The most popular youth rifle ever made?

[PALADIN85020]

I think that honor has to go to the Stevens "Favorite" swinging-block single shot rifles. These were offered in .22 rimfire, .25 Stevens rimfire, and .32 rimfire. They were made by the millions from 1885 to 1935, and practically every kid out there either had one or wanted one. They were simple, accurate, lightweight and inexpensive. They were takedown rifles, handy for carrying on a bicycle or horseback.

Today they are relics of a bygone time. Because most of the ammo in the old days was loaded with black powder, the bores are often in terrible shape. Some are still shootable, others are candidates for re-lining or barrel replacement.

Modern standard or high-speed ammo should not be shot in these old guns, because the action is comparatively weak. Best I've found would be .22 CB long - a reduced power load that can still get the bullet out of a longer rifle barrel.

The one illustrated below was made (by my estimate) around 1908 or 1909. Dating these is difficult because company records were lost in a fire, and the "serial numbers" on the lower receiver tang were really assembly numbers having no relationship to date of manufacture. One has to be aware of various changes to the guns over the years to make an educated guess.



Here's a shot of the action when open, and to illustrate the take-down feature:



And here's a Stevens advertisement that dates to 1923:



Once the largest manufacturers of sporting firearms in the world, the Stevens company was acquired by Savage in 1920.

Hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane.

John

[BAM-BAM]

My first rifle in about 1962/3 .....new.... not hardly; I was 8/9 and it was about 60.........

Currently hanging on my home office wall....... refinished the stock and forend in the late 70s ...... steel is 99%.... that's 99% in the white with a good coat of Rem Wax.

Only a pretty wall-hanging today........ with plenty of memories of the early years at the cabin with my folks....... and roaming the Eastern Continental Divide

[RobertJ.]

I love those old rifles, and appreciate articles like yours!

When I was a kid, that's the .22 I wanted. I didn't get one, my dad gave me a Ruger 10-22 instead. I know, tough break.

A couple years ago at my LGS, this was sitting in the rack. It's a repro of the original (except for the non-takedown), but over 40 years old. It was $125 OTD! I replaced the rear sight with a Marble's full buckhorn, and replaced the hammer spring because it occasionally wouldn't strike the primer hard enough. No problems now. I've used it as my training rifle for new shooters a few times.

[old&slow]

Back in the early 60's, my uncle had a Stevens Favorite half octagon / half round barrel that he let me use. I put a lot of squirrels and rabbits on the table with that old single shot.

Then I graduated to a single shot Stevens bolt and then a Ruger 10/22.

For some reason I was thinking the one I used had a ring rather than a knob / screw head on the take down screw.. Could be wrong , it was quite a few years ago..

[DWalt]

I once had a similar Stevens rolling block (not falling block) .22 single shot given to me. It had been hanging in a Southern Ohio barn for God only knows how long, and had a thick coating of rust. I managed to scrape most of the rust off and got it into shooting condition (despite a sewer pipe bore). I had planned to do more cosmetic work on it and reline the barrel, so it was in parts. While I was off at college, my mother in one of her cleanup moods threw all the metal parts away, thinking they were junk. She didn't throw away the buttstock and fore-end, and I sold those later.

[BAM-BAM]

Originally Posted by old&slow

Back in the early 60's, my uncle had a Stevens Favorite half octagon / half round barrel that he let me use.

For some reason I was thinking the one I used had a ring rather than a knob / screw head on the take down screw.. Could be wrong , it was quite a few years ago..

Mine has an oval ring on the takedown screw ...... with 6 inch of octagonal barrel at the forearm & 14" round barrel.

[PALADIN85020]

Originally Posted by old&slow

Back in the early 60's, my uncle had a Stevens Favorite half octagon / half round barrel that he let me use. I put a lot of squirrels and rabbits on the table with that old single shot.

Then I graduated to a single shot Stevens bolt and then a Ruger 10/22.

For some reason I was thinking the one I used had a ring rather than a knob / screw head on the take down screw.. Could be wrong , it was quite a few years ago..

Some were made that way, with the takedown screw sporting a ring instead of a knurled knob. Your memory is accurate.

John

[PALADIN85020]

Originally Posted by RobertJ.

I love those old rifles, and appreciate articles like yours!

When I was a kid, that's the .22 I wanted. I didn't get one, my dad gave me a Ruger 10-22 instead. I know, tough break.

A couple years ago at my LGS, this was sitting in the rack. It's a repro of the original (except for the non-takedown), but over 40 years old. It was $125 OTD! I replaced the rear sight with a Marble's full buckhorn, and replaced the hammer spring because it occasionally wouldn't strike the primer hard enough. No problems now. I've used it as my training rifle for new shooters a few times.

Savage/Stevens has made some look-alike "Favorites" in more recent years, but they are not true to the originals - parts will not interchange. With numerous cast parts and not much in the way of hand-fitting, they operate way more roughly.

John

[Camster]

Same as the Crackshot,or was that the real econo version?
I stumbled across a Crackshot about ten years,and was tempted to pick it up for wall decor,however given the fact that I was downsizing my collection of high end Anschutz rimfires,it didn't seem to make that much sense.

[Drm50]

Very nice article, how about putting one together on second most
popular 22s of the day. The Remington Rolling Block series of
Rim fires?

[Iggy]

I grew up using a .22 Favorite. I earned my spending money shooting Jack Rabbits with it. It cost my Great Uncle $3.50 new. Back then .22 Longs were $.50 a box. Rabbits were selling for $.50 apiece.. Talk about a money makin' deal. I earned enough money with that rifle to buy a Nylon 66 when they came out. The 66 kept me in beer money through college.

I've still got it. My Son and Grandson's first shots were fired thru that gun.

[DWalt]

Originally Posted by Camster

Same as the Crackshot,or was that the real econo version?
I stumbled across a Crackshot about ten years,and was tempted to pick it up for wall decor,however given the fact that I was downsizing my collection of high end Anschutz rimfires,it didn't seem to make that much sense.

In my earlier posting (#5), the rifle I mentioned was a Stevens Crackshot, and it was a rolling block. There were several different models of the Crackshot, not sure if they were all rolling blocks. There was a lever about 1" long on the right side of the receiver which "rolled" the block. Basically, it was a small-scale version of the Remington Rolling Block rifle.

[Cooter Brown]

I haven't been a kid for a long time, but I still want one.

You're on a roll lately, John!

[da gimp]

Originally Posted by Iggy

I grew up using a .22 Favorite. I earned my spending money shooting Jack Rabbits with it. It cost my Great Uncle $3.50 new. Back then .22 Longs were $.50 a box. Rabbits were selling for $.50 apiece.. Talk about a money makin' deal. I earned enough money with that rifle to buy a Nylon 66 when they came out. The 66 kept me in beer money through college.

I've still got it. My Son and Grandson's first shots were fired thru that gun.

When I was a kid.. Win or Rem .22LR was a $.25 a box... standard velocity... then they went to $.30 & $.35 a box with shorts costing a $.25 a box... Daisy BB's were a nickel a long red cardboard tube. with the squeeze end..the smaller tube was either $.02 or $.03 .

We ended up with two of the little Stevens drop block .22's... one a carbine that my dad gave our youngest daughter on her second day of life , it has the notched steel bar rear sight & the other is the rifle version with a Marbles tang peep sight... & a blank on the barrel...

[loeman]

Thank you so much! First of all John for his OP and all the rest of you for sharing your memories and knowledge about these rifles that many of you grew up with. I never had one of my own, but I was always free to use my Dad's Mossburg 46b. A gun that he used to feed us (rabbits and sometimes squirrels) countless meals. I often lament that I never became the marksman that he was. I guess that brings me to the title of my post....Necessity is the Mother of Invention.

[BUFF]

I read the thread title and figured for sure, this would be about the Quackenbush rifle...

[rwsmith]

Where can I order one for $9.85 INCLUDING tax? And that's RETAIL. Is there a discount broker anywhere?

[weatherby]

[Stranglehold]

Originally Posted by BUFF

I read the thread title and figured for sure, this would be about the Quackenbush rifle...

For a moment, that thought crossed my mind as well...







Roe

[DWalt]

There was also a Quackenbush .22 rifle with a metal skeleton stock, I had one long, long ago. A very interesting design.

[2152hq]

Neat rifles the Favorites, seems like everyone had one of them or one of the other single shot Stevens.
The Favorites came along in 3 different versions. The rare one, the first one,,was the 1889 Model. It had a side plate on the frame. I had one I bought at a flea market one time. Sold it to a big time S/Shot collector for what seemed like a lot of $$ at the time in the early 70's. Very nicely made rifles.
The more common 1894 Model is what most people see. A solid frame (no side plate) w/ TD bbl. Earlier ones had a threaded ring on the bbl at the frame to adjust the bbl face to breech block fit so the lever wouldn't 'droop' after some wear. Then they used a spring loaded plunger in the lever to take care of the problem later. These are fairly well fitted rifles with the breech block still touching the frame shoulders when locked up offering some support.
In 1915 the Model 1915 Favorite came out. Different frame,slightly wider, most parts don't interchange with the 1894 and it's looks a bit less graceful that the '94 too. Boldly stamped '1915' so you can't miss it, the frame contours give it away as well.
After about 1920, they are under Savage control and bbl addresses change, as well as a Savage proof starts to appear on the frame.
The extractor itself shows about 6 different versions of size and 2 different positions between the '89 and the '15.

They are great little rifles to learn some gunsmithing on. No longer the $5 & $10 gunshows orphans they once were when I hunted them down to build my talents on & bring them back to life. But they are still out there.
Standard vel only in the .22's, even in 22 short.

[gmiller0737]

I have 1 I purchased several years back in a Local Pawn Shop for $29,It's the one with Half Round/Half Octagon Barrel & The Ring on The Takedown Screw,Wrist of The Stock has a old repair with flat copper about 3/16" wide wrapped around it and a small brad securing each end it is a fairly solid repair & looks to have been done many years ago,Bore is in horrid shape but I have fires it with CB Caps & it does work whine not too accurate,Otherwise it's not a bad looking gun for likely 100 years old.