I have one being offered to me as a trade, what can you tell me about it?

Is this still in production somewhere, or are all the 25-20's vintage now?  When was the last production year?  How popular were they in they back in the old days say through the 1920's?  How much are they worth?  Where can you get 25-20 ammunition?

ETA, I think I might go for it.

Also I have more information:  It was made in 1914, has buck horn sites, a 24 inch barrel, and a saddle ring.

ETA2:  I got it, here's the pictures:












Latest (only) patent date: October 14, 1884



The rear sight riser has a patent date, though it doesn't come out well in the photo.

The serial number can tell you about the year it was made.

http://www.winchesterguns.com/library/articles/detail.asp?id=401

I believe the production year on this one is 1914.

I would!  

I have a couple of 1894 carbines, one in 30-30 (1953) and one in .32 Winchester Special with Williams receiver peep sights (1949).

I'd love to find a Model 1892!

Of the three original '92's I've owned one was a .25.20.  One of the most fun guns to shoot I've ever owned.  Lost it to my first divorce.  Would love to find another I can afford.  A lot of the barrels are in pretty bad shape due to corrosive ammo.  You can have it relined to brand new condition and if you use the right gunsmith you won't even be able to tell it's been done.

I'm curious about the saddle ring and 24" barrel combination.  24" barreled rifles didn't usually come with a saddle ring and SRC's didn't come with 24" barrels.  BUT you could special order almost anything from Winchester back then.  What style of buttstock does it have on it?  Cresent, carbine, or shotgun?

Rob

There were only about 40,000 Model 1892 rifles and carbines were chambered in .25-20, about 4% of total Model 1982 production.  It was a standard offering from 1895 until the end of production, but it was never very popular.  The only caliber that is less common is .218 Bee and that's due to it being introduced in 1938, only a few years before Model 1892 production was phased out during WWII.

In general, about 66% of the Model 1892s produced were rifles and that's fairly evenly split by caliber as well, so there were probably around 26,000 rifles chambered for .25-20.

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I agree a saddle ring could have been special ordered on a  24" rifle, but it would be a very uncommon and rare special order.  It may also have been added later, and without a letter verifying it was ordered that way, the assumption will be made that it was added later.  

In that regard, all Model 1892s with a saddle ring used a U shaped double staple style stud.  The screw in stud found on most other Winchesters was never used on the Model 1892, so if it's got a screw in stud, it's been added after it left the factory.

I picked it up yesterday, the seller was mistaken (he was selling it for a friend) it did NOT have the saddle ring.  The butt stock I think is crescent, though I'm new to this model, and I'm not sure what the others look like.  Were they common with buck horn sights?

Most Model 92 rifles had the "Type 1" crescent butt plate.   It will have a tang that is curved across the top and about 1 1/2" long and it will have a smooth and continuous curve from heel to toe.

The curved "Type 1" carbine butt plates are different in that they curve, then recurve forward again as it nears the toe of the stock, and the tang is flat, not rounded.

"Type 2" shotgun butt plates could be special ordered on both rifles and carbines, but they are not common.   There were four variations in the Type 2 butt plates deepening on whether they were smooth steel with a short tang (v shaped and about 5/16" long), checkered steel with a short tang, hard rubber with or without a short tang, or, very late in Model 1892 production, flat serrated steel.

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The "sporting" rear sight was standard on the Model 1892 bunt could be either flat across the top or semi buckhorn in design.  Both sights could have either a fixed or an adjustable blade, although the adjustable blade was usually, but not always, a special order item.  Sights after 1903 should have the thumb piece on the elevator.   There were three variations of sight elevators.  The early ones (pre-1903 lack a thumb piece. The second variation has an oval shaped thumb piece with seven groove on the top.  The third variation is just number 2 with a patent date on the side.

All three sight elevators were designed with 6 steps and when zeroed at 50 yards on the bottom step allowed the elevation to be increased in 50 yard increments out to 250 yards.  That made them very model and caliber specify, but it was a very nice detail that makers today don't even consider.    

My rear sight appears to a third type, is that correct for 1914?  Also what style of rear sight is that, is that just the standard sporting?  The rear sight I think is set in a dove tail, and the front sight has a screw in it, is that the adjustable type?

Also my butt plate looks like the crescent style.

My hammer spring is a band type, and my trigger spring is the wire, as opposed to flat type, is that correct for 1914?

Congratulations on buying a rifle in such a great cartridge.  FWIW, my Marlin is so much fun to shoot that I bought a Hornady AP just to feed it.  The hardest part of reloading for a 25-20 is acquiring the brass.  Starline doesn't make it, so your only options are to make it from 32-20 or the infrequent runs of Winchester or Remington brass.  My re-lined Marlin loves 5.5gr of 2400 behind a 85gr Meistercast boolit.

Nice find!

How's the bore?
What kind of $ did you pay?