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November 19, 2006
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Ed –
This has been an interesting thread. I would label your ’92 a, “character gun.” When it comes to character guns, there is a lot of subjectivity and personal taste involved when it comes to evaluating them. You did come to a Winchester, “collector” site for opinions on value. As a generality, “collectors” are primarily interested in original pieces in as high condition as possible. Many here are focused only on “collector” pieces. However, as this thread has shown there are many us who also appreciate, “character.” This circles back to my original point, it’s very selective. It comes down to how attracted you are to the individual piece. We often talk about how a well-used Winchester can, “speak to us.” But you also have to, “hear” what the individual rifle is saying – and it needs to be appealing to you. One man’s character piece can be another man’s train wreck. If I had seen your rifle laying on a gun show for $500, I would have kept walking. That doesn’t mean I would value it at $500 as I am confident many others would pay a couple hundred more for it. I also suspect you are not the only person out there who would pay $900 for it.
Let me add that your rifle was not functional when you purchased it. It needs parts to make if functional. Personally, I lean strongly against purchasing something that needs parts or repair. I don’t think I’m the only one with that inclination but there are others that don’t mind, or even appreciate the project aspect. Any rifle that is missing parts or not functional will see a diminishment in value.
I am happy you are enjoying your rifle and enjoy the project aspect of it. That’s probably the most important factor to consider here.
October 12, 2025
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steve004 said
Ed –
This has been an interesting thread. I would label your ’92 a, “character gun.” When it comes to character guns, there is a lot of subjectivity and personal taste involved when it comes to evaluating them. You did come to a Winchester, “collector” site for opinions on value. As a generality, “collectors” are primarily interested in original pieces in as high condition as possible. Many here are focused only on “collector” pieces. However, as this thread has shown there are many us who also appreciate, “character.” This circles back to my original point, it’s very selective. It comes down to how attracted you are to the individual piece. We often talk about how a well-used Winchester can, “speak to us.” But you also have to, “hear” what the individual rifle is saying – and it needs to be appealing to you. One man’s character piece can be another man’s train wreck. If I had seen your rifle laying on a gun show for $500, I would have kept walking. That doesn’t mean I would value it at $500 as I am confident many others would pay a couple hundred more for it. I also suspect you are not the only person out there who would pay $900 for it.
Let me add that your rifle was not functional when you purchased it. It needs parts to make if functional. Personally, I lean strongly against purchasing something that needs parts or repair. I don’t think I’m the only one with that inclination but there are others that don’t mind, or even appreciate the project aspect. Any rifle that is missing parts or not functional will see a diminishment in value.
I am happy you are enjoying your rifle and enjoy the project aspect of it. That’s probably the most important factor to consider here.
Thank you sir I understand what you are saying about high condition and I have a few guns with too much “character” I don’t mind a project but I do mind complete junk. I hope this gun will be a good shooter as I really do like the way it looks with the silver metal appearance and I appreciate what everyone has said here and I didn’t realize when I bought it that it was missing anything and thankfully I think it is only missing the cartridge guide which doesn’t seem as bad a death sentence as if it was the ejector. I still have a lot to learn about these guns with that being said I will be asking more questions before I buy. Thanks everyone for the help and advice.
August 9, 2022
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Its not a collectors quality gun nor is it trying to be one. It is a project gun but so were the last two antiques I bought and brought back to functional condition. I havent seen a prewar .32wcf 1892 in any condition for under $800 in recent memory and ive been keeping my eye out for one like the OP’s. All ive seen available for under $1k are beat up, no finish guns with sewer pipe bores
The .32’s seem to be particularly hard to find with a decent bore so as a shooter id be ok with sourcing and replacing a few minor parts to get a .32 1892 with a good bore.
TLDR, In today’s market I think it was a reasonable buy as a shooter.
November 19, 2006
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eddixon said
steve004 said
Ed –
This has been an interesting thread. I would label your ’92 a, “character gun.” When it comes to character guns, there is a lot of subjectivity and personal taste involved when it comes to evaluating them. You did come to a Winchester, “collector” site for opinions on value. As a generality, “collectors” are primarily interested in original pieces in as high condition as possible. Many here are focused only on “collector” pieces. However, as this thread has shown there are many us who also appreciate, “character.” This circles back to my original point, it’s very selective. It comes down to how attracted you are to the individual piece. We often talk about how a well-used Winchester can, “speak to us.” But you also have to, “hear” what the individual rifle is saying – and it needs to be appealing to you. One man’s character piece can be another man’s train wreck. If I had seen your rifle laying on a gun show for $500, I would have kept walking. That doesn’t mean I would value it at $500 as I am confident many others would pay a couple hundred more for it. I also suspect you are not the only person out there who would pay $900 for it.
Let me add that your rifle was not functional when you purchased it. It needs parts to make if functional. Personally, I lean strongly against purchasing something that needs parts or repair. I don’t think I’m the only one with that inclination but there are others that don’t mind, or even appreciate the project aspect. Any rifle that is missing parts or not functional will see a diminishment in value.
I am happy you are enjoying your rifle and enjoy the project aspect of it. That’s probably the most important factor to consider here.
Thank you sir I understand what you are saying about high condition and I have a few guns with too much “character” I don’t mind a project but I do mind complete junk. I hope this gun will be a good shooter as I really do like the way it looks with the silver metal appearance and I appreciate what everyone has said here and I didn’t realize when I bought it that it was missing anything and thankfully I think it is only missing the cartridge guide which doesn’t seem as bad a death sentence as if it was the ejector. I still have a lot to learn about these guns with that being said I will be asking more questions before I buy. Thanks everyone for the help and advice.
Ed –
That’s what it’s about – buying what appeals to you vs. what appeals to others.
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