STEVENS ARMS.
For forty- years the Stevens rifles have been celebrated for their accuracy and durability. In all the recent leading- events they have been in the foreground, both for indoor shooting at gallery ranges and for outdoor shooting at the longer rang-es. They are regularly made for the following cartridges: .22 short rim fire, .22 long rifle rim fire, .22 7-45 rim, fire, .25 Stevens rim fire, .32 long- rim fire, .25-20 Stevens center fire, .25-21 Stevens center fire, .25-25 Stevens center fire, .32 long center fire, .32-20 center fire, ,32 "Ideal," .32-40 center fire and the .38-55 center fire. The .32-40 center fire cartridge is quite famous as a target and hunting cartridge. No more accurate shooting cartridge is made, and it can be recommended as particularly suited for target work at 200 yards in all kinds of weather. In the factory cartridge are used 4o g-rains of F. G. black powder and a g,rooved bullet 165 grains in weight. The target shooters, however, generally prefer the 185 grain bullet, grooved or patched, while for hunting, purposes the lighter bullets, with varying charges of powder, may be used. The .38-55 center fire cartridge is equally accurate for target work, while more popular and efficient as a hunting cartridge, owing to its greater caliber and weight of bullet. The factory cartridg-e has a 255 grain bullet, and a charge of F. G. black powder, 48 grains in weight. For targret work the 33o grain bullet, grooved or patched, with the shell full of powder, gives the best results. With this load (using the everlasting shell) the finest records have been made. The diameter of the bullet is .375.
The Ideal rifle, shown in Fig,ure t, is a single shot rifle for target and hunt ing purposes, and combines in one arm all the features developed by years of experience and practice. The "hang" is perfect, the outline graceful and attractive, while the action is siniple, strong and durable. It is a take down rifle. The importance of this feature cannot be overestimated. There is the convenience of carrying your rifle in a Victoria case, or of packing in small compass for traveling- (as, for instance, in a trunk), and when you are ready for it, use it. Then there is the advantage of having several barrels for one
stock and frame. The combination makes several rifles, each just as good as a whole rifle, while the expense is much less. The rifleman may have a short, light .22 caliber barrel for short range; a .25 center fire barrel of medium or heavy weight for target and small game; a .32-40 and a .38-55, of suitable weights, for heavier shooting. Moreover, these barrels will each give fully as good retilts as so many complete rifles. Every rifleman knows the value .of a perfect trigger-pull, and the difficulty of getting several rifles having exactly the same pull. Where one stock and several barrels are used, this is entirely overcome. These rif.es are all made to "take down." The barrel is threaded and screws into the frame in the usual way, where it is held securely by a barrel screw, which passes through the frame from below. To detach the barrel, throw the lever down, loasen the barrel-screw and unscrew the barrel from the frame. To put the rifle together. see that the point of barrel-screw is drawn out, so the threads on the barrel will escape it. When two barrels are used on the sante stock, one a rim fire and the other a center fire, this necessitates two sets of hreech-blocks, extractors and levers. To remove the breech-blocks, take out the lever and breech-block screw, when the block, extractor and lever will drop out. To replace, lay the extractor in place on the block. Push the block into place with the lever dropped down, and insert the lever-s6rew, then the block screw. Draw the lever to place.
The Little Krag. No. 65, shown in Figure 2, is the latest Stevens production. It has a round barrel of the standard length of 20 inches and a single trigger.
It takes the .22 long rifle rim fire cartridge and will also shoot C. B. caps, .22 qhort or long. It has a bead front sig,ht and a rear peep. The weight is 3,/1 pounds, and the arm bids fair to becoming very popular.