Stevens 1894 Project Help Needed

[Chev. William]

My Two cents:
1. Ask John Taylor to give you an estimate on a reline to match the Existing designation, 38-55, using a TJ Liner or other liner as recommended by John Taylor of Taylor Machine.
He has done work for me and I am well Pleased wiht both the timelyness and reasonable costs o fhis work.

2. Buy a Barrel blank and have it machined to fit your action, chambered in the caliber of your choice. I am slightly Prejudiced toward Lothar Walther barrel blanks as every one i have purchased has been within +/-0.001" of stated Bore/Groove diameters when slugged.

From your description of your Stevens '44-1/2' it sounds like you traded for an excellent single shot action of moderate strength. Moderate because it is NOT suitable for the Various Rifle Magnum cartridges and is most comfortable with Middlel of the road pistol calibers or target Rifle calibers of moderate velocity and recoil.

I do not believe "O' stamping indicates a thinner, smaller, receiver as several of my Stevens actions have that Stamping and measure equal to others without such Stamping.

Good luck wiht your project.

Chev. William

[KCSO]

I relined one for a friend recently to 32-20 and it is a tack driver.

[marlinman93]

If you choose to go with a new barrel, I'd highly reccommend BRC. They've been putting out target grade accurate barrels at prices of most other company's std. grade barrels. I know several people who are shooting them and doing extremely well!

http://brcrifles.com/brcrifles.htm

[oldred]

They've been putting out target grade accurate barrels at prices of most other company's std. grade barrels.http://brcrifles.com/brcrifles.htm

I wish I had of known about them when I bought my .375 barrel blank! I finally settled for a Green Mountain blank with a 1-12 twist, I really like GM barrels but 27" (around 25" finished) was the max I could get and I really wanted longer than that and BRC has it. As far as pricing at BRC that is some of the best prices available anywhere and is nothing short of fantastic for a high quality barrel, I will have to consider them for my future barrel needs.

[marlinman93]

I wish I had of known about them when I bought my .375 barrel blank! I finally settled for a Green Mountain blank with a 1-12 twist, I really like GM barrels but 27" (around 25" finished) was the max I could get and I really wanted longer than that and BRC has it. As far as pricing at BRC that is some of the best prices available anywhere and is nothing short of fantastic for a high quality barrel, I will have to consider them for my future barrel needs.

They seem to be a little known secret in today's barrel market, and I see guys shooting some of the tightest groups and highest scores around using their barrels. I have a friend who shoots cast bullet benchrest, and schuetzen using their barrels and getting a fair number of perfect 250's with them.

[kend]

[marlinman93]

A light cleaning without over cleaning will make that 44 1/2 a good looking gun. It's a nice original as is, so don't get carried away with the cleaning and ruin the patina.

[kend]

Ok guys, it's been a while but after a move to Kentucky and a bunch of other life-gets-in-the-way stuff I finally got this thing sent to John Taylor, he put a new liner in, chambered it back to 38-55 and fixed the firing pin so now it's ready to shoot. I ordered dies and a mold but there is no brass available anywhere that I can find. My grandson will be 8 shortly and he's interested in shooting it so I was thinking a cast bullet with some Trail Boss might make a good light load but I have the brass problem, any suggestions on where I might get my hands on 4 or 5 pcs just to let him shoot it? I keep checking Starline and as soon as they make a batch I'll order some and work on a decent load for it but right now I'd just like for him to shoot it while he's interested.

[Bent Ramrod]

If you shoot smokeless, some .30-30 or .32 Special shells can be fireformed in your chamber. They will be a little short, but will blow out straight and do in the present pinch. .30-30 shells can often be picked up for free at rifle ranges.

I used 9 gr Unique, with the case filled the rest of the way with Cream of Wheat and a plug of wax in the mouths.

[John Taylor]

If it were mine I would line it back to 38-55. Most centerfires lining jobs are going at $500 from my shop, longer than 26" is a bit more. New octagon barrels are running around $750, ready to shoot. If I can get Green Mountain barrels in the right caliber I can do them for about $100 less but they have been out of stock on most calibers. Most of the barrels I install now are made by Douglas because there is less wait time. Douglas does not make octagon so My old mill gets a workout sometimes. Round barrels are a bit easier and much easier to polish. An octagon barrel requires draw filing after it comes out of the mill and that takes time, and time is money as they say.

[koger]

Pm me your address and I will send you a handful of brass, free.

[wcp4570]

Kend
Glad to see old threads and old guns resurrected especially 38-55 single shots. A nice old gun and a lucky trade into a piece of Stevens history. Also glad to hear you chose to keep it original with the reline to 38-55. With that action adding another barrel/caliber will be easy to do (the original switch barrel rifle). I have 4 guns chambered in 38-55 that make range time a lot of fun and they get shot more than in other single gun in the safe. Cheap to shoot. I shoot the lee 250gr bullet over 9.0gr of Unique. A load that your young grandson should not have a problem shooting.

wcp

[kend]

That's the mold I have and I'm pretty sure I have some Unique on the shelf, thanks!

[marlinman93]

Good info, thanks! I'll dig into it a little further and report back. What little I could find indicates it was made in 1894, the only year with the half round half octagonal barrel and one piece receiver.

That information you got is also incorrect. 1894 was not the only year for the 44 receiver in the same style used for many years. A picture might help, but my money is it's a Stevens 44 action. And half octagon barrels were the standard for Stevens rifles for more years than any other contour used. Round or full octagon are very unusual for a 44 or 44 1/2.

[uscra112]

He's got a 44-1/2 as the pics he finally posted prove.

[koger]

Turns out we only live about 1 hour apart, and I invited him over. I gifted him about 30 rounds of brass, and bullets made from the same lee mold that he discussed, enough to get him to shooting. Very nice guy, we shot the bull for about an hour, love to meet like minded folks. Like I tell folks locally, great folks on this board.