Just bought this rifle at an auction. Taking it to the range tomorrow. I don't know a lot about these rifles I just liked the look of it and it was a decent price  ($280.00USD)

Apparently at some point it was re-barreled to .22 Hornet. Everything appears right and tight the opening action works solidly. The scope is a Belding & Mull 3X and a unique feature to me is you can adjust the elevation and windage at both the back and front mounts.

Also if anyone knows what the stamp marks on the underside of the action are that would be great.

I'd really be interested in any information from the founts of knowledge in this group about either rifle or the scope.

Regards, Roger

I may be incorrect, seeing the 32 stamped on the bottom of the action,your rifle possibly started out as a .32 rimfire Marksman converted to centerfire,rather than a .44 shot 101 featherweight.
Has the firing pin been moved and sleeved?

Regardless of whether it started out as a rim- or center-fire action, it's still a Marksman, which was primarily offered as one of Stevens' better boy's rifles.  Or let's look at it this way: Even factory-loaded .22 Hornets proved to be too "hot" for the Model 44, a stronger action than this one.  Therefore, I'd want to shoot it only with very light loads, if at all.

The good news is that the Belding & Mull scope, while not seen that often, is potentially a very good one and is certainly from the same period as the rifle.

All-in-all, in my opinion, not a "varmint rifle" by any means but still potentially a nice outfit for rambling in the fields and woods after small game.

Bill Lawrence

MrTipUp wrote on Nov 6^th, 2020 at 8:18pm:


Thanks for heads up Bill. I have a couple of questions. Regards the B&M Scope any idea where I might find a 'user manual' and any idea of the value.

In regards to lighter loads, I don't have the budget to re-barrel it so looks like this is my only option if I want to shoot it - what would constitute a lighter load. I use black powder for 45-70 would that be an option for hand loading 22 Hornet ammo?

Retreever

Fifty rounds of commercial ammo?   Lucky man.  

Black powder of course.  

My bolt-thrust calculator yields numbers like these for the cartridges that the Marksman was originally built for
400 lbs.  .22 LR High Velocity
550 lbs.  .32 Long rimfire
700 lbs.  .25 Stevens rimfire

800 lbs.  .38 Special wadcutter target loads

800 lbs.  .22 Hornet loaded down to 1900 fps w/35 grain bullet.

1800 lbs.  Approximate commercial Hornet 45 grain load - 2600 fps.  

These are only engineering calculations, not much tested in the real world for lack of instrumentation.  But you see where we're coming from.

Quickload says a load of 3.5 grains Unique behind a 45 grain bullet would yield in the neighborhood of 800 lbs. thrust.  MV comparable to .22 magnums. 

uscra112 wrote on Nov 7^th, 2020 at 2:04pm:


Yes, commercial ammo. 

I currently reload 45LC with Trail Boss and 45-70 with Goex ffG Black Powder or Triple7 depending on the gun (antique or repro). I'm thinking Trail Boss for the 22 Hornet reloads, what do you think?

Retreever

I don't know about Trail Boss in a Hornet sized case, just that it can build pressure very fast. For bullets, I use Lyman 225438 (essentially a copy of the 22 LR bullet) at 44 grains and Lyman 425415 at 55 grains. Both are gas check but at light loads will be fine without them. You could tumble lube them easily. I would think around 3 grains of Unique would work good for you.

  Me too, that is impressive!