Browning Model 92 in .44Mag

[200Apples]

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Looking at a stunning! Browning Model 92 in .44 Magnum, made in Japan. I have some questions...

1. Miroku?
2. Will it also reliably cycle .44 Special? (I don't reload yet)
3. How do I find the twist rate?
4. What off-the-shelf bulk .44 do you recommend for paper punching? Hunting? (I'd have to zero for each load, I realize)

20" barrel, steel buttplate (exactly the same style as my 1922 Win '94 in .30WCF). I'm not keen on fitting a recoil pad to this gorgeous stock.

What else can The High Road's Lever Cognoscenti tell me? Thank you in advance! (and I'm reading some older threads on .357 vs .44 vs...)

 

[CraigC]

Despite the stigma attached to "Made in Japan", these are wonderfully made leverguns. Miroku knows their business. The Brownings have the distinction of having traditional half cock actions and no silly external safety. Don't know if they'll run .44Spl reliably but assume they do. Twist rate should be 1-30", fine for up to and including 300gr bullets. I find the recoil of my two .44 rifles to be milder than .30-30. For factory loads, I like the 240gr Gold Dot for deer and the 270gr for hogs.

 

[HOOfan_1]

I think the made in Japan stigma died out for just about everything in the 1980s.

Top of the line electronics are made in Japan...or even Taiwan and Korea

 

[witchhunter]

I had one back in the 90's. I didn't like the sights. It had a thick post in front, and it kicked pretty good too. It was beautiful though. Mine shot very well with 240 grain Speer with H110 if I recall. I should have just fixed the sight and kept it. Nice rifle.

 

[sappyg]

Used one for a time in Cowboy Action. Very well made. I'm sure it was by Miroku. The 92 action was a little stiff for competition and the rounded steel butt plate made matters worse. With that, this is a solid gun with an excellent pedigree.

Never tried 44 specials or factory loads but it was accurate enough with 200 gr. SWC. The action is very strong and I would think you could safely load to top end 44 magnum levels with ease.

 

[CraigC]

I think the made in Japan stigma died out for just about everything in the 1980s.

Definitely not in this case. I wouldn't have said it if I hadn't heard from plenty of folks who have issues with their leverguns being made in Japan. I have several of them but lots of folks deny themselves the pleasure just for that simple fact.

 

[Tommygunn]

1. Miroku?
2. Will it also reliably cycle .44 Special? (I don't reload yet)
3. How do I find the twist rate?
4. What off-the-shelf bulk .44 do you recommend for paper punching? Hunting? (I'd have to zero for each load, I realize)

1.) Yes. Mine is and as others have said they are very well made.
2.) Mine runs it fine, although it is not quite as accurate with it as .44 magnum.
3.) Sorry, no I don't.
4.) .44 magnum loads, with jacketed softpoint or hollowpoint rounds. 240gr. is fine and the gun will handle the heavy 300 gr. fine, although accuracy may shift.

The only problem I have ever had was when I was shooting some cast lead UMC .44 magnum. After a few rounds accuracy went nuts -- flyers everywhere and even off paper! Clearing the gun, I noted that there was a lot of "dust" in the mechanism. It was lead dust. The lead bullets were being "shaved" and the detrirus was getting back into the receiver.
I have never spent so much time cleaning out a firearm-- worse even than my blackpowder cap+ball revolvers. And de leading the barrel...... good grief.
Thankfully I had the cleaning equipment for it.
I would recommend that you keep to jacketed rounds ... just saying so from my experience.

I suggest you snatch up the Browning quick, as it is definantly a nice weapon!
YMMV.

 

[200Apples]

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I suggest you snatch up the Browning quick, as it is definantly a nice weapon!

Agreed! Notice my use of the words, "stunning!", "gorgeous"... forget about the deep, polished blueing and wonderful stock grain... and picture, if you will, the machine work! Just beautiful...

My son and I are co-conspirators on this one; I told him if he didn't, that I would throw some money down on it in layaway. He did.

I have a Winchester made-by-Miroku Model 63 that is a very nice piece and a Howa-made-for-S&W Model 3000 12 gauge pump that's a fantastic clone of an 870. No qualms at all about the quality. The rifling was unique looking. Will stick with jacketed rounds, yes.

Thank you very much, Tommygunn, CraigC, sappyg, witchhunter, and HOOfan_1 for your knowledgeable replies!

 

[newfalguy101]

To find twist rate:


Using a tight fitting patch on your cleaning rod ( assuming your rod handle is free to turn ) start the patch into the barrel.

Using a marker, make 2 marks on your cleaning rod, one at the muzzle and the other near the handle, SLOWLY run the patch through the bore until the mark near the handle has made ONE complete turn, make another mark on the rod even with the muzzle.

Withdraw the cleaning rod and measure the distance between the marks that you made at the muzzle,

There you have it, the bullet makes one complete turn in that distance.

 

[ruddy]

I've shot my B92 in many SASS matches and have never had any problems. My load is a lead SWC 240 gr .44 Special, and it feeds flawlessly and is quite accurate. I've tried cycling the short red plastic with brass head snap caps through the rifle w/o a hitch. I wouldn't be surprised if it could feed empty cases!

For my money, it's the best Model 92 available.

 

[RainDodger]

Very nice guns indeed. They do say "hello" to your shoulder with real magnum loads, that's for sure. I just acquired some .44 Special brass and I'm going to experiment a bit with some softer loads for mine. They're very nicely made rifles - mine is still very "new", though it is a very early gun. It just has not been shot much and you're right - the action is pretty stiff. It feels like it locks up like a bank vault though, and it's such a handy size. I really like mine a lot.

As for ascertaining the rifling twist.... insert a cleaning rod with patch, mark the rod with a sharpie and then measure how far you have to pull it for the rod to turn one revolution. There you have it... 1 turn in "x" inches.

Here's what mine looks like:

 

[OilyPablo]

The Browning M22 in .44Mag is the first rifle I bought when I came out of many years of "gun hibernation".

1. Miroku? - Probably.
2. Will it also reliably cycle .44 Special? (I don't reload yet) - Yes. But .44 Special is more expensive than .44 Mag. Ugg!
3. How do I find the twist rate? Read above and.....somewhere I have it. Will look.
4. What off-the-shelf bulk .44 do you recommend for paper punching? Hunting? (I'd have to zero for each load, I realize). Mine is not picky. It surprised me indeed that hot pistol rounds in a rifle can give quite a short sharp shove.

 

[RainDodger]

I just looked at my records... the twist rate of the B92 .44Mag is 1:38.

 

[Bushpilot]

I think the made in Japan stigma died out for just about everything in the 1980s.

Definitely not in this case. I wouldn't have said it if I hadn't heard from plenty of folks who have issues with their leverguns being made in Japan.

The Browning 92s are absolutely first rate guns as are most guns made by Miroku for Browning and others. However, there definitely is a stigma still attached to Japanese made guns, otherwise Belgian Brownings wouldn't be worth anymore than those made in Japan. This is especially true when dealing with arguably the most "American" of all rifle types, the lever actions. They are still great rifles though.

As far as functioning with 44 special is concerned; first I think you will find that it will work just fine but bullet style and shape is probably going to have a greater bearing on smooth cycling than the case. That has been my experience in my 44 mag rifles anyway.

 

[BCRider]

From my using a Win 92 action for my cowboy action shooting I can suggest that bullet shape and using special length casings vs the longer Magnums is not an issue until one starts trying to cycle the lever with a faster and crisper snap to their wrist. I'm talking full "cowboy action" speed here. Then things go to hell in a hand basket rather quickly. But if the shooter uses a quick, as opposed to "snappy" lever cycle with a slight but noticeable pause at the forward end then you'd be surprised at what will cycle and load relatively smoothly. For cowboy action SWC's and Special length loads are a sure recipe for grief. But done with a quick motion that has even a quarter to sixth of a second delay at the forward travel even these will lay back down and load smoothly.

Hey, OilyPablo. Jump on into the reloading pool instead of driving around searching for ammo. A simple setup doesn't cost that much. And with the high markup found with .44Mag and .44Spl it'll easily pay itself off over the first few hundred rounds you load. Even up my way where components cost way more than in the US I can load my .44Mag and .44-40 rounds for around .23 to 26 cents each. The difference being in the cost of the powder and need to use more in the Magnum loads. Provided you can find stuff down your way in the present panic situation you should be able to load for around 18 to 20 cents a round. I'll leave it to you to figure out how fast the difference compared to factory ammo will pay for the reloading setup.

A simple single stage setup and loading block that involves doing your loading in batches of 50 at a time will still all fit into a storage tote and go into the closet when not being used. And even with that setup you can still load more than 100 an hour without breaking a single bead of perspiration. I found that starting with clean brass I could run all the operations needed to load 50 in a 20 minute period. And that includes double checking powder levels before seating and crimping the bullets. So once you get in the swing you should be able to do 150 an hour.

 

[OilyPablo]

Man just a few years until retirement and .44 will be second behind 10mm, or maybe .45ACP.

 

[HOOfan_1]

Definitely not in this case. I wouldn't have said it if I hadn't heard from plenty of folks who have issues with their leverguns being made in Japan. I have several of them but lots of folks deny themselves the pleasure just for that simple fact.

I think there a lot in the gun community who won't consider anything made outside of the United States of America. I personally love my international gun collection. Unfortunately it doesn't include a Miroku. The Nikko/Golden Eagle I saw in my LGS looked like a really nice rifle too

 

[Malamute]

I see no reason to use spls in them if you reload, using magnum cases keeps the chamber clean of the crud ring that forms from using the shorter case. The chambers aren't as easy to clean as a revolver. I use different headstamp cases for different loads.

9 grs of Unique with any 200-240 gr bullet makes a really pleasant load, little recoil, not much muzzle blast.

1-38 was standard twist rate for 44 mag rifles for the first 40-some years or more.

If you use cast bullets, be sure to slug the bore to get the correct groove diameter. Many 44 mag rifles have slightly generously sized bores.

 

[LT.Diver]

I'm another fan of the Japanese Brownings. I don't have a 92, though I'd love one, but I do have an 1885 High Wall. The fit and finish are perfect, the action is slicker than owl shat, and the wood looks like it was hand selected. And it shoots just like it should.

 

[RainDodger]

I just posted a related thread in the reloading section - shooting .44 Special loads in my .44 Magnum Browning 92. I just loaded a few test rounds and due to their shorter length, I MUST hesitate with the lever to let the case base settle down before it will chamber. I'm not sure that a different profile bullet will help at all...

On the Japanese-built vs. US-built rifles.... I have Brownings built in both places. The Japanese ones are just as nice as the Belgian ones in my opinion, and they shoot just as nicely. I have a B78 single shot rifle in .22-250 that will drive nails. It's certainly more accurate than the Belgian BAR in .243. Yes, I know they're very different rifles... just sayin'... they're all beautiful rifles.

 

[Malamute]

Rain, it may depend on the bullets. The old factory 246 gr RN loads were a bit long, and worked through the Marlins I've had in the past. The spl case with the Lyman 429421 bullet works fine in my 92, but that bullet in a magnum case is too long. In the spl case its about the same AOL as a magnum factory load.

 

[bannockburn]

RainDodger

You have some truly beautiful wood on that Model 1892 of yours. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Malamute]

^ ^ ^ Yes, it really is spectacular wood.

 

[OilyPablo]

The stocks on my M92 aren't even close to that beautiful. Mundane with a thickish coating could be used as a descriptor, in fact probably some of the least attractive wood in my safe. Perfectly serviceable, yet homely.

Is that a factory stock?

 

[RainDodger]

Thanks for the compliments on the wood - as it happens, I have a very close friend that's a retired Browning Gunsmith from the Arnold, MO service center. When these rifles first came out, he waited until he found one with nice wood on it and squirreled it away. He's 80 now, and he sold it to me earlier this year, in the box, with all papers and manual. It was manufactured in 1981.

Thanks for the bullet info, Malamute. I don't cast my own anymore, but I'll look for something with that profile!

R.