[Trainman]

Stevens Model 54 rifle

This is my Stenens Model 54 rifle with the rare all round barrel.

 

[Trainman]

Stevens Model 54

That's a beautiful rifle! Gary is correct on the full round being special order on any Stevens 44 or 44 1/2 framed gun back then. The std. barrel was half octagon, so anything else would be special order.
But your gun appears to be a 54 on the stronger 44 1/2 frame, not the weaker 44 frame. If the .22-3000 was on a 44 frame I'd be concerned about keeping loads pretty mild. But yours being the 44 1/2 frame it should be great.

I would love to find somebody else with the same rifle, I hate being an orphan owner.
I have contacted Savage Historical Department also thinking they might have some data on an all round barreled rifle..........NOT!!
All the "stuff" that came with it is really amazing. Hand made forming dies to reshape 25-20 to the .22-3000 Lovell cartridge and a bunch of other tools was all in the hand made wooden box.
There's a little funnel for filling individual cartridges that took some body hours to make.
I was on the phone with Gary for over an hour, he knows a lot about the 54.
I've been loading the cartridges that came with it (200) primed .22-3000 Lovell cases and It is really a neat cartridge . Shoots very accurately .
I need to get another Unertle 18 or 20 power scope for it though. The little #5 Lyman has such large cross hairs you can't see the quarter sized target at 100 yards. That's what I shoot on my Winchester 52 . I can see the fuse on a flies but with the 18 power Unertle at 100 yards. If you hear of one let me know . I paid $1200 for the 18 power I've got and they are going up because there are so few around.

Thanks for the info and if you think of anything else that might be good to know about the rifle let me know

Thanks,
Greg
AKATrainman

 

[Trainman]

Stevens 54

That rifle is a work of art,congrats.

Thanks , I agree
As soon Rick Gill (Brookville Gun Shop) pulled it out of his safe I knew I had to have it.
I'm still researching it and trying to figure out if it's the only one left in existence.
The all round barrel is definitely not a standard factory order
And it is the original barrel, the serial numbers (6076) are right where they should be, right in front of the fore arm.
I'd sure like to find some one else that has one like it.
I've got some people with great resources looking for me, like Colorado Collectors .

 

[Trainman]

Stevens 54

There's a 20x Lyman Super Targetspot on the ASSRA forum for sale for $650. Good price from what I've seen.
https://www.assra.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1515455090/all

I have a couple friends with Stevens 54's in their collections, but they certainly aren't a common model.
You'll not find any records for serial numbers on Stevens rifles. They just don't exist. Some collectors have got some general ideas of when certain models were made, but never exact. You have a little better chance of guessing age since yours is built on the 44 1/2 action, which had a short lifespan. The 44 1/2 action was only sold between 1903-1916, so that's when yours was made.
Normally the Model 54 had the large Swiss buttplate with long hooks. It appears that someone might have modified yours by cutting the prongs off.

How do you tell a 44 from a 44-1/2?
If you would , ask your friends that have 54's if they know anything about the all round barrel.
Thanks ,
Greg
AKA Trainman

 

[Trainman]

stevens 54 rifles

Here you go:

What the above doesn't show is how the block sits in the rec eiver, which really makes the 44 and 44 1/2 obvious to determine. The 44 block is less shrouded, while the 44 1/2 block has very little showing in side profile, compared to the 44 action. Also note the two large head screws on a 44 action, and only one on the 44 1/2 action. The forward screw is the block pivot screw.

44

44 1/2

Yep I definitely have a 44-1/2.
Thanks for the neat info.
Greg
AKA Tainman