http://tinyurl.com/l475ygx

See that little round hole to the right and above the loading gate?

All the Win 1892s and some other Win lever rifles I've handled have had
that hole.

Two people who should be in the know have told me the hole is for
pressure relief in case the bolt blows. The story is that in olden days,
some "home reloaders" either accidentally or deliberately over-powdered
their rounds by a substantial amount and under certain circumstances the
overcharge would overpower the bolt and the "blowback" from that would
blow the bolt and possible blow out the side of the receiver.

That's what I was told.


--
Proud to be a Liberal.