Stevens No. 54 Schuetzen

About the Stevens No. 54 Schuetzen

The Stevens No. 54 Schuetzen is a high-grade American single-shot falling-block target rifle from the Ideal line of the J. Stevens Arms & Tool Company of Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts. Built on the stronger Model 44 1/2 action that could handle smokeless-powder pressures, it was the top Schuetzen offering in the Stevens catalogue and was typically chambered for the accuracy-renowned .32-40. Standard features included a heavy part-octagon barrel, double set triggers, a ripple case-colored frame, a Pope-style underlever, and a finely figured black walnut perch-belly stock with cheekpiece, schnabel-tipped forend, palm rest, and nickel-finished Schuetzen buttplate. It represents the pinnacle of the golden age of American offhand and Schuetzen match shooting in the early 1900s.

The Stevens Ideal No. 54 Schuetzen, especially in its Stevens-Pope form, is regarded as one of the finest single-shot target rifles of the American Schuetzen era, prized by collectors for its hand engraving, fitted false-muzzle Pope barrels, and offhand-match accuracy in .32-40.

Stevens No. 54 Schuetzen specifications

The No. 54 was the highest-grade Schuetzen rifle Stevens offered. Many examples were fitted with Stevens-Pope barrels (often with a false muzzle and bullet starter) after barrel maker Harry Pope joined Stevens in 1901; such rifles are stamped STEVENS-POPE and are among the most prized American single-shots. As a hand-finished target rifle, production was very limited.