Good afternoon,

A friend of mine who's wife wanted his friearms out of the house just sold me a Winchester Model 1892 in .38 WCF (38-40?) for $250. He sold it to me because I am a shooter and a product designer for a local firearms manufacterer, but I am far from a expert on old firearms.

It has a full length magazine tube, flip-up rear sight, saddle ring and what appears to be a brass front sight. The reciever is nearly completely silver on the right side, top and bottom. The lever is the same and the left side of receiver has a little blueing left, mainly around the saddle ring, but there is a semi '8' pattern where the saddle ring wore through the bluing. The barrel retains much of it's original bluing with no rust or pitting. There are a few scratches in the barrel bluing, but they do not go into the metal. The mag tube is the same but no scratches. The bore is shiny and rifling is strong. The wood has dings and scratches but no cracks and has flecks of varnish here and there. There is little bluing on the barrel bands. The screws on the left side of the receiver are buggered up a bit, right side are perfect. Overall, I guess I'd rate it about 65%.

I have some questions if you don't mind. First is date of manufacture - serial number is 6130XX. I think this is a 1910-1911 range but wanted to be sure. Second is value - was this any kind of a bargain?

It will make a nice addition to my collection and will look good next to the Marlin model 39 I also picked up from the same guy.

Thanks for your time and have an excellent weekend. Your insight and knowledge is greatly appreciated.

As a new guy here please read this and it might help to check out the stickies in the general forum section.

http://shootersforum.com/showthread.htm?t=39832

A friend of mine who's wife wanted his friearms out of the house just sold me a Winchester Model 1892 in .38 WCF (38-40?) for $250.

Confirming, .38 WCF is the same cartridge as the .38-40. It was long considered obsolete and nearly dead until recently when it was revived, probably due to interest from the Cowboy Action Shooters. It has a reputation of being tough to reload due to very thin brass and a bottle-neck case, but I have no personal experience with it.

I have some questions if you don't mind. First is date of manufacture - serial number is 6130XX. I think this is a 1910-1911 range but wanted to be sure. Second is value - was this any kind of a bargain? I don't have info on the serial number range, but I think the links Bob gave you will have something. Also cannot tell you if you got a bargain, but I'm almost positive you didn't get cheated. If your wife ever gets to the same place his did, please call me :)

It sounds like a great rifle -- enjoy!

The Old Guy

Saw a .32-20 '92 the last time I was at the gun show. Was a rifle with almost no finish on it. Owner wanted $900 for it. It would be difficult to find someone wanting to sell a '92 for less than $250.

Saw a .32-20 '92 the last time I was at the gun show. Was a rifle with almost no finish on it. Owner wanted $900 for it. It would be difficult to find someone wanting to sell a '92 for less than $250.

Sentinel89, check on auctionarms.com and gunsamerica.com under the antiques, not the replicas. You will be amazed at what an original Winchester goes for. The Cowboy Action market has gobbled those guns up.

The guy certainly was not your friend as the rifle in unaltered condition books for over a $1000 in 50% condition and selling prices for original 92's are high. This post looks like a brag on a steal.

I came to this forum because I wanted info on this rifle and I didn't have any. I have posted pics on The High Road because I got my hand slapped by the moderator for asking about value.

I told my neighbor what the value of this rifle is. He said he didn't care just as long as his wife got off his back about them. The 2 rifles I got from him were left to him from his grandfather. It appears I was just in the right place at the right time. I will be grilling him a T-bone and getting him a case of beer.

As far as bragging about a steal goes, I don't really know what to say. I came here for help and information on a topic I am unfamiliar with. I apologize for offending anyone, so this will be my last post here.

Sentinel, it looks like you definitely got a good deal on that gun, and it's likely that it is worth far more than $250.

Regarding the idea that you didn't know the value, I believe you. Back in February I found myself in possession of an 1886 in 45-90 made in 1891 that came from the factory with a 22" barrel. I knew that the rifle was worth a lot because of it's age and condition, but thanks to the rare 22" barrel, I was shocked to find out what some people were willing to pay for it. Let's put it this way, I took it to an antique gun show to show it to a dealer I know, and I was drawing a crowd because of it. People were chasing me down begging me to sell it to them. It would seem that old Winchesters are about as good of an investment as anyone can make.

Good luck with that gun- it's not going to command a value as high as a pre-1899 in similar condition, but it's certainly going to be a nice part of you collection.

Edit: the website at the following link says your Model 92 was made in 1911.

http://armscollectors.com/sn/winlookup.php?file=win1892.dat

Sentinel,
The reason you didn't get a good response to the value of your rifle is that a lot depends on actually seeing it's condition AND few of us here can claim to be expert appraisers. We would only be giving you "guestimates" and those figures would be useless to you. You would get a more accurate appraisal from people "in the business".

As far as "bragging" goes, remember we are only reading posts and can't see facial expressions. Others have made similar posts (tongue-in-cheek) in the same manner just to get a response and THOSE people WERE actually bragging. Don't believe you offended anyone, some of us might have questioned whether or not this was a "brag" so I hope you reconsider and continue to post. You will find we are a friendly group and your input is most appreciated. That's the way I see it and wouldn't want anyone turned off here over a misunderstanding.