I once had a Stevens 44 1/2 that started life as a .22lr. The bore was corroded and pitted, but all other aspects of the rifle were crisp and clean with original finish.

A friend bought it in that condition. He had the barrel re-bored and chambered to .357 Magnum. The firing pin was bushed to center fire, and the breach block vented. He lost interest in it, and I got it from him. For years that was a great little "walking around gun" for me. It had a little Burrus compact 4x scope mounted on a nice tidy base that was milled to fit the octagon rear of the barrel.

I killed a lot of vermin with that rifle and one white tail deer. It was precisely accurate. There was virtually no recoil, and the muzzle blast was very soft. It was a great rifle.

Like so many nice guns, I sold it at the Tulsa gun show one day when I figured I had no further interest in it. Wish I had it back.

Curl