Browning B92 Trapper??

[surfanarchist]

Hello fellow lever gunners,

I just bought off of G'Broker a Browning B92 .357 mag with a 16.5" barrel. My question to this group is has anyone ever seen or heard of Browning making this model with a 16.5" barrel? I would have asked this question before I bought it but frankly I didn't want to advertise that the rifle was out there and for sale.

From the photos it does not appear to be a shortened barrel and the barrel is stamped Browning-92 so it's not an after market. The rifle also has a large loop like you'd see on a Rossi or whatever which I think is probably an aftermarket. Before I bought the rifle I tracked down a Browning B92 .357 lever so I can swap it back to original configuration.

I searched the net and I found a couple of oblique references to Browning B92 Trappers but no pictures, no details, no history on Browning having ever offered this rifle in anything other than a 20". Any thoughts?

I'll update when I get this thing in hand, most likely later this week.

[1Hawkeye]

That's not factory. it kinda sounds like the stagecoach special that a gun writer had made up in the 1980's I remember reading about. I think it was Rick Hacker

[pietro]

.

While all Browning Model B-92's were catalogued as having 20" barrels only, and anything's possible, an aftermarket change is most probable.

16" .357 Model 92'a are handy, though - I had a .357 Rossi M-92 Big Loop carbine w/16" bbl.

Like you're planning, I soon swapped out the big loop lever with a standard loop lever (they're usually all interchangeable)

.

[surfanarchist]

Well I now have this rifle in hand and I've shown it to a couple of folks who's gunsmithing experience is better than mine and none of us can see any hint of alteration to this 16" barrel B-92. I'm not saying it's factory but the crown, bluing, front site, mag tube all look exactly like my stock factory 20" B-92 in 44 mag. I have an 1886 Browning with the barrel shortened by Turnbull Refinishing and while it's a great job you can tell its been shortened. On this B-92 you can't. However it became a 16" it was done right. I'm going to swap out the big loop lever, strip the stock and refinish it in a traditional Winchester red. Nice little rifle.

[Speedo66]

You might want to try contacting Browning. Sometimes companies make special runs at the request of large distributors, Ruger does this all the time, so anything is possible.

Good luck with your new gun!

[BCRider]

Either way you're lucky. A 16" Rossi I found early on would only hold 9 1/2 rounds of .357. The store guy checked it for me. So I had to go with the 20" model for my cowboy action shooting. That extra 1/2" likely makes the rifle so it'll just hold 10 rounds in the magazine. But in this case "just" is just enough...

[Shawlerbrook]

Factory or not, great find !

[surfanarchist]

Here she is with refinished stock and new lever.

[surfanarchist]

I know this is an old thread and more likely most no one will care but I think I've solved the mystery of this Browning B92 "Trapper" with a 16" barrel. I've just learned from Browning that this rife was sold to Chet Paulson's Inc. back in July 1982. Chet Paulson was a gunsmith of some renown in Tacoma WA back in the day. Most likely he cut the barrel down, re blued, refitted the front blade and the magazine tube. I can't but marvel at the job he did. You simply can't tell the rifle was modified.

[r80rt]

I love it!

[MT Gianni]

I know this is an old thread and more likely most no one will care but I think I've solved the mystery of this Browning B92 "Trapper" with a 16" barrel. I've just learned from Browning that this rife was sold to Chet Paulson's Inc. back in July 1982. Chet Paulson was a gunsmith of some renown in Tacoma WA back in the day. Most likely he cut the barrel down, re blued, refitted the front blade and the magazine tube. I can't but marvel at the job he did. You simply can't tell the rifle was modified.

I never saw anything other than 20" cataloged. It's a great find, thanks for sharing it.

[Bazoo]

Howdy. That’s a nice little rifle. Thank you for the update. It’s certainly a keeper. Looks good with the red hue to the wood too. I’d like to know how she shoots.

[ddixie884]

I love it!

Me too................

[GregLaROCHE]

That’s a beautiful gun. I wouldn’t mind having it. I’ve been itching for years to get a .357 lever gun.