What is it?

ssapach

ssapach

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Besides the obvious answer of "a gun", what does this look like to those more experienced than me?

Back story: Current owner found it under a grainery back in the 70's and has had it since then. He said there wasn't a trace of wood on it at all when he found it and all he had done was soaked it in some diesel and brushed it to try to clean off some of the rust and crap.

Looks to be small, like .22 cal. Barrel is still full of crap, lever and hammer still move, but there are no springs left. I don't currently have it in my possession, I just snapped a couple pics to see if I could find out any info for the owner.

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handofzeus said:
Stevens Favourite falling block boy's rifle.
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x2

It is .22 cal. The inscription says .22 Long Rifle.

The stud at the front of the receiver had a swivel ring and it unscrewed to allow barrel removal for takedown carrying.

These were extremely popular boys rifles 100 years ago and well into the 1930s.

http://www.wisnersinc.com/stevens-favorite-rifles/

This is one article with information. Many more out there.
 
Maple Leaf's example is of a Model 1915 Favorite, easily distinguished by the flat top on the Breech Block.

The earlier Model had the scallop cut across the breech block, easily seen.

They are not terribly strong actions at their best, a well worn one can usually be relied upon to split cases on a regular basis, at least that has been my experience with them.

The one the OP has would make a pretty good kids toy, if we were not living in a time when stupid people call the cops over kids playing Cowboys and Indians, or whatever the politically correct version of kids playing is these days.

Cheers
Trev
 
As a side note Maple Leaf's .32 rim-fire Stevens Favorite reminded me of a shooting experience back in the early 1970s.

A friend with a fondness for antiques had bought a S&W tip-up revolver in .32 rim-fire. An actual Model #2 Army in beautiful condition.

Made between 1861 and 1874, his example was at least 100 years old at the time.

He was able to buy .32 rim-fire rounds and I did get to shoot about 10 rounds or so.

I think that it would be great if this round and a few rifles and revolvers were produced today.

Imagine owning a .32 rim-fire Ruger New Bearcat or Single Six, along with a quality pump-action, lever-action rifle, or a small action Remington Rolling Block reproduction.

Ballistics for .32 Long were a 90 grain bullet at 1080 FPS out of a 24" barrel. That's an effective enough small game round.

That New Bearcat would make a great hide-out gun for CAS shooters and reenactors, tucked into a hand-tooled old west shoulder holster.
 
Interesting stuff. I wonder how old this sucker is now....

Would also be interesting to know the story behind it; how it got under the grainery, who put it there and why. Not sure that will ever be known now though.

The owner said he wanted to clean it up a bit and get some wood for it so he can hang it on the wall. Not sure if it would be worthwhile, but that's his choice.

Any suggestions on cleaning it up further or is everyone going to vote to just leave it as is?
 
trevj said:
would make a pretty good kids toy, if we were not living in a time when stupid people call the cops over kids playing Cowboys and Indians, or whatever the politically correct version of kids playing is these days.
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You got that right! Grew up with all manner of cap guns and stuff including a neutered P1 22 trainer. Battled with many Indians and Nazis.
Didn't wear a helmet when riding a bike either.

Use to shoot a pellet gun with my son in the back yard. Wouldn't try that these days.

Gad..... what have we come to?

M
 
ssapach said:
Interesting stuff. I wonder how old this sucker is now....

Would also be interesting to know the story behind it; how it got under the grainery, who put it there and why. Not sure that will ever be known now though.

The owner said he wanted to clean it up a bit and get some wood for it so he can hang it on the wall. Not sure if it would be worthwhile, but that's his choice.

Any suggestions on cleaning it up further or is everyone going to vote to just leave it as is?
Click to expand...

Replacement wood and butt plate would cost about $175 + tax and shipping from various suppliers online. As for the metal, some Fluid Film and fine steel wool will clean it up quite nicely. Hope this helps.
 
They sell for around $200 in good condition, and that one you have there is heavily pitted. The bore on that one is probably rough as the outside is. I paid $400 for a similar model 14-1/2 in truly mint, unmolested condition and I've not seen another like it. As for Favorites I think $250 is the highest I've gone for one with decent finish and a decent bore. So I wouldn't go running off spending a mint trying to source parts for this one - but it might be a good parts gun, or it would make a nice wall hanger.

As Trevj says above these are NOT strong actions - they are NOT "falling blocks" but rather hinged/swinging blocks so if you do loosen it up and try and run a round or two through it stick to low velocity/std velocity ammo ONLY. I see a lot of these on the EE with drooping levers and that is a classic sign of bent pins, a result of shooting modern high-velocity ammo through these things.

All that said I love these Favorites. If you stick to their intended diet and enjoy them for what they are, they are fun rifles that bring some real style to the range.
 
One here in my local gun store in .22 Long Rifle looks about five years old. It's not, of course, but has a lovely bore and the very lightest couple of dings on the stock. The proof stamps suggest it was proofed in 1923.

I can't acquire it since I already over the limit for Section 1 firearms in this county, and would have to get rid of another gun in order to get this one - be nice to have though.

tac
 
gnmontey said:
You got that right! Grew up with all manner of cap guns and stuff including a neutered P1 22 trainer. Battled with many Indians and Nazis.
Didn't wear a helmet when riding a bike either.

Use to shoot a pellet gun with my son in the back yard. Wouldn't try that these days.

Gad..... what have we come to?

M
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There weren't many Nazis in my neighborhood when I was kid, back in the 60's. ;)
But, we did shoot a lot of 10 year pretend Indians with our cap guns.

The only helmet that I wore when riding my bike was a plastic kid-sized army helmet on occasion.

I recall shooting my pellet gun in the vacant lot down the block.
The only feedback that we ever got was one time from a guy out by his garage who said:
"You kids watch where you point that thing."
 
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these where also made in 25 rimfire, long and short.
The tangs are gone on yours, not worth doing anything with.
you can buy a whole gun cheaper than the parts you would need.
I do have a new barrel for these, but I have been going to use it ( for the last 15 years)
 
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