Anthony said
Michael,
The added information and pictures, besides what Bert had posted truly helps many of us to understand this model better.
We're grateful for members like you, and Bert for the time and dedication to our beloved hobby!
 
Tony
  

Thanks so much for the kind words Tony.  It is nice to hear that others find what we do as useful and beneficial.  Being a science centric kind of guy I recognized that there was a vast amount of "data" floating around via all of the online sales and images.  All that needed to be done was to capture it all and then synthesize the info.  Yeah, it's been a lot of time but it is also rewarding to learn new things and help others.

Michael 

The added information and pictures, besides what Bert had posted truly helps many of us to understand this model better.

We're grateful for members like you, and Bert for the time and dedication to our beloved hobby!

Tony

If you will email the images to me I can deal with the format issue and post them for you.  2bitrifles@gmail.com

The changing morphology of the ones digit used in serial numbers within the Model 1892 sequence is a bit interesting.  Early rifles had a one with a clearly defined upper serif and that style is typical until about the 70000 range when the upper serif disappears and the bottom serif alternates from being on each side of the vertical thus producing a one which looks like and inverted "T" or the bottom serif is only found on the right side resulting in the one resembling an "L".  This usage is consistent all throughout the 100000 serial number range and continues well into the early 300000 range with the "T" version the most common.  Finally, in the mid 300000's does the upper serif begin to be slightly present again.  By the early 400000 range the horizontal upper serif is quite strongly pronounced and visible.  By the early 500000 serial number series the upper serif is changed again to a more common presentation and angled downward to the left.  

Michael

The leading digit is actually a poorly made "1" versus an "L".  It is found on the late 5-digit (90000+) and very early 6-digit serial number on the Models 1892, 1894 and 1897.

Here are several examples;

Bert

Brent McPhee. 

Doc Lane said
Looking at a Winchester 1892 deluxe checkered pistol grip takedown in 25/20 made in 1909. My question is on the left inside of the lower tang should it be marked with X's for good wood used.
  

IF you can post images and the SN of the rifle I will be happy to take a look at it.  I have seen just over 22,500 individual Model 1892's in the past 15 years while working on my research survey.  I may have seen that rifle previously.

Michael

The best known "sightless" pre-64 Model 70s, of course, are the Gopher Special Featherweights.  But in 1962-63 Gopher also offered a sightless standard Westerner (264 Winchester Magnum, 26-inch barrel, no sights, with barrel boss).  It's listed in the Gopher catalogs, so you could certainly buy one.  Winchester didn't specifically mention the $5.60 extra cost "sightless" option until their 1960 catalog, but I think they made a fair number of them in calibers besides 264 Winchester Magnum. 

The one I pictured above used to belong to Bob Porter.  It's possible (???) that he had it rebarreled at the factory well after 1963.  But it is a genuine sightless 24-inch pre-64 Model 70 barrel in 300 Winchester Magnum.  The (R) symbol on the roll mark (instead of the words "TRADE MARK") is found on about half of the 300 Winchester Magnum barrels made in 1962-63.

I don't think I've seen first hand a genuine sightless Model 70 standard barrel that omitted the barrel boss.  Maybe one... It belongs to a WACA member.

Louu

The pre-64 M70 300 H&H Magnum had a 26-inch barrel and no recoil pad.  They also did not have a counterbored crown. What I suspect is that this was a standard 300 H&H Magnum barrel (it does appear to be a Winchester barrel based on what I can see of the roll marks), that was turned down to remove the barrel boss and shortened by 2-inches.  Removing the rear sight boss does not require you to turn the barrel down so much as to remove the roll markings provided that you follow the regular taper of the barrel.

They don't show me the right pictures.  I'd want to see the stock from the top to see if there was inletting for a rear sight boss that was filled in, and figure out whether the hole under the fore arm contains a functional barrel bedding screw.  It shouldn't, b/c removing the barrel boss also removes the dovetail for the bedding screw escutcheon underneath.  The presence of the hole says it's a standard stock, not a Featherweight stock with the barrel channel opened to sporter contour.

I believe that Winchester did (rarely) make standard weight barrels without the rear sight boss on special order and that they did make stocks for them.  But I don't think this is one of them.  The usual "sight delete" option (cataloged extra cost option beginning in 1960) involved omitting the top and bottom dovetails, but keeping the barrel boss.  This one, a 300 Winchester Magnum, is more of a typical "sightless" standard rifle.

Best,

Lou

IF the goal is simply to put plugs in the factory scope base holes, then it does not matter which type you choose.  ANY 6-48 plug screw will work.  

IF the goal is to replace the plug screws with ones that look like the ones the factory installed, then you'd need ones like I pictured above.  I took those out of a M70 receiver to take pictures.  

Most of the aftermarket plug screws for sale these days are either flat on top (such that they can sit flush with the receiver surface) OR are they made with the "STOP" or "cap" (such that they protrude slightly, but cannot be turned in too far). Of the two commonly available styles, the ones with the stop look more like the factory plug screws when installed than the ones that are flat on top and sit flush.  The ones you posted a link to are the ones with the stop.  They will work fine and look like factory plugs (unless someone removes them for "examination")....

Lou