I bought an 1892 rifle

[Clark]

It is a Winchester 1892 rifle made in 1900, but appears to have been rebarreled with a Win 92 barrel with a perfect 1 in 14" twist bore.

I took it apart a cleaned it.
I got a quarter pound of dirt out.
I weighed it before and after.... and no I did not have any parts left over:)

So I have had it for a month. What else can I do?
I made a non invasive scope and bi pod mount.
I put a Leupold 2X pistol scope on it.

Cause I did not want to drill and tap into the old rifle.

[Clark]

67968

I got a quantity of 3/8" x 1" x 6" Aluminum bars from Boeing Surplus that were to be soft jaws for a 6" mill vise. I used 4 pf them to make the scope ring / hex barrel clamp

[Clark]

I don't know how it shoots....yet.
I just got a package from Midway with a 25-20 die set and some bags of 32-20 brass I plan to neck down.
I have a box of Sierra 1600 75 gr .257" hollow point bullets. I think I can stabilize a .751" long bullet with the 14" twist at 2000 fps
http://www.bergerbullets.com/litz/TwistRuleAlt.php
That says comfortably stable at SG= 1.53

Of course I have NEVER believed that a 9 pound 25-20 could set off a primer in the tube with a pointy bullet. That is simply old load book tales.

[pietro]

.

I'm pretty sure I'd forget the scope/mount, and install a tang peep sight on that old gal, since the rifle should be factory prepped for one.



.

[Clark]

I did notice an extra screw hole with a filler screw on the tang.

When I was 40, I could hit a nail head at 100' with peep sights front and rear.
At 62, I could maybe see the nail at 25', so I need some scope to focus my eye, not as much to magnify it. The 2X means nothing compared to the focusing for me. I can only wear glasses for one second before the headache starts.

[missionary5155]

Greetings
Now that is a caliber that yet escapes me. Congradulations on a fine rifle. Go out and pop some groundhogs.
Mike in peru

[runfiverun]

I started getting a dull ache in the back of my neck going up into right behind my eye when I was reading the o/p.

they do make scout mounts that go in the rear sight dovetail.
you can order them from taurossi now.
you might have to file the dovetail on the sight to fit the barrel tightly.

you might want to try a couple of the 32-20 brass before you do the whole bunch, the 32-20 brass I have has a thinner rim than the 25-20 brass I have.
sometimes this causes the extractor to skip the rim, on extraction of the high end loads.

[Clark]

Yeah, I have tried a lot of ways to turn necks, I like the lathe the best.
This is a video of my turning 7x57mm rimmed brass down after necking it down for 257 Roberts Ackley improved rimmed for a 1885 project for 2012.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj-UZgqfCjg


Making the 1885 scope mount and bipod mount was much more complicated... but I did shoot 4 deer with it 6 months ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ29L01ZxV4

[JHeath]

If Boeing Surplus were still open I would never buy an off-the-shelf anything. You could conduct a pretty good war or a space-race with North Korea with projects people built from Boeing Surplus finds.

Also Clark has inspired me to finish my next gun project with Dykem instead of the digitized desert-camp ceramic I was about to pay for.

[LtFrankDrebbin]

All I can say is sweet little rifle you got there. And I will take my hat off with compliments to inivation with the scope mount.

Bad eyes, I feel for you there. Hhhhhmmmm red dot sight maybe?

That o'l girl is just begging to sling some cast lead, and I reckon she'll do it well!

If you have'nt already, please slip on over to Marlin Owners- Reloading- 25-20 reloaders. (sticky) It's worth a look and a good read.

[BCRider]

Boeing Surplus is no more? That's sad news indeed! I haven't been down that way for a couple or three years now but for years before that it was a once a year side trip that was highly enjoyed on my way to model airplane competitions in Oregon.

At first looking at the mount made my eyes burn. But I have to admit that as solutions for your situation go it's actually a darn good option. And I'm sure the next owner of this classic rifle will appreciate the care taken to avoid modifying it to make the scope possible.

[rbuck351]

If you can find one, Bushnell made a scopemount for their Bushnell Phantom pistol scope that fits in the dove tail of the rear sight. No drilling needed. I mounted one on my Win 92 in 25/20 and it's working well. Wish mine had a pristine bore but it still shoots Lymans 65gr cast under 2" at 85yds.

[Clark]

rbuck351,
Funny you should bring up Phantoms.
I just made a mount for an old Colt revolver to mount a Bushnell Phantom pistol scope.
Phantoms vary in quality and in design. Decades later they are often for sale without the original mount. They are scope with special needs for mounting.

[Idaho Mule]

Clark, nice work there. It certainly is different but looks like it works for you and that's the main thing. About 25-20 brass, does Starline make it?? I don't know if they do or not but I would imagine they do. If so I would highly recomend it. As fun as that 92 is to shoot, you are gonna need lots of brass. JW













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[Clark]

Thanks,
No Starline does not make 25-20 brass.

I have been necking down 32-20 brass with some home made dies:

32-20 brass is .323" OD, .305" ID
size with .3125" neck die made with 5/16" reamer and 7/8-14 threaded rod
brass is .315" OD, .299" ID
size with .298" neck die
brass is .301" OD, .285" ID
size with .280" neck die
brass is .282 OD, .264" ID
size with .274" neck die
brass is .276" OD, .258" ID
size with .271" neck die
brass is .274" OD, .255" ID
size with Lee FL die with .266" neck
brass is .267" OD, .248" ID
size with home made M die
Brass is .248" ID at base of neck, .262" bell at mouth

1.85" OAL reaches the lands with Sierra 75 gr 1600
1.7" feeds maybe
1.65" feeds well.
1.592" SAAMI max OAL

So I tried to feed it single shot:
WSR 11 gr H110, 75 gr Sierra 1600 moly 1.85" ok [QL 1,980 fps 20,575 psi]
WSR 12 gr H110, 75 gr Sierra 1600 moly 1.85" pierced primer [QL 2,144 fps 25,681 psi]
CCI450 12 gr H110 75 gr Sierra 1600 moly 1.85" ok [QL 2,144 fps 25,681 psi]
CCI450 12.5 gr H110 75 gr Sierra 1600 moly 1.85"pierced primer [QL 2,225 fps 28,659 psi]

I cannot get much more than 25kpsi out of it without primer piercing. The firing pin to firing pin hole fit is so bad there is huge crater.

[John Taylor]

Back in the day my brother got his first rifle, a little model 4 Remington that my father had bought for $8. It was soon figured out that it was to small for deer hunting so he started asking around about something that would work. He came up with a model 92 in 25-20 from one of his paper rout customers for $35. A few years ago I installed a liner , put new wood on it and had it blued. And yes I ended up with the model 4 which I passed down to my oldest daughter.

[Clark]

I got to Issaquah at 2 and left at 4.
Sunny, low wind, noisy, and crowded... $12

12 gr Lil'Gun 75 gr Sierra hollow point .257 bullets #1600, 1.9" OAL [barely touching the lands] must be loaded single shot into the 1900 vintage Winchester 1892 rifle with 2X Leupold pistol scope. At 12.3 gr it looks like the old black powder firing in and enlarged firing pin hole are about to bust the primer bubble, so I backed off 0.3 gr and loaded some. I would like to run it at 40 kpsi, but bushing the firing pin would be work.
Quickload predicts for 25-20 Sierra 75 gr hollow point 1600, 1.895" start pressure 4,000 psi [jammed into the lands] 24" barrel, moly coated:
2252 fps 28,065 psi

Chronograph measure:
2298 fps
2322
2326
2318
2306
2343
2345
2331
2339
2326
2322
2343
2355
2343
2347
2335
2364

Targets recorded:
1.1" 7 shots @ 50 yards
1.1" 6 shots @ 50 yards
1.25" 6 shots @ 50 yards

[JHeath]

Can you modify the firing pin instead of bushing the hole? I.e. cut the tip off, drill a hole in its place, and install a thicker piece of turned rod or a drill bit shank. I am winging it with the suggestion, I have no experience modifying 1892s. But I know from other posts that you have a lathe.

[Clark]

I could make a bigger firing pin, and that would help a lot, but the hole is not round.

[MtGun44]

Good results. I wonder if you can either make a new firing pin or add
a bushing to the existing one.

Bill