Steven's tip up rifle

[tim338]

Does anyone have any experience with them? I found a nice one chambered in 25/20 ss. It's the model with no forend (I think #5) has tang sight, good bore, etc... I'd like to shoot it. Are these rifles good shooters? Can't really find much info on them.

[curator]

Tim338:

Stevens "tip-up" rifles can be good shooters with a good bore. Most of the tip-up .25 caliber guns were chambered for .25 rim fire or the proprietary .25 Stevens cartridge (.25 single shot or Stevens .25-20) These were black powder cartridges and not the same as .25-20 Winchester. The tip-up action is not a very strong one, so modern ammo is not a good idea. Do a chamber cast to determine the exact case dimensions before attempting to shoot the gun. Many of these guns were rechambered for different cartridges as original ammo became unavailable.

[tim338]

It is chambered in 25/20 single shot. I have wanted a rifle in this chambering for quite sometime. I ran across this one and have little knowledge of these rifles. I understand they have an iron frame and pressures would have to be kept low. Maybe I should hold out for a low wall or a rolling block.

[KCSO]

I rebuilt one for a friend in 32-20 and it was a super shooter. It had the heavy barrel and tang sights and I made a new locking bolt and relined the barrel. Made a new forearm and it is a lovely little rifle.

[pietro]

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The 1870-1900 Stevens Tip-Up action was a one-piece steel casting with integral upper & lower tangs - but it's center section is thin.

All Tip-Up barrels were made with extra metal under the chamber area to accommodate the pivot pin & extractor mechanism - the forward section of the receiver is hollowed out to accept the extra metal.

This is a black powder action, and IMO not strong enough to safely handle smokeless loads - YMMV, but be sure the shooter's medical insurance is fully paid up.... :)

The reasons, again IMO, are the possibility of action casting voids, the thin action walls, and the very simple (but weak) locking mechanism.


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[Jedman]

245393


245394I have one that was a 12 ga. shotgun. I relined the barrel with a barrel chambered in 38 special.
The lockup on mine is really good with no play what so ever and the mainspring to hammer arrangement is very good , good crisp trigger pull. Mine shoots MOA with select handloads and I took a nice whitetail with it last year. The design was great 145 years ago and is better than most of the low cost single shots today. If the receiver were cast of a good grade of steel I believe they would handle high pressure cartridges fine.
As you know they feel very natural in your hands even though the receiver isn't the most handsome looking. Mine was also without a forend but I made one for mine from another old single shot.


Jedman

[tim338]

That looks pretty good. How did you attach the forend?

[Bent Ramrod]

I have a Tip-Up Ladies’ Model in .25-20SS and a heavy barrel model without the wood forend in .32 Rim Fire. I shoot mild smokeless loads in the former with no problems, and, of course, smokeless is all one finds in the rare cartridges for the latter.

The critical parameter is the fit of the locking block in its slot in the barrel lump. If it’s loose and the barrel wobbles, a new one will have to be made, and carefully fitted, before the gun can be fired. I’ve seen them serial numbered to the gun, the only small part so marked on a Stevens rifle, so it appears that the factory was also at pains to make sure this was tight. Make sure the return spring for the locking block hasn’t lost any force, either.

Firing a cartridge in one of these guns with a sloppy lockup will automatically pop the gun open, tip the barrel down, and eject the shell. Don’t ask me how I know this.

[Jedman]

That looks pretty good. How did you attach the forend?

I cut a dovetail cut on the underside of the barrel just like you would for a rear sight. I then made a lug that has a slight taper and is tapped for a 10-32 screw. I also bedded the forend with acraglas.

Jedman

[uscra112]

OK, first of all the Tip-Up frame is a malleable iron casting, not steel. Malleable has mechanical properties like a very low carbon steel, but must never be welded upon. There is a lot of nodular carbon in malleable which will rejoin with the iron if melted, making the resulting metal extremely brittle.

The Tip-Up was originally sold for some of the larger caliber cartridges of the blackpowder era including the .44-65. Even as late as 1898 it was still offered for the .38-55, so it's not such a weakling that it can't handle smokeless loads in the little .25-20 Stevens CF.

The sliding locking block is crucial, as Bent Ramrod points out. Most Tip-Ups we find today are worn, and should be fitted with a new one if there is perceptible play when the action is closed.

That said, last year I bought a very nice one, at a bargain price, from a Gunbroker seller who listed it as .25 Stevens RF. But lo-and-behold, it transmogrified itself during shipment, and arrived as a .25-20. It handles my 14,500psi .25-20 smokeless load of AA#9 just fine. AA#9 is about the fastest powder I'd recommend - AA4100 (Ramshot Enforcer) may be a shade better on paper. 2400 and 4227 will work, but faster powders like Unique should IMHO be avoided.

[marlinman93]

I owned a number of Tip Ups in various calibers. My favorite was a Stevens Premier in .32 Ideal, and I loaded them all with mild smokeless loads. If you use common sense the Tip Up wont ever give you an issue with smokeless.
Of course .25-20SS brass will put a dent in your wallet to buy, but once you're setup it's a great cartridge for the Tip Up.