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Stevens Rebarrel

banzaibird
I have a Steven's model 44 that needs rebarreled. The action itself seems to be in good condition but the gent who I bought the gun from tried drilling and tapping the barrel for scope mounts himself. He ended up drilling into the bore. Anyway I'd like to know if the action is strong enough to have it rebarreled to 22 hornet or 22 k-hornet.

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  • Iroquois Scout
    You don't say what was the original caliber of the rifle. I would assume that it was one of the .22's, but you don't say which one,rim fire or center fire. In general, the Stevens 44 action is not safe with the 22 Hornet. The action you are looking for is the Stevens 441/2 which is stronger because the receiver walls come up higher around the breech block giveing more support to the block. If your barrel is in caliber .22 rimfire you may get by just haveing the barrel relined, if on the other hand the barrel was in one of the .22 center fire calibers the first thing you do is go back to the guy who was dumb enough to ruin this rifle and kick him as hard as you can right where he lives, then get in touch with CPA Corporation RR2 Dingmans Ferry, PA 18328. This is Paul Shuttleworth who makes a complete copy of the various Stevens rifles. His E-Mail address is shuttleworth@cparifles.com. No mater what you wind up doing you should have the action pins replaced in order to tighten up the action as this is a weak point in the Stevens action. Also, keep in mind that even the 441/2 is not an overly strong action and should not be converted to mordern high intensity cartridges or used with soupped up handloads. These rifles are at their best with the cartridges for which they were meant, such as the .25-20 Single Shot, .32-40 and the .38-55. Useing these cartridges the Stevens rifles set many records for accuracy. Best of luck, Scout
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  • rhmc24
    If you need a gunsmith to do whatever you decide on, or to help you decide, I recco Jack Ott, Rimfire Gunworks, P.O. Box 457, Waleska, GA 30183, phone 770 479 7920. A good man with lots of experience. Hope this helps. Robert
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  • banzaibird
    It is a centerfire in 25-20. I can't complain about the guy drilling to far. I bought it from him for $25. As I said the action is solid. I couldn't/can't find any SAAMI pressure's for the 25-20 so was unsure what the action is able to handle. I was hoping that the reduced body taper of the k-hornet would be enough to limit the back pressure on the block. Thanks again.

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  • v35
    You might thread the hole to within 1/16" of the bore and fill up the hole with socket head setscrews, leaving enough room for the scope mount screw and try the gun. Russian Aks and Sks' are accurate with huge gas ports drilled into their barrels.
    Old loading charts show loads up to 37,000psi for the 25-20 Single Shot, 33,000 psi for the 25-20 repeater and 18,000psi for the 25-21 Stevens.
    Whatever you do,keep the barrel. It has value to non shooting collectors.
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  • jogn2
    As they've said the 44 action is not the strongest. Try to avoid the 25-20 ss, I've got a low wall in this caliber and its tough to brass ($) dies and I'm having a tough time getting mine to shoot well. These were chambered in 25-20 win, but I wouldn't use the high velocity loadings or equalivant. The 32-20 is a nice ctg for this action. Redman in WA can line it for about $275 or other original calibers, like 38-40, 44-40, etc
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  • woodsrunner
    The last time I got a Brownells catalog ( A while ago) they had barrel liners for centerfire black powder guns. I do remember them having one in .25 caliber. If it were me I'd go that route. As noted above brass for the SS is expensive. They can be made to shoot though with cast bullets. The one I had and sold(Kicking myself still) wouldn't shoot a jacketed bullet to save it's life. Load it with bullets cast from 20/1 alloy and it was an awsome shooter. I'd reline if the liners are still available.

    Woods
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  • Iroquois Scout
    The only problem that I see in trying to do a barrel liner yourself is that you need a lathe with a pump to force cutting oil through the drill to wash out the chips. You also need one of the deep hole drills. Once the liner is soldered in place you will need the lathe to trim the liner and to cut the chamber. Otherwise it is cheaper to have someone else do it.
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