Marlin 1892

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Johnm1

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I just couldn't resist this one. My LGS takes what he thinks will sell well on Gunbroker and puts them on auction without them ever hitting the floor. I always check his auctions to see if there is something I like. This way I get to inspect it before bidding. That was the case on this rifle. Condition isn't very good and that fits into my niche. I'm too cheap to buy high condition and I like to shoot everything I have. A buddy of mine just wonders out loud what I see in guns of this condition. But I see a shooter with a lot of history.

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That being said, for those that don't know, the Marlin 1892 was chambered to shoot either 32 rimfire, long or short, or 32 centerfire aka 32 Colt, long or short and it came with two firing pins. This one has both. It will be a fun little bunny chaser and range/plinking gun once I get the load figured out. The 32's have a pretty wild history. The original 32 short rimfire was chambered with a heeled bullet and anywhere from a .310 to .316 bore. It didn't change as best I can tell. The .32 Long, both rimfire and centerfire both changed over time. The 32 Center fire ended up being loaded with an inside lubricated (non-heeled) bullet but most manufacturers didn't change the bore size of the revolver or rifle. Some did and it is not unusual to find these rifles with a .308 groove and anywhere from a .300 to .303 bore dimension. So, once I get it this weekend it will be time to slug the bore and cast the chamber to see what I actually have. I'd prefer to keep this one in .32 Colt Long, but the available reloading supplies may impact what I do. Cases and heeled bullets are available as well as dies. None of that is cheap, but the deciding factor will be if I can get cases to fit the chamber, bullets that will seat and still chamber and be of a diameter that will engage the rifling and shoot well. None of that is a given.

This one isn't collector grade, but I prefer to leave them as is. But depending on what I find in the measurements I may decide to re-chamber this to 32 S&W Long and have an easier supply of ammunition. And Being someone before I got it decided to clean up the receiver, a refinish isn't out of the question. So here are some more pictures:

Right Side
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Left Side
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Tang
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Receiver Top
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As you can see the metal leaves a lot to be desired. But I like the been there/done that look. I once had my choice of 1898 Krag rifles, one in great shape and one that had battle scares including one that looked like a block of a bayonet swipe on the wood. I chose the one with battle scars.

This will be fun once I get it up and running.
 
Back in the early part of the last century .32 rim-fire rifles were quite popular right along with .22 rim-fire.
My battered old repro 1908 Sear Roebuck catalog shows quite a few for sale.
- Remington, Hopkins & Allen, and Steven's Favorite single shot rifles.

- And the 1892 Marlin:
" All .32 caliber rifles are sent out with two firing pins."
" ........ .32 short and long rim-fire and .32 short and long center-fire."
" This ammunition is cheap, and as compared to repeaters using the .32-20 cartridge will save the entire cost of the rifle on the first 2000 cartridges."
- 24" octagon barrel @ $13.16
- 24" round barrel @ $12.15
 
Well, I spent several hours disassembling and cleaning today. I learned a lot. The tubular magazine is the most finicky part of the rifle. I have a little work to do on it. Feed and loading are remarkably simple. Also, there is no disconnect to prevent firing if the bolt is not all the way closed.

I'm not sure I'm going to be able to save this barrel. It was dark with pretty strong rifling but I spent a couple of hours cleaning but all I was able to do was expose the full length pitting. Pin gauges indicates that the rifling is worn for the first 3/8" from the muzzle. I'm going to take it to my gunsmith tomorrow (he was sick today) and get a second opinion and an estimate for a re-line.

I know well that some pitted bores shoot lights out. It just depends. So, unless I can find some ammo here in Phoenix to test or I'm going to have to decide between the cost of a re-line to 32 S&W/Long or the cost of 32 Colt dies and components. I knew this was possible and I have no regrets. I'll know more tomorrow.
 
Thanks for your post, OP. I have a small collection of older Marlins. Never heard of the 1892 until today.
 
It sure is a neat rifle. But I'm going to call the barrel toast. The first 3/8" at the muzzle accepts a .303 pin gauge before stopping on the rifling. Same thing for the first 2" from the breach end. I slugged the barrel with a 58 caliber round ball and the tightest dimension is .314-.305. But I'm pretty sure those dimensions only exist from about 3/8" to 4" below the muzzle. Because after 4" I could push the slug the rest of the way with light hand pressure. There was a little more resistance 2 or so inches before the chamber. But not much.

Fortunately Numrich had a factory new 24" round barrel in stock. It is now on its way to me along with a couple of other parts. I suspect it will arrive short chambered but I really dont know or care. I'm not sure what a manufacturer would normally do with a replacement barrel with a rimmed cartridge. If it comes in finished for 32 Rf/CF it will remain so. If it needs to be finished it will be finished for 32 S&W/Long.

I knew this was possible when I bought the rifle. So, still not disappointed.
 
Great post and story. Really looking forward to the final results when you get the new barrel into action.
 
I priced out components yesterday and as long as the new barrel arrives fully chambered for 32 colt, and I have reason to believe it will, I'm going to leave it as the colt cartridge. I realize the Smith will have to fit the barrel, but if they have to finish ream it I'm going to have them chamber it in 32 S&W Long. I really don't want anything to do with a search for a 32 colt reamer. I'm sure one exists somewhere.
 
Well, the NOS barrel arrived today along with a new ejector. I dont know when Marlin stopped making parts but I suspect in 1916 making the barrel at least 102 years old. It looks like it came off the line yesterday. As best I can measure it, it appears to be fully chambered in 32 Colt. Rifling is gorgeous. I'll take it to my Smith in the morning to see how much and how long.

I tried taking pictures but they were terrible.

The ejector that was in the rifle appeared to be home made. It was just a sliver of metal that was slightly curved on the bottom. Apparently as the bolt moved backward the back part was pushed down and the front part would rise out of the ejector slot and eject the empty. For all I know it might have worked.
 
The barrel swap went well. I had to fit the extractor slot to the extractor. So far it doesn’t extract the two cases I have that I’m using for fitting and measuring. It enters the slot far enough but doesn’t snap over the rim. I will likely have to replace the extractor.

It appears that the center fire pin has never been fitted and that is the next thing after I figure out the extractor. Last will be the final fit of the new ejector.

Bore slugged as .299/.3085 so I should be able to use common components. Chamber measures 0.319. It would have been an easy conversion to 32 S&W Long, but I chickened out at the last moment.
 
I received a new extractor and that seemed to solve the problem of extraction. I also bought a new bolt. Brand spanking new and never been fitted to a rifle. I'm going to figure out what length my brass and cartridges need to be before I consider fitting the new bolt. I may never fit it though it looks to be a pretty simple fitting job. All that appears to need fitting is the interface between the bolt locking surface and the finger lever.

If all goes well I'll have brass and bullets waiting for me when I get home tonight and I'll be able to start working on a load for this critter. I'm not concerned with how it flies yet. Just how well I can get it to feed.
 
Update: I am chronicling this rifle primarily on the Marlin Owner's Forum because there seems to be very specific knowledge of this rifle there. But I do want to keep my friends here on The High Road updated.

https://www.marlinowners.com/forum/marlin-collectors/611795-1892-rifle.html

starts out just like this one did (copy/paste) but continues on with specific pictures of specific parts. Fortunately I move very slowly and don't fit things until I truly understand what surfaces are involved. At least I think I understand.

I fitted the extractor in the old bolt but didn't want to finish fitting until I received brass/bullets and could complete the fitting of new parts while I fitted for function/cycling of the action. As it turns out, I was unable to make the old bolt function. It has a lot of wear on all surfaces and it seemed like I was chasing my tail. So I fit the new bolt to the existing finger lever. The bolt face seems to need no fitting. I received brass and bullets last Saturday and put together a dummy round so I could diagnose function of the feeding part of the cycle. So I had already replaced the bolt, ejector, extractor, and carrier pivot pin (it wouldn't stay in on its own) and now I have the new bolt fitted. But it still won't feed from the magazine all the way into the chamber. I have stared at the action for hours and tried to figure out how it works. I think I understand the sequence of operation now. First, I have to commend the designers of this rifle for its simplicity of operation. There are only three major parts involved in feeding a round from the magazine tube into the chamber. They are: Finger Lever (and extension), Carrier, and bolt. That's it. The early models didn't have a separate cartridge cut off and mine doesn't. So this one will probably never cycle the shorts and I'm OK with that. The finger lever extension provides all of the movement needed to feed a round into the chamber. It pulls the bolt back and lifts the carrier into position in front of the bolt so the bolt can push the round into the chamber. But to do this, the finger level has a couple of surfaces that interface with the hidden side of the carrier that appear to have some heavy wear. Fortunately Numrich has parts and some of them are NOS like the barrel was. The new bolt is NOS. That being said, I have ordered a new finger lever as well as a carrier toggle and finger lever pivot screw. In the end the only thing inside the receiver that will be original will be the carrier and the trigger/springs.

I am staying with the original 32 Colt Centerfire cartridge at least for now. I understand the conversion to 32 S&W Long is pretty easy but I prefer my firearms to be as original as possible. Though I must admit that the availability of the S&W cartridge is very appealing. The new parts have already shipped out and should be available for installation this coming weekend. I'm hoping to shoot this thing on Sunday. It should shoot well as it has a brand new barrel that is pristine.
 
This rifle has been a bugger to get up and running. I'm still having trouble getting it to feed reliably. I do have projectiles, brass, dies and what I think I need for parts. But I haven't made it past dummy rounds to test feeding. Also, the magazine tube is very different than most magazine tubes in that it is the outer tube that moves 'up' to expose the loading gate in the stationary inner tube. Ad it needs repairing before it will work normally.
 
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