New To Me Stevens 44

[rr2241tx]

This one followed me home a while back.
News on the status of the dog who ate my homework later.

It is a Stevens 44 .22LR with heavy half octagon barrel, still wearing the original brass blade front sight which I can't see and a Marbles Economy semi-buckhorn rear sight. The original stocks are just about history but there's not a blemish on the metal. New semi-inlet walnut stocks are in hand, Lee Shaver globe front and Soule tang sights are on their way. Preliminary testing by my niece who thinks she is the re-incarnation of Annie Oakley indicates this one is a real shooter. Fortunately, I am a little better at shooting than photography. And, yes, I have a turquoise Kokopeli silhouette on the back wall of the fireplace because my wife likes it that way.

[Bent Ramrod]

Congratulations on your Stevens 44 find! I find I like the looks of the 44's better than those of other single shots of the period. Three or four have come my way so far. Stevens barrels, particularly the .22's, held many records and if yours is still pristine you are very fortunate. Please let us know how it shoots.

[uscra112]

What Bent Ramrod said. . . . Until serious bolt guns came along, the 44 and the Ballard were the best target .22's going. Selection of ammo is everything! Try Wolf Match in it. It's decent ammo, and relatively inexpensive. I'm also getting interesting results in my own 44 by "bumping" cheaper ammo in a die to uniform the bullet, and then sorting by weight. Tedious, but I actually find it kinda fun to make a silk purse from a sow's ear.

[Reg]

Ditto's on what Bent Ramrod said. Great little guns, they grow on you !!! uscra112 is also right on.
Great little actions and the early Stevens barrels, all of them, had an excellent reputation for accuracy and in the off hand matches at 50 feet will still make the average shooter take notice.
Even some of the worn Stevens barrels will still shoot with the best of them. Great little rifles from a greater time gone by
Do remember, they are a black powder action--- treat them accordingly.
Friend called for info on one in .22 Hornet a few weeks ago. Told him to throw both hands in the air and run for his life. Not safe under any circumstances . Stevens did chamber a few in the 1940's for the Hornet then quickly withdrew them from the market. Stretched links, pins and about everything else made them collectible but not shootable.

:drinks::drinks:

[DHB]

Really a fun gun. I would have said "little gun" but with that barrel they are heavy enough to be rock steady. Do try many different types of ammo. I have a 22 Mag (scoped and from a bench, 3 round group) with 4 different lots of Winchester 40 grain solid point ammo at 50 yards I got everything from a 1 inch group down to a group you could cover with a cigarette butt standing on end. Find the right ammo and go to town. Congrats.
DHB

[uscra112]

Great little guns, they grow on you !!!

They sure grew on me. I've got half a dozen of 'em now!

Phil

[Jon K]

Yup....sure do grow on you, I have a .22 like yours & 25-20SS.

Jon

[kcajeel]

Double Yup---------- I found my first. A 25-20 SS in a 44 at a gun show in January of 2010. Reworked it by that summer and have bought another 44, a 414 and two CPA's since. They are really addictive.

[uscra112]

It occurs to me that the 44 was as ubiquitous in it's time as the Ruger 10/22 is today. There certainly were a lot of 'em sold! And while it lacked a ten-shot magazine, it didn't need it. It had the one thing that the out-of-the-box Ruger still lacks - accuracy.