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View Full Version : Stevens single shot, model 44, 25-20



old Grump
03-30-2011, 05:12 PM
http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/9587/dumbdemtarget006.th.jpg (http://img844.imageshack.us/i/dumbdemtarget006.jpg/)

I have here leaning up against the desk next to me my old 25-20. This particular gun sold new out of Montgomery Wards catalogue for $15 back in 1915 and was bought by my Step fathers Grandfather who would have been in his early 30’s at the time. It accounted for a lot of deer in spite of it being a weak black powder cartridge and it was used regularly and hard right up till about 1940 when they stopped making ammunition for it. It is a Stevens Single Shot Falling Block Model 44. This particular model was only manufactured between 1994 and 1915. It has a Octagon barrel and it is a heavy little bugger. I don’t know the exact weight but it is substantial for such an anemic cartridge.



It was supplanted in the market place by the more powerful and popular Winchester 25-20 and this gun spent most of the last 70 years in a closet or under a bed. When I got the old beast it was in pretty rough shape, the forearm was cracked and is now held together with several tiny brass screws. It has no finish on the stock and no bluing on the metal and requires regular coats of oil to prevent surface rust. The front sight was missing and has been replaced with a hand filed sight that pretty much resembles the original. The barrel was tapped for a Stevens scope but there is no sign of one having ever been mounted. It is also tapped for a tang mounted aperture sight but again no sign that one was ever mounted. It does have the old leaf sight with the stepped ramp to adjust for elevation. Mechanism is solid and functional and the bore was in surprisingly good shape.



Needless to say trying to find the old long tapered case of the cartridge designed for this gun was going to be a make it yourself project or not shoot it. I cannot bear to have a gun and not shoot it if it is mechanically capable of being fired so I did what any heathen would do. I had it rechambered for 25-20 WCF. Now I can find ammo for it but I have to bite the bullet so to speak. At $56 a box I don’t shoot it often and when I do it’s only 3 to 5 shots at a time. I am on my 3rd box. In 3 years. When this box is empty I will try reloading it.



Shooting it is a pleasure, I have only fired it at 25 and 50 yards so far but the targets are long gone, When I shoot it again I am going to try it out at 100 yards and post the results. The 86 grain bullet has about the same felt recoil as a 22LR in a more conventional and modern rifle. It’s Schuetzen style stock looks kind of wicked and is obviously cut for a smaller shoulder than mine but it feels pretty good tucked up against the shoulder, At least you won’t ever have it slipping out of place once the gun is mounted.

AKTexas
03-30-2011, 05:39 PM
I have a Marlin Ducks Unlimited edition 25-20 lever action with a 4x Leupold that my Girlfriend loves to shoot. From 50 yards she gets about a 1" group with it. The ammunition is pricey and we reload the empties.