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$800 value

Much as I am addicted to boys' rifles, and Stevens in particular, I think I'll pass.  

Gotta wonder why the company even brought out the Sure Shot, since it was exactly contemporaneous with the far better Favorite.       

Not at all surprising that as soon as Irving Page took over it was given its' quietus. 

Make up yer mind - this AM there's already two bids in on it!   

The rough sure shot on gunbroker sold for $555.

I have two sure shots and one little krag.  One of my sure shots, serial 37xx, is pretty nice but the bore is toast.  The other is in poor shape, serial number 152, but the wood is still pretty nice.  I have only seen four sure shots in the wild, and one of them had been completely refinished.

My little krag is in fair shape, and I have looked for years to find one in better condition, but have never seen another.  I have seen more Stevens sure shots and side plates than I have seen little krags.  So which is the more scarce?

I have a Sure shot that has a decent exterior and an excellent bore. Also have a Little Krag with nice exterior and excellent bore. Took me a lot of years to find both of them and paid way more than I should of at the time. While I paid too much at the time, time has fixed that. Both are definitely not the best designs Stevens had but the limited production makes them valuable and interesting guns. I've shot both on a very limited basis and accuracy is comparable to other low end boys rifles. While I am always looking for an up grade to the examples I have, no luck so far. The other rare on I have is a Bisley Model. Still looking for a better Bisley also. The hunt is the fun part. I passed on a Sure Shot in poor condition many years back because of the condition. Price was right at the time and still regret no buying that one. If it's rare enough condition becomes less important if the price is right.

Condition is always key. My contention is that rarity and condition both enter into value and if it's worth buying to me. A common gun in poor condition I'll always pass on unless I need it for parts. If there are only a handful of examples of a model ever made, a poor condition example would be of interest to me. Also if I have an opening in my collection, the longer I go without finding it the more likely I am to buy a less than pristine example. For example the Stevens Bisley Model that I bought many years go was in less than pristine condition. I paid more than I wanted to but I have never regretted it because decades later I have not been able to buy a better one. My collection. My money. My choice.

Here is a Sure Shot I bought really cheap a few years ago. It was rough-locked up, stock busted, sewer pipe bore, and the frame had been used for a hammer! But I had never seen one with a Lyman tang and Ivory bead front sights, and I wanted a Sure Shot in my Stevens collection so I took a chance on it. I bid about what the sights were worth and won it. Got it apart and ground the frame .030 each side in my surface grinder to remove the dents. Took it to the plater in town for nickel finish.
Figured I would have to reline the bore, but just for giggles I wired up the barrel to my battery charger, and put it in a electrolysis setup I built to de-scale barrels. Low and behold, after 2 days I scrubbed it out, and was looking in a bright shiny bore with un-worn rifling and only moderate pitting! It shoots as well as one can expect it to. The main reason I bring this up, is I gave the stock to Mark Hunsucker at Gunville for a pattern and he made a new one for me- so if anyone needs a stock for a Sure Shot, they can supply it.

slumlord44 wrote on Apr 21^st, 2021 at 11:37pm:


X2.   Your rifle is most likely worth more restored than as a relic.

Re-reading this thread has caused me to go look at my examples of the models mentioned above.  It appears I have accumulated three of those model 14's.  How that happened I'll never know.  I knew I had two, but don't remember acquiring the third.  

Of all the models mentioned above I am finding the little Krag to be the most elusive as I have only found one, and I am actively out there looking and have been for years. 

While on the topic of rarity and condition, I'll add to the list  the thumb safety side lever Crack Shot.  I have the fortune to possess two examples of that model, but one is a hardware store brand.  Which, I suppose makes it pretty collectable yet in another category. My other example I found at a local auction.  I happened to notice a small elongated hole in the upper tang and recognized what it was for, but the small button was missing.  Since it was a nice side lever as it was, I bought it.  Not long after I had the great fortune of finding the missing part in Canada of all places.  

As someone mentioned previously, the hunt is a major part of the fun in collecting these remarkable pieces of history.    

Hmmmm, that's interesting.  Says it has been refinished, but you have to give and take on these.  Thanks for the heads up.