Navy arms' 1892 SS: an all weather fun gun

Guns Magazine, Dec, 2002 by Charles E. Petty

For today's cowboy shooter, the .45 Colt is king cartridge, but we will never know for certain why Winchester did not chamber their Model 1873 and 1892 rifles for it. In those days every new WCF cartridge, such as the .44-40 or .38-40, quickly appeared in the Colt single-action. Pairing of cartridges in a revolver and rifle made a lot of sense for it simplified logistics.

By contrast, Winchester failed to adopt Colt's signature cartridge in their lever-guns. Several theories have been advanced, including the thought that the tiny, vestigial rim of the early .45 Colt cartridges would not extract reliably, or the perception that the straight-sided .45 Colt would not feed as well as Winchester's slightly bottlenecked designs. Perhaps more likely than either is the possibility that Winchester simply did not want to dignify Colt's cartridge by including it in their lineup.

Maybe I watched too many movies as a kid, but my impression then was that the rifle -- if there was one around at all -- was used as a backup or when the revolver ran dry. The reality was surely the reverse.

The Winchester, in rifle or carbine versions, made it possible to dust the bad guys at ranges that were many times longer than anything possible with the revolver. Today's shooter may think it was because the longer barrel increased velocity but that had nothing to do with it. Accuracy counted just as much then as it does today.

Better Late Than Never

To me Winchester simply missed the boat. The .45 Colt cartridge was a huge seller for Colt and widely used by the military as well. Today's cowboy doesn't have that worry for replicas of both '73 and '92 Winchesters are widely available and Winchester has a Model '94 as well. I cannot think of a more useful pairing of handgun and rifle (or carbine) cartridges.

The vast aisles of the SHOT Show make it a challenge to see everything. A couple of times during the four days I passed the Navy Arms booth and noticed a handsome stainless steel rifle that looked for all the world like a Model 1892 Winchester. But there was always a mob in the booth and the best I could do was look from a distance.

A lot of shooters are surprised to learn that the Model '92 was designed by John Browning. Winchester's mainstay up to that point had been the Model 1873, but it was in need of modernization. Browning's design introduced the dual locking blocks that are still seen today on Winchester's lever actions. The '92 was a much more robust action than its predecessor, and even though it was chambered for the same cartridge lineup as the '73, it was immediately popular.

Originators Of The Repli-Guns

Navy Arms and Val Forgett Sr. single-handedly established the thriving business of replicas of neat old guns and are doubtless responsible for the good health of a substantial part of the Italian firearms manufacturing business. I assumed that this was just the latest in a long line of nice replicas made in Italy.

First Impressions

So, diehard fan of the original Winchester 1892 that I am, I asked Navy Arms for the loan of a stainless steel Model '92 in the "short rifle" (20-inch barrel) configuration. A couple of weeks later the rifle arrived and the all-important first impression was -- like -- wow.

The stock and forend were nice, plain walnut. The metal polish was excellent. Octagonal barrels are a nightmare to polish but this one has perfectly flat surfaces with sharp edges.

Markings are sparse. The caliber: .45 Colt, is on the left side of the barrel just as it is on original '92s, and the tang is marked, "NAVY ARMS CO INC RIDGEFIELD NJ". On the underside of the tang beneath the lever is, "A. ROSSI S.A. MADE IN BRAZIL." I did a double-take.

Huge Improvement

I've seen quite a few of Rossi's Model '92 clones, and this one is very different. Wood on those was non-descript and "wavy" would be the kindest description of the polishing job. My view of those guns had always been as functional rather than pretty.

Working with Rossi, Navy Arms has changed this, and from a cosmetic point of view there is little to criticize with this gun.

There's more. Function is better too. Loading the tubular magazine is smooth and so is operation of the lever. This rifle reminds me very much of a really nice -- near new -- original Winchester rather than a reproduction: crisp and smooth. As the lever nears the end of the closing stroke you can easily feel it get a bit snug as the locking bolts come into place. This is a good indication that everything is put together just right.

There is only one difference in function between old and new. Original Winchesters have an ejector spring that won't quit and ejected cases are launched with considerable vigor.

Empty cases from the Navy Arms model are tossed gently clear and my first reaction was strongly influenced by past experience. Cases didn't fly very far but there was never any interference with operation and brass accumulated in a tidy pile at my feet.

Mechanically, the Navy Arms Short Rifle is a faithful reproduction but it is a bit heavier because of the barrel which measures .82 inch across the flats at the muzzle. Weight is a smidgen under 6 1/2 pounds, or slightly over a half-pound heavier than a Winchester .44-40 M92 SRC.