The Firearms Forum banner

Confusion about Old Winchester Barrel Stamping!

3K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  USNative 
#1 ·
I have a Winchester 1892 that was re-barreled with a Model 65 Barrel in 218 BEE. Now the barrel has a "P" with a circle around it and then the receiver has a "WP" surrounded by an oval.

My question is, does the Barrel having just the single "P" inside of the circle indicate that the re-barreling was done at the factory? The reason I ask is I have heard that if there is only that single stamping done then the barrel was factory installed and if a gunsmith done it there would be his stamp on the barrel as well.

Can someone give me a good explanation as to how the stamping works on a gun such as mine? Am I way off , partly off or am I right about this? Any help in detail would be of great help to me, Keep in mind this is an old 1892 Winchester that is re-barreled.

Thanks for reading and hope to get some help on this subject. ;)
 
#2 ·
The P in a circle indicates it was a mail order replacement barrel, and it was installed somewhere other than the factory.
Is there a number stamped on the bottom of the barrel anywhere? That will tell you what year the barrel was made.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Thanks Trap55, I will have to take the forearm off to see the date of the barrel. Not sure how to take it off yet but will figure it out I guess. :confused: Can't be too hard but this is an old gun and I don't want to chance messing something up. Any help on taking the forearm off would be helpful.

Thanks Again!
 
#4 · (Edited)
USN,
On your half-magazine rifle, removing the forearm should be simple.
If you look at the forearm cap, you should see a small screw on each side of the tip. Remove those two screws and the cap should slide forward off of the mag tube. With the cap out of the way the forearm wood should slide off the mag tube just like the cap did.

Here's a link to an exploded diagram of the Model 92 on Numrich Arm's site.
http://gunpartscorp.com/catalog/Products.aspx?catid=7385
You can ignore parts 8 & 9 in the diagram though...that's the band up near the muzzle that holds a full-length magazine.
 
#6 ·
I believe the circled P indicates a barrel proof, that is to say that the barrel was proved in a jig, but not installed on a rifle at the factory. That would be normal for a spare or replacement barrel since Winchester wouldn't want to sell an unproved barrel and have it let go later.

Gunsmiths who install barrels do not always mark them with their name; in some cases they don't even mark the caliber, causing confusion for later owners.

Jim
 
#7 ·
Thanls Jim K, that much more in my knowledge base thanks to you guys. :D
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top