This cute cowboy gun was a SBR before there was such a thing (PHOTOS)

Rock Island has a Winchester 1892 with a curiously short barrel up for grabs at auction this month. The particular M92 is chambered in .44-40 WCF and has seen some hard use over the past century or so — but surely has some stories to tell. The saddle ring carbine, SN#746457, was made in 1914, according to Winchester, and is specifically listed by the ATF by serial number as a curio and relic, which makes its 15-inch Trapper barrel a very interesting exception to National Firearms Act regulations on short-barreled rifles adopted some 20 years after it was made.

Just a small number of Winchester lever guns with 14-, 15- and 16-inch barrels were produced at the factory. Intended for use as handy brush guns for outdoorsmen such as sustenance hunters in heavy scrub or trappers checking lines, such models picked up the Trapper moniker. Most were exported overseas as they were especially popular in South America, making those still in the states even more collectible. Like five-figure collectible if in great shape with a good provenance. RIA is valuing this one, in OF-fair condition, at between $3,000 and $4,500.

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