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http://www.gunstar.co.uk/j-stevens-a-t-co-chicopee-falls-mass-u-s-a-no-21-rolling-blo/rifles/888519
Saw this on gunstar and thought this would be an appropriate place to show it, I could own it with no licence in the UK as its classed as obsolete ie no ammuntion available.
http://www.gunstar.co.uk/img/adphoto...713071_big.jpg
Very Nice. I just love the old rolling blocks.
Cool! When does bike season open??
Every time you are under taken or they jump a light!!!
Interesting, if it really is a Model 21. The model numbers of Favorites weren't marked on the gun. Only the short barrel IDs it. It's got the central extractor, so made somewhere after 1900. Lot number (it's not a serial number!) on the tang should be repeated on the barrel. There should be a letter preceding the lot number. (Stevens was selling so many Favorites that they gave up serializing them. They stamped a letter and four digits, and the letters were apparently used in no particular order. Still trying to suss out when this started. Factory records were destroyed, so there's no certainty.)
I think that price is exorbitant. The rifle might go for $450 - $500 over here, unless a bidding war got started. But it's not over here, so make your own call.
The Favorite really WAS a favorite boy's rifle. Well made, more than strong enough for the cartridges they were chambered for, and very accurate for a cheap rifle; they sold a zillion of 'em. Not too long ago Savage revived the design as the Model 75, they're still that popular.
I have four so far; a 1915 .22 which is rebarreled, one '94 style .22 I've relined, my early .32 I've kept original, the fourth is on the stocks for a reline job. Still looking for an early type (side extractor) .25 rimfire. Easy to get hooked on Favorites.
Agree with O C. The barrel looks a little long for a "bicycle rifle". Plus, it's not in very good shape at all, and ammo is very difficult to find. So, basically it's just an expensive wall-hanger.
Per my catalogs, the standard barrel length was 22", and the Model 21 was 20". . A 20" barrel doesn't look all that different. I presume that the seller put a tape to it.
Over here in the USA, it's still possible to find ammo, but it's at collector prices. ($2.00 and up per round.) Whether there's any to be found in the U.K. is another matter.
So it's a wall-hanger, sure. But it's a relic of a time when gun ownership hadn't been made so onerous, and that alone would make me want it.
You make a very good point. I guess if I lived in the U.K. or just about anywhere other than the good old USA, that might not be a bad deal. Thank goodness for the NRA and other second amendment organizations we still have the freedoms we enjoy but too often take for granted. A rifle like that over here might bring about $300 at best, but across the pond I'm sure it's worth a lot more.