J. Stevens FAVORITE .22 rifle

Question
I have a .22 single shot rifle with octagon barrel.  The barrel is marked "22 LONG RIFLE" on the flat left of the rear sight. The left side of the receiver is marked "J. Stevens A&T Co Chicopee Falls, Mass USA".  "FAVORITE" is on the top flat of the receiver. There is no patent dates or other markings beyond the number "196" on the lower metal strap under the lever.  Any idea of how old this rifle may be?

Answer
John,

The "Favorite" series of rifles are chambered in .22, .25, and .32 rimfire. The barrels are part octagonal with a take down action.

There were approximately 1,000,000 made between 1893 and 1939.

Thank you for the question John.
Sid Lark

John,

The Stevens/Savage line of records of dates were destroyed and most records of exact manufacture dates are either unavailable and/or unreliable. There are those who may have given you an educated guess which I won't do. Even Savage will no longer provide this information to persons requesting same.

Some would have rejected your question due to the above however I always make attempt to provide whatever information that I'm capable of providing. It seems to me better to provide you with a span of years that I am positive about than providing you with a date that cannot be confirmed.

I know that if you contact Savage they will refer you to an historian (that does not work for them) who may be able to narrow the date down for you since he has access to many additional records. He will also charge you a fee for responding to your question and providing you with whatever info that he has. Perhaps you should consider paying for the advise that you seek.

I gave you an "idea of how old this rifle may be" by advising you that it was not manufactured after 1939. Had you indicated that you wanted/needed an exact date of manufacture I would have not attempted to answer your question at all or referred you to the Savage/Historian fee charging route which you still have the option of pursuing.

I guess based upon your response that at worst you got what you paid for here.