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slumlord44
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Stevens 44 or 44 1/2 in .44-40
Nov 23rd, 2014 at 8:26pm
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Anyone have one or ever seen one? Been looking for years and just bought a barrel. Anyone??
  
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Re: Stevens 44 or 44 1/2 in .44-40
Reply #1 - Nov 24th, 2014 at 2:36pm
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There must have been a few made, saw one many years ago on GB, a 44.  Was in horrible condition and brought a even worse price but it looked legit .  Have heard of a couple others but it must not have been a big seller.
  
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slumlord44
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Re: Stevens 44 or 44 1/2 in .44-40
Reply #2 - Nov 24th, 2014 at 8:42pm
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Apparently not because they just don't seem to show up. I check gunbroker daily and have never seen one. My barrel came in today. The bore was not pristine by any means but far from being a sewer pipe. Cleaned up well enough for my casual shooting purposes. Screwed it into my .38-55 and it indexed ok. The .38-55 extractor fits fine. The cartridge sticks in the chamber when fully seated. I am pretty sure that some minor polishing of the chamber should correct that. I have brass and a used set of Lee dies that I picked up on Amazon for $20 shipped is on the way. Need bullets yet. Plenty out there but have not made up my mind yet. Best deal with shipping is for 500 but I will probably never use that many. The serial # on the barrel and forearm is 759. Anyone out there happen to have the 44 1/2 action with serial #759?
  
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Life#75
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Re: Stevens 44 or 44 1/2 in .44-40
Reply #3 - Dec 10th, 2014 at 6:45pm
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[quote author=534C554D4C4F52441414200 link=1416792387/0#0 date=1416792387]Anyone have one or ever seen one? Been looking for years and just bought a barrel. Anyone??[/quote

I had one in .44-40 about 8 years ago - shot reloaded pistol strength ammo from it - it was a blast ! The rifle was a plain jane sporter 24" barrel model 44 1/2 with a crescent butt plate and standard factory iron sights. Bore was so-so.  Sold it and bought a rebuilt .22 Hornet Low-wall with a modern scope. Hardly any wood chucks around - dam coyotes!
  
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slumlord44
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Re: Stevens 44 or 44 1/2 in .44-40
Reply #4 - Dec 10th, 2014 at 7:29pm
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Glad to hear that there is at least one more. They are listed in the catalogs but that does not necessarily mean they actually made any. I had to do a little file work on the rim recess on mine but now it chambers and extracts just fine. I ran a few rounds through it and function is fine. Fun to shoot in such a heavy rifle. My barrel is 1" even though it is marked a #2. I will post some photo's when time and weather lets me shoot it on paper. I am using cowboy action loads now. Waiting on bullets to try something different.
  
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marlinguy
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Ballards may be weaker,
but they sure are neater!

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Re: Stevens 44 or 44 1/2 in .44-40
Reply #5 - Dec 11th, 2014 at 10:28am
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I once owned Stevens 44's in .44-40 and .38-40 and both were very tight. I was surprised to find them not showing signs of worn pins, or lever droop on either gun. I shot both with mild reloads, and found them very accurate, as most good Stevens barrels are. I sold off most of my Stevens rifles over the years, and don't own either now.
  

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38-55Kidd
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Re: Stevens 44 or 44 1/2 in .44-40
Reply #6 - Dec 12th, 2014 at 1:08pm
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I once owned the Stevens model 44 in both 44-40 and 38-55.
The 44-40 was in rough shape with replaced wood and a poor bore. After I sold it the barrel was relined back to 44-40 and set back some. The 38-55 was in really nice shape with great bore.
Both rifles are still being used in BPCR matches.
The 38-55 is still beating the reproduction levers with its single trigger and tang sight.

They are shot several times a year and I am told they bring a lot of attention.
  
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Chev. William
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Re: Stevens 44 or 44 1/2 in .44-40
Reply #7 - Dec 13th, 2014 at 10:47pm
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slumlord44 wrote on Nov 24th, 2014 at 8:42pm:
Apparently not because they just don't seem to show up. I check gunbroker daily and have never seen one. My barrel came in today. The bore was not pristine by any means but far from being a sewer pipe. Cleaned up well enough for my casual shooting purposes. Screwed it into my .38-55 and it indexed ok. The .38-55 extractor fits fine. The cartridge sticks in the chamber when fully seated. I am pretty sure that some minor polishing of the chamber should correct that. I have brass and a used set of Lee dies that I picked up on Amazon for $20 shipped is on the way. Need bullets yet. Plenty out there but have not made up my mind yet. Best deal with shipping is for 500 but I will probably never use that many. The serial # on the barrel and forearm is 759. Anyone out there happen to have the 44 1/2 action with serial #759?


CAUTION: Please Double check your chamber with a Chamber casting.  the original 44-40 had a slight 'bottleneck' to it and the many Modern 44-40 cases are straight tapered.  they will 'fire form' to your chamber but you need to KNOW what your chamber is actually cut for.

Then find reloading dies that match your chamber.

Best Regards,
Chev. William
  
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