New M92

[oldhunter]

Last Saturday I bought a new M92 Lever in .357/.38 at a local gun show.  Have been doing my homework for several months and found out that these rifles are hard to find with prices listed from $425 - $500.  I was lucky and got mine for $400.  Have not shot it yet as I have had other priorities that had to be done but hope to get to the range this weekend to give it a good workout.  Contrary to what some people said about Rossi leverguns, this rifle has good wood that fits well around the stock and forearm.  Action is moderately stiff and will take some shooting to loosen up.  Have been working it a bit around the house but really look forward to actual shooting and have accumulated a variety of ammo.  Everything from reloads in .357/.38 to very hot Buffalo Bore 180 grain ammo.  Even have a couple boxes of .357 given to me and used in the 1960's by a retired NY State Trooper friend rated at 1500 fps.  Have shot this in a handgun and and it is a handfull as is the BB ammo.  I ordered a couple boxes of Hornady LEVERevolution .357 and expect good results from this as well.  The rifle is a basic model M92 with 20" blue barrel and factory sights.  Will consider aftermarket sights to replace factory issue and probably put a sling on it as I intend to carry in the woods on my frequent walks.  Don't like the safety and will remove eventually and just go with half-cock as a safety like my other levers in Marlin and Henry.  I will stop rambling on and attempt to let any readers know my results at the range after this weekend.
 
oldhunter   

[scotsman]

Congrats on the new rifle. I have one with a 24 inch octogon barrel that has been great. The 357 is a lot of fun out of a rifle and hits surprisingly hard. The action on mine was stiff at first but it improved with use. Enjoy!

[Mikey]

Oldhunter:  Got one myself and love it.  Lots of fun regardless of the load used.  Mine hits really hard with heavy 357 loads and also has a good ooomph with heavy 38s.  I'm sticking with the factory sights.  I have thought about a sling and may go that route too.  Have fun, they are great little rifles. 

[dpe.ahoy]

Got 6 of the lil darlin's and like em quite a bit.  3 are 357's, 16, 20 and 24 inch, a 20" 44 mag that used to have the mag tube back out, got that fixed and two 454's, 16  stainless and 20" blued.  Those 2 are very smooth and light, perfect for packin.  The 16" 357 has feeding issues, haven't worked with it much more than 20 rounds or so, the 20" 357 has a Burris 2 3/4 power extended eye relief on a scout style mount.  Have that one set to be right on at 75 yd and can put the point of the thick part of the cross hairs on a clay pigeon at the 200 yd mark and break em with Magtech 158 gr SP's.  A friend saw me do it and didn't believe it until I handed him the rifle and he did it on the 3rd shot.  The 454's are mini 45-70's that weigh much less than my guide gun or my H&R single shot.  The butt-stock split on the 44 mag from the recoil and when fixed have used it for a few years with out issue.  Lighter than my Marlin 1894's, more accurate than the Marlin in 44 mag.  If I didn't own this many, I would buy another, that's how much I like em.  DP

[dpe.ahoy]

Forgot to point out the 44 has a Williams peep mounted on the receiver and the 20" 357 also has a Skinner peep in place of the safety, as well as the scout scope set-up.  I'm thinking of moving that one to one of the 454's as I like the scout mounted scope on it.  I use the half-cock safety anyway.  DP

[oldhunter]

Range Report:
Yesterday, I was able to take a couple of hours and go to the range and see just how well my new M92 performs.  I shot over 200 rounds of a variety of .357 & .38sp ammo at both 50 & 100 yards using a bench rest.  The rifle passed all tests as every type and size of both calibers worked well in the action with no jams.  This was aided by the optional magazine-tube loading feature allowing for no sore fingers because of a stiff loading gate.
Initially, the gun was shooting a few inches high, but after adjusting the rear sight, it was right on with most of the ammo.  Although I doubt if I would use it to take a shot at a deer at 100 yards, I was able to keep all shots in a 6" bull with both Buffalo Bore 180 gr hard cast and Hornady 140 gr FTX LEVEREVOLUTION ammo.  At 50 yards, those same two would group at 2".  Remember, this is using a bench but still impressive with factory sights and 69 years old eyes.  Haven't used open sights to hunt in many years.  Using .38 special loads at 50 yards, several were grouping at 2" also, but not ready to pick off a squirrel with a head shot.
My initial impression is this a an excellent rifle for the money, capable of acceptable accuracy and performing as it was intended.  Action is still stiff but time and use will take care of that.  Eventually I will do something about improving the sights.  I don't use a rifle for bench duty and only tested it today to see what it would do and the ammo it prefers.  I was only wearing a tee shirt and used a folded towel as a "recoil pad" but left the range with a slightly sore shoulder.  Next trip will be to see how I can shoot this using typical sitting, kneeling or standing shots and utilizing only the available rests found in the woods.
In summary, this a fun gun and seems to be built well which is not always found today in the world of gun manufacturing.  I recommend this to those interested
 
oldhunter