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I was back home in Ohio a for the Ohio Deer season. My Dad had been telling me that my Uncle still had a .22 rifle that they hunted with when they were kids. According to him they all (he had 5 brothers) liked hunting squirrels and rabbits with this little rifle that had an octagon barrel, but he is not really a "Gun guy" so he could never tell me what it was. The thing he did remember was that they had to shoot 22 shorts as it had a lot of blow back when they shot if they used Long Rifle ammo. Then he remembered that they had to hold "Some Lever" to shoot it. I had tried to figure out what the rifle could be but he had no answers for me. Last week My Uncle came over to the house and said he had something for me to look at. Low and behold he had this mysterious rifle.
He had asked me to "Fix up" a couple rifles for him a couple years ago, a Winchester 67 and an Iver Johnson Model X. He told me he wanted me to "Fix" this one up like I did the others. While he and dad told me about hunting with it he told me that he wanted me to "Have" this rifle as long as I fixed it up and brought it back for him to see. I said OK I would do my best to get it working the way it should. They also said this was their uncles rifle and that he won it in some kind of rifle shoot. 8) I barely remember that uncle but do remember that he and my grandpa were both crack shots.
This is what he handed me. A Stephens Favorite 1915.
I had never seen one but had thought that they had either a falling or a rolling block of some kind. This is a real neat little rifle. There are a number of problems with it though. The stock had been repaired poorly once in the long ago past. The wood that slips between the top and bottom tang metal had apparently split or broke out so someone glued and pined a new piece inside. Unfortunately they had seemed to use a piece that was a bit wide and split the stock or it was too wide and they could not get it pulled back tight. Then filled it all with glue that you can see around the tang. The biggest problem is with the action. Well the lever they had to hold closed is the lever to open the action. Pull the hammer back and it just drops open and will not lock closed. I told them it might have not been too wise to have been shooting this rifle as it was. The Block and lever screws are completely worn out creating a lot of slop in the action so the cam parts will not lock it closed, plus it looks like the hole in the block and maybe the lever look worn too. Can't get the right screws either. The only screws I could find were at Dixie and I spoke to the gunsmith to get the dimensions. The Block screw he had is the right "original" dimensions per info I found on line, but my screw was larger. Seems it had been increased from .215 dia to .245. A Remington action screw fits the threads perfectly so that makes it a 1/4 x 28 thread. So I ordered some Screw Blanks from Brownells to make my own. Not sure but I am thinking that I might have to drill out the block and lever holes and put bushings in them to get the parts relocated back to where they should be to get it to lock up right. I am currently stripping the finish off of the forend to see what I have to work with. I plan to order a replacement butt stock from Gunstocks Inc. Once I get the forend stripped if it is not too good I will just get the forend at the same time. Might do that anyway.
My Dad talked about the little rifle all the rest of the week. Never heard him talk about a rifle like that, guess it brought back some good memories he had with his brothers. I think he is real anxious to see it get fixed up. He is 75 and remembered hunting with it when they were kids so this one has been around. I suspect that they never lubed the block and lever screws that lead to the wear. But then again to them it was just a tool used to put some meat on the table. If Grandma told the boys to go get some squirrels for supper, they went and got some squirrels.
Here is a few more pictures of my little "Winter" project.
He had asked me to "Fix up" a couple rifles for him a couple years ago, a Winchester 67 and an Iver Johnson Model X. He told me he wanted me to "Fix" this one up like I did the others. While he and dad told me about hunting with it he told me that he wanted me to "Have" this rifle as long as I fixed it up and brought it back for him to see. I said OK I would do my best to get it working the way it should. They also said this was their uncles rifle and that he won it in some kind of rifle shoot. 8) I barely remember that uncle but do remember that he and my grandpa were both crack shots.
This is what he handed me. A Stephens Favorite 1915.
I had never seen one but had thought that they had either a falling or a rolling block of some kind. This is a real neat little rifle. There are a number of problems with it though. The stock had been repaired poorly once in the long ago past. The wood that slips between the top and bottom tang metal had apparently split or broke out so someone glued and pined a new piece inside. Unfortunately they had seemed to use a piece that was a bit wide and split the stock or it was too wide and they could not get it pulled back tight. Then filled it all with glue that you can see around the tang. The biggest problem is with the action. Well the lever they had to hold closed is the lever to open the action. Pull the hammer back and it just drops open and will not lock closed. I told them it might have not been too wise to have been shooting this rifle as it was. The Block and lever screws are completely worn out creating a lot of slop in the action so the cam parts will not lock it closed, plus it looks like the hole in the block and maybe the lever look worn too. Can't get the right screws either. The only screws I could find were at Dixie and I spoke to the gunsmith to get the dimensions. The Block screw he had is the right "original" dimensions per info I found on line, but my screw was larger. Seems it had been increased from .215 dia to .245. A Remington action screw fits the threads perfectly so that makes it a 1/4 x 28 thread. So I ordered some Screw Blanks from Brownells to make my own. Not sure but I am thinking that I might have to drill out the block and lever holes and put bushings in them to get the parts relocated back to where they should be to get it to lock up right. I am currently stripping the finish off of the forend to see what I have to work with. I plan to order a replacement butt stock from Gunstocks Inc. Once I get the forend stripped if it is not too good I will just get the forend at the same time. Might do that anyway.
My Dad talked about the little rifle all the rest of the week. Never heard him talk about a rifle like that, guess it brought back some good memories he had with his brothers. I think he is real anxious to see it get fixed up. He is 75 and remembered hunting with it when they were kids so this one has been around. I suspect that they never lubed the block and lever screws that lead to the wear. But then again to them it was just a tool used to put some meat on the table. If Grandma told the boys to go get some squirrels for supper, they went and got some squirrels.
Here is a few more pictures of my little "Winter" project.