J STEVENS A&T

Question
Hello i have sort of a hand gun its a stevens.CH COPEEFALLS MASS.US Its has a 15'' Barral "opens like a shotgun" pepsite hoop over front site also has nickel or silver stock frame that att to hand grip for shoulder shooting  32cal or 25. not sure ser#17377 also has #32 stamped above ser# all 3 parts of gun has matching #s
any help on what cal this is or what it would have been used for thanks very much. Steve

Answer
Hello Steven. This particular handgun was known simply as a "Bicycle Rifle or Pocket Rifle" It was manufactured between 1886 and 1916. The frame shoulder stock is nickel plated. The wire stock made it easier to aim at targets. There is no serial number history available, since records were destroyed in a factory fire. There is, however, an individual who has very much success in dating the Stevens firearms by the serial numbers. His information as follows: JOHN CALLAHAN 53 OLD QUARRY RD. WESTFIELD, MA 01085. He charges a fee of $15.00 or so. You will need to send him all the markings on the handgun and your daytime phone#. The caliber is a rimfire, but to say which, you should have a gunsmith tell you. It was made in both calibers. I will also give you a pdf. asoac.org/bulletins/86_kyser_stevens.pdf. I beleive that Annie Oakly started people thinking about plinking and targets in the late 1800's. I hope this helps answer your questions and thank you for asking for me. Charles Gage