Type Lever Action Centerfire rifle
Place of origin USA
Production history
Designer John Browning
Manufacturer Winchester Repeating Arms Company
Produced 1892-1938
Number built 1,004,675
Specifications
Caliber .32-20, .38-40, .44-40, .25-20, .218 Bee (in late production)
Action Lever-action
Feed system 15 Round Tube MagazineWhen asked by Winchester to design an improved pistol caliber lever action, John Browning said he would have the prototype completed in under a month or it would be free. Within 2 weeks later, Browning had a functioning prototype of the 92.[2] Calibers for the rifle vary and some are custom-chambered. The original rounds were the .32-20, .38-40, and .44-40 Winchester centerfire rounds, followed in 1895 by the new .25-20.[3] A few Model 92’s chambered for .218 Bee were produced in 1936-38.[3]
The Winchester Models 53 (1924) and 65 (1933) were relabeled Model 1892’s. Secretary of War Patrick Hurley was presented with the one millionth rifle on December 13, 1932 and Admiral Robert E. Peary carried an 1892 on his trips to the North Pole.[3]
1,004,675 Model 1892 rifles were made by Winchester, and although the company phased them out by 1941, they are still being made under the Puma label by the Brazilian arms maker, Rossi, and by Chiappa Firearms, an Italian factory and Browning in Japan. In its modern form, using updated materials and production techniques, the Model 1892’s action is strong enough to chamber high pressure handgun rounds, such as .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, and the high-powered .454 Casull round.
