Was the method of attaching the barrel on original Stevens 44 and 44 1/2 rifles using the set screw to secure the barrel after it was screwed into the action a standard feature of these rifles.

I showed my CPA rifle which has this feature to a friend of mine who is a gunsmith and he said that was not a feature of the original rifles.  He told me he has examined many Stevens rifles and has never seen this feature on original Stevens.  But I've read both Frank DeHaas's  book and the book by Ken Waters and Ned Roberts and they both show that as a regular feature.  The DeHaas book shows the set screw as a part.

I examined a Stevens 44 at a recent gun show and it had the barrel attachment screw.

Just wondering what the facts are.

B'duckie

All original Stevens  44.  44 1/2 rifles had this feature.  Ledball

marlinguy wrote on Apr 11^th, 2014 at 11:19am:


That's for damn sure!

marlinguy wrote on Apr 11^th, 2014 at 11:19am:


I understand what you mean.

I've done a lot of shooting, mostly old firearms and am really interested in single shots.  I have a Shiloh Sharps and an original Winchester Lo Wall.  I have read extensively on single shots and actually met Frank DeHaas once as he lived close to us in Iowa.  My uncle shot with him many years ago.

I have read a lot about single shots having read all of DeHaas's books along with Grant's and Ned Roberts and Ken Waters.   I recently purchased a CPA 44 1/2.  When my gunsmith told me this I realized I had hardly ever actually handled an original Stevens 44 or 44 1/2.

I was showing my CPA to friends and showing them the take down feature when he said that feature was not standard on the originals.  I didn't want to argue with him on the spot since I assumed he knew what he was talking about and that I had misunderstood what I had read about them.  So I checked it out and found out I was right.

This gunsmith is a good friend of mine so it is sort of a delicate topic at the moment as to how to deal with him.

He actually does good quality work so this whole thing is a little puzzling to me.

B'duckie

What would one consider the 'longevity' of the TD feature? Meaning, could one use it all the time and gave a nice TD case?

What would wear and could it be remedied? My TD high wall Winder musket has an adjustable wear plate and that is an interrupted thread TD, not a full threaded barrel.

Bobduck wrote on Apr 13^th, 2014 at 11:03am:


Perhaps he is/was confusing the Stevens Favorite series with the '44' series and '44-1/2' series?

IF he had not handled more than a few Favories and not a '44' then it might be understandable that he felt the Threaded Barrel Tenon of the '44' and '44-1/2' was not standard.

Best Regards,
Chev. William

uscra112 wrote on Apr 14^th, 2014 at 1:33am:


Takedown mechanisms are just like anything that's threaded; over time the more you take them down, the looser they get. Same goes for the various locking mechanisms like Winchester's lever on repeater tubes, or Marlin's locking cam on repeaters. Over the 100 plus years these guns have existed, I've seen many that were sloppy from being taken down too often.
My personal feeling is that most takedown type guns should rarely be taken down. They should remain fully assembled, even for cleaning, if you have one that's tight and you want to keep it tight. I see guys constantly playing with their TD guns showing how it works, and it makes me cringe knowing there are just a certain number of times left in them, and no easy way to tighten them up once they're loose.
A lot of the old custom gun makers like Pope, Schoyen, etc. used various methods to retain the barrel beyond the barrel threads. Most seem to not use thread tension as the prime source to retain a barrel, and instead used a cross pin, or the set screw like Stevens used. My Schoyen Ballard has a set screw drilled and tapped right through the serial number under the receiver, and my Zettler Ballard uses a cross pin.

slumlord44 wrote on Apr 18^th, 2014 at 7:41pm:


Not sure I've ever seen a Stevens that was sloppy on the threads from being taken down too much. A single shot rifle like a Stevens seems to lend itself to cleaning without taking it apart, so I think most shooters rarely pull their barrels to clean or transport them.