The main problem is that Stevens's factory records no longer exist.  Also, the company did not put out a catalog every year and the catalogs are not always dated.  Finally, I do not have a complete run of original Stevens catalogs and the Cornell reprints are sometimes suspect.  Therefore, here's the best I can do.

According to Pope himself, “In 1901 the Stevens Arms Company bought me out and from the first of May of that year I made the rifles that bear the name ‘Stevens-Pope.’ I made all of those that are numbered under about 1250.", leaving Stevens "... on the last day of December, 1905".

According to Tom Rowe, "Pope left at about S/N 1237. While he was with Stevens he was a supervisor, not a bench hand and actually 'made' very few barrels. He oversaw the men that did."

The most noteworthy of "the men that did" was Pope's main assistant, Fred Ross.  Ross continued to work for Sevens and the company continued to offer its renowned "Stevens-Pope" barrels until, reputedly, Pope threatened a suit in 1907 or 1908.

Therefore, my best guess is that 1906 and likely 1907 were the last years barrels marked "Stevens-Pope" were made.

However, just to further muddy the waters, in Catalog No. 53 dated 1911, though without any mention of Pope, Stevens was still offering the tang sight, powder flask and lubricating pump that Pope developed, as well as the de-recapper that has long been associated with Pope but was not actually his "invention".

Bill Lawrence

I have a highwall with a Stevens-Pope barrel numbered 1842.

marlinguy wrote on Apr 16^th, 2021 at 9:59am:


Left hand

Yet another question:  What year and catalog number are these scans from?

In Catalogue No. 53, was the Krag replacement barrel in .22 rimfire listed?

No. Catalog No. 53 from 1911 does not list these barrels.

HOWEVER, more closely studying that catalog revealed that Catalog No. 53 not only still listed the formerly Pope-associated accessories noted above, but also "breech loading" barrels and "muzzle loading outfits" for the "Stevens-Pope System".  The "outfit" included a false muzzle, starter, ramrod, mould, and lubricator pump.  The real question, of course, was whether such barrels were still separately serial-numbered and still stamped "Stevens-Pope".  My own guess is "yes" for the former and "no" for the latter; and yet again I dearly wish that the company's records still existed.

Bill Lawrence

Cornell publications lists two Stevens-Pope specialties catalog reprints, a 1902, and a 1905. I only have the 1905.
 
With the Stevens catalog #53, 1911, Steven’s focus seems to switch to shotguns. The re-boring services, and new made barrels for other makes of single shot rifles, disappeared from the catalog.

Yes, the Krag .22 barrels were indeed stamped "Stevens-Pope".  But like waterman, I've always assumed they had their own serial number range, and have actually read that claimed more than once, as well as that considerably more than 600 were made.

One can also look at it this way.  Since roughly 1250 Stevens-Pope barrels were made between early 1901 and the end of 1905, their serial numbers go at least as high as the low 1800s, and 1907 is assumed to be the "official" last year for barrels so marked, their production rate works out to a more or less consistent 300-350 barrels per year.  So, I'd venture that either the .22 Krag barrels accounted for almost all of the post-1905 production or they did indeed have their own serial number range.

Which also, again, brings up the question about how the "Stevens-Pope System" barrels advertised in the company's 1911 catalog were marked and numbered, assuming that any were in fact made that late.

Does anyone, for example, have or know of a Stevens-Pope-barreled rifle with an action that has a serial number high enough to put its production well past 1907?

Bill Lawrence

I'd like some help with citations, please.

If you have read someplace that Stevens made more than 600 barrels for the Krag, where did you read that?  When I wrote it, I wrote that it was a WAG.

Where was it reported that the State of Pennsylvania bought 110?  I find it easy to believe, but how do we know that?

MrTipUp wrote on Apr 17^th, 2021 at 9:17pm:


I have no idea what you're referring to Bill? I simply answered your question about how Stevens-Pope barrels were marked after Pope left. And added that I didn't know when my mid 1700 serial number might be made?
I've read the first post, but already knew when Pope worked for Stevens. That's been well documented in numerous references and also am aware that it appears it was around #1230-1250 range somewhere. Did Pope's quote you mention state when certain serial numbered Pope barrels were made after he left?
I'm puzzled by your response, so if you might clarify what it means I'd appreciate it.

I think you either misread my comment, or I wrote it in a way it could be misread. I meant I could only guess when my barrel was made based on when Stevens and Pope were in a partnership. So based on that known data, I can only guess when my barrel was made after Pope left. Not that I needed to guess when Pope worked at Stevens.

TRowe wrote on Apr 20^th, 2021 at 9:29pm:


This is quite helpful, but, as usual with anything Stevens, leaves me with another bunch of questions.   

"Fred Ross wrote that the factory "turned down to order" for full Stevens-Pope outfits. 

Does outfits mean barrels? 

Was there a single size (length, diameter, weight) for a "standard" Stevens-Pope barrel?

The photo is of Terry Buffum's Stevens-Pope rifle.  It is a .22 Short, gain twist, with a 44 1/2 action (2-digit SN).  The S-P barrel is about like a Winchester #3 in weight.  The S-P barrel number is higher than the cutoff number for Pope's presence.  I have misplaced the number, but IIRC, it is over 1800.  Was that a "standard" barrel?

Were any of the S-P barrels heavier than the barrel in this photo?   

Were any of the recorded S-P barrels round or half-octagon?

Assuming that the S-P numbers started at 1 and that number 1964 is close to the end of the line, and that the line ran from early in 1901 until the end of 1907, that implies the average production rate was about ONE barrel per day.

That's a few men running a few machines, each doing a different step in barrel manufacture.  If Pope or Fred Ross was supervising such an operation, he would have been on the shop floor, not in an office.  At the very least, they would have been looking over someone's shoulder.   

I have recorded 9 SNs for S-P Krag barrels, with maybe another 3 or 4 that I have references to but not SNs.  How many non-Krag S-P barrels have survived?  I'm trying to infer a survival rate.

My Stevens-Pope barrel is half octagon. In .32-40 caliber, and a no false muzzle setup ever fitted to it.