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March 30, 2015
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Need some help from you experts out there! I have a Winchester 1892 chambered in 44 WCF made in 1896. It has a 20″ octagon barrel. I cannot find through research whether the 20″ barrel was a standard length or if my barrel was possibly cut down. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
May 2, 2009
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Timothy,
Welcome to the site, You can get the configuration your gun left the factory as from the Cody Firearms Museum otherwise if you post some good pictures of the barrel we might be able to spot telltale signs it was cut. 24″ was the standard length for a rifle but Winchester did make custom length barrels. I just noticed you didn’t say if this was a rifle or carbine. A carbine was 20″ from the factory.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
March 19, 2014
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I’m assuming(not good, I know) that having an octagon barrel he is talking about a short rifle. Standard was 24 inch and you can usually tell from muzzle diameter,placement of the magazine hanger and distance the front sight dovetail is from the muzzle. Muzzle should be flat and unblued also. Some(not all) short rifles had a forend 8 3/8 inches long instead of he standard 9 3/8 inch length to maintain proportions. Most times the rear sight notch is one inch closer to the receiver on a short rifle to give a longer sight radius. My 2 cents.
December 31, 2012
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Timothy Posvar said
Need some help from you experts out there! I have a Winchester 1892 chambered in 44 WCF made in 1896. It has a 20″ octagon barrel. I cannot find through research whether the 20″ barrel was a standard length or if my barrel was possibly cut down. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Get a factory letter or just call them in Cody as a member of WACA you can get this info. Big Larry
March 20, 2009
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mike webb said
I’m assuming(not good, I know) that having an octagon barrel he is talking about a short rifle. Standard was 24 inch and you can usually tell from muzzle diameter,placement of the magazine hanger and distance the front sight dovetail is from the muzzle. Muzzle should be flat and unblued also. Some(not all) short rifles had a forend 8 3/8 inches long instead of he standard 9 3/8 inch length to maintain proportions. Most times the rear sight notch is one inch closer to the receiver on a short rifle to give a longer sight radius. My 2 cents.
Mike pretty much has the laundry list items to check for determining the possible originality of your rifle’s barrel. If you will send me a series of photos and the serial number of the rifle I will be happy to take a look at it and voice an opinion. The Cody letter is the definitive way to know. My address is: [email protected] You might also want to add the rifle into a research survey I am working on:
http://forums.gunbroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=606355
Michael
Model 1892 / Model 61 Collector, Research, Valuation
November 2, 2009
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I agree with others here who have suggested calling and getting the configuration and shipping info on your rifle. For the Model 1892, serial number records reach approximately 380,000 and your 1896 gun falls well within that range. A letter will answer all of your questions. If it letters as a factory 20″ short rifle, you have a nice find.
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