
After he popped a few rounds down range he started shoving the guns back into the box, but before he left he asked us if any of us was interested in buying any of the guns. 22 short ammo he found in the bottom of his kit box which he gave to the fella. One of the guys happened to have a partial box of. He asked us if they were safe to shoot so we picked out a couple Stevens that looked in pretty decent shape, and told him to forget about the Quackenbushes and Floberts- that if he were to shoot them please give us a heads-up so we could retire to safety. He said he got them at an estate sale as one lot. Stevens, Quackenbush, Flobert were all represented.
#STEVENS FAVORITE 22 RIFLE 1911 FULL#
One day around 15 years ago a guy showed up at the range with long cardboard box crammed full of old "cat rifles". I messed with a few old Favorites over the years, but I'll be darned if I ever even held a recently made one in my hands. I have a Stevens 414 Armory (44 action) with a frahuntzed bore that I can't decide whether to re-line for. 22 centerfire (or anything else developing pressures in the neighborhood of 15-20K or more). Were I to convert a 44 to CF, I would definitely stick with very low pressure stuff such as old black powder numbers and handload accordingly. Stevens actually did fit the very earliest 44's that way but it was time consuming/expensive so they quit it and depended on the cross pins for the majority of its life. A savvy guy can fit everything up inside the action so that the breechblock also bears against the receiver when in battery- a favorite trick of smallbore target shooters which helps squeeze a bit of accuracy and life out of the action. The 44 action depends mainly on cross pins to support the breechblock, and they don't hold up to higher pressures. 22 Hornet at the tail end of 44 production but they quickly developed issues and they stopped that nonsense. 38-40- all black powder cartidges originally. 32 Short and Long CF pistol cartridges in recent years but I always thought that was pushing things a bit.Ĥ4's aren't particularly strong either, although they were factory chambered for stuff like. 22RF's, and I know of at least a couple that were successfully converted to. 32 Long in addition to the vast majority being. Favorites were offered in larger RF numbers such as. 25-20 into a Favorite frame, I wouldn't want to be close by when he touched it off. 44's look like a Favorite but are beefier/bigger. "Jack First" had the parts I needed, but first they require to have a copy of their catalogs to look up the diagram and part list and the item so you and they are communicating on an equal knowledge basis.Favorite isn't a 44. Making them up one at a time is not the efficient way to go about it. Once the screws and link pins have been replaced then look at the barrel breech face gap and set back the barrel to correct headspace issues.ĭoes anyone keep these various pins & screws on the shelf as stock items? Ditto for the equivalent 44/44-1/2 parts.
#STEVENS FAVORITE 22 RIFLE 1911 CRACKED#
Link is soft and can get worn, streched, I have even seen a few cracked ones by one of the pin holes, make a new link from tool/alloy steel and heat treat it. 152" diameter, they can be reamed out and fit new 5/32" hardened pins. Link pins, are soft and get worn or bent, as they are. Lever screw gets worn or bent, replace with new heat treated screw. Breech bolt screw, gets worn or bent, replace with new heat treated screw.
