The beauty of the Stevens action however is it's camming power when closing the action. If inclined you can seat a little long and the bullet will engrave with little resistance into the lead/rifling.
Indeed, that is a VERY likeable feature, and the 44s have a special place in my heart.
Not to be a wet blanket, but I'd encourage ya'll with perfectly rebuilt 44s to not over do the "Camming Power" bit, with harder bullets. I've no doubt that your rigs are probably re-fitted with one of Wisners' EXCELLENT replacement links, or have had their originals tweeked into proper adjustment. Either one CAN be STRETCHED, if that lever is whaled on hard enough, one than will suffer the heartbreak of "Lever droop", and all of it's attendant shame.
When time allows I'll put up the photos (gotta FIND em') and the text from an article on the Stevens 44 I wrote some years back, Titled "The Missing Link". Therein one will see the slick way one can re-set the dimensions of a worn or STRETCHED original link, with a hacksaw and a TIG or Oxy welding rig.
Better yet the way to dismount the link, and install it upside down / backwards so that one actually has "The Missing Link". See, an old boy who'd shot against em' at Perry years back (1950s) INSISTED that those die hards still shooting 44s had them set up to remain at full cock after closing the action.I would have trusted the old boy with my life, and his memory was SHARP, so I went lookin'. I assumed one needed a replacement PART. Nobody I spoke to for 5-6 years knew a thing about a "special" link used in competition rifles, and it wasn't 'til I bought a flea market 44 clunker that actually demonstrated this function that I figured things out. I stripped the block/ link/ lever assy out of it, and lay it beside a "Normal" 44 assy.
There it was ! EUREKA, I had found it. The standard link is simply swapped around from the regular position to a peculiar and rather "Why didn't I try that" position. Depending on individual sear notch geometries (and whether they've already been tweeked),...one may have to so a bit of grinding and stoning, or build up with a dab of weld to get everything holding it's mouth right. I immersion case harden the PISS outta' both new replicas and originals, once they are fitted, as both are a bit soft, as delivered.
This is NOT a mod to perform on Youth training rifles, or hard run field rifles either,....but damned sure a boon (and "thumb Saver") to the Competition / Target shooter that's shooting hundreds of rounds a session.
I've got an old "Brown" 44 in the corner that's destined to be relined to .25-20 Win., when I find time, and a decent takeoff 257 barrel to gen up a liner out of.
This thread is a bit of an inspiration in that regard.
GTC
