Chiappa 1892 Trapper Carbine reviews

[vtchopperdude]

Looking for any reviews on the Chiappa 1892 Trapper 16" carbine from an overall quality aspect. I don't do any competition cowboy shooting, so I'm not concerned about it being the fastest or "slicked up" as yal cowboy action shooters say. I just enjoy going to the range and plinking at steel targets with all my cowboy guns.

https://www.chiappafirearms.com/product.php?id=101

Of note, I also have the Chiappa Spencer carbine in .45 Colt. It's a blast to shoot. The quality is nice, despite some of the screws coming loose. Not necessarily a Chiappa issue, considering they are trying to remain fairly true to the original design, which was intended for soldiers to break down in the field with ease and only a flathead screw driver.

 

[CCCLVII]

I have the Chiappa 92 trapper and I think its great! It is a fairly strong firearm. Very deer capable with the right ammo (See Buffalo Bore).

 

[vtchopperdude]

Thanks for the reply! I did some more research, and found similar reviews to yours. I found one on Gunbroker for a reasonable price ($100 less than MSRP). Great fit and finish! Operates smoothly and goes bang every time I pull the trigger. And it hits steel every time too! I think I'm going to add a large loop lever and then take some 0000 steel wool and dull the finish on the stock. Chiappa likes to use a high gloss finish, which I'm not the biggest fan of. Beautiful wood, but just too shiny for my taste. I did the same thing with my Chiappa 1860 Spencer. You can tell a difference in the picture. I like the duller finish, especially since it was a military issue firearm.

 

[CCCLVII]

Thanks for the reply! I did some more research, and found similar reviews to yours. I found one on Gunbroker for a reasonable price ($100 less than MSRP). Great fit and finish! Operates smoothly and goes bang every time I pull the trigger. And it hits steel every time too! I think I'm going to add a large loop lever and then take some 0000 steel wool and dull the finish on the stock. Chiappa likes to use a high gloss finish, which I'm not the biggest fan of. Beautiful wood, but just too shiny for my taste. I did the same thing with my Chiappa 1860 Spencer. You can tell a difference in the picture. I like the duller finish, especially since it was a military issue firearm.

That stock is pretty, if it was me I would not touch it but I do like the gloss look.

Any way you got yourself a great gun!

 

[4V50 Gary]

I didn't realize it was in 45 LC.

 

[vtchopperdude]

Yep, both my Chiappa replicas are .45 Colt. I want firearms that I can shoot. For me personally, having an "original" gun that I can neither find rounds for OR am too afraid to shoot due to age brings me no joy. "Oh you have an original Winchester in your safe that you never shoot and paid way too much for..." just doesn't appeal to me. Being able to shoot modern day rounds through old west firearms is much more fun to me.

 

[vtchopperdude]

Here's a pic of the 1892 with my other cowboy era firearms.

 

[Polinese]

How's that spencer rifle? Any problems with feeding and ejection?

 

[Sarge]

Here's a pic of the 1892 with my other cowboy era firearms.

That's a fantastic bunch of rifles and thanks for sharing them.

 

[vtchopperdude]

How's that spencer rifle? Any problems with feeding and ejection?

It feeds and ejects fine. Ironically, my issue is with the screws coming loose. Namely, the percussion plate screws and the lever-to-block screw. I actually inadvertently overtightened the lever-to-block screw recently and snapped the tiny little screw. Now I gotta carefully drill it out and order a replacement one. I'm not sure how soldiers felt about this rifle in protracted battles. After every magazine (7 shots), I have to bust out my screwdriver and tighten those screws. Granted, I'm not fighting for my life, so it's only a minor inconvenience, but if I was in the heat of battle, and the screws started coming loose, I think I'd feel a lot differently. All in all though, it's one of my favorite guns to shoot, and look at, because it's just so cool. The craftsmanship on the rifle is excellent...it's just those damn screws keep coming loose when firing.

 

[vtchopperdude]

That's a fantastic bunch of rifles and thanks for sharing them.

Thank you!!! I'm slowly by surely building my cowboy gun collection. Every time I get one in hand, I say it's the last. And then a week later I find myself looking at Gunbroker to see what I want to buy next. It's a never ending cycle!

 

[vtchopperdude]

Here's a picture of that snapped lever-to-block screw, and the 2 percussion plate screws that always rattle loose

 

[Aguila Blanca]

It feeds and ejects fine. Ironically, my issue is with the screws coming loose. Namely, the percussion plate screws and the lever-to-block screw. I actually inadvertently overtightened the lever-to-block screw recently and snapped the tiny little screw. Now I gotta carefully drill it out and order a replacement one. I'm not sure how soldiers felt about this rifle in protracted battles. After every magazine (7 shots), I have to bust out my screwdriver and tighten those screws. Granted, I'm not fighting for my life, so it's only a minor inconvenience, but if I was in the heat of battle, and the screws started coming loose, I think I'd feel a lot differently. All in all though, it's one of my favorite guns to shoot, and look at, because it's just so cool. The craftsmanship on the rifle is excellent...it's just those damn screws keep coming loose when firing.

Have you tried using purple Loctite? Purple (Loctite 222) is for small screws and light hold. If that doesn't work you can progress to blue (Loctite 242), which is for larger screws and "medium" hold. Just don't use red (Loctite 262). It's considered permanent and requires heat to remove.

 

[44caliberkid]

I’m thinking an original Spencer wouldn’t have this problem. Perhaps there is someone on here who has one and could tell us. I have a Chiappa Spencer in 44 Russian. 246 grain round nose bullets don’t feed, jam up. They are too long. But 200 grain flat points, same bullet I use in 44-40, cycle through just fine. I haven’t noticed the screw loosening problem, but I will check them next time out.

 

[vtchopperdude]

I ran probably 50 rounds through the Spencer when I first got it, and then had a failure to fire. I kept having light primer strikes. After thorough inspection and head scratching, I found that the percussion plate screws had come so loose, that the firing pin was wiggling around, and not making a strong enough primer hit. I tightened them up and no issue. But now I have to tighten them after each magazine.

Have you tried using Loctite?

I'm leaning towards the blue loctite path, but my fear is stripping the head (or breaking the screw) when it's time for disassembly.

I’m thinking an original Spencer wouldn’t have this problem.

As you alluded to, the original Spencer was rim fire, thus not needing a firing pin. I would venture to say that the center fire conversion demanded the whole percussion plate firing pin debacle, and thus the screws to hold the firing pin in place.

Now as far as the lever-to-block screw coming loose...not sure how Civil War soldiers remedied that issue. I mean, I broke the screw in my garage just trying to tighten it (and being careful). I can only imagine a young soldier out in the field using a knife blade to tighten the small screw...

 

[vtchopperdude]

Here's a pic of the Chiappa with my Uberti single actions

 

[Nevmavrick]

I am not sure which era of carbine I have, but I have a Trapper's model with safety on it.
I bought right after a good snowfall here in Nevada, so I took it apart and slicked it a bit. I also removed the safety and installed a peep sight.
I am a fan of 1/2 or "button" magazines for lever-guns, so I trimmed the tube back a little.
I am quite fond of the gun, now.
As a .44 mag it shoots fine, and here it's a poor choice for a deer rifle, but will work fine with 240-300 grain loads. I just barely got to use it between snow storms, but will be using a bunch when the snow quits.
Have fun,
Gene