[DreadandDreams]

So, I inherited this rifle, and a very beautiful rifle no less. I have gone to "The Blue Book of Guns" site, the Winchester serial archive site, and every site in-between, AND STILL have no idea what I inherited.

This is what I know.
1. 1892
2. Lever action
3. .357
4. 20" Octagon Miroku/Japan barrel
5. ***ALL*** polished blue finish
6. Limited Series
7. 1 of 500 made
8. Tang safety
9. no hex
10. blue crescent butt plate

Can anyone tell me what I got?

 

[DreadandDreams]

Sorry for the crappy image quality and the first image being upside down.

 

[Charlie Petty]

The bad news is that it is not an original Model 92... those were never made in .357... but a modern copy made for Winchester by Miroku.

Winchester had a deal with them and quite a few different guns were made there. I think the 101 o/u is a good example.

IIRC these were somewhere in the 80s and are very nice guns. Actually if you look on page 2170 of the Blue Book (33 rd. edition) you will find it. Turns out it was made in the 90s...

 

[TommyGunn]

It may be sad that it isn't an original Winchester 1892.
The bright side is that Miroku makes excellent reproductions of those old Winnies. You have a shooter! I will guess it willl be a very accurate rifle.

 

[spwenger]

Skeeter Skelton...

...wrote of Ward Koozer, a gunsmith in Douglas AZ, back in the 1950's, who used to convert 92's to .357, primarily for lawmen in the Southwest. Unfortunately, when Winchester/USRA chose to offer lever guns in modern revolver chamberings, they went with the 94 platform of the .30-30 instead of the more appropriate 92 platform of the old WCF cartridges.

You inherited a real winner! Color me jealous. :grumble:

 

[Kevin Gibson]

Since it has the tang safety, I'd say it is one of the later make 92's. Somewhere in the early 2000's Winchester started making the '95 rifle as a regular production item, and that was the first to have the tang safety. Later Winchester added the tang safety to the '94 and finally to the '92's. The '92 has been in production since about the mid 2000's if I remember right. It's still in their catalogue: Model 1892 -- Winchester Repeating Arms -- Product Family

As for that particular rifle, it looks like a special run in that particular configuration.

 

[stand watie]

Dread and Dreams,

WELCOME to the forum!

ENJOY your "gift".

yours, sw