Stevens · Rifle
Stevens Favorite
Falling block · .22 Long Rifle · introduced 1894
Also known as Stevens Favorite No. 17, Favorite No. 18, Bicycle Rifle
About the Stevens Favorite
The Stevens Favorite is a lightweight single-shot rifle using a lever-actuated falling-block action, introduced in 1894 as an inexpensive small-game and youth 'boys' rifle. Chambered in rimfire cartridges such as .22 LR, .22 Short and .25 Stevens Rimfire, it featured a takedown D-ring for easy transport. Affordable, accurate and reliable, it became one of the most popular first rifles in America.
Cheap enough to sell for around six dollars, light and accurate, the Favorite was many an American youngster's very first rifle and was revived twice by Savage as a nostalgia piece.
Stevens Favorite specifications
General
- Type
- Rifle
- Action
- Falling block
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer-fired
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Calibres
- .22 Long Rifle, .22 Short, .25 Stevens Rimfire
- Magazine capacity
- 1 rounds
- Magazine
- Internal
Dimensions
- Barrel length
- 559 mm (22.0 in)
- Overall length
- 914 mm (36.0 in)
- Weight (empty)
- 1.93 kg (4.25 lb)
Barrel
- Rifling
- Right hand
Materials
- Barrel
- Steel
- Receiver / frame
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- blued
Performance
- Muzzle velocity (typical)
- 340 m/s (1115 fps)
- Muzzle energy (typical)
- 150 J (111 ft·lb)
- Effective range
- 100 m
History
- Introduced
- 1894
- Discontinued
- 1935
- Production status
- Discontinued
- Country of origin
- US
- Designer
- Joshua Stevens
Available calibres
Features
- Takedown d ring
- Lever actuated falling block
- Open sights
- Boys rifle
Safety
- Half cock notch
Catalogued as Nos. 17-21 with different sights and barrels; the No. 21 'Bicycle Rifle' had a 20-inch barrel. Reintroduced by Savage/Stevens in 1971-1989 and again from the late 1990s.
