Winchester Model 1892 38 W C.F.

[Derwood]

Hi- I recently got very lucky and inherited a collection from a relative who passed away. I am trying to understand each piece and get a ballpark estimate of the value for insurance purposes. Any help is very much appreciated. I will do my best to post clear and detailed photos and to not spam the board with too many at once...but I’m so excited to learn about these and can’t help but ask. Thanks!!!

Markings:
*Serial: L64###
*D on the left underside of the receiver
*S on the right underside of the receiver
*38 W C.F. on top of the barrel
*MANUFACTURED BY THE WINCHESTER ARMS CO. NEW HAVEN, CONN. U.S.A.
on top of middle of barrel

What do you know? What do you see? This seems like a really cool rifle. I looked up the serial number and it appears to have been manufactured in 1911. It appears to be in good working order and everything fits/locks up really tight. There is rust on the side plates, outside of the lever and muzzle.

Is this ammo still made/available ever? This rifle seems solid and safe to shoot.

 

[Derwood]

A few more pictures.

 

[44man]

I have a 1892 given yo me years ago

Mines 38/40 which I believe is 38wcf

Mine was made n 1901

The barrel band is a weak link but not to bad

Yes 38/40 is still available but a bit hard to find

 

[lowoncash]

If your rifle serial number is in the 64,001-64,999 range it should be earlier than 1911?
probably 1894-1896?
Model 1892 has it's own serial number list.

It would have to in the range 640,001+ to be 1911?

 

[Derwood]

OK, yes the number is in the 64,000 range. ...I'm not sure if it's a good idea to post the exact numbers online so that's why I didn't list it all. I had read that if it says "1892" instead of just 92 it means it was an earlier build, since once it was the 1900's they didn't want to market it as last century's gun. Not sure if that's true.

 

[Derwood]

I have an LC Smith shotgun that was fully restored and case hardened by Turnbull. It's absolutely beautiful. Would it be a sin to see about restoring this one? I know there are pretty strong views on each side of that. The only reason I'm thinking about it is because of the rust...I don't want it to get any more rust/damage.

 

[engineerbrian]

I have an LC Smith shotgun that was fully restored and case hardened by Turnbull. It's absolutely beautiful. Would it be a sin to see about restoring this one? I know there are pretty strong views on each side of that. The only reason I'm thinking about it is because of the rust...I don't want it to get any more rust/damage.

Sweet rifle!

That gun is shit simple to break down for a proper cleaning, and while its apart lightly rub the rust with a small piece of oil soaked 0000 steel wool and the rust will disappear. Personally, thats as far as I would go with it.

 

[somd_mustangs]

I'm not a big fan of steel wool, no matter how many "oughts" it has
Soak it with Kroil for a few days to a week first, if it doesn't rub off with a cloth, try a Frontier45 pad https://www.big45metalcleaner.com/ with Kroil or other gun oil (this pad stuff really does work).
Obviously with the stock off...

At the very least wipe it down with a soft cloth soaked in oil.
It looks like surface rust on the right side and lever, so it should clean up without being too aggressive about it.

 

[engineerbrian]

I'm not a big fan of steel wool, no matter how many "oughts" it has
Soak it with Kroil for a few days to a week first, if it doesn't rub off with a cloth, try a Frontier45 pad https://www.big45metalcleaner.com/ with Kroil or other gun oil (this pad stuff really does work).
Obviously with the stock off...

At the very least wipe it down with a soft cloth soaked in oil.
It looks like surface rust on the right side and lever, so it should clean up without being too aggressive about it.

Thanks for the link. I’ll give the Frontier pads a try too

 

[44man]

Hi- I recently got very lucky and inherited a collection from a relative who passed away. I am trying to understand each piece and get a ballpark estimate of the value for insurance purposes. Any help is very much appreciated. I will do my best to post clear and detailed photos and to not spam the board with too many at once...but I’m so excited to learn about these and can’t help but ask. Thanks!!!

Markings:
*Serial: L64###
*D on the left underside of the receiver
*S on the right underside of the receiver
*38 W C.F. on top of the barrel
*MANUFACTURED BY THE WINCHESTER ARMS CO. NEW HAVEN, CONN. U.S.A.
on top of middle of barrel

What do you know? What do you see? This seems like a really cool rifle. I looked up the serial number and it appears to have been manufactured in 1911. It appears to be in good working order and everything fits/locks up really tight. There is rust on the side plates, outside of the lever and muzzle.

Is this ammo still made/available ever? This rifle seems solid and safe to shoot.

Have you ordered any ammo yet?

 

[toppkatt]

yes, 38WCF = .38-40. In reality it is more of a .40 bullet than .38. Keep that in mind when reloading. The cases were, I believe, made from necked down .44-40. My uncle used to use a rifle in that caliber for shooting groundhogs,.
Most commercial ammo is 180 gr lead bullet.
Your rifle looks to be in pretty fair condition. I would take care of the rust. How is the barrel/rifling? From the one picture near the muzzle I didn't see much rifling, but that could be for many reasons. To clean the barrel some people put Kroil in the barrel and let it sit for 'awhile' then push a patch through it. This may release the caked on crud easier than Hoppes alone.

 

[Derwood]

Have you ordered any ammo yet?

No, and it does not seem like I’m going to be! I spent a couple hours last night looking for ammo...any ammo haha. It seems like everything everywhere is sold out right now. I stocked up the day I was sent home from work for the lockdown and hadn’t looked around much since. Seems like I might have to wait a while. I’ve seen a few of these panic buying sprees before and they always pass but it might take a year or more. Do you know a good source for this and other older calibers? I’m also looking for 303 British, 32 rimfire, 22 short and 308. I can’t believe 308 isn’t available anywhere but it’s a sign of the times.

 

[Derwood]

yes, 38WCF = .38-40. In reality it is more of a .40 bullet than .38. Keep that in mind when reloading. The cases were, I believe, made from necked down .44-40. My uncle used to use a rifle in that caliber for shooting groundhogs,.
Most commercial ammo is 180 gr lead bullet.
Your rifle looks to be in pretty fair condition. I would take care of the rust. How is the barrel/rifling? From the one picture near the muzzle I didn't see much rifling, but that could be for many reasons. To clean the barrel some people put Kroil in the barrel and let it sit for 'awhile' then push a patch through it. This may release the caked on crud easier than Hoppes alone.

Thanks! I’ll get some kroil and be very careful about it. The rifling looks ok actually but I’ll be able to get a better assessment after cleaning.

 

[Bolts Rock]

Before you do anything to eliminate the rust watch this guy's videos on conservation. This one is good for starting.

That said, HSM makes .38-40 as does Georgia Arms. Also check with local cowboy shooters.