doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Please identify custom maker

I just pick up this custom, purpose made boy's rifle for my grandson. I am hoping one of you can identify the maker by the checkering pattern.
Even though the pull is 11"s it is perfectly symmetrical.



These are views of the buttstock and forearm checkering patterns.





Could these triangles be his signature?



Besides the distinctive ivory forearm tip and buttplate, it had a speedlock installed and new linkage which created the best fitting breechblock I have ever seen on a favorite.



At first I thought the late 1890's vintage L. C. Cummings scope was a strange choice for a post 1915 Stevens rifle, but it dawned on me that the tiny diameter looks perfect on this small rifle. Besides which it is clear, bright and sharp. In fact when I compare it to the same vintage Cataract, Steven and Malcolm scopes I have, it is the best of the bunch. When I shot the rifle this morning, the malcolm mounts had it dead on.





The final hint to the maker is that when I looked in the forearm channel and behind the buttplate, I found this, which leads me to guess it originated in Wisconsin where I found it.



Best of all, my grandson is a year and a half old, so I can shoot it for a while.

Lucky lad...I assume it's a 22 LR?

Yes its a .22 LR. After getting the phone call about it yesterday, I had to drive 100 miles to see it. About half way there, I started thinking it was a .25 RF, but I was lucky.

The checkering and ivory strike a familiar, but blank cord.
You do have more info than most get from an old gun.

Nice little rifle, congrats.

I once had an Alvin Linden .22 rifle with an ivory inlay, but that's probably wishful thinking.

Possibly Harvey Rogers or James V. Howe. Just a Thought.

Does kind of look like something that James Howe might have done. Lots of examples of his work in his Modern Gunsmithing books. He liked to incorporate stippling into his checkering designs and also used a lot of ivory.

If Harvey Rodgers ever did a checkering job like that, he'd have thrown it in the fireplace.

Whoever did it, it is a nice little rifle and I hope you and your grandson make some wonderful memories with.

John

Nice rifle, I've had a Favorite for 55 years now and it still gets dusted off now and then. It's a .25 and I laid in a supply while they were still available. Yours is a good looking gun and when your Grandson gets it, he will be a very lucky boy. Thanks for sharing it.
Thaine

I can't imagine a more interesting rifle to learn to shoot with as a boy. It has a fore sight, is there a hind sight that maybe sits on one of those blocks? It has squirrel season written all over it. Not that you couldn't use the scope...

Just for fun, here's another with a Cummins scope:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=340830346

The standard Cummings mounts leave a lot to be desired. I was lucky this one came with Malcolm mounts. I have a number of Stevens tang sights. I would have put one one, but I couldn't find my screws. Fortunately I have a while before I will be teaching my grandson to shot it.