Winchester Model 1892 32-20

[Pirate69]

I am looking at a five digit rifle that is maybe 30%-35% with a dark bore and decent rifling. Stock is good but it has seen a coat of finish in the past. It is not original finish. For some reason, they do not seem to be selling well on Gunbroker. I am a little shy about a $750 buy. Any comments on why they do not appear to be as desireable as a 1894? I don't want to pass-up a good deal but I don't want to get burned either. Any input will be greatly appreciated.

[runfiverun]

750 ain't bad i have looked at a 25-20 that looks like it has been chewed on with about 0 finish left and they want 900.
i grabbed the rifle version at 450 before they noticed the price tag,as i allready have the carbine.
anyway most 38-40/44-40/32-20's etc.. with any amount of finish and decent wood have been in the 900 area.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

750 is not too bad; these rifles continue to climb in price over the years and you will never lose on it if you ever decide to sell. If the rifling is strong it does not matter that the bore is dark as it will clean up a lot with the use of cast bullets and cleaning. The 32-20 was a popular round and was used mainly on small game. Never mind the "mythology" about whoever claims to have hunted big bear and elephant with it. It is well described by Barnes in COTW. Of course a 94 is touted more especially for hunting as all the cartridges made for use in it are ballistics-wise more powerful and accurate over longer ranges. The condition of your gun overall can be improved; the wood brought back and the metal reblued to look really good. The moving parts can be tightened up as well. If you ever decide that you want more power you can rebarrel/rebore the tube to shoot .357 Mag; many shooters have done that. The 92 action is pretty stout. It is a handy and pleasant to shoot model that was very, very popular over the years, particularly the saddle ring carbines with shorter barrels. You can readily still find parts for it at the Gun Parts Corp in New York or Buckinghams. if you acquire(d) it you might be advised as to harming the originality of the gun, but that is a decision that you might have to make. LLS

[Pirate69]

Well, I pulled the trigger and bought it.[smilie=p: Now to load for it. Anyone have any dies or brass they want to get rid of?

[Dan Cash]

Well, I pulled the trigger and bought it.[smilie=p: Now to load for it. Anyone have any dies or brass they want to get rid of?

Bite the bullet and buy a set of Redding dies, some Star Line brass and an Accurate mould #31-105C. Make the bullets soft and set them on top of 9 gr. 2400. Does not get any better than that.

[cobbmtmac]

Dan's load is right where you should be. Our family has two 92's, in 32-20. I use a 311316 4-banger mould, drops at .314-316, 115gr. I'm @ 10grs. of 2400.

[runfiverun]

i wouldn't overlook the rcbs 0 98 rnfp either.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Loading dies for the 32-20 are made by the major companies. It is a three die set. I have been using RCBS and Lee dies and there is no difference in the performance or quality of the finished loaded rounds made by either. If you don't for some reason like either of those brands then choose another. As for molds/bullet design, one that weighs around 115-120 grains with a meplat/nose flat, a couple of grease grooves and a place to crimp...usually behind the front band of the forward grease groove. Onre of the most popular bullets has been Lyman 3118 or now 311008. Other moldmakers offer other choices. Bore diameter is a bit larger than the usual 30 cal bullets and moreso in a vintage rifle so you might want to slug the bore to find out what it is. It is better to have a mold .001-.002 over your bore size than to have something bouncing down the tube and shooting around corners. LLS

[Pirate69]

Cleaned the barrel and slugged it. The groove diameter reads a 0.3125" Looks like the rifling is 0.3085". Does that sound about right? Think 0.004" is sufficient rifling?

[Pirate69]

Trying to control spend at this point on setting up for my Winchester Model 92 32-20. Any change that this may be an acceptable boolit for the rifle? Lee 2-Cavity Bullet Mold TL314-90-SWC 32-20 WCF. Its a 90 grain tumble lube. Maybe a better mold later.

[fouronesix]

Yes, your bore and groove numbers sound about right. And yes, .004" is enough land height if your bullet fits- at least sized to groove diameter. I shoot the 32-20 in original Win 92 and Win 73. The 311316 is THE bullet for the 32-20. I also shoot the Lee/Ranch Dog RNFP GC bullet for the 32-20 but it's not the same as the Lee 314 SWC/TC so don't know about that one. The 311316 cast of a fairly soft alloy, about BHN 12, over either Rel 7 or 2400 loaded to about 1100 fps seems to work best for me. The Rel 7 loads shoot a tad better for me in both the 92 and the 73. My 73 has a slightly better bore than the 92 and the 73 shoots a little better.

[Four Fingers of Death]

Wow! I wish I could buy these in Australia and sell them in the States!

[northmn]

I load my Marlin 32-20 using Lee dies and a Lee 100 gr 32 pistol mold. For what I use a 32-20 for it is a good combination with good accuracy. Lot of people like to hotrod them a bit but I cut back to a load of about 4.5 gr of Green Dot (I had some I don't use in shotguns any more or an equivalent laod of Unique at about 1300 fps. A fun little cartridge and rifle.

DP

[Four Fingers of Death]

As I get older, I really fancy a Marlin in 221Bee, 25/20 or 32/20. They are thin on the ground here and usually mucho expensive. One of these with a 2-7 or 1 1/2-4 Leupold in low rings would be a sweet rifle.

[northmn]

In many ways the 218 Bee (I assume you meant that instead of a 221 Bee) would still be a very handy little cartridge and would likely fill the bill for many folks better than a hotrodded 32-20. Even with flat or RN bullets. For my uses in a lever I would probably either carry the pointed in the chamber or just load two rounds, one in the chamber and one in the magazine if I wanted to use pointed bullets.

DP

[Four Fingers of Death]

I'm getting my bees and fireballs mixed up.

[northmn]

With all the wildcats and modifications one never knows for sure whether its a typo or something I never heard of. I am surprised someone hasn't created a 32-20 improved, or 32 super or something like that to permit the 32-20 to shoot heavier bullets or to get a 100 fps more velocity. Amazing the amount of tinkering we do.
While I do not have much of a need for a "varmit" rifle I think the 218 Bee would be kind of a nice addition to my collection of levers. I have had a 22 hornet on and off for a few years and it was kind of handy. Shot a black bear in the neck with one and ate bear. Many years ago before MN called them a game animal. With cast they can be clsoe to a 22LR and with J's can be pretty effective.

DP

[Four Fingers of Death]

I have 1000 Winchester 46Gn 22Hornet bullets downstairs, a nice 22 Group Buy mould and no Hornet. I do have a 222 Rem788 and a Savage 222/20Ga combo. I might try and make the combo a 'Hornet' by downloading it.

I think we'd better concentrate, we are wandering into thread hijacking territory, sorry.