yards from pop up blinds so none of this is going to qualify for long range marksmanship by any measure.
The first image shows the initial effort with 10 rounds. At 50 yards I had to set the green target field just above the front sight pin and hold the front sight VERY low in the notch of the rear sight. It basically equates to a 4 inch “under-hold” if that makes sense. This is consistent with the trajectory for the 44 WCF ammunition (see image). The notch in the sight is set for 100 yards and there is right at 3.5 inches of “rise” at 50 yards so that it is dead on at 100 yards. The rifle grouped very well but shot about 1.5 to 2 inches to the left. You can see the rear sight position relative to the barrel address stamp.
Feeling pretty good, but not wanting to have to compensate for the left deflection I decided to adjust the rear sight a bit and see if I could improve the accuracy. I tapped the sight to the right and headed back to the range area. The first two rounds were too far right (at 2 o’clock) so I tapped the sight a bit to the left and shot a second group. It fell in perfectly above the bull so I dropped my sight picture and the next three rounds were perfect. We are ready for some hogs! You can compare the rear sight position in the photos.
And here are a few pics of the rifle.
Michael
Model 1892 / Model 61 Collector, Research, Valuation
That did it; now I have an itch that needs scratching. Guess I’ll load something up this weekend and breath some life into one of the old gals. Thanks for the report and impetus.
Technically, the glass is always full; half liquid, half air....
WACA #10293
And for those wondering, I was shooting standard Winchester factory ammunition.
Michael
Model 1892 / Model 61 Collector, Research, Valuation
Hey twobit, that’s really a nice carbine. I don think many people know how rare it is to see one these ’73/’92 carbines.
win4575 said
Hey twobit, that’s really a nice carbine. I don think many people know how rare it is to see one these ’73/’92 carbines.
Thanks so much. They are special and I am lucky enough to have two of them! SN 2635 and this one SN 6691.
Michael
Model 1892 / Model 61 Collector, Research, Valuation
The 1873 or 1874 catalog did not list the model 1873, because of the problems they were having with the Milbank primed .44WCF ammunition. As far as I can tell the first model 1873’s were shipped on order number 577 in March of 1873. Only a handful were shipped at that time. As strange as it may sound, Winchester model 1873 serial #1 was not shipped until October of 1874. It was a musket, with 30″ barrel. The 1873 model was doomed from the get go, with unreliable ammunition. Once that problem was fixed, this model hit the marked in large numbers, in late 1874.
Excellent report!! I really enjoyed the photos and the account. We need more of these! That is a beautiful and accurate little carbine.
Kirk Durston said
Excellent report!! I really enjoyed the photos and the account. We need more of these! That is a beautiful and accurate little carbine.
Thanks Kirk. I definitely had fun and absolutely love the results. I have a “range” set up at my ranch. The backstop is two “walls” of stacked RR ties about a foot apart with gravel in between. MORE than enough to stop anything I will ever be shooting! I learned to pay attention to correct yardage estimations and to know the flight trajectory of these loads a few years ago. I was sitting just off to the side about 40 yards from a likely hog trail. A Big boar came lumbering along and had no idea I was there. My plan was to shoot them in the brain and drop them like a rock. I had a sporting rifle and the rear sight elevator was in the 100 yard notch. I aimed right at the base of the ear and shot. The hog turned and ran off. I looked around for a minute, found my lower jaw and said what the heck???? There is NO WAY I missed. I then thought of the trajectory, found a bullet flight path graph and ta da. Realized my mistake. I keep looking for big hog with pierced ears! :))
Michael
Model 1892 / Model 61 Collector, Research, Valuation
November 7, 2015
Offline
twobit said
……I keep looking for big hog with pierced ears! :))
Michael
Careful, Michael. HE might be looking for YOU!
Mike
1 Guest(s)
