Winchester 92 Rebarreled to 44 Mag Are They Safe?

[albayo]

I was just looking at another Winchester Model 1892 that has been rebarreled to 44 magnum. It looks like nice job, and it's been done professionally.
My question is are the Winchester Model 1892's strong enough to handle the 44 magnum round?
I know the original barrel wouldn't hold up to the pressure but this barrel was thicker than the original 1892 44-40 I have on my rack.

I don't know anything about Winchesters unless it's a military firearm.

What's your opinion gentlemen?

 

[tiriaq]

Was a common enough conversion. Is the firing pin bushed? That can be a issue. I would assume that if it is a professional conversion, and has been used, there is no reason that it would not continue to perform.

 

[ckid]

From what I recall there can be an issue if the conversion is done to an early production model as they suposedly changed to a different steel and or heat treating process. I think there is some information on this on leverguns.com in an article on heavy .45 Colt loads in leverguns, the article was written by Paco Kelly.

 

[Garand]

This is my 1906 Winchester M92 SRC that I believe was originally built in .44-40 and was converted to .44 Magnum. Is this a sweet handling piece, the action is smooth as butter and it gobbles up Cowboy Action loads like there is no tomorrow. I highly recommend the conversion.

Shot with FinePix E550 at 2008-12-15

 

[Winnipeg Toymaker]

If thebarrel is not rollstamped made by winchester, it is a newer rebarrel and is likely a newer better steel than the original. the gunsmith that installed it has fired it no doubt to check function and sighting.

 

[Garand]

The barrel from my Carbine is factory stamped "Model 94", with a single stamp "2" overtop of the "4". Probably done by the gunsmith who did the conversion. I understand that this conversion was quite popular in the late '50s, early '60s.

 

[ckid]

^^ The only 92 I have ever handled was one that was re-barreled with a 94 .44 mag bbl. It was pretty nice. I asked the owner about indexing and headspacing issues and he told me there were none. The 94 barrel screwed into the 92 receiver and indexed perfectly with absolutely no fitting or modification.

 

[tiriaq]

There was a batch of M94 .44 Mag. barrels sold off when Winchester Canada folded. They will fit a 92, although the forend will need to be adjusted.
Don't know if reboring an original barrel would be the best way to go. The .44Mag. generates higher pressures than any of the original chamberings.
Snapp's Gunshop in the US specialized in .44 Mag. conversions.