falling block actions

R

ratherbefishin

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I'm intrigued by old .22's-who made falling block .22's?
I see Winchester,Savage and Stevens all had falling block models.There appear to be several model in the Savage'Stevens [were they the same?] lineup.I asked an old guy[93 and still shooting-without glasses] about them and he said when the ''repeaters'' came in-people didn't bother with the single shots anymore.
Anybody collect/shoot them?Theres got to be a few around-somewhere.I don't see many at gunshows
 
BSA (Martini), Greener (Martini), Remington (rolling block), and a couple of European makers. I have 2 Martinis, and I know of others owned locally. They show up on EE once in a while.
 
They are out there.

Now, being a bit on the semantics... You interested in a falling block, or a tilting one?

Winchester (model 1885 High and Low Wall rifles), Stevens (the model 44 1/2), and a couple European makers as well as ,IIRC, Whitney arms Co, made true falling block actions. I'm sure there are others.

There were numerous makers of Martini style actions, where the breech block tilted from a rear pivot. BSA made huge numbers of them, and they usually all get called Cadet actions, though that is not correct. Great barrels, really accurate.

Then there are the huge number of 'boys' rifles, stuff like the Stevens Favorite and the Stevens model 44 action (larger, but looks very much like the Favorite) , where the block tilts around a pivot up forward of the breech.

Lots of options! If you are interested in seeing the variety of single shot guns there are, you could do worse than to find a copy of the Frank DeHaas books on Single Shot Rifles. The books on Boys Rifles, by Grant, are supposed to be good too.

If you ever get a chance to poke around the innards of a German falling block single shot, they are in a whole different class. Complicated triggers, superb finish on all inside parts, etc.

Cheers
Trev
 
I have a Remington Model 6 falling block.
It was my grandfathers, then my fathers, then mine and will be my sons.
We still shoot it from time to time and it's still accurate to this day.
The only problem is your thumb can get pretty sore from dropping the block and reloading all day.

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I have a nice old Husqvarna rolling block chambered in .22 short-excellent bore,octagonal barrel,walnut stock and very petite.I also have a nice old Husqvarna octagonal barreled single shot bolt action straight stock .22.I understand one of the challanges of finding old .22's with good barrels is they used black powder and were subject to pitting.
 
Don't forget the H&A small frame 900 series. They were quite simple and were the lowest cost true falling blocks commonly available.
 
i have a beautiful little stevens favorite with an original tang peep sight on it.
its turn of the century and its deadly accurate.
its a combination rolloing falling block??
 
Correct me if I'm wrong but a Remington #6 or a Stevens 44.5 for example could/would fetch $700-$1000 and (as mentioned above) their always kept in the family and handed down to the next generation. Which is why their almost impossible to find.

Only current production I'm aware of is a Steven's style made by Savage but rumor is their quality isn't that great.
 
There's no way that Remington #6's are going for even half that much. The most I've seen a virtually NIB Improved 6 listed for was $300 at a gun show.... And it was still there at the end of the day.

I've got a few of them now. A Stevens Crackshot 26 was given to me along with a rather crusty looking Remington Improved 6 that someone had drilled in some lame attempt to mount a scope onto. Since then I've gotten an earlier Remington 6 and I've just paid for another Stevens Favourite.

They really are great guns to shoot. I stuff a half dozen or so reloads between the fingers of my support hand and work the action to flick out the empty and chamber the next round with my trigger hand. Since I'm not a hunter so instead of rabbits for the stew pot my favourite "game" is one of the rimfire flip up steel targets. At 25 yards and given my old guy eyes they are great plinkers with the visual and audible feedback I get with a hit.

The Crackshot and Improved 6 both have dark looking barrel bores but that doesn't stop them from shooting well. Off bags and given the limits of the cheezy sights they have I can still manage 2 inch groups at 25 yards. If the were clamped to a fixed rest I don't doubt that they would manage to do half that size.
 
I've been collecting and shooting these for 45 years. Just posted a bunch for sale under rimfire rifles. Also 2 hi-wall varmint rifles under hunting rifles. Had them for many years. Good luck in your search. Once you shoot them, you'll never go back to repeaters. ....... Ed
 
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Single shot Dropping Type

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The quality of many types and makes is quite relative to period ie;the time it was made and how people in general and society perceived firarms and there use . These days the pendulum has returned to a more moderate thought process and thus more accepted . We can therefore hope that quality may improve , at least on a personal level .
The value of a particular firearm is often regional , West to East , etc . Also the trend or flavor of the pocket book. Cheers
Robert
 
I know this is an old thread, but I have some unexplainable desire/longing/urge to own, shoot, and love one of these style .22s. Anybody know a place you can get modern repros new?
If not I'll keep an eye on EE, wouldn't mind something with a little history either.
 
How deep are your pockets?

You can get new made replicas of the Stevens 44 1/2 action starting around $2K CPA Rifles.

There are about 4 makers of Winchester 1885 replica's plus Winchester themselves, priced between $1K-$3K.

There were some new made versions of the Stevens Favorite made, if your tastes run towards shoddy looking, made to a price rimfire guns. ~$200 or so. Same old design, moder powder metal technology.

But there are a lot of decent quality older guns around, as well as a schwackload of beat up, worn out, and generally abused to death cheap made boys rifles, if you go looking.

Get a hold on the books I mentioned a couple years back, by DeHaas and Grant, educate yourself to the possibilities and especially to the weaknesses of the various guns out there. Lots of them are not safe to shoot with moder high velocity ammo for very long, if you value your eyesight, or your kid's eyesight.

It is worth understanding that a LOT, though not all, of the relatively common so-called "Boy's" rifles were made as cheaply as possible, and were made to contain black powder levels of pressure, and many didn't do that for very long either.

A few of the rifles around, were actually well made and quite advanced for their day. The BSA Martini actions, the Remington No.4 Rolling Blocks, the Winchester Low Wall 1885's, and a few others were NOT built to be disposable kids rifles, and have held up pretty well over the years. Priced accordingly, then, and now.

Educate yourself, wear your safety glasses.

Cheers
Trev
 
I have a Chiappa little sharps , that I picked up last year. It is a cute little thing to hang on the wall . But it has far to many issues to be considered a shooter. If you like that concept, consider a Pedersolli.
 
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