Browning 92 Lever gun question

Skeet 028

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 26, 2010
Messages
6,937
Reaction score
7,996
Location
Wyoming
Well actually 2 questions. First did they make it in any other caliber than 44? Will they usually feed 44 specials(if anyone has any experience with 'em? I happened to find one supposedly unfired and it does look it . No scratches anywhere. A rough idea of a price for an exc condition one would be a help. I'd like probably buy it but not being too much of a lever gun guy...I truly don't know values. She gave me a price but just want to get a handle on it
 
Browning B92

In my opinion these are the best replica of the famous model 92. They were also made in 357, but they are fewer in numbers than the 44. I had a 357 and it shot 38 special just fine. Price on a decent one is $1000 and up for the 44. 357’s bring a lot more. They also made a Centennial model in the 44 to mark the 100 year anniversary of Browning. 1878-1978

Kelly
 
They were also made by Winchester in 38-40, 32-20, & 25-20. A related model was made in 218 Bee (I think it was the Model 53).

They were made by Rossi and Taurus in 45 Colt, 44 Mag, 454, 38/357 mag. as well as 44-40.

In the 1950's they were made by Tigre' in Brazil, but only in 44-40

Browning/Miroku and Winchester/ Miroku make them everything listed above. (except 454!)

Ivan

ETA: My Rossi 92 in 45 Colt shoots 45 Scofield and the 45 US rounds fine. My Browning 92 shot 44 Special well. My Rossi 38/357 wouldn't feed the 38 S&W round, had to open the magazine tube and pour them out the front! Never tried 38 Colt short or long! ITB
 
Last edited:
Yep. Browning made them in .44 Mag/.44 Spl and .357 Mag/.38 Spl. The .38s bring a premium. There has been talk about the variations in twist rates for the .44s regarding performance with lighter weight jacketed bullets and hard cast lead but the bottom line is that those carbines represent the absolutely best "Winchester" 92s ever due to the build quality and materials that went into them.
 
Skeet, check my posts in reloading section...just got a Winchester '92 short rifle...ordered it in Feb..been playing with it for a few weeks to get some .38's that it will run...it's very picky,but tons of fun to shoot...not sure about .44's.....they fetch $1000 plus or minus a little here
 
I have one in .357 that years ago I had Dale Storey's shop do a trigger job on, install a Lyman aperture sight and put a blank in the rear sight slot.

It's one of my favorite guns; some days it is the favorite. :)

Usually with .38's I have to push down lightly on the front of the cartridge for smooth feeding, or feed them individually. Back when SASS shooters were using them someone came up with a modification for the ones that had an issue, but I'm not fixing anything that works as well as mine does. :D

I like the Brownings better than the newer Winchester versions with the safety - not that there's anything wrong with that.
 
I found a used .44 B92 in a pawn shop in the late 80s. It is much smoother than the 1911 vintage custom ordered Winchester 1892 I have and it’s real smooth. I shot .44 Specials in the Browning in a cowboy shoot and don’t recall any hang ups. It’s one of my favorite rifles. I’d love to have a saddle ring put on it. I once bought two mint 1968 kid lunch boxes for $15 each. A guy at work wanted them and I wanted another guy’s like new Browning B92 .357. I sold the lunch boxes for $300 and bought the gun for that price. I Later traded it towards a Colt SAA.
 
What they said about .38/ .357 .

I don't offhand know the specifics about B92 , but the twist rate thing applies to all .44mag leverguns .

Historical twist rates carried over from .44-40 were +/- 1:38 . This was ideal with 205gr .44WCF , and acceptable in .44mag up to 240- ish grain . But usually unstable with 300gr .

1:20 or 24 will work with 300 plus grains .
 
Well I had a Winchester 92 that had been rebll'd and restocked. Early gun that they had converted to 44 mag. Looked like a miniature 86 Winchester and very smooth. I never shot any high end 44 mag ammo in. So... the only 92 I ever remember having. This one is very nice. I will check the serial and figure out the date made/shipped. I didn't figure they were valued in that kind of range. I was going to buy it and give it to my granddaughter so she could carry it on a horse up on the ranch she works on... The rifle IS pretty but really kinda plain looking. I didn't notice if it was drilled for a receiver sight. I was kinda hoping to find her a 357 Marlin 1894. The 44s are notorious kickers. IMO
 
I told the lady I will buy the 92. Hope to pick it up later today. Ill try to post a pic or 2:cool:
 
The 2 Browning 92's in 44Mag I've worked on functioned fine w/ 44spcl's.

FWIW, the Brownings have a slightly larger bbl shank diameter than the orig Winchester 92.
That and likely better/stronger steel allows a safer chambering for the rifle in 44Magnum.
I never measured the frame ring to see if that was increased any amt as well for strength.

The orig 92 has quite a small dia bbl shank (threaded portion). It was fine for the very low pressured 44-40 and 38-40 rds it was made for.
The 44Magnum rd really pushes the limit of the strength of that original size bbl shank. The action lock-up can hold just fine.

The Browning 92 44mag repros are nice rifles and have certainly held their value over the yrs.
 
Best of the breed in my opinion. The only problem I've had with the .44 Spcl is with the Keith bullet. It's too long to feed but can be loaded individually fine. Enjoy!
 
Be careful when buying reproduction Model 1892s since you can often buy an original Winchester for less money than the reproductions are going for. Personally, I like the original calibers like 44 Winchester, 38-40, or 32-20. I am looking at several for sale now in the mid-$500 to $800 range. After all, they made over 1,000,000 1892 from 1892 to 1945.

I should be the last person to say not to buy reproductions since I own just about every other Winchester repro made and enjoy shooting them all. I do have to say that most of the earlier Winchester models are less money if you buy the reproductions, but when you get to 1892s and 1894s, the opposite is true.
attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • 1.jpg
    1.jpg
    110.4 KB · Views: 237
Finally got the time to post a pic of the Browning. As far as buying original 92s etc...not out here in Wyoming Cowboy Country! Most lever guns go really high. I sold my Marlin 1894 in 41 Rem mag for a lot. Cowboy action type guns go high...very high for originals
 

Attachments

  • DSCN0126.JPG
    DSCN0126.JPG
    202.8 KB · Views: 48
  • DSCN0127.JPG
    DSCN0127.JPG
    224.3 KB · Views: 57
Missing elevator on rear sight?

Finally got the time to post a pic of the Browning. As far as buying original 92s etc...not out here in Wyoming Cowboy Country! Most lever guns go really high. I sold my Marlin 1894 in 41 Rem mag for a lot. Cowboy action type guns go high...very high for originals

Is it missing the elevator or is that an optical illusion?
 
for some reason it came out in the gun case. I just forgot to put it back. The darn thing is pretty slick operating.. A little bit of use will probably make it smoother... The lady has another lever gun..1894 Marlin in 32-20. I don't think they made many of them either. I gotta figure out how much to offer for it. She also has a Colt revolver in 32-20...not interested in it though. Said it was her grandfather's when he was a deputy something locally
 
It will feed .44 Special, no issues. It will not feed .44 Russian.
 
I wouldn't shoot Russians in it anyway. I have shot the Russians in my Flattop Ruger 44 special. They don't seem to be much different than my 44 specials
 

Latest posts

Back
Top