Disassembly and Reassembly of the Winchester 1892 Takedown Rifle

Every practicing gunsmith or serious student of gunsmithing should spend a few hours visiting the production line in a modern firearms factory. Some faculty members of European gunsmithing schools would sneer at what they see, preferring to teach classes in the art of handmaking a receiver from a solid block of metal. In these traditional courses of instruction, you won’t find CNC machining with multiple cutters that simultaneously transforms several castings into the precise components we’ve come to know today.

John M. Browning was, of course, just such a traditionalist. He used only hand tools along with a bare minimum of hand-powered machines, and he only held what he made to close tolerances when necessary in perfecting his arms designs. Moreover, Mr. Browning did not believe a device had to be complicated in order to accomplish a given operation. He kept his devices simple, and perhaps a little "loose." The result was smooth actions and few problems with his lever guns generated by fouling and foreign matter.

The Model 1886 was one of his best. It was also very heavy and chambered only for long cartridges that included the .45- 70, .45-90, .40-82, and .50-110. Although the Model 1886 was a huge success, it soon became obvious that a smaller, lighter version would be equally welcome in the marketplace. The design of the large-caliber rifle/ carbine was downsized, simplified still more, and resulted in the Model 1892.

The 92 was chambered initially in .32-38 and .44 WCF, the same cartridges used in the legendary Model 1873. The M92 became a legend; Admiral Perry packed one on his quest for the North Pole and Annie Oakley thought the world of it’as have generations of ranchers and hunters for over 100 years. There were two sporting versions of the 92. One was a takedown model like the one featured here. What is not featured here is a schematic of the takedown version.

Instead, I’m using an exploded drawing of a non-takedown version in the interest of superior reproduction. But except for the takedown lever itself and the three screws for barrel-tightening purposes, the drawing shown on page 5 will serve to guide you through the disassembly. Field Stripping Whenever you disassemble or reassemble a takedown M92, never fail to fully open the action. This has to be done to get the ejector (#60) out of the way. At the extreme end of the magazine tube (#13) you’ll see a lever.

Raise it so it’s pointing 90 degrees away from the tube, and use it as a

Above left and It is raised and used to unscrew the tube from the receiver prior to removing the barrel. handle to completely unscrew the tube counterclockwise from the receiver. Secure the barrel (#2) between padded vise jaws. Grasp the buttstock and give the receiver a quarter turn counterclockwise. The barrel can thus be removed. The barrel’s receiver insert (see photo) remains attached to the barrel. To remove the forend from the barrel/receiver-insert assembly, back out both screws (#12).

One is located on each side of the forend tip (#11) and both seat in the tip tenon (#8) that’s dovetailed into the barrel. Though the gun could be cleaned in this state, I advise you remove the stock by undoing the upper tang screw (#26). In the event the stock is a little stubborn about coming off, bump the front part of the comb to the rear with the palm of your hand or a rubber mallet.

A good, fundamental cleanup of the gun’s interior is now possible with no worries about solvents coming in contact with the wood surfaces. However, in cases where "fundamentally clean" isn’t clean enough, you’re now in a position to continue the disassembly. Detailed Disassembly The finger lever (#45) should be open enough so you can get at the mainspring screw (#39) and the mainspring strain screw (#40). Sometimes, loosening #40 first makes loosening #39 easier, but not always.

Once the tension on the mainspring has been eased, It’s the locking-block pin, held in place by the lower screw to retain both left and right locking blocks. you can disengage it from the hammer stirrup (#30) and remove the spring to the rear. A large screw (#32) toward the rear of the receiver retains both the hammer (#29) and the lower-tang unit (#33) which houses the trigger (#36). Pull the trigger to the rear, hold it there, back out screw #32, and lift the hammer free toward the butt of the gun.

The lower tang/trigger unit may be seated very tightly in the receiver. If so, a rod or punch can be inserted in the unthreaded mainspring-screw hole and the unit lightly tapped rearward to get it started. Once started, your fingers can get it all the way out. Drift out the trigger pin (#37) and remove the trigger downward. The trigger spring (#34) is taken out by undoing its screw (#35). Examine the locking block (#42) on the left side of the lever. It appears to have two screws. It doesn’t.

The upper "screw" is the locking-block pin (#43). It’s held in place by a genuine screw (#44). Remove #44 and you can push out #43 to the left and pull both locking blocks down out of the receiver. Don’t get them mixed up. The uppermost forward screw on the receiver is the lever and breechblock-pinhole plug screw (#54). Take

1 Receiver 2 Barrel 3 Rear Sight Assembly 4 Rear Sight Elevator 5 Front Sight 6 Front Sight Screw 7 Tang Sight Screw 8 Forend Tip Tenon 9 Magazine Ring 10 Magazine Ring Pin 11 Forend Tip 12 Forend Tip Screw 13 Magazine Tube 14 Magazine Spring 15 Magazine End Cap 16 Magazine End Cap Screw 17 Magazine Follower 18 Loading Gate it out and fully close the bolt. Install either of the locking blocks to retain the bolt.

Insert a drift punch into the hole on the right side of the receiver, push out the lever/breechbolt pin (#28), and pull out the finger lever to the rear. Take out the locking block you inserted, and the bolt will be freed up for removal.

This can be 19 Loading Gate Screw 20 Cartridge Guide, Left 21 Cartridge Stop 22 Cartridge Stop Joint Pin 23 Cartridge Stop Spring 24 Cartridge Guide Screws 25 Cartridge Guide, Right 26 Upper Tang Screw 27 Breechbolt 28 Lever and Breechbolt Pin 29 Hammer 30 Hammer Stirrup 31 Hammer Stirrup Pin 32 Hammer Screw 33 Lower Tang 34 Trigger Spring 35 Trigger Spring Screw done by tilting the rear of the receiver backward and pushing the bolt out.

Built into the finger lever area friction plunger (#46), friction-plunger spring (#47), and friction-stud stop pin (#48). The spring is small but mighty.

When and if you ever have to drift out the pin, be very careful and (need I remind you once again?) wear eye pro- Winchester Model 1892 Lever-Action Rifle (Specifications subject to change without notice) 36 Trigger 37 Trigger Pin 38 Mainspring 39 Mainspring Screw 40 Mainspring Strain Screw 41 Locking Bolt, Right 42 Locking Bolt, Left 43 Locking Bolt Pin 44 Locking Bolt Pin Screw 45 Finger Lever 46 Friction Plunger 47 Friction Plunger Spring 48 Friction Stud Stop Pin 49 Carrier Assembly 50 Carrier Stop 51 Carrier Stop Spring 52 Carrier Stop Pin 53 Carrier Screws 54 Lever and Breechbolt Pinhole Plug Screw 55 Breechbolt Assembly 56 Extractor 57 Extractor Pin 58 Firing Pin 59 Firing Pin Stop Pin 60 Ejector 61 Ejector Spring 62 Ejector Collar tection when working on this or any other firearm.

When you took out the lever/ breechblock pin’hopefully you noticed it is beveled on one end’you gained access to the ejector (#60), ejector spring (#61), and ejector collar (#62). Don’t pull these from the front of the breechblock just yet. First, study

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