doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Stevens 44 1/2 Single Shot castings kit

I bought a tin box of Stevens 44 1/2 castings at a gun show a couple weeks ago. There was only a hand written note that had the model and that it was cast from 8620 steel. Nothing else. I could tell a number of smaller parts were not there, but all the major goodies were, so I made the deal.





Been doing some research since then to try to find out who made these parts, and hopefully get some guidance for correct finishing. It is evident that these are not parts from Rodney Storie's Rifle Shop in Oklahoma. Storie's castings were based on investment castings using original 44 1/2 actions as patterns. They actually finish out slightly undersized due to casting shrinkage. They are also the same width as original guns, which according to my copy of "Single Shot Rifles and Actions" by Frank DeHaas, should be 1.1" wide.

The action casting I have is surface ground on both sides, and is 1.251" wide. This is the same as Paul Shuttleworth's CPA Stevens 44 1/2 actions. CPA made their actions wider because the original 44 1/2 had a barrel shank that was too small for bigger cartridges like .38-55, .30-40 Krag, or even .45-70. But it doesn't appear that CPA ever sold unfinished castings, only finished actions or finished rifles. CPA does have a lot of the missing parts such as extractors, firing pins, springs, and screws I would need to finish this action. They do not have the link, but it looks pretty simple to make if I had correct dimensions. The parts I bought look as nice as any investment castings I've seen with no voids, sand holes, or depressions.

I would appreciate hearing any leads on what company may have made these castings, or where I could get accurate prints showing critical dimensions. There are small countersinks marking locations of screws and pins, but of course, no information on diameters or thread sizes.

Paul Shuttleworth was not the originator of the "New" Stevens 44 1/2. Ken Breisen comes to mind and I think he sold to Paul in the mid-80's. Those parts may have come from his shop before selling to Paul. If you give CPA a call, Gail should be able to tell you more about who first started their castings.

Thanks Bob. I've heard that Paul's daughter Gail is very knowledgeable and helpful, and intended to call her after doing all my homework. The information you provided is very helpful. The last information I have is that Paul Shuttleworth was in his 80's and doing less, but still working. Is that still the case?

I'm still hoping to find some information on correct machining, screw and pin sizes, locations, etc. to turn this pile of castings into a nice rifle. If CPA only sells completed guns and rifles, I'm not too hopeful that they would share engineering drawings. I was hoping to avoid experimenting with dummy plastic breech blocks, links, etc. to get proper function before drilling or milling the wrong places on the real parts. But when I bought these parts, I had no illusions that it was going to be quick or easy to complete. Thanks again for the lead.

Keith, You maybe able to find drawings on the ASSRA website. Contact Laurie Gapko as he is the current librarian and archivist and has all the records. In those records are drawings available for sale at $10 for many single shot rifles. I don't know if they are available for CPA Stevens but it's worth a try.
http://www.assra.com/assraofficers_dw.htm

Another thought would be to get the basic internal layout from one of the De Haas books. Sorry, at the moment I don't know which on has the 44 1/2 in it. Towards the upper right, that may be a casting for a double set trigger. Maybe, a regular single trigger will get things moving along a bit easier. Best of luck with it, keith.

Bob, I did see one vague reference on the internet to a member of ASSRA having some drawings, but the information and link you have is great news. $10.00 for some detailed drawings and specs would be a bargain compared to shooting in the dark or making a mistake. Thanks a million! This is exactly why I posted my query here after doing my own research.

craigd, I do have "Single Shot Rifles and Actions" by Frank DeHaas, and it does have a good drawing of the internals and parts identification. I found another online. Numrich/Gun Parts Corp is another good source for some exploded views, but they had nothing on the 44 1/2. The DeHaas book has a few basic dimensions such as the width of the action. But there is none of the detailed information concerning screw, pin and thread sizes. That one casting you mentioned is the two triggers for double set triggers. The trigger plate/lower tang is set up for same, but I considered the possibility of going with a single trigger. It would be interesting to know if I could use the same parts, and set it up as single trigger, but fairly easily go to a double set arrangement if I changed my mind. The old Rodney Storie kits came with two different types of lever/trigger guard to apparently go either way. But for some reason, this has two of the same spur type trigger guards, The triggers are still attached to the casting gate. The one part I'm not 100% sure of is the small part directly below the hammer. I'm not sure if that is the stirrup for the mainspring and hammer, or something for the set triggers. The nub on the left side of it is also a casting gate that hasn't been trimmed off.

https://www.leeroysramblings.com/Gun%20parts%20illustrations/stevens_M44_1-2_illustrated.html

Mike

"...The one part I'm not 100% sure of is the small part directly below the hammer. ..."

That's the separate sear for the hammer. It gets kicked out of engagement by the DST to fire the rifle.

I'd bet those parts are from Ken Bresien's Shop/estate. He died a few years ago and lots of unique stuff found it's way onto the market.

You might also contact Rodney Storie through the ASSRA forum and ask if he has drawings for the Stevens 44 1/2. Rodney has been casting and building old single shot rifles for decades, and might already have the drawings you need if Laurie doesn't have them.