Stevens Favorite single shot- 32 Long

[FWest]

Picked this up in a trade recently. No idea if it's worth holding on to or passing on.
Stevens favorite 32 Long:






Whats the best way to remove the rust ?

[elk hunter]

I use fine steel wool and light oil like WD-40 to lightly scrub surface rust away. Looks like the rust is pretty deep on that one which would make it difficult to remove. Rust is like cancer in steel and if you don't eliminate it it will just keep eating away. One of the spray on automotive rust converters may be useful in stopping it if it is deep.

[uscra112]

That one's pretty rough, and it's a .32 rimfire, for which there is no ammo, and the Favorite is hard to convert to centerfire.

That said, the best way to derust the parts will be the electrolytic method, (search electrolytic rust removal). It's not hard; you need a plastic tanks of some sort, clean water, washing soda, something for an anode, and a 12v power supply, (a car battery does OK in a pinch). That will get every molecule of rust and you won't need to worry about it ever again. Reline to .22 rimfire and you'll have a nice little rifle.

That intact buttplate, by the way, is worth quite a lot to Favorite restorers!

[FWest]

Unfortunately the but plate does have a little damage on the lower edge as well as the stock.

I'm looking onto the electric method of rust removal now. I also found molasses will work as well.

[uscra112]

Unfortunately the but plate does have a little damage on the lower edge as well as the stock.

I'm looking onto the electric method of rust removal now. I also found molasses will work as well.

Molasses? That's a new one. Coke has been a legend for years, and it does work due to its' phosphoric acid content. But you can get straight phosphoric acid at Lowes, (often in the masonry section, it's used to clean concrete). Still, the electrolytic method is what serious restorers use, because it is very gentle to the part, and actually returns some of the iron to the surface. (Not much, but better than eating more of it away.)

As long as the buttplate isn't broken in half, it's valuable. Most of them broke across one of the screw holes, and the smaller chunk of it is usually gone. These are in such demand that there's actually a guy who makes replicas. If there's just a little chipping, some black epoxy may make an almost invisible repair.

[Marvin S]

I have one I converted to 32 sw long. I shot a big ground hog with it a few months ago. There are photos on this fourm just look for garden hog.

[uscra112]

I have one I converted to 32 sw long. I shot a big ground hog with it a few months ago. There are photos on this fourm just look for garden hog.

Good show, mate! Did you drill the firing pin bore all the way thru, bush it at the breech face, and make an offset pin?

[Marvin S]

Its been a few years so memory is a bit fuzzy but ill try. Plugged old pin hole, think it was shouldered. Made a new pin in the same style and installed it at an angle to the center of the bore. I just used a plain chucking reamer from MSC supply to chamber it.
The bore is pretty rotten but still shoots well. Been thinking of a rebarrel with a 303 Brit. Maybe profile it to full octagon.

[excess650]

I'll bet the bore looks worse than the outside of the receiver. In that case, a barrel liner and modifying the block should make it shootable.

[FWest]

I'll bet the bore looks worse than the outside of the receiver. In that case, a barrel liner and modifying the block should make it shootable.

The bore looks better than the outside. It's not perfect but surprisingly only a few small pits and some shine. I have cleaned it up now and will post some updated pictures tonight.

[uscra112]

Never ceases to amaze how some bores that ought to be condemned will actually shoot. I've got a .25-20 Stevens 44 1/2 that looks like somebody dragged a log chain through it, but it shoots 2 MOA groups with j-warts. I keep wanting to restore it, but how can I mess with a gun that shoots that well?

The Hopkins and Allen that I converted to .32 centerfire hits as well as I can see over its' crude sights, and it's bore ain't a thing of beauty either.

You don't know nothin' until you try it out.

Get an idea of how the chamber is, though. Rimfire brass was .318" at the base. S&W centerfire is nominally .335", and won't fit. My H&A was oversize enough that I didn't have to ream it for CF. But I swaged S&W brass down for my Bay State, which is .32 Long Colt, and it's a rare bird that I don't want to alter. Having done that, I use the Lyman 299153 boolit, which is the correct heeled type as used in the rimfire cartridges. I don't have that mold, but there's a guy in Wisconsin who sells 'em on Gunbroker for reasonable $$. He'll also make brass for you.

[FWest]

Well the battery charger and some time and most all the rust has been removed. Took me a bit to put it back together. Treated the metal with some CLP to stop new rust.
Thanks for the rust removal tip, I think it worked well.

[leadman]

You did an excellent job on that! Looks like a different gun.
Have you thought about how you are going to make it shoot? There is a guy, think it is Bob Hayley that makes ammo for alot of these old guns.
He makes rimfire cartridges that use the blanks for nail set guns. The cartridge has to be aligned with the pin and they are reloadable.
There was a recent article I think in a magazine. I'll look or maybe someone else remembers the article.

The relining to 22LR would be relatively inexpensive and make that old piece a good shooter.

[uscra112]

NIiiiiice ! Now to decide whether to modify it for .32 centerfire, .22 rimfire, or play with "home-made" .32 rimfire ammo.

Some Ramset charges are a bit stout for a Favorite - I'd opt for a .22 rimfire liner. But if you want to try a centerfire conversion, P/M me and I'll run through how I do it for Model 44s. (The Favorite's big brother.) You'll need at least a sturdy drill press with a vise that can be clamped to the table.

The wood on that one is pretty well preserved - so many of them look like they were used for batting practice with rocks. And of course you've got that butt-plate.

You're on the way to having a decent little rifle there.

[stubshaft]

I had one in 22 that a friend of mine gave me. Wasn't the most accurate 22 I've shot but it was great fun.

[uscra112]

Oh, for the return of the days when it was perfectly normal to give an 8-year-old boy a single-shot .22 rifle at Christmas! That rifle might have been a Favorite, a #4 Rolling Block, if the family were well off, or a Davenport or Hopkins and Allen or a cheaper Stevens if not.

[Bambeno]

Oh, for the return of the days when it was perfectly normal to give an 8-year-old boy a single-shot .22 rifle at Christmas! That rifle might have been a Favorite, a #4 Rolling Block, if the family were well off, or a Davenport or Hopkins and Allen or a cheaper Stevens if not.

And they be able to walk throu town with it and a pocket full of shells and no think evil of them.

[Bambeno]

Nice rifle btw! Got to love the smaller old single shots, they just have a different feel to them than any other gun.

[uscra112]

And they be able to walk throu town with it and a pocket full of shells and no think evil of them.

Now that you mention it, I remember being in Maine one summer when I was about 10 years old. We griped because had to WALK all the way to the village and back to buy ammo for my cousin's 22. And we had to settle for shorts, because our allowances would go farther! (I think shorts were about 25 cents a box.)

What happened, man? I feel like Rip Van Winkle.

Phil

[Shooter]

What happened, man? I feel like Rip Van Winkle.

Phil

Having to empty your pockets on the teachers desk during a search for who had the firecrackers.
Having your jack knife and .22's returned to you.
Try that today!