First off, can anybody give me a nutshell history of Stevens and their relationship with Savage? Like when was Stevens founded and when were they taken over by Savage? Did the Stevens name continue after they were taken over by Savage? Factory locations and dates would be really helpful too if possible. Somebody over on another forum is asserting that Stevens never really manufactured anything and they had other companies put the Stevens name on guns for them. That does not sound quite right to me.
Oh how right they are...
NOT Stevens got into business after losing a lawsuit to Sam Colt. Stevens was involved with the development of the most popular cartridge in the world, the 22lr. Their early pistols and rifles set world records for accuracy. A good example is the Pope barreled Stevens 44 1/2 ( a later improvement to the Stevens 44). They made the claim to be the largest maker of sporting arms in the world around 1912. When Joshua Stevens died in 1907 at age 92, he had 275,000 sq ft of factory floor with nearly 1,000 employees.
In 1920 Savage purchased all of Stevens that was then left. The Stevens name continued to be associated with sporting arms, through Savage. By 1926 Stevens was the largest shotgun maker in the world. For a general overview of the plethora of arms made by these two early giants, try
Jay Kimmel, "
Savage & Stevens Arms Collectors History 1864-2003" 5th edition. There are others here who are much more knowledgeable about the various Stevens shotguns.
While it is true that Stevens was never known for their high end firearms. Occasionally some surprising examples surface that are truly collectible.
Pete
