Best way to saw off an 1892?

[hate99]

Winchester 1892, that is.
I do not want a mares leg, but I want a pistol grip and a semi-short barrel.

 

[Panzerschwein]

Make sure to follow the laws. No shorter than 18" barrel.

 

[PapaG]

Probably ought to be in the rifle or gunsmithing threads.

 

[mavracer]

No shorter than 18" barrel.

You can go 16" on a rifle.
What do you mean pistol grip?

 

[dh1633pm]

Hack saw I would guess, with the right blade. I haven't figure out the why part, you can get them in a pretty small package already.

 

[entropy]

Make sure to follow the laws. No shorter than 18" barrel.

16" barrel, 26" overall.

This from the ATF site:

(4) a weapon made from a rifle if such weapon as modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches or a barrel or barrels of less than 16 inches in length;

I hope this is a repro, not original. Hacksaw on barrel, bandsaw with wood teeth on stock. Leave an extra 1/2" on either end. Be sure your cuts are clean and squared off. Be sure you are capable of finishing the cutoff area correctly. Many gunsmiths will not touch such a homemade job.

 

[Dog Soldier]

Make sure you replace the barrel's crown properly. Failure to do so can result in flyers..

 

[Jim Watson]

Buy an EMF Rossi "Trapper" with 16" barrel, mark off 26" from muzzle to minimum OAL on stock, saw off and reinstall buttplate.

If you already have a rifle to cut up...
Disassemble.
Saw barrel off to 16+", crown, reinstall front sight.
Shorten magazine tube by the same amount as barrel, reinstall end cap.
Reinstall carbine barrel band/rifle mag tube ring.

Mark off 26" from muzzle to minimum OAL on stock, saw off and reinstall buttplate.

Phew.

 

[stoky]

Some tape around the barrel, and starting cuts in three or four places can help you keep it square. A yeoman's crowning job can be accomplished with a round head bolt and valve grinding compound.

 

[Panzerschwein]

D'OH!!

I was looking at '97 Winchesters earlier so had shotguns on the brain. Yes rifles are 16", shotguns 18".

 

[hate99]

You can go 16" on a rifle.
What do you mean pistol grip?

As in a sawed off pistol grip

 

[BBBBill]

You have a little education to absorb before you tackle this job. Read and comprehend well what has been said above. The law does not look kindly on illegal modifications and does not accept ignorance of the law as an excuse.

 

[mavracer]

As in a sawed off pistol grip

Well a pistol grip lever will require a curved lever too, I'm pretty sure the only '92s with pistol grips are deluxe rifles and an original will fetch a pretty penny. I suppose a guy could make a curved lever and weld metal onto the bottom tang and build a stock.

 

[Jim Watson]

I should'a mentioned that. If he wants a PISTOL grip, he will have to make one.

 

[BBBBill]

Then there's the issue of collectability. Original unmolested 92s can bring big money even with substantial wear and tear. Buggered ones bring almost nothing.

 

[Jim Watson]

How can collectibility compete with Cool?

 

[tark]

Collectibility is worth big bucks.....cool isn't. What is cool to the OP is not something I would give a lot of money to have. Just not my cup of tea. A collectible gun is worth a certain amount of money, whether you like it or not. You might not like it, or be willing to pay that much money for it, but it is still worth a set amount of money. A modified, "cool" gun is worth only what you can get for it, which will always be worth less than what it was before alterations. If the OP wants to do this, more power to him. But if he ever tries to sell it later he will hear one of two things:

A.....that's too bad you cut up an original like that. It isn't worth much now...

B.....Well, at least you didn't cut up an original, but it isn't worth much now. Why didn't you just buy a Mare's Leg?

 

[WestKentucky]

Best way is an abrasive chop saw then to clean up the melted muzzle on a lathe....but in my experience, either a hacksaw or an abrasive chop saw can make a square enough cut, then it can be cleaned up with sandpaper to break the edges and even to clean up the bore to a degree.

 

[Acera]

If original, sell it and use the money to go buy a BNIB mares leg pistol, and some other cool stuff.

If a repro, sell it and save a few dollars more and go buy a BNIB mares leg pistol.

You will probably come out ahead and get a smaller, more accurate to the time (and legal) weapon.




.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

OP does not want a mare's leg, but a short 1892 without buttstock.

Looking at my Rossi M92 Puma from Legacy Sports International (yes, chiappa or someone else makes LSI's Pumas now).
Shortening the barrel on this 1892 leveraction involves removing the magazine plug screw, plug, magazine spring and follower; barrel band screw, barrel band; forearm band screw, forearm band; the magazine tube should come off with the forearm.
_cutting off the barrel, staying above 16" barrel length
_removing the front sight from the barrel end stub
_recrowning the muzzle
_shortening the magazine tube end proportional to new barrel length
_ reinstalling the magazine end plug (requires drilling a shallow detent hole in the barrel for the plug screw)
_reinstalling the barrel band (requires notches in the barrel and magazine tube for the barrel band screw)
(Probably requires bending the magazine tube a little since magazine and barrel join at an angle to the muzzle.)
_remounting the front sight on the barrel
_sawing off the stock to stay above 26" overall length
_ inletting the sawed-off end of the stock for the buttplate
_shaping the buttplate to fit the narrower short end of the buttstock
and I'm sure I forgot something.

Phew! I'm exhausted.

If it were me, and I'm lazy, I would buy a Rossi M92 Carbine with 16" barrel ("trapper" style with Large Loop lever and saddle ring) and find a spare stock for the Rossi Ranch Hand mares leg pistol which installed on the 16" trapper should be overall about 28". (Rossi M92 Ranch Hand with 12" barrel is 24" overall.) And keep the original stock for flexibility; the trapper with 16" barrel is about 33.5" long.

 

[eastbank]

its your mouth, if you want to carry coal in it go ahead. but if it were me i would not cut up a original 92 for any reason, but hey thats just me. eastbank.

 

[bannockburn]

My take on the OP's request:

Thought No. 1: I wouldn't cut up any original Winchester Model 92.
Thought No. 2: I wouldn't cut up my Rossi Model 92 either.
Thought No. 3: I wouldn't put a pistol grip only on any Model 92.
Thought No. 4: If I wanted a really short Model 92 I would buy a Rossi Ranch Hand.
Thought No. 5: If I were still inclined to saw anything off a Model 92 I would seriously consider Carl N. Brown's suggestions.

 

[4v50 Gary]

I'd get a new barrel and shorten that.
I'd get a new stock made with the desired pistol grip.

Keep the original parts so it can be restored.

 

[PapaG]

55 years ago or so my brother and I bought a shot out 38-40 model 92 and had a well known Smith convert it to .357. great gun but worth about 20% of what it would be if we'd left alone. We paid $45 for the gun and a little more for the barrel and smithing.
OK back then.
I just finished a 150 gun appraisal and there was probably a 60% overall reduction due to modifications.

 

[HankB]

Note the correct way to MEASURE barrel length. With the action closed, run a rod down the barrel from the muzzle to the bolt face. Mark the rod at the muzzle. Remove the rod, measure from the end which was touching the bolt face to your mark. It has to be AT LEAST 16" per Federal law; smart folks will make it a bit more - at least 1/4" more.

I would not consider this modification on ANY 1892 rifle which has some collector value (which includes all originals), or which you MAY want to sell in the future.