Stevens Favorite ??

[Harter66]

I have an action coming for a swap that appears to be a Favorite and complete.

Tell me all I need to know about finding it vintage and original intended cartridge,please.
The pictures I've looked at show no markings . My research suggests that they were all rim fires but some were made originally for a rimfire 32,from there it gets murky as to long short etc. Importantly all were BP until 1905 but it was built until (depending on sources)1925 for up to 22 LR.

Question #2
No I don't want to hotrod it but IF it were for 32s could it safely be bbl'd for a CF 32 like the Colts or an ACP or an intentionly short 30 Carb to prevent a factory load from chambering and held to 14Kpsi (the avg max BP rating) . Would it be better to stick w/22s , bb,short ,long, LR. What about the new 17s?

[Tatume]

Hi Harter,

I have several Stevens Favorites. This is not a falling block action, although it does appear to be. It is a sort of rolling block, and is a very weak action. Although mine are 22s, and will shoot, I do not shoot them. On the few occasions when I did shoot them, accuracy was exceptionally poor. I consider all vintage Stevens Favorites to be wall hangers.

BTW, they were cataloged until very recently by Savage Arms, although I don't see them listed now.

Take care, Tom

[Harter66]

How comon is it to find 1 completely unmarked?

[Tatume]

Markings are mostly on the barrel, just forward of the rear sight. Mine have a serial number under the S-lever.

[Reg]

Later ones were stamped 1915 on the top receiver flat. They were great little rifles in their day but their day has long gone. Most are really not safe with modern high speed .22's. Yes, there are always those who get away with shooting them but remember, they are operating at the very top of their strength limit and it only takes once. Are you feeling lucky ??
The newer versions from the 1970's and on are only the same in appearance and are really different and much better made.
No, they are not safe for any center fire conversion. Yes there are a few who get away with it but there are more that don't.
Basically they are really neat looking wall hangers from a long time ago.

[pietro]

.

It might be good to keep in mind the times/era the original/older Favorites were used.

Most of the bores are junk, due to heavy shooting of the blackpowder cartridges of those times.

The swinging block action (with the breechblock pivot point agead of the rear of the bbl/chamber) isn't noted for strength, either.

If the genni's a .32RF, it's usually the .32RF Short - and AFAIK, the only safe CF conversion is to change the breechblock from RF to CF & just shoot the commercially-available (Wincheste) .32 Short Colt.

That's all/what I did, to shoot my Remington #4 rolling block .32



.

[Harter66]

Well I'll see what I have pretty soon. Its just an action. Maybe I'll get lucky and its a late 1 that ''fell of the line into a lunch box''.

I've had a couple of rather heated discussions recently regarding action strength and ''Just because it was up to it 30k rounds and 80yr ago'' and ''why only load to 30k if they're proofed to 75k''. Yep, I like my face and fingers the way they are , in 1 piece.

I will look it over very carefully before proceeding ,I've no intent of something like a 327 Fed in it . A 22WRF or Mag would be nice maybe an 17 HMR ,but if shorts and/or bb caps is all its up to so be it. It would always make a nice conversational book end too.

[Chev. William]

I have two 1894 series actions and several 1894 barrels I have bought over Ebay looking for that "keeper" barrel to fit the actions.

My barrels are in .22 Long Rifle, .25 Stevens (long) RF, and .32 Long RF. obviously they would all chamber and probably fire any of the shorter cartridges of the same caliber.

The .32 Long RF shares case dimensions with the .32 Long Colt cartridge but the modern loadings use a sub caliber inside lube bullet that reduces accuracy.
Many people have replaced the pins and screws of the Original Stevens Actions with modern high strength alloy steels that are hardened and tempered to greater strengths than Stevens had available. These 'strengthened' actions have been used with .32 Long Colt cases cut to take heeled bullets and loaded to equivalent of the original BP loadings, these are reported as being sufficiently accurate to Get "Pot Meat" and hit targets repeatedly at up to 100 yards. There is one man who drills out .32 Long Colt cases to take .27 Caliber Powder Tool loads as 'primers' for either BP or smokeless light loads behind Balls or bullets. He has successfully fired his antique Revolvers and multiple barrel pistols with them.

The .25 Stevens is the same bore, groove, and case diameters as the .25ACP cartridge. This modern cartridge is loaded with fast burning powders to get its performance from a 2 to 2-1/2 inch long pistol barrel and would yield around 1000 to 1100fps out of the typical 21-3/4 to 22 inch long Stevens Favorite barrel. Since it is a Semi-Rimed design there is a rim so it would chamber in the .25 Stevens barrel.
The Strengthened Acton might handle the pressures of the .17HMR or .17WSM cartridge but there will be a lowered 'factor of Safety' involved.

The .22 Long Rifle barrels will chamber modern loads but unless the action is strengthened, you should limit your choices to standard velocity or Subsonic loads for safety reasons.

I am having stronger, High strength, screws and pins fitted to my 1894 actions so I can use them in firing CF versions of the .25 Stevens and .32 Long Colt. The CF .25 Stevens cases are formed from .22 Hornet cases that are reformed through a .25ACP carbide die all the way to the top of the rim, then trimmed to the length of a Stevens case and the rim area turned to size.
The ones I have done to date hold about 9 grains of loose FFFg BP behind a commercial bullet, either Jacketed or Cast Lead.

If you have an 1894 Action, it should be marked on the bottom tang with a letter and some numbers, all other manufacturers marking were on the barrel.
If you have a 1915 action, it should be marked with "Favorite" on the top of the action socket for the Barrel, "Model 1915" on the Top Tang, and a letter and numbers on the Bottom Tang. The remainder of the markings were on the barrel.

Best regards,
Chev. William

[Tatume]

Chev. gives a very good description, and I've learned some things about my own rifle. The Stevens Favorite to which I refer is a Model 1915. It was the first gun I ever touched, and probably the first gun I ever saw. It hung over one of three doors in my maternal Grandmother's bedroom. My mother was born in that room. The house was built of logs prior to the American Revolution, in the Virginia Appalachian Mountains. Another door lead upstairs, but the reason I mention the three doors is the third. It opened to the outdoors, and had a pile of flat rocks for steps (as did all the outside doors). A small hole was carved into the door, and a feather was inserted from the outside whenever anyone got sick. Several children died of diphtheria over the years, and it was believed that something that caused the disease would be attracted to the feather and channeled out of the house.

The gun didn't fire when I was a child. It was eventually passed on to me, and it shoots now. Although I had the firing pin repaired, I don't shoot the gun except to test fire it years ago.

I'll have a few days off soon, and will take some photos of the gun alongside my CPA Stevens 44-1/2. The resemblance is remarkable (although for the most part, superficial).

Take care, Tom

[uscra112]

I'm a fan of the larger Model 44 action, which just a scaled-up Favorite. Still a weak action.

Changing the pins does not, IMHO, do much for the action strength, although it will tighten up the breeching. Using stronger link pins just transfers the stress to the (rather thin) link, which isn't made of the best steel. Changing the breechblock pivot pin doesn't help the weakness of the block itself, which doesn't resolve the head thrust from discharge pressure to the frame very well. Lastly the barrel retention, (only a grub-screw) is highly suspect, to put it mildly.

The Favorite I would keep to .22 rimfire, or black-powder pressures if a conversion from .25 or .32 rimfire must be done. A tight one can handle modern .22 ammunition. Been there, done that. - Frank de Haas agreed. - A loose one I would be mighty leery of, especially if the chamber is enlarged from rust and wear. Been there, too. Didn't actually burst a case, but the bulges didn't fill me with confidence. If it doesn't lock up right, rebuild it.

de Haas wrote that the high pressure rimfires, (.22 Magnum, the various .17s) are outright dangerous.

It's very easy to take a cast-off modern .22 barrel and adapt it to the Favorite. No threads to cut.

I've bushed Model 44 breeckblocks from rimfire to centerfire, and vice versa. I wouldn't do a Favorite - there's just not enough meat there. Weld it up and re-machine, if you must.

My $0.02 worth.

[Kermit1945]

Well, I reckon if you have a low opinion of Favorites, leave them to those of us who like them and know how to shoot them safely. My favorite Favorite is an 1894 .32 rf. It came to me in incredible original shape. I have a spare breechblock to convert to CF to shoot BP loads with heeled boolits. When it goes to a new owner, it goes with the original rf breechblock, cuz there are stooooopid hotrodders out there who think they need to convert them to gee whiz modern cartridges. Don't mess with them if you aren't willing to live within the obvious limitations. Some few of us can.

[uscra112]

Well, if you're thinking of me, Kermit, I'll tell you straight out that I do leave them to others. The Model 12 and Model 101 are much stronger and more interesting boys' rifles, along with the Hopkins & Allen 922. I've got one Favorite, and half a dozen Model 44s. The Favorite may get linered next year, and then I'll offer it for sale. You want first dibs?

[Tatume]

And if you're thinking of me, my opinion of Favorites is hardly "low." I'm sitting here right now with one of my most prized rifles, the first gun I ever saw or touched.

[Chev. William]

Just Curious: does anyone reading this thread know if anyone has adapted a 1915 Breech Block to a 1894 Receiver, possibly changing the Breech Block Pivot Bolt at the same time? I know the link widths and the Extractor widths change also, but I am curious if anyone has used the enlarged ended 1915 in a 1894?

Best Regards,
Chev. William

[Tatume]

Appears to be a complete action, $78, 1 day 3 hours left.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Stevens-Favo...item2333480925

[Tatume]

Does anyone have any photos of a Model 1915 with period tang sight? The tang is drilled and tapped, but I've never seen one so equipped.

[Tatume]

After doing some searching I found two photos of Model 1915 rifles fitted with tang aperture sights. One was protected and I could not copy it. The other is a nicely engraved rifle:

http://www.reigelgunengraving.com/St...odel_1915.html

[Chev. William]

Oh Wow! That 1915 has been well engraved, possibly as a Project? The Tang sight is what I believe is a Marbles with the locking slide height adjustment.

I hope Tatum won the Ebay auction, it is closed now. Looking at the photos for the original auction posting, I believe it is an early 1894 as it has the 'side' pattern ejector. it is missing the main spring, but I believe either "Wisner's" or "Jack First" could supply a replacement. It does look like the Breech Bolt Pivot Screw may also need replacing as the photos look like the head has been ruined trying to remove it. A good Project find for the new owner.
Best Regards,
Chev. William

[trevj]

I have a couple Favorite that I picked up over the years, originally intending to build them up and use them, as the finished product is a nice light and handy gun.

The more I looked at them and used the ones that were in better shape, the less fond I became of the idea of using one of the older ones for modern ammo.

The entirety of the recoil/chamber pressure load gets carried on the two screws that hold the lever and breech block in the action, and these screws do have a substantial section of their length that is unsupported, allowing some flex. There is no locking face to take the load, like a falling block action has.

That they were a low priced product to begin with, also adds up to them generally having been 'well loved', usually by a bunch of youngsters along the way, over the years, so most I have seen were a bit loose.

If you get one in really good shape, or has been gone through with a fine-toothed comb to sort out all the linkages and screws for clearances to tighten everything back up, stick to 'standard' velocity ammo, an you should be good to go, IMO.

YMMV, but I wouldn't bother hot-rodding one of the Favorite actions into a .17. Maybe a Model 44, which is of the same design, but physically larger with larger screws as a consequence. Steven chambered the 44 in some larger center fire rounds and discontinued that pretty quickly.

My experiences rooting through them is that the parts vary a lot, there were several different styles of ejectors and breech blocks made, with different widths of links and diameters of linkage pins. I suspect, but have not tried, that the 1915 breech block could be fitted, but that the rest of the linkage between it and the lever would have to be looked to, and the whole works fitted and doctored up as an assembly.

Neat little guns, and if you keep in mind that they are not super strong, they are a lot of fun to shoot with!

Cheers
Trev

[Harter66]

Some pictures that might help.
I think the lever is 1 piece w/the breechblock.
It is just marked 2 62 on the bottom tang.

Attachment 90611
Attachment 90613
Attachment 90615