stevens favorite in 22 hornet!

[handyman06]

thinking of buying one of the remakes of the stevens favorite and converting to 22 hornet. i think i can duplicate the breach block out of plate with the firing pin hole on the bore center and then just rechamber the factory barrel while it is on the rifle so as to cut the extractor at the same time. the 1:16" twist may not be ideal but i think it should work with 45gr. bullets. anyone tried this or have any thoughts on the matter? should case hardened mild steel be durable enough for the breachblock? thanks guys.

[wlmccann]

Bad Idea. The bore dimensions are different for rimfire and centerfire .22's and I would be concerned about pressure differences. Bottom line is that I would refuse to do such a conversion for a customer. Were I to do one, I would be begging for a lawsuit.

[handyman06]

thanks for the reply wlmccann! if i cannot use the original barrel thats fine i can rebarrel. what had me thinking was i believe the very first hornet was made from a converted l.r. and .223 dia bullets are available for the older rifles as opposed to the newer .224 bore. do you know the actual measurement of the l.r. bore, i cannot find it mentioed in any of my references. thanks.

[wlmccann]

.22 rimfire barrels can be as tight as .219 groove. Lilja shows their"tight" barrel as .220 with standard being .2215. That however, is only part of the problem. Rebarreling will not make any difference. The Favorite action is not up to the .22 hornet. I think you are correct in that the original was a converted rimfire. I am pretty sure that a 1922 Springfield barrel was used. But it was on either a 1922 or "03 action, either of which is much stronger than the Favorite action. I am not trying to slam you with this post. I am trying to keep you from blowing yourself up.  DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TRY THIS CONVERSION.   I have made most of my living for over 25 years as a gunsmith. It is my carefully considered opinion that such a conversion would be dangerous.

[handyman06]

wlmccann thanks for the advice!

[gunnut69]

wlmccann is absolutely right. The Favorite action not strong enough for the Hornet..

[Nobade]

Sounds like a good way to end up with Stevens parts implanted into your head. Use a 44 1/2 action instead, no other Stevens actions are strong enough. Hornet may be small but it runs some serious pressures.

[Horn]

How would the Favorite action stand up to either the  17HMR or the 17 Mach II ??

I also have an action that I would like to do something special with.

I was thinking of sleeving a bbl with bad rifling and reaming it to mach II or HMR

or maybe having a 17 bbl fit to the action (would prefer octagon)

Thanks
Mike

[gunnut69]

The modern versions made with modern steels stand up to those pressures but the original guns are quite cheaply made and I once again advise caution. There are too many ways to get a HMR/HM2 to risk the damage to your face or a grandkids later on.,.

[Horn]

Thank you ,  That is exactly what I needed to hear.    I will keep it a 22 LR and be happy.

anyone know where there is a favorite barrel with a good bore or a straight one with a bad bore??   

[2520]

Replacement barrels are available for Favorites at Numrich Gun Parts www.e-gunparts.com.  Repeat that Hornet is not a good idea.  .22 mags will shoot loose in a short time on original Favorites.  The action is weak and the metal in these rifles are not up to any modern conversions.

[iiranger]

This gun design is ancient. From back when .22 rimfires were loaded with black powder. Today with smokeless, it is on the upper end of its strength or beyond.  NOT WORTH THE RISK, as said.  The .22 Hornet was originally the .22 WCF (Winchester Center Fire) loaded with black powder and a lead bullet and preformance around that of the .22 Long Rifle cartridge of today. There was a .,25 Stevens with black powder for more power. 60 grain bullet? And the .22 Remington Special. .22 Magnum Case with 45 Grain bullet at low pressure, circa 15K LUP. For a .22 WCF, the Stevens might be O.K. but the Hornet got "hot rodded." Smokeless powder, and yes, my understanding, in .22 rimfire Springfields. Some full sized actions much modified. Some, very few,  a reduced size action. Mauser made a reduced sized action too.  Very few around. [ believe I read Pope made .22 rimfire barrels for the full size action with chambers cut offset so the center fire firing pin would strike the rim of the .22 rimfire cartridge... Or was that for Krags???]
With the Brown 97 available (eabco.com) or the low wall Browning or other full strength modern design single shot actions available, why take the risk? And if you want to "search" there are the old Martini Cadets, not cheap today... (damn)...Then there are the .303 Martini rifles on the large action... heavy... but British...  luck PS, I am not ignoring T/C but that is a break action...

[twin9553]

Sounds like a good way to end up with Stevens parts implanted into your head. Use a 44 1/2 action instead, no other Stevens actions are strong enough. Hornet may be small but it runs some serious pressures.

What about the 414 armory model?  Is this action strong enough for the hornet?

[iiranger]

I am not an engineer and I will not give specific advice on the 414 or anything else. My "rule of thumb" is the factory. What did the factory see fit to chamber the gun in. De Haas in Bolt actions warned against rebarrelling WW I Mauser 98's to .243... you can get bolt set back at these slightly higher pressures and exesssive headspace--45K CUP old, vs. 55K CUP for .308 family. The original Stevens was called a "boys rifle" for a reason. A boy who was "anyone" had one to play with. Just like the computer games today... They were not strong or particularly well made. Cheap. And there were cheap imports copys less well made!!!  Today, rimfire works at approx. 25%  more pressure. Today's guns should take that. The other consideration, physics, the larger diameter case spreads the pressure over a larger area. Most obvious, T/C Contender works fine with .223 at 55K CUP, but cannot handle .250 Savage at 45K CUP. Case is larger in diameter. I would guess that a modern remake would handle the rimfire .17s, Mach ?? in guns factory chambered for long rifle, HRM in guns chambered in .22 Rimfire magnum... Hornet is a bad gamble, considering the cost, for my money. (I am CHEAP.) Now if the reference to the 414 and the Stevens 44 I saw is correct, then you should be able to handle the .30/30 family which works at 40K CUP and includes the Hornet which is less load being smaller in diameter... luck

[2520]

The 414 model Stevens has a 44 Stevens action.  The 44 action is in reality an enlarged version of the Favorite action and is a very weak action.  When the Hornet cartridge first came out, Stevens jumped on the band wagon and offered their 44 action in the Hornet.  This did not last long and it was quickly withdrawn.  Various models of the Stevens equiped with 44 actions were made in other center fire cartridges as well such as the 38-55 and 32-40.  These too soon shot loose and were withdrawn.  If Stevens would not make them, why should you try?  The 44 action is best as a .22 rim fire.  Probably OK for .22 Mag. and any of the .17 rimfires.  Anything in the 30-30 family is an invitation to the emergency ward.  The 44 1/2 action is a very different being a true falling block action.  Much stronger, but not without it's problems.  If you must commit an error, error on the side of caution.