New Rifle

[Wombat of Doom]

Look for markings under the forearm?

Wish there were some. Just blued steel.

 

[CLT65]

I know it's probably not worth the drive, but if you ever get down this way (I'm an hour south of you) I have cerrosafe and could easily do a chamber cast for you. I'm not a gunsmith but I've done chamber casting before, wouldn't charge anything. I could tell you what the chamber is and give you an unofficial opinion of what it's safe to shoot. If you really want it done right, a gunsmith could do the same, but it would cost.

From your photo, it sure looks to me to be an old Stevens that someone rebuilt with a new barrel and stock. It looks like a really neat old rifle.

 

[CLT65]

there is a swing swivel.

I think you'll find that it's likely more than just a sling swivel. Here's my old Stevens Favorite that's been in the family for a century.
Added: the Favorite is a smaller, weaker action. This one is a .25 Stevens Long Rimfire. I don't see any reference to any of the model 44s being takedown, so maybe that on yours is just a swivel of some sort. If it doesn't unscrew, then I guess it's not a takedown.



Here's a drawing I found online. It really looks to me like what you have is a Stevens 44. From what I read online, it's not a particularly strong action and not suited to something like .357 Magnum. .38-55 was a factory chambering, and .38 special should be fine if that's what it's rechambered for. Here's a link to an article about the 44: The Stevens Ideal rifle No. 44 | Sporting Shooters' Association of Australia (SSAA)

 

[Wombat of Doom]

I think you'll find that it's likely more than just a sling swivel. Here's my old Stevens Favorite that's been in the family for a century.
Added: the Favorite is a smaller, weaker action. This one is a .25 Stevens Long Rimfire. I don't see any reference to any of the model 44s being takedown, so maybe that on yours is just a swivel of some sort. If it doesn't unscrew, then I guess it's not a takedown.

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Here's a drawing I found online. It really looks to me like what you have is a Stevens 44. From what I read online, it's not a particularly strong action and not suited to something like .357 Magnum. .38-55 was a factory chambering, and .38 special should be fine if that's what it's rechambered for. Here's a link to an article about the 44: The Stevens Ideal rifle No. 44 | Sporting Shooters' Association of Australia (SSAA)

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The 357 was just because it seemed like the chamber was longer than a .38 special. It went in too easily and made me think it wasn't .38 special. Also, I had a single .357 nearby for some reason. I was guessing if it wasn't .38 special it would be another old cowboy cartridge. The swivel does unscrew and I definitely felt barrel movement after doing so. So it apparently is a Stevens 44, or favorite. Did the favorite come in 38-55?

 

[CLT65]

No, the Favorite was a weak action, rimfire only as far as I know.

The action on yours looks larger, pretty sure it's a 44, from the looks. According to info I found online: "Calibers it was chambered in appear to have been 44-40, 38-55, 32-40, 32-20, 25-20 Single Shot, 25 RF & 22 LR."

What's the bore condition look like? The lack of markings would seem to indicate a gunsmith's project. The heavy barrel and stock look custom. It seems more likely that a gunsmith would chamber a custom barrel in something common like .38 Special, rather than the fairly obscure 38-55, as reamers would be tough to find. Could be done though.

Does a .38 Special round rattle around badly in the chamber? A 38-55 cartridge is closer to a .40 S&W in diameter. If a .40 case will start to go into the chamber, then it could be something like a 38-55.

 

[Wombat of Doom]

Well, the 38 special has a lot of play in it when you drop it in. I have some cerosafe on order and will do a chamber cast. At this point I am entirely expecting a 38-55. I don't own a .40 as I am more of a 9mm or 45 guy. 40 always seemed like the mutant lovechild.

Now, can I safely shoot a .38 special out of a .38-55 if that is indeed what I am looking at? Or would this be undersized enough to be woefully inaccurate and erratic?

 

[CLT65]

No, you definitely do not want to shoot .38 special in a .38-55 chamber. It's a completely different cartridge. I'll dig one out of my collection and post a photo in a little bit.

 

[CLT65]

Here's a 38-55 next to a 38 Special. It's a very different round. Here's one way to tell: a 38-55 bullet is .378" diameter, whereas a .38 Special is .357". A .38 Special or 9mm bullet should drop right into the muzzle end of a 38-55.

 

[Wombat of Doom]

So I got my cerrosafe and realized I didn't have a funnel. O well, waiting for a funnel now.

 

[CLT65]

Cool, looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

 

[DeanMk]

Modern version of the .38-55 is the .375 Winchester.
You can blow out .30-30 brass to make due, too, as the .38-55 is the .30-30's parent cartridge and the .375 is literally the .30-30 blown out.
As a point of reference, the .38-55 fired a 255 gr. cast slug with a MV of 1300 ft. sec. and the cartridge was rated at 30K cup.
I agree with the others that this probably an old Stevens.
Apologies for laughing at the fact that you don't have a funnel, it just came across as one of those, "wouldn't-you-know-it" things.
Been there, many times before.
That is a cool old gun, btw. I hope you get to shoot it....often.

Dean

 

[Wombat of Doom]

And worlds ugliest casting revealed... .357 sized .38 special chamber. I say that because it was exactly the size of a .357 and there is a 0% chance I would fire a .357 in here. I am calling it .38 special. Also, when I tried to get the cerrosafe to include the rim it cot all in the works, so I removed it and in the total dissasembly found a single stamp. 44. It is a model 44 stevens take down in .38 special.

 

[DeanMk]

That'll be a fun little plinker!
Congrats on grabbing such a cool ol' rifle.

 

[Wombat of Doom]

It is quite accurate and fun to shoot. Given the size of some groups I was getting, very accurate, and a soft shooter and you would not believe the balance on this thing.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

It is quite accurate and fun to shoot. Given the size of some groups I was getting, very accurate, and a soft shooter and you would not believe the balance on this thing.

My rolling block was originally a .38 Long RF, but somewhere around 1910 or so someone jury rigged the breech block from rimfire to centerfire by drilling a new firing pin hole at an angle and bending the firing pin slightly. I presume they then shot .38 Spc in it from that point on. I don't know whether they did that because .38 Long RF was being discontinued or because they wanted the increased performance of the smokeless powder .38 Spc. If your rifle has seen some extensive gun smithing could it have been shooting .38 Long RF originally?

My gunsmith pronounced my rifle suitable for .357 Mag after lining the barrel and re-heat treating the receiver, but I still prefer shooting .38 Spc in it. .38 Spc maxes out at about 20,000 psi, if I remember correctly, and .357 Mag goes to 40,000 psi.

Wikipedia: "The .38 rimfire cartridge was available in short, long, extra long, and also shotshells. Most of the revolvers and rifle which were produced were chambered for either .38 short rifle , or .38 long rifle. While there were a few different rifles produced for the .38 extra long cartridge and a few rolling block, falling block, and bolt action rifles had smooth bore barrels which had a slight choke which enabled it to shoot the .38 RF shotshells, which was good for hunting small game at close ranges. Hopkins & Allen produced revolvers and rifles chambered for the .38RF. Rifles of this caliber were produced by Remington (the revolving rifle of 1866), Ballard, Stevens and Frank Wesson, and revolvers by Enterprise, Favorite, Forehand & Wadsworth, and Colt.[2]"