Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Stevens 425 High Power

Thats one beautiful rifle.I GOTTA have one.

Peter, maybe they started at 2000 ,i dont know of anyone looking for a reliable hunting rifle that would buy serial number "1" even savage 1895 started at 3000. Don

Don, I've also never seen any of the "high grade" versions (430, 435, 440, 445). I can't believe that Stevens ever made but a very few. But who knows, one might pop up.

Peter

Mister VintageAuto...

Please Keep posting this everywhere you can. I am sure that you will collect enough data, and inform us of your results please!!!


Thanks, Mike...


http://www.levergunscommunity.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=11864&p=143893

Finally found the info on the 425 I saw at the auction - serial 1842. The pictures are gone but the info still comes up at least for now Rock Island Auction

This is the one with the early carrier that looks like the one in this patent - looking at the patent again I now realize the piece I thought was part of the carrier is actually on the loading gate. 425 patent That piece just flips up with the carrier to keep the shell from falling out.

You will notice that this patent was granted before the other one but if you read the text it is just for a modification and not for the firearm. G. S. Lewis had a lot of patents for Stevens and seemed to do a lot of the final design refinements.

Another 425 for your list.. it's at the Buffalo Bill museum in Cody, was thinking I'd seen one before. Serial number 4343, in 25 Remington, and the plaque with it said it dates to 1912.

Don, Mike, GeneB, and Calhoun,
Thanks for all your input, and two more serial numbers. #1842 from the Rock Island auction takes care of the theory (actually a good one) that Stevens might have started the serial numbers at 2000. Of course, they could have started at 1000 or 1500.

The #4343 at the Buffalo Bill Museum, makes it 12 guns under 5000 and one over. I seem to remember reading somewhere that most of the Stevens High Power rifles were made between 1910 and 1912 - with the majority made in 1912. I'll try to find where I read that.

Peter

Here is another with serial number "1977"

Mike...

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_year...Rem_Lever_action_serial_No_1977_produced

And another with serial number "5302"


Mike...


http://www.invaluable.com/auction-l...ower-lever-action-rifle-s-1-c-m8wue0vx3h

Thanks mike, Obviously Wiki.answers is just picking up their info from something like the Blue Book. That's always a problem when an author doesn't do any real research and just repeats dubious "facts" from someone else who didn't do the research. There is a very good chance that not only are they wrong about the production figure, but also who designed the High Power.

Thanks for finding two new serial numbers. One is the highest (5302) on our list, and one is another gun under 2000 (1977). We now have 15 known serial numbers with two over 5000 and 13 under 5000. I still think it is very interesting that there are so few known numbers over 5000.

Peter

I know "WIKI" is not great with answers, I just posted it so you would have the serial numbers!!!

Mike...

Okay, Mike's challenging my google prowess.

Here's reference to one with serial number 1737:

http://www.artfact.com/auction-lot/stevens-high-power-rifle-model-425,-serial-number-1-c-aw45rksulu

Reference to SN 4011 on this page:

http://oldguns.net/q&a11_04.htm

Well you guys are pretty good at digging back into the archives, i know of one that got blown up with a hot handload maybe i can get the serial number, and "NO" i didn't do it!!! Don

Thanks for the serial numbers, guys. Your help is greatly appreciated! Keep them coming, please.

#4011 was already on my list, but again the answer blurb on that web site was probably taken directly from The Blue Book. So whatever errors are included there are repeated as gospel. And the web multiplies it over and over again.

Here's the list as it stands now:

1737
1842
1977
2514
2628
2838
3056
34xx
3856
4011
40xx
4290
4343
4837
5201
5302

That's 16 guns with 14 numbered under 5000 and two over. If Stevens produced 10,000 High Power rifles then I would think any sample such as this would have a bunch of serial numbers closer to the 10,000 mark. And if Stevens started numbering these guns at say #1000, we still have not accounted for even 5,000 guns -- never mind 26,000!

Peter

Peter, You keep on digging and you'll find these guns "so rare" that i wont be able to afford the rifles i already own!!! in one of my gunbooks theres a an old print cut of a high grade stevens high power, i'll try to find it and post it ive seen it within the last month. Don

I just went out and checked Bill Wests savage and stevens book again and he said the Stevens High-power started a new series and started with serial number "1" . Don

Here is a picture showing the 425 designer Edward E. Redfield and his family. The picture dates between July 1907 when his mother died and 1909 when his father died. Brother John H. moved to Denver and started the Western Sight Company in 1909, about 1920 the name was changed to Redfield Sight Company. I would really like to find a Western tang sight for the 425 but I haven't ever seen any Western sights. The father was a farmer and a gunsmith and one of the brothers was also a gunsmith.



The only two designs of Edward E. Redfield that I know went into production were the Stevens 425 High Power and the Stevens Visable loader. He held patents for several other designs that never went into full production and may never have been made. I have a copy of an old newspaper article referring to an actual fire arm in his possession being demonstrated that from the description seems to be from this patent LEVER ACTION

I have another of his designs from this patent PUMP 22. This gun has no stamping anywhere on it, not even a caliber on the barrel or even a single number on any part. The butt plate is the same as used on the Stevens Gallery 90 and says Stevens which is the only marking on the gun. This gun uses several other Gallery 80 parts and the patent dated from 1910 which is toward the end of Gallery 80 production. It's interesting to see who designed the Stevens Gallery 80 GALLERY 80

My Dad has a 425 in .35 Remington. Serial # 1050...I tried to attach a couple of photos as the barrel is quite a bit shorter on his than the other pictures posted (17.5") [img][IMG]http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg282/kwoster/stevens_1411.jpg[/img][/img] . I don't know a lot about this gun, but would like to find a place for replacement parts. The "1/2 cock" position does not work (if it has one). In the little bit we have taken it apart, it appears as though the bolt is well worn and paper thin in a few spots.

[img][IMG]http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg282/kwoster/stevens_1410.jpg[/img][/img] [img][IMG]http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg282/kwoster/stevens_1413.jpg[/img][/img] [img][IMG]http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg282/kwoster/stevens_1414.jpg[/img][/img]

Don, thanks for your continued interest.

I just was looking through the Marlin Firearms book by Brophy and on page 658 I was surprised the see a photo of a Stevens 425 and a description of that firearm. In that description, Brophy says that the Stevens 425 was introduced in 1911 and he further writes..."In direct competition with the Marlin lever action rifle, the Stevens Model 425 lever action rifle did not fare well in the marketplace...As a result, the rifle was short-lived. Only about 1,000 were manufactured up to 1917."

So we have the Blue Book and some other sources claiming 26,000, and Bill West's book claiming 10,000. Then there are several articles that claim a production of about 5000. Now, here's Brophy saying that "only about 1,000 were manufactured..."

If the 425 was numbered with the more numerous Stevens Crackshot rifles then there is a possiblity that the High Power serial numbers are not consecutive and if most of the 425 production occured (as I read somewhere) in 1911 and 1912, then perhaps that explains why we have so few 425 serial numbers on our list, and that they are all 4-digit numbers.

I will continue to search for High Power serial numbers.

Peter

GeneB, thanks for your input and the photo of the Redfield family - A handsome bunch, especially that guy in the middle! The little pump gun is beautiful; is it yours? Do you collect Stevens guns?

Wisconsin99, thanks for your serial number. I will add it to our list. So far, this is the earliest serial number 425 known. Also, thanks for your photos. Is it possible that your barrel was shortened?

Peter