Stevens No. 52 Schuetzen Junior

About the Stevens No. 52 Schuetzen Junior

The Stevens No. 52 Schuetzen Junior is an American single-shot falling-block target rifle built by the J. Stevens Arms & Tool Company on its Ideal action. Introduced in 1897, it was a high-grade member of the Schuetzen line, fitted with a full-loop finger lever, an external hammer, double set triggers, a heavy octagon barrel and a deeply hooked Schuetzen buttplate. Chambered most commonly in .32-40, it was designed for the offhand Schuetzen target matches that were popular in the United States around the turn of the twentieth century.

Schuetzen shooting was a German-American offhand target tradition, and rifles like the Stevens Ideal Schuetzen Junior were the precision instruments of the sport. Many were paired with the famed barrels of Harry M. Pope, whose Stevens-Pope collaborations are among the most sought-after American target rifles of the black-powder cartridge era.

Stevens No. 52 Schuetzen Junior specifications

The No. 52 was a fancier, better-finished version of the No. 51, featuring the full-loop lever, finer receiver engraving, a checkered pistol-grip stock and a heavy Schuetzen buttplate. Barrels, calibers and sights were offered to order, so individual rifles vary considerably. Examples fitted with premium barrels by Harry M. Pope are known as Stevens-Pope rifles.