This Winchester 1892 has an interesting history. It belongs to my Brother, who bought it from his Father in law. The story goes that the rifle was in the possession of an Aunt in Detroit. It made it's way into the hands of the Father in law, who proceeded to "clean it up" using a scouring pad. Ouch. Needless to say, the gun was in less than ideal condition when my Brother bought it from him.
Normally it's taboo to redo an old Winchester like this. Collectors typically want the gun untouched. In this case though, the metal was too far gone and the wood basically had no varnish remaining. While that might have wrecked the collector value, it did offer my Brother the chance to get a Winchester exactly how he wanted it.
We debated doing a cold blue job. But, the rifle was purchased at a reasonable price and it would have been a shame to half ass a piece of history.
A local gun smith did a wonderful job on the metal. The rear sight was replaced with an original type and the loading gate was replaced with a new part.
For the wood, he decided to go with Tru Oil. Many many coats were applied to get the finish you see here.
This rifle does get shot on occasion. Though the 38-40 round is hard to come by and really expensive. We may load for the cartridge at some point, which would make it more affordable to shoot. The 38-40 is a bit of a misnomer. It is not a 38 caliber, but a 40 caliber. In fact, the 10mm and .40 S&W cartridges have made the 40 caliber bullet rather popular, so bullet selection is really good. It takes small pistol primers and pistol powders. So, other than the cartridge being obsolete, it should be economical to load.
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There are blue jobs and then there are blue jobs. The quality of workmanship is superb.
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This example has an unusually long barrel. I doubt it ever saw use on horseback.
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Color case hardening was used throughout the gun.
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