Here is a closeup of the barrel and breech.

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Chris.

The barrel does have Steven's markings.  I'll post a picture.  I don't own the rifle, but have pictures sent to me by the seller.

I need another single shot like I need another hole in the head, but this one is tempting.

Chris.

Maybe the seller can send a picture of the underside of the barrel where the weight number is stamped?

I'm definitely thinking hard about this one.  The only problem it has is that at some time the wrist was cracked and although it's been repaired, it' quite visible.

Chris.

Ooops, just noticed that it has the sharp corner.  It's a 10x series with a later barrel on it is my guess.

Sounds like it might be a put together gun, as many old shooters built. The receiver has Stevens acid etched "engraving", rather than the earlier hand engraved style. A lot of these guns were assembled by shooters, and some were also reworked by Stevens themselves. Some even have matching serial numbers throughout, but not always matching fonts used.
If the price is right, I'd still want to own it, as it's a neat little Stevens.

gunlaker wrote on Jul 13^th, 2014 at 12:47pm:

Afraid I'm not a Stevens expert, but most the Stevens I've seen with engraving (either type) were earlier guns. I've seen some pretty early guns with the etched engraving, and I also think both types of engraving (etched and hand cut) were offered at the same time, just different pricing. I have a few old Stevens catalogs, and some Stevens reprint catalogs, so I'll see if they mention both types. Usually they just have a starting price for engraving, like "$5 and up."

I don't believe the 44 1/2 were ever acid etch engraved & I've never seen an engraved 44, if my memory serves. Also, has anyone noticed how the barrel doesn't index properly?     ...MIKE...

MAD MIKE wrote on Jul 14^th, 2014 at 7:35pm:


I have two presently Mike, and have had one other that I sold. An engraved 44 is not as common as a 44 1/2, but still around. Engraved Stevens are usually pretty easy to spot if etched or hand cut. It sure looks acid etched to me!
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Now you've seen an engraved 44. Sorry for the crappy pictures on the #49. If you look at the OP's  2nd picture that's looking down the side of the receiver at an angle, you'll notice there's no depth to the surface. The engraving (if hand cut) would  have some 3 dimensional depth to it, but it's pretty much smooth. That tells me it's the etched engraving that Stevens offered. The blackened areas are also typical of etched, and Stevens attempt to give it the look of having depth.
Not sure if the 44 1/2 were ever acid etched, but the OP's gun is a 44 anyway.

Are you saying that you bought that rifle from them already?  That is pretty strange.  They are a very reputable dealer.  I've bought a few rifles from them in the past.  If it's your rifle I can only imagine that they've forgotten to take it out of their computer's inventory.

How do you like the rifle? 

Chris.

In addition to the wrist issues, i believe the barrel has possibly been cut based upon the distance from the front sight to the end of the barrel. .. But I am excited about the remington front sight.

As i understand it u can basically just ship an antique across the border without an ATF 6 form and all the fees (700-1000+ depending on who u talk to) for the costs u described with cbp approval.   Ive read in publications where stevens changed from 107-110 in 1896.  So I believe the gun is an antique.  However this isnt a situation  like a serial no. And record letter You can verify thru winchester or marlin.  So I need to have some conversations with the canadian border patrol and determine exactly what constitutes proof . 

Good to know unfortunately I don't possess early catalogs.     I just don't want an expensive mistake.  I know of some discussion in flaydermans books

Thank u sir greatly appreciated

Thanks chris.
I hoping that Wes will agree.
He was the person who set up my layaway and is charge of handling the import/export process.
He seems to be absent often.   Worse case my brother in laws father lives in bc.  Hopefully I can ship it west should I run into problems with epps.

I was just trying to show that if the receiver style indicates it's pre-1898 and the bore is greater than or equal to 8.3mm ( .32 cal ) then up here, it's an antique.

Chris.