Editing Stevens Arms

{{company
|name= J. Stevens Arms & Tool Company
|predecessor= J. Stevens & Co.
|logo= 
|country= [[United States]]
|address= Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts
|tel= 
|fax= 
|founded= [[1864]]
|founder= [[Joshua Stevens]]
|keys= W.B. Fay and James Taylor
|industry= Firearms manufacturer
|products= [[Rifle]]s, [[Shotgun]]s, [[pistol]]s
|status= 
|parent= [[Savage Arms]]
|subs= 
|website= http://www.savagearms.com
|notes= 
}}
'''[[Stevens Arms]]''' was an [[United States|American]] [[firearm]]s manufacturer founded by Joshua Stevens in 1864.  The company introduced the [[.22 Long Rifle]] round and made a number of rifle, shotgun, and target pistol designs before being bought by [[Savage Arms]] in 1920.  After 1920, Stevens made training rifles and machineguns for the US Military.  Savage still uses the Stevens brand today for a number of its low cost rifles and shotguns.

==History==
Stevens Arms was founded by Joshua Stevens with help from backers W.B. Fay and James Taylor in Chicopee Falls, MA,<ref>Fjestad, S.P. (2009). ''{{Amazon/Blue Book}}''. Blue Book Publications. p. 1565. ISBN 978-1-886768-87-1.</ref> in 1864 as ''J. Stevens & Co.''. Their earliest product was a [[tip-up action]] single shot pistol.<ref name=flayderman>Flayderman, Norm (1994). ''Flayderman's Guide to Antique American Firearms''. DBI Books. p. 209.</ref> Business was slow into 1870, when it occupied a converted grist mill and had just sixty employees. The 1873 Panic had a further negative impact on sales.  By 1876 the company had recovered to the extent that it was then manufacturing twice the number of [[shotgun]]s as it had been prior to that year.<ref>Murtz, Harold (1994). ''Gun Digest Treasury: the best from 45 years of Gun Digest''. DBI Books. pp. 192–3. ISBN 978-0-87349-156-3.</ref> In 1886, the company was reorganized and incorporated as J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co.  The business was able to grow steadily with tool manufacturing and sales now accounting for the bulk of the business output.<ref name=flayderman/>

Beginning in 1880, the company began making [[falling block]] [[rifle]]s.  These, though less well known than [[Ballard]] or [[Winchester Repeating Arms Company|Winchester]] firearms, were of comparable quality.  They were priced lower than those of Ballard or Winchester, making the Stevens' falling block models competitive in the marketplace.  Under names like ''Favorite'', ''Little Scout'', ''Crack Shot'', and ''Marksman'', Stevens sold millions of reliable [[single-shot]]s.  The total number of single-shot firearms manufactured by the company exceeded 3.5 million by 1892.<ref>Murtz, (1994), p.195.</ref> 

In addition, in 1887, Stevens developed the [[.22 Long Rifle|.22 LR]] [[Cartridge|round]],<ref>Barnes, Frank (1976). ''Cartridges of the World''. DBI Books. p. 274. ISBN 978-0-89689-936-0.</ref> which served as an introductory [[caliber]] for children for decades, as well as being very popular for [[plinking]], as well as varmint and [[target shooting]]. The .22LR cartridge was available beginning in 1888, in the #1, #2, #9, and #10 break-top rifles, and in their New Model Pocket and Bicycle rifles. The .22 LR would outperform other Stevens rounds, such as the [[.25 Stevens]] and [[.25 Stevens Short]], designed as competitors, and offered in models such as the [[lever action]] single-shot [[Stevens Favorite|Favorite]] (produced between 1894 and 1935) and the [[Stevens Crack Shot#15|Crack Shot #15]] (introduced in 1900).<ref>Barnes,(1976) p.276</ref> 

As several manufacturers would later do with other [[wildcat cartridge|wildcat]]s, Stevens adopted the [[.25-20 Winchester|.25-20]], developed by [[Francis J. Rabbeth]] in 1882. The unpopularity of the bottlenecked case led Stevens to develop the [[.25-21 Stevens|.25-21]] in 1897.  Designed by Capt. W. L. Carpenter, 9th U.S. Infantry, the .21-21 Stevens was essentially a shortened version of the company's own [[.25-25 Stevens|.25-25]] of 1895.<ref name=bfn>Barnes, (1976), p.74.</ref> (This is an odd reversal of the relationship of the [[.38 Special|.38 S&W Special]] to the [[.357 Magnum]].) The .25-25 would be used in Stevens' model 44 and the model 44½ rifles manufactured from 1903.<ref name=bfn/>

Stevens and Taylor was bought out in 1896 by I.H. Page, who was one of the new partners and the bookkeeper. Page led the company to significant growth, such that by 1902 Stevens had 900 employees and was considered one of the top [[sporting firearm|sporting]] firearms manufacturers in the world.  In 1915, Stevens led the U.S. arms business in [[target shooting|target]] and small game guns. Stevens military productions and offerings were generally limited to prototypes in an attempt to garner military contracts.<ref name=flayderman/>

Stevens was bought by the Savage Arms Company in 1920 and the operations of the two companies merged, with Stevens operating as a subsidiary of Savage and sometimes identified as "Savage-Stevens" until 1936.<ref name=flayderman/> This merger made the company the largest producer of arms in the United States at the time.<ref>''The Hardware review'' (Pentz Publishing Co.) '''26''': 55. 1920.</ref>  Stevens introduced the Model 87 in 1938, which sold over a million units.  Further units were sold as the ''Savage Model 6'' by Sears.<ref>Murtz,(1994), p.197.</ref>

==Rifles==
Stevens produced a notable number of military arms, the most common being the [[Stevens Model 416]] bolt action rifle in .22LR caliber.  The United States Military used the model 416 as a training rifle around the time of the Second World War.  There is some debate and speculation regarding the extent to which the United States military made use of these rifles with their roles almost certainly being limited to basic firearm training.  The military's Model 416 was stamped with "U.S. Property" on the rear left of the receiver. Rifles with this stamping have been found with serial numbers around 100,000.  Various ordnance markings and proof marks can be found on this military rifle.  

The 416 had a dramatically over sized bull barrel and a large wooden stock.  The heavy barrel design added a great deal of weight which compared unfavorably with larger rifles such as the military's various .30 caliber offerings.  It had adjustable peep sight apertures, a hooded front sight, and a small, removable magazine.<ref name=kimmel>Kimmel, Jay (1990). ''Savage & Stevens arms: collector's history''. Corey/Stevens. ISBN 978-0-942893-00-7.</ref><ref name="Bruce N. Canfield 1996">Canfield, Bruce N. (1996). ''U.S. Infantry Weapons of World War II''. Andrew Mowbray. ISBN 978-0-917218-67-5.</ref>
[[File:Stevens 511 Shotgun.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Stevens 511A shotgun.]]

Other U.S. military offerings by Stevens included two shotgun models in 12 gauge.  These were modified versions of the model 520 and 620 shotguns.<ref>Archer, Eric (1988). "U.S. Military Shotguns of WW2". ''Gun Digest''.</ref>  

Some of the other more military firearms produced by Stevens include the Savage [[Lee Enfield]] No. 4 rifle<ref>Skennerton, Ian (1993). ''Lee-Enfield Story: A Complete Study of the Lee-Metford, Lee-Enfield, S.M.L.E. and No.4 Series''. Ian D Skennerton. ISBN 978-0-949749-15-4.</ref> and the [[Thompson submachine gun]]. During the Second World War, Savage produced the [[Browning Automatic Rifle]] (BAR), as well as .30 (7.62 mm) and .50 (12.7 mm) [[machine gun]]s.<ref name=kimmel/><ref name="Bruce N. Canfield 1996"/><ref>Canfield, Bruce N. (2000). ''U. S. Infantry Weapons of the First World War.'' Andrew Mowbray. ISBN 978-0-917218-90-3.</ref>

==Target pistols==
Joshua Stevens produced three lines of single-shot tip-up target pistols named after contemporary gunmen.<ref name="Bicknell">Bicknell, Natalie and Tom (19 July 2007) [http://www.knottingley.org/history/target_pistol.htm "A Very Handsome Present from Buffalo Bill"].</ref>
* Stevens-Conlin No. 28 – named for James Conlin, owner of a Broadway Avenue shooting gallery in New York City.
* Stevens-Lord No. 36 – named for Frank Lord, a prominent target shooter. Six hundred were produced from 1880 to 1886.<ref name="Bicknell" />
* Stevens-Gould No. 37 – named for [[Arthur Corbin Gould]], a firearms expert and writer.

Two well known examples of the Stevens-Lord No. 36 were custom ordered by Buffalo Bill, serial no. 29 for himself and serial no. 32 as a gift for Ben Thompson. The deluxe set of pistols had ten-inch barrels chambered for [[.32 Colt]], iridescent mother-of-pearl grips, and custom engraving with gold inlay by Louis Daniel Nimschke. The one given to Thompson included "From Buffalo Bill to Ben Thompson" on the spine of the grip.<ref name="Bicknell" />

An engraved, gold-plated Stevens-Gould No. 37 was given to sharpshooter Annie Oakley in the 1890s by her husband [[Frank E. Butler|Frank Butler]]. The [[revolver]] had finely engraved dog and horse head motifs on both sides of the frame. The Stevens-Gould No. 37 was one of three embellished guns cased for Oakley as a presentation group.<ref name="Autry National Center">[http://collections.theautry.org/mwebcgi/mweb.exe?request=record&key=34199 "Annie Oakley's Pistols"]. Autry National Center, 12 January 2012</ref>

==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Stevens]]
[[Category:American firearms manufacturers]]
[[Category:Defunct firearms manufacturers]]
[[Category:firearms manufacturers]]