Back in May I picked up an Interarms Model 65 carbine in .44-40. It's simply a rebadged Rossi 92, which is a replica of the Winchester 1892.

Attached File



The exterior condition and the bore are excellent, however the action was rough. This was long before Rossi bought new CNC machinery and not a lot of attention was paid to the internal fit.


One nice thing is that a prior owner installed studs for quick detach sling swivels. They will come in handy. I ordered a Hunter Company 1" carrying strap for it. (I have one on my Cabela's Hawken and like the simple design.)


As typical of Rossi 92s it was oversprung. I ordered reduced power springs for the hammer and ejector from Steve's Gunz.


Disassembly wasn't not difficult with the assistance of documents found online and a couple YouTube videos. Reassembly, on the other hand, was a bear. I wound up enlisting the assistance of my friend Nick who aside from being a shooter, is a mechanical engineer by training and generally the handiest guy I know.


Aside from fiddling to get it reassembled, we also had to debur a the ejector and ejector collar. The action is much smoother than it was when I got it but to feed properly you need to work it like it owes you money. I think as it gets shot more it'll get even smoother.


After we got it back we ran 31 rounds of my black powder, .44 Henry-equivalent handloads through it shooting at a gong (1.9cc or ~28 grains of 3Fg BP, a 1/8" thick nitro card to take up air space, and a 219 grain bullet cast in an Accurate Molds 43-215C.)


I'd forgotten to bring a bottle of moose milk with me so I just ran a patch with some Ballistol on it through the bore while still at Nick's, then finished cleaning it at home. I first wet brushed the bore and then after about 8 patches they came out clean. There was zero black powder fouling in the action because the thin .44-40 brass seals the chamber so well.


The 1892 and replicas have a very strong action. However, due to the simpler and easier to maintain design, if I was limited to one, I'd still prefer a Winchester 1873 over the 1892 for a long-term survival rifle. But there's nothing handier than an 1892 carbine.

I had a couple Winchester 1892 in 25-20. They really were handy little rifles, easy to carry in rough country. 25-20 could be loaded a little hot and was a nice little cartridge. I traded each of them for a couple guns that I traded for something else along the line. I should have kept one.

I shot a Rossi 92 in 44-40 for Cowboy Action Shooting for several years. Was a great shooter and a lot of fun. I'm not sure but I think my gun may have had the Steve's gun treatment done by the prior owner. It was very slick, and fast as well.

Nice looking rifle there OP. And the 44-40 cartridge/1873 rifle contributed a LOT to the taming of the west back in the day. By the time the 94 Win came along the west was pretty much already won.

I sure sould'a got me one of them there rifles when I had a chance back when they were a bit less expensive. I really like it!!

Thanks.

I found it on Gunbroker and it was $765 before shipping. Reasonable in the climate, IMO.

Rossi is the manufacturer, Interarms was an importer.  They have also been imported by LSI, Navy Arms, Braztech, and probably others.

I’ve had three that I sent to Steve Young for an action job.  He thins some of the leaf springs in the gun, he sells a DVD that shows it step by step.  A gun that was rough as a cob came back working so slick it was like a different gun.

Yeap, now days that's a good price. I paid $700 for my Uberti Winchester 73', 26" oct barrel and $700 for my Marlin 1894CB. I think I paid $500 for my Marlin 1894 357, all a while back. I have been looking at a Winchester 94AE for $1,500 and it's killing me

I have a Hartford arms, an upgraded Rossi, and it's slick as butter. Reminds me I need to take it out and put a few rounds through it. Mine is 45 Colt and what I like about it is that you can shoot anything from mild, to wild.