Information ?

[Bob in Revelstoke]

Today at the range a man had a 25 Stevens short single shot rifle. He said he had been given the rifle and some ammo many years ago and wondered if anyone new anything about it. I thought I would ask here.

The rifle is marked on the left side of the receiver

J Stevens A&T Company
Chicopee Falls Mass
Marksman 12
on the tang at the rear where the butt fits is M 174

22" round barrel marked 25 Stevens Short

He had a part box of rimfire ammo which were copper cased with a lead bullet. The ammo appeared bright and new looking. He shot a few and they worked very well.

I thought if anyone would have any info as to when they were made this would be the place to come.

[Bent Ramrod]

The Marksman #12 was a tip down rifle, the action of which was stout enough for Stevens to make into a .44-40 "XL" shotgun at one time. It was one of the few Stevens designs which survived the buyout of Stevens by the Savage company after WWI, being made from 1912 to about 1930. If it is made by Savage, it will have the usual markings plus a "SVG" in an oval. The "M 174" is not a serial number, but a code number Stevens used on their boy's rifles. The code book is long lost, so these alphanumerics can't be used to date the rifles.

It was otherwise offered in .22 Long Rifle, .25 Stevens and .32 rimfires. If your friend's specimen is really chambered and marked specially for the .25 Stevens Short, that would be very unusual. The usual marking is ".25-Stevens" which designates the Long chamber. The Short was made basically to overcome the objections to the high cost of the .25 Stevens Long. It was nowhere near as accurate, although it was a lot quieter. You fired the Shorts in the Long chamber the same way as the .22 Short in the .22 LR.

The .25 Stevens was a hunting cartridge for those who wanted some of the advantages of the .25-20 without having to reload. Ammunition was loaded by all the usual suppliers up till about the start of WWII. The last company to offer the .25 Stevens Long and Short was Dominion up in Canada, which stopped making them sometime in the early 1980's. I'm nursing my diminishing stash of Dominion ammo and rebuking myself for not buying more when I had the chance in the 1970's. I didn't buy a whole lot because of the "outrageous" cost, which, IIRC, was about $4.50 for a box of Longs and maybe $3.95 for a box of Shorts.

The round was popular, but, alas, not popular enough, I guess. They make ammo for the 1903 Winchester autoloader and the .32 Long, and even run off some .41 Rimfire once in a while for Remington derringers, but the .25 Stevens, which is a much better cartridge that all those others put together, remains an orphan. Ave atque vale!

[Bret4207]

A wonderful rifle! I know where a pristine example resides, untouched, unloved and unobtainable by yours truly. The 25 Stevens Long is what the 22 Mag aspires to be but can't quite reach.

Ammo is the tough part, but people have formed Hornet brass to the same dimensions and altered the FP to CF. That was my plan.

[Bob in Revelstoke]

Thanks for the information. The barrel is marked 25 Stevens short. The ammo is CIL "Canuck. It is a nice old rifle but, like so many I have come across, was never looked after properly.

[Bret4207]

That's the way of the world Bob. If the barrel is shot it would make a really nice 22 if lined. Your ammo may be worth more than the rifle BTW....