Heritage 92 Black .44 Magnum on the Range and in the Woods

American shooters and hunters have had a long love affair with the lever action rifle (me included). Perhaps you remember Lucas McCain. Actor Chuck Connors portrayed McCain on the TV show “The Rifleman,” from 1958 to 1963.

McCain was quite the hand with his lever action rifle as he showed each week in the opening credits. We sat and watched as he fired lightning fast rounds while walking down the street in town. Almost anyone who watched this had the same thought: if you didn’t have a lever action rifle already, you were going to get one. I can think of no better place to look than the Heritage Manufacturing Company 92 Series of Lever Action Rifles.

First, let me say that the selection in this category of rifles that Heritage makes is extensive. I counted at least 13 different models on the Heritage website. There are barrel lengths from 12-to 24-inches (round and octogan) with calibers including .45 Colt, .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum and .454 Casul. The bluing and finish on these guns is impressive. Stainless steel, black and polished black are all available. I settled on the 92 Black .44 Magnum with the 24-inch octogan barrel.

Why? To me, this type of rifle seems to embody the spirt of the time when hunters, shooters and lawmen carried such styles of rifles. Not just in the Old West, but anywhere you needed an accurate, reliable rifle to fill the larder or defend the homestead. You can call me corny, but that is what I think.

Right Out of the Box

Under full disclosure, I was pretty impressed when I pulled the Heritage 92 Black out of the box. The black finish is lovely, and the 24-inch octagonal barrel may be a little longer than some are used to, but was immediately reminiscent of Steve McQueen’s rifle in the movie “Tom Horn.” Horn is another Old West character who exhibited proficiency with a lever action.

For those that like to get the specifics on a gun, this Heritage 92 has an overall length of 42.8 inches. The aforementioned 24-inch barrel has six grooves with a 1:30 right hand twist. The 92 Black weighed in at 7.4 pounds, not bad at all considering that robust octogen barrel. (The octogen barrel increases the cool factor on this rifle by 10, believe me.) The frame and barrel on this gun are made of alloy steel with a polished black finish.

The sights on this gun are no trivial matter. The big, spacious, old style buckhorn sight reaches skyward and allows for plenty of room for target acquisition and sight adjustment while acquiring your sight picture. The physical sight itself is fully adjustable for elevation. (Again, reminiscent of the lever action rifles of old.) The prominent front sight is drift adjustable for windage with an ingenious brass bead that mates nicely with the rear sight buckhorn. When you mount the gun the brass front sight is immediately visible in the buckhorn. This helps with quick target acquisition, as well as taking a fine bead in precise target picture situations.

On the Range and Plinkin’ steel

Of course, how pretty or cool looking means nothing if the gun does not function properly. Going bang every time we pull the trigger and then ejecting the empty casing, loading the fresh round and firing again quickly and smoothly is first and foremost as to what a firearm has to do, every time, without fail. If you delve into the inner workings of a lever action rifle (as I have), you may very well question how this is possible.

We took the Heritage 92 Black .44 Magnum to the range to see if all this would happen in some not-so-perfect shooting conditions – meaning it was snowing, resulting in shooters with cold fumble fingers. The .44 Magnum ammo we ran through the 92 consisted of the following types: Federal Premium Hammer Down series – 270-grain bullet, Remington Core-Lokt – 240-grain bullet and Fiocchi Hyperformance – 225-grain bullet.

A quick aside here: It would seem that we are in a time when many of us are so serious about everything that we need to be reminded of something. Going to the range and shooting different firearms should be fun. You remember having fun while shooting, don’t you? Shooting lever action rifles like the Heritage 92 Black is fun. It just is. Because it is enjoyable, it makes you want to keep shooting and get more proficient with the firearm. See where I am going here? The shooting and practice should be enjoyable and because it is, you will improve your marksmanship.

In fact, if you can’t have fun shooting the Heritage 92, you may want to get some therapy. Shooting steel targets with any firearm is entertaining, but something about the lever action rifle makes it more so.

I am not a Cowboy Action competitor and probably never will be, but we had a big time shooting the Heritage 92 on steel plates made by MGM Targets. Shooting steel takes your range time to a level way beyond just punching paper. There is no denying how gratifying the sound of ringing steel is to the shooter. Try it and tell me you didn’t love it. Once you get a couple or three shooters involved in this process, the competition thing takes over. Trying to increase your speed while aiming to hit all the plates tests your shooting skills and the fun begins.

Running a lever action rifle is close to an art form and many of us who watched Lucas McCain think we know all about it, but we probably don’t. Try this method. With the rifle firmly mounted against the shoulder, you are gripping the forearm with your off hand and pulling the gun into your shoulder. Once you have attained your sight picture you squeeze off the first round, and if you are firing again, you immediately work the lever downward (firmly) with the middle, ring and pinky finger inserted in the lever. The trigger finger stays straight, off the trigger.

Note: Do not grip the stock with the shooting hand, this hand is working the lever. The downward stroke ejects the spent cartridge casing, the upward stroke inserts the fresh round and closes the action. The rifle remains on your shoulder; do not lower it, as this practice will allow you to get back on target much faster. If you are going fire again, you repeat the process. If you do not, make sure the hammer is lowered carefully and the rifle is put back on safe.

Deer hunting with the Heritage 92

As I was testing the Heritage 92 Black, we were right up against the firearms deer season in my area, so you know what was on my mind. After a couple days of carrying other rifles to the woods, I said, “The heck with it. I’m taking the lever gun today.” (No scopes, no optics, just the old buckhorn open sight that Granddad no doubt used.)

A buddy and I proceeded to an area that we had seen a good bit of buck sign in the form of fresh scrapes on the ground and I settled in to a likely spot. No blind, no tree stand … just stump sittin’. We had yet to actually see a deer in this area, but in a ridiculously short amount of time, I saw movement and a little four-point buck came sneaking around the hill. The range was short as he stopped, slightly quartering towards me. I settled the front brass bead in the buckhorn at the base of the neck, just in front of the shoulder. At the shot, the buck crumpled, (I don’t think he heard the report of the rifle) because the 92 Black and the Federal Premium Hammer Down 270 grain bullet did the job.

Wow, it all happened so fast I had to stop to take it all in. I had taken a buck with a rifle I had admired for some time, but only recently got in my hands. I had done ample range time with it and had full confidence in gun. Taking a nice game animal with it was very rewarding – and also, was a lot of fun!

So what do you do with the Heritage 92 Black with that distinctive octogan barrel? You take it and shoot it. Shoot it on paper, shoot it on steel. Once you get familiar with the rifle, take it hunting. You won’t be sorry, and it will be lots of fun.

About the Author

Larry Case has been a devoted outdoorsman since he was a child. He will admit to an addiction to turkey hunting (spring and fall), but refuses any treatment. He enjoys the company of turkeys and Cur dogs that are loud and people who speak the truth softly. He doesn’t consider himself an expert on anything, but has some pretty strong opinions on most everything.

Larry has a long suffering wife that has endured his hunting and fishing escapades for 30 years and two grown children who hope Dad will stop embarrassing them by wearing camo year-round and making comments about field dressing or skinning something in polite company.

He owns too many dogs, not enough shotguns and is usually scheming on a new hunting or fishing spot. Larry served 36 years as a DNR Law Enforcement Officer in West Virginia and retired with the rank of Captain.

He currently has a weekly outdoor, hunting, fishing- and gun-related column that appears in 8 newspapers in 5 states. He has published in “Outdoor Life,” “American Shooting Journal,” “NRA American Hunter” and “Guns and Ammo.” His website/blog is called “Guns and Cornbread.”