Back in the 80's, someone was forming a "STEVENS COLLECTORS ASSOCIATION", did it ever happen?    MIKE 

I would certainly be interested in contributing, even if its only on a small scale, as i don't have much in the way of resources that you all probably already have.  However, much like the other associations I belong to, I would certainly be willing to contribute some very petty cash for aid in start up.   I've harrassed Mr. Dutcher the last few years at the Colorado Collectors Show to try to write a comprehensive book on Stevens much in the way he did for Ballard.  As he certainly possessed and still possess some fine examples.  He said it took him 6 or 7 years to get thru the Ballard book, and didn't think he had the steam for Stevens although it crossed his mind many times.  One thing is for sure, once the historians are gone theres little history left if not written.

    Thanks for all your thoughts and input thus far.  The idea of a Joshua Stevens Society is very appealing, somewhat similar to the Remington Society.

     Paul Shuttleworth would be the guy to talk to about such a project, and I will approach him on the topic when I see him in a couple of weeks in Dingmans Ferry (PA).

     I envision this effort to be more than just the J. Stevens arms. As you know, the company produced a wide array of tools, mostly machinist tools, as well as involvement in the automotive industry.

     I am currently pursuing whether the company founder, Joshua Stevens had descendants, and whether or not his heirs are living currently.  Perhaps there is oral history to be found in them, and perhaps even documents which escaped the company purge.

     I have been in contact with Savage Arms, and will let you know the results of those exchanges shortly.

     Thanks for your interest,

     Creedmoormatch

I am trying to track down a date of Manufacture on a model 44 was told to contact a John Callaghan in Mass.  He has only a couple hours in the day when he will answer his phone.  He doesn't take messages.
I do have a address.
Is this firearm classified as an antique in the USA?
The Cal is 25-20 Single Shot.
Serial # 43XXX
I got this contact's information right from Savage.

Thanks Ken 

Serial numbers wont do much good with Stevens, as it seems they didn't assemble in any particular order. I've seen Stevens' with higher numbers exhibit features that would date them lower than those with lower numbers.
I doubt if you get through to Callaghan that he will be of any assistance either. No Stevens records exist.

I am very interested in a Stevens Forum or maybe a Stevens catagory being added to this website.  This is just about the only place to discuss these firearms online.   Maybe the webmaster would consider adding it.  I am beginning to collect Stevens Pistols and Pocket Rifles.  I now have 3 and am in the process of acquiring another.  I just received the Cope book and have read it cover to cover twice.  I found a website to buy the West book but I must wait to see how my pending purchase comes out to see if I have an $ left.  I am concentrating on the target model pistols initially and will add pocket rifles as the opportunities to purchase them and available funds develope.  I have a Lord, Conlin, and Diamond with the Gould in process now.   
Red

slumlord44,
Or anyone else interested.
If for some reason a Stevens category can not be added to this website and you want to pursue something like this try starting up a Yahoo Group.  Call it something like The Stevens Collecting and Shooting Society. Or what ever you want to call it. 

The Yahoo Groups are very easy to set up and run, I help run two of them for the S&W and Colt Collectors and belong to a few others. I don't know much of anything about computers, so if I can do it anyone can, if you decide you want to do something like this let me know and I'll help set it up. There are sections for serial number files, message archives, Photo Albums etc. etc.
And the thing that a lot of the members like about it is that it's private and at no cost to anyone.
 
The Ruger # 1 guys did this and in no time at all it started growing, it now has over 1200 group members and the group has all kinds of serial number Info, shooting tips, and a lot of pictures of the different types of Ruger # 1's. 
  S-T

Well,
It seems that there are a lot of guys interested in shooting and collecting the Stevens, so far we have Creedmoormatch,  slumlord44, marlinguy,
red_stevens,  oodmoff,  JBBOOKS  and myself and I'm sure there are many others.   

But so far the Moderator or whoever the web master of this forum is hasn't responded to anyone's request or question as to whether it can be done,  not even to the point of an acknowledgement that he would look into it,  maybe he hasn't seen this thread as to having a Stevens category on this website, has anyone contacted him directly with the question ?.

  Bottom line is we have a group of guys wanting a Stevens section but so far no one has stepped up and offered to help set up a Stevens Group other than myself.  Anyway my offer still stands, but I believe in member involvement so I wont do it by myself. 

Or is this just a one of those  "I wish"  things or a  "I want"  type thing and you guys are just waiting for someone else to do it for you.
  S-T

As much as I enjoy Stevens rifles, I have to agree with Charlie. If we had a special forum for Stevens, I'd have to demand a Ballard forum too!

Adding more catagories, like they have at RimfireCentral, would create more work for the moderators here.   For that reason, staying with the status quo may be the best choice.  Its easy to discuss any Stevens issue by just choosing the current catagory of best fit and inserting  Stevens in the new threads title so that all of us who are interested can find it and get some information or contribute what we know.   No extra work for anyone.  
However, if you are a Stevens collector who is unaware of the ASSRA forum and you search the web for a place to discuss Stevens with those of like interest you might not find this forum.  If you search Marlin, Winchester, Remington, Sharps, Savage, and many other makers you will easily find a collectors forum through google or yahoo search engines.  Stevens brings up very little.  Even, Rimfire central that has a sub section for nearly every maker leaves Stevens to be found in Others.  
I guess we need to pass around the word that this forum exists and its a good place for Stevens collectors to go.  I also wonder if I post a question about a Stevens pistol or pump rifle that I may be off topic in the ASSRA single shot rifle Forum.  I usually post questions about these on the Savage Collectors section of 24 Hour Campfire website.  There are some real authorities there who are extremely helpful like Pact and GeneB.  They both read this forum as well.  
For me,  its all about learning and making collecting more fun by helping others and sharing no matter where it takes place.  That is why this forum and many others are so incredible.  All the forums I frequent have members who are generous to a fault with their time,knowledge, and sometimes with parts and services.  Its reassuring to know that so many fine gentlemen and women still are around in a world where there seem to be many preditors who are lurking and looking to take advantage.  
Red

The Green one and others have spoken, and I agree, everyone would want there own little section, and that's not what this forum is all about. That's why I suggested a Yahoo Group that would be dedicated to Stevens. 

I think it would work but it would take some help from others that also have the same interest and would contribute serial numbers, pictures,  and other Info that could be stored in the group archives.  It doesn't look like that's going to happen so I think it would be best to just forget about  it. 
  ST

40Rod,
I think it's more of a collectors thing, saving Info and pictures in an organized manner makes it much easer to find what a member is looking for.  I know this forum is not about any one mfg. but we already have a "Collecting Single Shot Rifles"  section, it's just not organized in any way. It's just a jumble of everything and anything, seems to be just one big Misc section and still no way to store or archive any Pictures or Files in an organized manner.

I think what a lot of guys would like to have what is called an archives section to save Info for the future such as serial numbers etc. etc., It would be nice if the Picture that Red Stevens put up of the star number and the one I put up of the number 4 inside a circle stamped on the right side of the barrel could be saved in some type of Stevens Photo Album or a Stevens File that members could go to whenever they want to.

In no time at all this and other Info will be lost or buried under hundreds of other post that have nothing to do with Stevens or the pictures. If something like what is done in the yahoo groups with Photo Albums and Files sections could be done here there would be no reason for anyone to go any where else to look for this type of Historical collector Info. As to it being a burden on the moderators let the member that wants that type of Photo Album, Files etc. take care of it. They want it, let them have it, and let them take care of it. 

I'll never forget what the officials of a club that I belong to said to a member that commented that the club house looked like it needed a paint job, they more or less agreed, handed him a brush and a gallon of paint and told him to have at it. He was not that happy about doing it but at least the officials did not resist him by saying forget it, and now we have a nicely painted club house that everyone enjoys.
  ST

Mike,
I see exactly where we would be going, we would be preserving the historic Info that may be available from time to time from older and more knowledgeable members and it could be compiled in an organized manner for all to enjoy for years to come. 

I agree, it would be nice if there was a HI/LOW wall section etc. etc. etc. but only if the members wanted it, and then only if someone would accept the responsibly of taking care of it or running it, such as up loading the Info or pictures.  If that can happen then there is no burden on others, only on the ones that want the archives, and then the only work involved is the up loading of the info.   

I know this is not a collectors forum but we already have a "Collecting Single Shot Rifles" section that could be used, right now it's a jumbled mess, nothing is organized in it and there's no way to store or archive any Pictures or Files of any kind in any organized manner. 

Guys, it's only a suggestion to improve things and preserve the history of what we seem to be interested in, what's the big deal to give it a try, if it doesn't work dump it, but if something can be done it would be a big help to the younger guys in the future, otherwise a lot of the Info that the older guys have will be lost forever when they pass on.
ST

slumlord44,
Leaving your reference material to the ASSRA, or to someone that would make good use of it is a smart idea,  but only if it becomes available to others.

I don't know how ASSRA handles reference material or where they keep it, but if it's not on line you may be better off leaving your collection of reference material to a friend that has the time to help others by sharing the knowledge on line.

This is not the 1960's,  it's 2009, and in my opinion one of the best ways to preserve and share the knowledge that we have is to put it on a computer in an organized way.  Usually the best way of doing something like this is to donated your Info to an association with the stipulation that it be made available to others when they need it, and preferably on line.

Another way would be for said association to put it online in some sort of organized File or Section like we have been talking about, this way someone looking for certain info could look it up on there own. 

From the non-response from the moderators and other ASSRA officials 
I don't think that's going to happen on this forum, maybe the site can not handle Files or Archive anything, or maybe the guy that set up the site does not have the time to set it up for Files or a Photo Album, so again you may be better off leaving your info to someone that has the time, same interest that you have, and the knowledge of putting  it on line. It's the way of the future.

 I just read this on the ASSRA home page: 
Membership in the ASSRA includes:
"Access to the renowned ASSRA Archives, one of the world's most extensive libraries and repositories of shooting literature, memorabilia and artifacts."  Sorry I assumed that ASSRA did not have archives, I guess you have to be a member to gain access to the ASSRA Archives, maybe all this noise about Files and Archives was for nothing. Does anyone know what memorabilia and artifacts they have ? are there pictures of them that members can look at ?.
 ST

Yes the ASSRA does maintain an archive Rudi Prusok is the ASSRA Archivist and updates the archives as new material becomes available. The archives are available to members who have questions. Rudi usually copies the pages that you want and sends them out to you. There is a fee per page and for the postage. To the best of my knowledge little of the material has been transferred to digital form. 
  I do know that Byron Goff is transferring all of the single shot rifle News / Journals to digital and you can purchase a disc with the first few years of Gerald Kelver’s mimeographed news letters that Byron has put to disc. I am now sending digital files of the Journals to him to help from this end. 
  For those of you who are wondering yes you can donate your material to the ASSRA Archives. Rudi goes through the new material that comes in and categorizes it. He will also evaluate the material in relationship to material in the Archives copies of books or papers that are in better shape or more complete are added to the shelf and material that we have multiple copies of are made available for sale to members through the Bookshelf. 
  I don’t know why it is a surprise to some that the access to the archives is a privilege of membership in the ASSRA. It would seem to me that if it the history and lore of single shot rifles is important to you, then membership in the only organization actively preserving that knowledge would not be a burden. 

40 Rod 

No magic mumber needed. Just join up. Becoming a member is no big deal. As I recall membership is $35 a year which includes a nice bi-monthly magazine. Copies of a wide varity of magazine articles are available for a nominal fee. Books can be borrowed for shipping fees. Videos are available and there are some specality tools that are available on loan. Problem for me is that there is no convenient place for members to walk in and browse through what is avaliable. I am not aware of a complete inventory list of what is in the archives being available. I realize the list is constantly changing. They also have surplus material available.
As a member, I would highly recomend that any non member would be much better off to join. When you look at how much we spend on this hobbby, the cost is not an issue. I often pay more for a box of ammo than my anual membership costs.