Old gun- What to do?

[joshb]

This old gun sat in my Grandfather’s gun cabinet when I was a sprout. My father gave it to me 30 years ago and I’ve kept it oiled, thinking someday I’d do something with it.
Reading a recent thread about barrel lining, I pulled it out and looked it over. There are no makers marks on it. On the top of the barrel is a stamping. “Rebored & Rifled by J. Stevens A & T Co., Chico???????, Mass. I did some measuring and research. It seems to have been rebored into a 25 Stevens rimfire chambering, long out of production.
It has a nice double set trigger. I’m considering having it lined as a 22 LR, but the “ejector” might be a problem.
Thoughts?

 

[swd]

I've seen a few similar 22's most were French or Belgian. Put a 22 liner in it and have a good welder weld up the extractor and have it re cut. I'd call Dan's accutig he's a member here.

 

[ShootDots]

The gun may have some sentimental or intrinsic value that only you can decide. It may have some monetary value>>>a bit of research would tell you that. If there is very little value in either, you can do one of three things:1.) just flat keep it; or 2.) have it restored and keep it or 3.) try and sell it. There are always people looking for rare / unusual guns of most any type. There is another possibility>>>but this would be my least desirable way to go: have it re-barreled into something you could actually use..

 

[Hino895]

That’s purty,I love them old gallery rifles.

 

[Bc'z]

Reline it.
22mag or 17hmr
It'd make a killer squirl gun

 

[CharlieNC]

You have a tough decision. Personally I would leave as is for sentimental reasons to honor and remember family heritage; you already have more rifles than you will ever shoot very much.

 

[Daddymac]

It is my personal feeling that when you change or redo something like that it becomes yours at that point, it's like it is no longer your dad's or grandad's, nothing wrong with that at all, just something to think about.

 

[riflewoman]

JTStevens formed part of the Savage Stevens arms. The address is. Hi open Falls Massachusetts.

As for what to do with it. You could reline it but I wouldn’t go bigger than 22LR. My rationale is based on the strength and age of the old action. It was probably made back in the 1885-1910 era. Most likely mage in Germany or Switzerland. It looks like a small rolling block type action. Reline it to get it back shooting. Looks like a fine old rifle with a decent provenance.

 

[riflewoman]

It is my personal feeling that when you change or redo something like that it becomes yours at that point, it's like it is no longer your dad's or grandad's, nothing wrong with that at all, just something to think about.

This is my grandfathers axe. Over the years it’s been re-handled 6 times and we’ve replaced the head twice. But it’s my grandfathers axe?

 

[dellet]

That will be a pretty weak action, even some of the modern 22lr might be too much for it. Whether you could reline for 22 and have the firing pin line up is another question. Seem to be possible often enough.

If you just want to shoot it for grins, there a few options.

Ammo is available but expensive and can be poor quality. I might know where you could get some to at least try it out.

You can breech seat a bullet and use a 27 Nail gun cartridge to fire it. Lowest possible power rating.

You can buy some 17 WSM, pull the bullets, shorten the case and neck it up to 25 caliber. There are some very light smokeless loads that work or blackpowder. Same guy as above might be able to get you a few converted cases to try.

Using the 27 nail gun or 17 WSM can be an issue due to a thicker rim, counting on a bit of extra headspace.

If you're not worried about collector value, you might be able to re-drill the block for center fire then convert Hornet cases.

Original 25 Stevens long on the left, 17 WSM and converted cartridge on the right. There are some appropriate cast available or molds. This was working put the process.

 

[Tommie]

If it were mine:
Planning to sell? Then keeping it original (although evidence shows it's already been rebarrelled) would come into play.
Not selling? Do whatever you want. I'm in the minority here but sleeving to .22LR wouldn't scare me a bit.

BTW I believe the address is Chicopee Falls, Mass.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Youre not going to shoot it anyway most likely. Id hang it in a shadowbox

 

[JFrank]

This old gun sat in my Grandfather’s gun cabinet when I was a sprout. My father gave it to me 30 years ago and I’ve kept it oiled, thinking someday I’d do something with it.
Reading a recent thread about barrel lining, I pulled it out and looked it over. There are no makers marks on it. On the top of the barrel is a stamping. “Rebored & Rifled by J. Stevens A & T Co., Chico???????, Mass. I did some measuring and research. It seems to have been rebored into a 25 Stevens rimfire chambering, long out of production.
It has a nice double set trigger. I’m considering having it lined as a 22 LR, but the “ejector” might be a problem.
Thoughts?
View attachment 1115643 View attachment 1115644 View attachment 1115645

I would leave it alone, enjoy it as is.

 

[clowdis]

That's a pretty solid looking action. If it were mine I'd reline the barrel to .22lr and fabricate a new extractor for it. Those extractors aren't that hard to make. You might even be able to scrounge around and find another tang sight for it too. It's built for offhand shooting and probably pretty sweet to hold. Bring it back to life.

 

[Shawnba67]

Heres a Question,
Does it feel like your grandpa is there with you when you look at that rifle just up on the wall?
How about when you hold it to your shoulder?
Whichever one of those you answered Yes quickest to is your path.
My Grandpa never gave me anything he didnt want to be Mine.

 

[kvd]

My 2¢. You probably have numerous 22LR at your disposal that will shoot better than would this rifle if relined. This gun is part of your family heritage and can not be replaced. I like Dusty Stevens idea of building a shadow box for this great old rifle and displaying it somewhere nice in your home.

 

[dolek]

That is a work of art . I would normally vote to shoot it,but in this instance I think I would display it on the wall . I would also have it where I could grab it easily and sit down and lay it across your legs and enjoy the memories while looking at that beauty.

 

[mikeinct]

Josh, I'm torn by this project. You got tons of good ideas here. I'm leaning toward leaving it be. That said, if you find that blank cartridge . Dellet came up with a possible solution to make the old girl roar one more time. Or, Pull the bullet from a 17WSM or find that odd blank. Double protect your eyes & hands. see if it will safely go bang/W,no projectile.{if U want to take it past that, I'd be happy to cast you some bullets}... I have a nifty 70 grain 25 caliber mold. You can easily put together some low pressure gallery rounds. I hope this helps you, I really like that vintage of old parlor rifles. mike in ct

 

[butchlambert]

All kinds of parts are available for them. I would leave it as chambered. All type of info on the ASSRA forum.
One I did for my best friend.

NOS barrels are available as well as firing pins, extractors, springs and a multitude of other parts.

 

[dellet]

Josh, I'm torn by this project. You got tons of good ideas here. I'm leaning toward leaving it be. That said, if you find that blank cartridge . Dellet came up with a possible solution to make the old girl roar one more time. Or, Pull the bullet from a 17WSM or find that odd blank. Double protect your eyes & hands. see if it will safely go bang/W,no projectile.{if U want to take it past that, I'd be happy to cast you some bullets}... I have a nifty 70 grain 25 caliber mold. You can easily put together some low pressure gallery rounds. I hope this helps you, I really like that vintage of old parlor rifles. mike in ct

Stevens generally used a 17 twist for the rimfire and velocity was only about 1050 fps. A 70 grain might be too long, but the 257420 mold from Arsenal does actually shoot pretty well at .600" long. They have a 60 grain that seems to work a bit better. If they rifled it like they did the centerfire 25's it will be a 13 or 14 twist.

Bottom line is if that rifle is on the shelf for display, it needs a target or pelt with it.

To me getting a few shots down range before making any changes seems like a good idea. That's easy enough to make happen. Shooting the old stuff has it's own rewards, if it was family even more so.

Current project is a Model 44 n 28-30-120

Here's dialing in at 200 yards

Next range day i"ll see of she really shoots like I think she can. Rings are 3/4" for reference.

If I can help get another one off the wall and on the range, it would somewhat of an honor.