Stevens Sure Shot

About the Stevens Sure Shot

The Stevens Sure Shot No. 23 is a scarce single-shot .22 rimfire 'boys' rifle' produced by the J. Stevens Arms & Tool Company. Its 20-inch round barrel swings sideways to the right to load, released by a button on the left side of the frame, an arrangement similar to the early Stevens Gem tip-up derringer pistols. Marketed as an inexpensive first rifle for plinking and small game, it was introduced in 1894 and dropped after only a couple of years, making it one of the rarest of the Stevens boys' rifles.

Stevens boys' rifles like the Sure Shot introduced generations of American youngsters to marksmanship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, prized for being cheap, accurate and easy to carry thanks to their takedown design.

Stevens Sure Shot specifications

Cataloged as the Stevens No. 23 'Sure Shot'. Introduced in 1894 and discontinued circa 1896 after poor sales, it is among the rarest Stevens boys' rifles and seldom seen by collectors. Typical examples have a blued barrel, nickel-plated frame and buttplate, a smooth buttstock with brass diamond inlays on the wrist, and no forearm. Part of the broad Stevens line of low-cost single-shot boys' rifles alongside the Crack Shot, Little Scout, Marksman and Favorite.