Stevens Favorite .22 long rifle rifles

[GregT]

Good Afternoon!
Just purchased two of these, both well used but functional with very nice barrels yet, amazingly! I intend to make one nice rifle mechanically out of two, but I will now more when I take them apart. They are marked "Crack Shot 26", Stevens Arms Co. Chicopee Falls, Mass. USA .22 Long Rifle. Made in USA - Patent APR. 22, 1913. On the top of the barrel over the receiver is marked, "Regular Cartridges". SVG monogram in a circle stamped on the left upper rear of the frame. Wood on both of these are nice and complete. Missing the metal butt plate on one. Any idea what these might be worth? I think that either would fire as-is and the bores are excellent and very good. I paid $125 for both betting that they are shooters with a little work. Will photo later on. How did I do? Never had one of these. Thank you again~
GregT

[Pete44ru]

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You know how you did - A 60% off sale, IMHO ! .

It didn't happen, w/o pics ! .

The Crackshot No.26, also available in .32RF Long, (& the smoothbore No.26-1/2) was made from 1913-29 as the least expensive rifle in the Stevens line, with Walnut-stained Birch or Beech stocks & a pressed steel BP.
The issue front sight blade was German Silver, though.


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[GregT]

Thank you for the note! Clean up the barrel with the bore I thought was very good... It cleaned to excellent! No pits, some surface rust here and there that will clean off. Hmmm. Both may be shooters after all! I'm going to check Gun Parts Numrich for parts as I do need a steel buttplate and a screw.
Thanks again!
Greg T.

[gamekeeper]

The old ones are better made than the new ones but I still like the new ones too! congratulations on a great find...

[FatJackDurham]

Why not make two good ones? Wisners Inc has parts for Stevens, and GunStocksInc has affordable stocks.

[GregT]

Hi there! That was the original idea I was working with. I decided that the one with the very nice bore will get whatever parts are needed from the one with the less quality bore. Got home to find that the bore I thought was not so good turned out to be excellent and the one I figured had the nice bore had a nicer bore than I thought. Took the grimiest one out on the back porch and fired a CB long through it with no trouble. Stripped it down and put the parts through my ultrasonic cleaner and now I sit with nice clean parts that are very nice indeed! Only problem is I don't know how to re-assemble as I have never done one. I have an idea how it goes but don't want to spend the rest of the evening doing it. So, off to the Internet I go in search of a video! Thanks for the note!
GregT

[GregT]

After working on one of these, cleaning it up and deburring some of the parts, I reassembled it and then gave it another test firing with a CB Long, laid the little rifle down next to the other one, and guess what? The one I was working on has an 18" barrel. The other a 20" barrel! Otherwise the rifles are identical. Is there any way of more precisely dating these two rifles? Both have a 1913 patent date.
GregT

[barbarossa]

I had one of the first issue savage favorite remakes and shot a lot of rabbits with it.Sold it off one day years later and regretted it so I bought one of the Varner replicas and love it .

[Pete44ru]

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There's no way to date ANY vintage Stevens guns, since the company was subpoenaed by the US Congress in 1922, to submit their production records, during a congressional investigation into war crimes during WWI.

The records were conveniently disappeared - in "an office fire" , according to management.



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[FatJackDurham]

Pete T,

check out the parts diagrams at wisners if you have trouble figuring out the parts. Also, when I first got a stevens favorite, I also worried about disassembly so I posted my progress here.

Sounds like you got really lucky, and I am jealous!! I love those little guns.

Cant wait to see pictures.

What models are they? Mine is an 1894, with the heavy flat spring.

[44-40 Willy]

I had one of the first issue savage favorite remakes and shot a lot of rabbits with it.Sold it off one day years later and regretted it so I bought one of the Varner replicas and love it .

I bought the round barrel version back in '74 and gave it to my son around the first of the year. Mine went through the mill. Several rough years as a trap line gun including one one winter spent in a boat, lost the front sight, replaced it with a brass based german silver blade, my brother broke the buttplate trying to finish off a squirrel without wasting another round of ammo, I put a brass buttplate for a Kentucky style rifle on it. My son is tickled to death with it though.

[GregT]

Good Sunday Evening! Beautiful fall evening up here in NW Wisconsin, east of Hayward. I worked on the two Crack Shots until about noon today and now both are shooting every round I tried (Standard Velocity Remington). I need the following parts: One metal buttplate, one coiled mainspring, two trigger springs, and that is about it. The springs are there but weak. I am not going to restore them as the bores are excellent and that was the major worry. I have steel wooled the rust and will either leave them as is or use cold blue without trying to get them looking new. Bob's Gunshop apparently has the parts, but they are an endless waste of time. Wisners also has what I need, but show no prices so I will phone them when I get done at school tomorrow. I will photo both perhaps tonight but I have a narrative report to write in regard to a special ed kid that we had to activate a behavior plan on the other day. Endless stuff but I still don't want to retire yet... Working on the two Crack Shots was a welcome diversion and this sort of thing keeps me sane! I think I want to deer hunt with my Spencer Carbine this November and I should start to shoot that...
GregT.