Steven mod 44 CF firing pin replacment
Jun 25, 2021 13:35:46 GMT -7
todddoyka and shootist---Gary like this
Post by Bullshop on Jun 25, 2021 13:35:46 GMT -7
For a couple years now or there about we have had the distinct pleasure of the use of one of the most just for fun guns anyone could ask for. It is a Stevens model 44 chambered for the S&W 32 long center fire cartridge. Everyone in my family and even some folks that stopped by when we were shooting it agrees that this little rifle is just plain fun to shoot and it brings back the simple nature of what once were known as boys rifles
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So its easy to understand how we felt when first we got a couple misfires then not firing at all . It was like someone went and popped all the balloons at your birthday party and bummed everyone so they left. You know no fun at all!
For that reason I decided that this was something important enough that it should not be put off but dealt with immediately. So with that I set about trying to find a replacement and to my surprise discovered that it would be no easy task. All the regular places that you would normally think to go said nope no gotzum. I even checked with Shuttlworths at CPA the people that make replica Stevens rifles and they said the same. They said there were too many variations so they quit trying to supply them.
Finally I decided I was on my own on this so put my thinking cap on and it worked. It seemed that the universal 22 cal hand decapper from Lee was going to be a close fit for the shaft diameter and it already has the hardened pin set in the nose. A quick check with a mic proved that an accurate assumption the Lee decap rod being only about .002" larger in diameter than the original firing pin diameter.
It was a very simple affair to shorten the hardened pin in the decap rod then cut the shaft to length. There is a shallow groove in the shaft of the firing pin that allows it free movement for and aft in the breech block but with a retaining pin through the breech block and in the groove in the pin keep the firing pin captured in the breech block.
Chucking the Lee decap rod in a drill and turning on a file removed that .002" surplus quickly. In all the tools used were a hack saw, a grinder to shorten the hardened pin and a round file to cut the retaining groove and the flat file used to reduce the diameter. Took maybe about an hour to complete and the balloons are back at the party.
I contacted CPA and told them what I did to replace my firing pin and they said that if I wanted the work they would send every request for a firing pin to me. I told them I was plenty busy making bullets to want more work but they should pass on the information to anyone that might ask.
Since the repair we have now fired about three boxes of ammo for about 150 total shots and all is well.
Oh yea and we can now add another cartridge to the list using that Alcan 101 powder I got at a recent gun show. At 2.2gn of Alcan 101 with the Lyman #31108 at 115gn sized .313" the little Stevens delivers on why we have come to like it so its accurate, quiet, and nearly without recoil. Its easy to understand why these simple little rifles became known as boys rifles but in our case works just as well for girls.
.
So its easy to understand how we felt when first we got a couple misfires then not firing at all . It was like someone went and popped all the balloons at your birthday party and bummed everyone so they left. You know no fun at all!
For that reason I decided that this was something important enough that it should not be put off but dealt with immediately. So with that I set about trying to find a replacement and to my surprise discovered that it would be no easy task. All the regular places that you would normally think to go said nope no gotzum. I even checked with Shuttlworths at CPA the people that make replica Stevens rifles and they said the same. They said there were too many variations so they quit trying to supply them.
Finally I decided I was on my own on this so put my thinking cap on and it worked. It seemed that the universal 22 cal hand decapper from Lee was going to be a close fit for the shaft diameter and it already has the hardened pin set in the nose. A quick check with a mic proved that an accurate assumption the Lee decap rod being only about .002" larger in diameter than the original firing pin diameter.
It was a very simple affair to shorten the hardened pin in the decap rod then cut the shaft to length. There is a shallow groove in the shaft of the firing pin that allows it free movement for and aft in the breech block but with a retaining pin through the breech block and in the groove in the pin keep the firing pin captured in the breech block.
Chucking the Lee decap rod in a drill and turning on a file removed that .002" surplus quickly. In all the tools used were a hack saw, a grinder to shorten the hardened pin and a round file to cut the retaining groove and the flat file used to reduce the diameter. Took maybe about an hour to complete and the balloons are back at the party.
I contacted CPA and told them what I did to replace my firing pin and they said that if I wanted the work they would send every request for a firing pin to me. I told them I was plenty busy making bullets to want more work but they should pass on the information to anyone that might ask.
Since the repair we have now fired about three boxes of ammo for about 150 total shots and all is well.
Oh yea and we can now add another cartridge to the list using that Alcan 101 powder I got at a recent gun show. At 2.2gn of Alcan 101 with the Lyman #31108 at 115gn sized .313" the little Stevens delivers on why we have come to like it so its accurate, quiet, and nearly without recoil. Its easy to understand why these simple little rifles became known as boys rifles but in our case works just as well for girls.