I went back the the gun show on sunday to work the VFW table. After yesterday's successful day finding the #2 Remington sporting rifle, I figured I'd go look again at what the seller had.

Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF) - I bought the
Is Stevens model 44 in .25-25. I'll say right up front that I know nothing about Stevens rifles. I'm a rolling block guy, this is my first Stevens. Knowing nothing about these, I took a chance. It has an excellent bore, combination front sight, ,lyman tang sight, 26" half round barrel and solid wood. It looks to be all original, not messed with except it has been recrowned. SN is 22162. Not knowing anything about these I had no idea of value. But the excellent bore. Half round barrel and sights made it seem above average. So I brought it home for $800. This is my second .25-25 rifle. I love the challenge of getting these old rifles shooting again 

I'm going to start reading up and learning about it. But would welcome any information my learned collegues here would like to share. 
Thanks,
Steve

The two features that keep your Stevens from being a standard 44 (i.e., the basic variation) are the upgraded sights and the loop lever.  The next model up was the No. 45, but it normally had a small Schüetzen buttplate. Moreover, the loop lever was standard only on the even higher grade Nos. 47, 49, and 52, all of which had pistol-grip stocks.  In short, your rifle is a collector's gem, and it would be instructive to see what you find stamped on the receiver face after you remove the forearm.

Bill Lawrence

Forearm removed photos. The muzzle measures .783", 26" barrel.

Not the earliest 44 as they had a sharper internal corner to the receiver. Yours has the later improved receiver with a gentle internal 90 degree corner. 
I've only owned a few Stevens schuetzen models, so can't tell you much more really.

Yes the external finish does look rough. But the action works smoothly and locks up tight. The excellent bore condition is what sold me. The serial number on the tang match the barrel.

You guys are a wealth of knowledge 😀  At the breech end the barrel measured .970". A wee bit shy of 1.00". Its a beefy barrel for a .25 cal bore.

Had to check one just to make sure, #1 marked barrel .875” at the breech, .765” at the muzzle 26” barrel.

The #2’s I have are all .790”-.795” at the muzzle on a 26”

Welcome to Stevens.

I think you’ll enjoy it.

I have a 25-21, in theory developed because the 25-25 wasn't efficient as a black powder cartridge.

I’m sure you have a bullet in the 80-90 grain range, they work well.