Stevens favourite.I

[Martini Sportco]

HI GUYS,
I'm just looking at a Stevens Favourite that's going cheap enough to suit my needs, it's in .32 long.
My question is.... Is the action strong enough to handle a revamp to a 32/40 barrel which would then make a nice little BPCR that is easy to clean between shots.

[elk hunter]

NO! The Favorite action is not large enough or strong enough for anything like the 32-40 round. The larger #44 action, which looks like an adult version of the Favorite action, was made in 32-40 but, even it didn't hold up to that cartridge. They, the Favorite and the #44, are both "swinging block" rather than falling block actions, plus both of these old Stevens actions were cast, not forged, and do not have the strength for most centerfire cartridges.

[BCRider]

The common center fire conversion for these is to .32 S&W. And even then folks say that the recoil from that is about the limit for the action.

For what you want to do you need to find one of the true falling block 44 1/2 models. A .32-40 is a serious rifle round and needs a serious and proper action to keep things where they need to be. None of the rimfire hinge style actions would tolerate that sort of round. Not even close.

[John Taylor]

Best to line it to 22LR and shoot it. The S&W long is a little hot for the action but it might be OK with the short.