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Loose lever on a Stevens 44 (Read 7351 times)

norb68 Participating Member Offline Posts: 29 Location: Beloit, WI Joined: Apr 27^th, 2011	Loose lever on a Stevens 44 Jun 18^th, 2013 at 11:56am	Print Post
	I have a Stevens 44 in .22 cal that I have had for a long time. I was out to the range the other day and noticed that the lever was dropping about a 1/2 when the chamber was empty, and when you had a shell in it the lever would fall completely open if you didn't hold it. Is it time for new pins or is there another fix? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. norb68


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creedmoormatch Ex Member	Re: Loose lever on a Stevens 44 Reply #1 - Jun 18^th, 2013 at 5:25pm	Print Post
	Depending of the date of manufacture, later J. Stevens M-44's had is hole drilled vertically in the finger lever casting in the area of the pivot pin which received a coil spring and follower and which place spring tension upward in order to prevent exactly what you've described. Your J. Stevens just may have that described feature but the spring has been mis-placed, in which case, all you need is the spring and follower. If you rifle does not have the described feature, the addition of the hole with spring and follower is not such a tremendous chore for someone who knows basic mechanics. OR You may be fortunate to locate and purchase the under finger lever that has the factory hole and associated parts. Good luck, C.M.M.


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WillH Junior Member Offline Posts: 76 Joined: May 20^th, 2013	Re: Loose lever on a Stevens 44 Reply #2 - Jun 18^th, 2013 at 5:31pm	Print Post
	Sounds like you need to pull the block, link and lever out and see how much wear you have in the pins and screws. Oversize pins and screws may be in order; if your pins and screws are good or you replace them with good fitting ones and still have the problem, might be time to set the barrel back a thread. I've seen 44's with a screw added to the area of the block just under the barrel; by adjusting it to hit the barrel a bit, the lever will be tight but that's a poor way to fix the problem, in my opinion. Will


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marlinguy Frequent Elocutionist Offline Ballards may be weaker, but they sure are neater! Posts: 18040 Location: Oregon Joined: Feb 2^nd, 2009	Re: Loose lever on a Stevens 44 Reply #3 - Jun 18^th, 2013 at 11:05pm	Print Post
	WillH wrote on Jun 18^th, 2013 at 5:31pm: I've seen 44's with a screw added to the area of the block just under the barrel; by adjusting it to hit the barrel a bit, the lever will be tight but that's a poor way to fix the problem, in my opinion. Will Stevens also made some with a screw adjustment to tension the lever, so not as bad an idea as you might think. The Stevens versions had the screw inside the action, that was visable with the lever fully open and looking down into the action.

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norb68 Participating Member Offline Posts: 29 Location: Beloit, WI Joined: Apr 27^th, 2011	Re: Loose lever on a Stevens 44 Reply #4 - Jun 19^th, 2013 at 10:53pm	Print Post
	Thanks to everyone for your response, I will have to decide how I want to fix this and get to work. norb68


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smoke810 Senior Forum Member Offline Posts: 260 Location: N.E. Oklahoma Joined: May 22^nd, 2004	Re: Loose lever on a Stevens 44 Reply #5 - Jun 20^th, 2013 at 10:10am	Print Post
	Attached is a photo of an older model 44 with the screw used to tighten the lever droop. Not sure if it was done by Stevens or later by a gunsmith. It does work great to tighten the lever. Don G


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marlinguy Frequent Elocutionist Offline Ballards may be weaker, but they sure are neater! Posts: 18040 Location: Oregon Joined: Feb 2^nd, 2009	Re: Loose lever on a Stevens 44 Reply #6 - Jun 20^th, 2013 at 6:06pm	Print Post
	Looks like the factory screw location Don, so could be original.

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jimmy Senior Forum Member Offline Now available in Oklahoma. Posts: 466 Location: Skiatook Joined: May 12^th, 2009	Re: Loose lever on a Stevens 44 Reply #7 - Jul 2^nd, 2013 at 3:37am	Print Post
	I know the pins are supposed to only go in one way. You can put them in turned part way around. Moving the worn area to a different side. This usually will tighten up the action.


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norb68 Participating Member Offline Posts: 29 Location: Beloit, WI Joined: Apr 27^th, 2011	Re: Loose lever on a Stevens 44 Reply #8 - Jul 2^nd, 2013 at 12:22pm	Print Post
	I think this is what I did unintensionally because when I put it back together the lever was tight again. Thanks norb68


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Larry D Full Member Offline Posts: 164 Location: Ventura ca. Joined: Jan 12^th, 2013	Re: Loose lever on a Stevens 44 Reply #9 - Oct 10^th, 2013 at 9:24am	Print Post
	My action has the same screw. It loads the breach block and the case to hold the lever up. Works pretty good....Larry


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oneatatime Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 4465 Location: Rocky Mountains Joined: Oct 30^th, 2011	Re: Loose lever on a Stevens 44 Reply #10 - Oct 10^th, 2013 at 12:22pm	Print Post
	That's the early action that had that tension adjusting screw and the single through the action screw bolts vs the later actions that had a separate screw on the right side of the action that secured a one position bolt that has a slot for alignment but is not a screw.


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Redsetter Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 3468 Location: New York Joined: Aug 6^th, 2013	Re: Loose lever on a Stevens 44 Reply #11 - Oct 10^th, 2013 at 12:59pm	Print Post
	Here's a quick-fix I've heard of but never tried: place a ball bearing slightly larger than the pin-holes over the link, & give it (the bearing) a hard blow, which is supposed to pinch-in the metal around the hole. Don't know how critical size of the bearing may be. Anyone tried this?


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frnkeore Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 7650 Location: Central Point, OR 97502 Joined: Jun 16^th, 2010	Re: Loose lever on a Stevens 44 Reply #12 - Oct 10^th, 2013 at 2:27pm	Print Post
	Redsetter wrote on Oct 10^th, 2013 at 12:59pm: Here's a quick-fix I've heard of but never tried: place a ball bearing slightly larger than the pin-holes over the link, & give it (the bearing) a hard blow, which is supposed to pinch-in the metal around the hole. Don't know how critical size of the bearing may be. Anyone tried this? That's a old trick used in machine work too. If a thread was oversize, you could do that until the no-go thread gauge wouldn't enter the hole. It was generally over looked by inspectors. I wouldn't use it because it might peen the area so as to notice it and detract from the value. If it works, the fit would probably go away in short order. Frank Frank

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texasmac Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 2153 Location: Central Texas Joined: Aug 16^th, 2004	Re: Loose lever on a Stevens 44 Reply #13 - Oct 11^th, 2013 at 1:17am	Print Post
	Interesting discussion, BTW, there are also versions of the Stevens 44 that do not have any of the features mentioned to remove the lever droop. Mine is a 22LR with an action identical to the one illustrated on page 115 of Frank de Haas' Single Shot Rifles and Actions. Fortunately the level snaps tightly against the lower tang, on the verge of being too tight. Wayne
	« Last Edit: Oct 11^th, 2013 at 1:26am by texasmac »
	NRA Life (Benefactor & President's Council) Member, TSRA Life Member, NSSF Member, Author & Publisher of the Browning BPCR book
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