I need help trying to confirm if my rifle is the 044 1/2 English model. (pictures below)
 On the face of the reciever there's a 0 on each side of 44 1/2. Now I'm pretty much convinced that the first 0 is associated with the 44 1/2 making it 044 1/2.
 The 1907 Stevens catalog states that the English model will only be made with #1 barrel. No exceptions. Mine has a #2 barrel, so I was thinking it was a standard 44 1/2 with optional shotgun butstock and stag head butplate. But the 24" barrel is pretty tapered to a small muzzle. about .612". And it's the original barrel. I'm guessing this is an earlier year model when they may have called this size a #2 barrel.

   The frame width varies from .985-.995".
   All 5 ser.#'s match and is four digit #2xxx
    1. Barrel
    2. Trigger tang
    3. Inside (bottom) of upper tang
    4. Stock
    5. Forend

The 1907 catalog is the only one I have access to and there's a couple of differences to my rifle and thier description of the 044 1/2 English model.
  1. They show a L.O.P. of 13 1/2" and mine is about 12 1/2" and has not been altered from original.
  2.The #2 barrel.  ?
 
  Also my original rear sight has a slight difference from a close up picture of a rear sight I saw in this catalog.
  Mine has a fine tuning elevation adjustment where you can loosen a tiny screw and slide the center up and down where the notch is. Their picture of the rear sight didn't have that. Otherwise the sight looks the same.

 If some of you have other year catalogs and can help me confirm if this is an English model, and also determine what year it may have been made (based on these differences) I would really appreciate your help.

       -Scott.

   

Quote:


Scott, 
The ~1.000" frame width is correct for the 044 1/2 (as well as for the 56 Ladies model). The factory Stevens 44 1/2 is about 1.125" wide across the frame, with some reproductions being even wider to allow for a larger than factory barrel shank. 

As j pickup says, the breech block is narrower than the 44 1/2, and so is the lever where it fits into the 044 1/2 frame.

It's possible that the shorter length of pull was due to a special order rifle for a youngster, as the 044 1/2 English model had a lighter overall weight like the 56, and would have been a nice step up above a Favorite for an older youth.   

The barrel was sometimes referred to as a rapid taper. You didn't provide the barrel dimensions (across the flats, dia of round at the transition, and dia of round at the muzzle), but if you will do so, I'll compare them with my 25-25 barrel as soon as I can dig it out of the hole. 

On the rear sight, I have better luck identifying them from a top-down view, so I'm just not sure about yours. 

BP

Since it has the ejector, maybe it's a later production than I thought. The 1907 catalog doesn't show them with ejector yet.

Because of the low ser.#, this series of numbers must have been for 044 1/2 only.

-Scott.

Scott,

My 26" centerfire #2 weight barrel measures 0.855" across the flats, 0.800" dia at the transition tapering to 0.600" dia at the muzzle. Shank dia is 0.750". This barrel did come off an 044 1/2 English model. 

Your rear sight looks correct but may have started out as a cloverleaf and may have been filed down to give it a more flat top profile. 

Something else to compare: the extractor width for the 44 1/2 is ~0.240", while the 044 1/2 (and 56) extractor width is ~0.200".

BP