I recently acquired a Stevens 44 with double set triggers.  There's a serial number on the barrel (57, 000 range) but nothing on the trigger plate.

Is this normal?

Thanks

uscra112's comments are dead on, most especially that we are after all dealing with Stevens.  Therefore, it's somewhat less probable but still possible that Smoke's 44 was returned to Stevens to be fitted with DSTs, which was done using a 44-1/2 lower tang that was left unnumbered.

Bill Lawrence

The 44 set trigger and the 44-1/2 tangs are identical.  I have both, and have swapped them so I'm sure  of it.  The congruity goes all the way back to the 1894 "Ideals" that had 3-digit model numbers.  

But here's a thing - - for Bill's scenario of a normal 44 being returned to the factory for a set trigger installation to hold water, the original trigger pivot screw hole would not be filled by the normal screws used for the 44-1/2 tang assembly, and that would show.    

If as you say the screw spacings are different, maybe whoever did the modification drilled and tapped the 44-1/2 tang to use the original 44 single trigger screw location.  If you dismount the tang from the 44, are there three holes on the left side?  Two spaced about .860" apart, and a third in between?

Maybe this wasn't done at the factory at all, but rather by some unknown independent gunsmith., who bought all the set trigger parts as spares from Stevens.  In which case the tang would have no serial number.   

Photos would help.   

Fitting set triggers to a 44 always required cutting away the integral lower tang from the raw casting and milling out a big slot on the bottom of the receiver.  Then there were holes drilled in from the side for the screws that held the tang in place.  These are familiar to anyone who has looked at a 44-1/2.  Front screw goes all the way through, the rear screws only project into the tang by ~ 1/8 inch from each side.  Spacing about .860".

This tang configuration was copied verbatim to the 44-1/2 action, because it's not practical to forge a receiver with both tangs integral.  They had to use a separate tang, so they used the one they were already making.     

Now, a plain trigger 44 receiver has only one hole through for the trigger pivot screw, and it falls between the two holes for the set trigger tang.  

So if a receiver originally made for a plain trigger were to be modified to take a set trigger tang, that screw hole would be left with nothing to do if the receiver were drilled/tapped for the usual tang screws at the .860" spacing.  

I'm guessing that whoever modified Smoke's 44 drilled and tapped the TANG so as to utilize that plain trigger screw hole, and drilled one more on each side to use the existing rear screw holes in the tang. In which case the spacing of the screws would end up closer together than normal, which is what he reports.  The factory might have done this, or maybe it was an independent 'smith.  I want to think that the factory would have stamped the barrel s/n onto the new tang, with Stevens . . . . . 

via P/M, Smoke has told me that he'll send/post pictures when he gets home in a few days.   

Here are the trigger tang screws:

I'm responding here with not near the vast knowledge on these stevens rifles as you guys. Here is a picture of my two 47's on 44 actions.
The bottom is a Stevens-Pope  with DST. the upper  is a standard 25-20SS(previously  25 RF) single trigger .

Regarding Smoke's photos. I've never seen a Stevens factory action screw that didn't have a rounded/fillister head.  I'd say some non-factory 'smith went to considerable trouble to retrofit Smoke's action.

Bill Lawrence

Agree also. 
It's quite interesting.