WinchesterOwners.com

Hi from an old newbie. Looking for an explanation of how this could happen. I've been offered a '92 rifle that per serial # is 1903 with octagon barrel. Haven't seen gun (just photos). Top barrel flat marked "MANUFACTURED BY THE " (top line) "WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS CO. NEW HAVEN, CONN U.S.A." (bottom line). NO WHERE IS THERE A CALIBER MARK! Gun has typical fore-end cap for a rifle, however the octagon barrel looks more like carbine length. Looks like semi-buckhorn rear site & either brass or nickle blade on dovetail front site. Front site looks set back from muzzle normal distance but magazine holder is dovetailed directly under front site instead of set back further. Owner says it "looks like 32-20". I know, assuming is a bad thing to do, but assuming it's been re-barreled, is there an explanation for no caliber marking? DUH? THANKS!

Interesting concern. Welcome to the forum.

I don't have the answer. There are several Winchester savvy members here that might drop by with a solution. I need to know too.

Well, now I know more than yesterday. The '92 owner sent a picture of the muzzle end of the barrel along side of the muzzle end of his 30-30. Now I see a "known" along side an "unknown". The bore of the '92 is WAY too large to be a 32-20. He has no traditional '92 ammo so I asked him to take a .357 mag round & attempt to insert it , bullet first, into the bore. Drops in up to the brass. Next he attempts to chamber it. Goes all the way in with no wobble all the way to the rim. Closes the action & re-opens it . Cartridge extracts perfectly! Knowing that this rifle now has a carbine length octagon barrel with no caliber markings, I am left to suspect the following. A previous owner ruined what was at one time a historically correct 1903 rifle by cutting the action end of the barrel off & probably paying serious $ to a machinist to thread it, re-chamber it to .357 mag. & head space it, creating a cowboy action gun. He could have left it original & sold it for enough to buy 3 or 4 new Rossi carbines (one for every caliber) & not ruining an original gun. And I thought I'd seen everything. SAD!

Oh I shudder when learning about serious surgery on nice older originals. There is no do over.

Thanks for sharing this conclusion with the forum.

Late to the party as usual due to fires. could it have been a .38-55?

bob lewis wrote:Late to the party as usual due to fires. could it have been a .38-55?

92" were never made in .38-55. The loading gate is, also, too small.

Just thrown' out ideas .
, The '92 was made in .38-40 though.