Return of the old favorite … almost

Guns Magazine, Feb, 2004 by Sam Fadala

Shooters are different. Golfers admire antique clubs. But they don't use them. Fisherman collect 19th century tackle. But their poles are graced with state of the art reels. Shooters, on the other hand, not only admire guns of the past. They use them. A lot.

The modern world of muzzleloading thrives on that fact. Likewise the literal millions of lever-action rifles still fired. And so in the face of semiautomatic technology, the single-shot continues to find its way onto the target range and varminting field, as well as hunting domains everywhere. When the late Bill Ruger told his engineers it was time for a single-shot, eyebrows raised. But Bill knew what he was doing. Savage believes likewise with its latest single-shot, the return of the old Stevens Favorite--almost. There are some differences.

Simple Is Good

Single-shot admiration is not without reason. As a beginning hunter armed with a Diana .17-caliber single-shot air rifle, I soon learned that having one chance was sporting. The sporting aspect remains high on the list of today's reasons to own a one-shot rifle. Of course history plays a role. As with original and replica muzzleloaders, a sense of the past accompanies even the most modern single-shot cartridge rifle.

On the practical side, single-shots can be short, depending of course on barrel length, because there is no bolt to lengthen the action. They can be light, once again depending upon barrel choice. They can be accurate. And they are simple. However, their simplicity lies in overall design and handling, not necessarily the action itself. Basically, the single-shot is nothing more than stock, action, and barrel.

And the single-shot can embody economy too. The current Savage 30 GM is a good example--one shot at a time, hand-fed. Compare with a semi-auto that can spit out a handful of rounds in two shakes of the proverbial lamb's tail.

Every Boy's Favorite

The Savage 30GM is a new rifle based on the Stevens Favorite which came along in 1889 and faded out in 1935 for masons unknown, because the Favorite was a huge success. Thousands were made and sold world-wide.

The Favorite "boy's rifle," as the type was known, enjoyed the extremely popular lever operation. Not a lever-action, of course, but the finger-lever worked smoothly and positively with high reliability. The Favorite came on the heels of the Stevens Side Plate, which did have a removable (though not easily) side plate on the action.

This short-lived rifle left the drawing board around 1888, exact date of design and manufacture unknown. It had the swinging block style action operated with a finger-lever, which foreruns the Favorite. Only a few Side Plates were manufactured, apparently in .22, .25 and .32 rimfire as well as in .25-20 Single-Shot, a centerfire cartridge differing considerably from the now common .25-20 Winchester.

Joshua Stevens earned an October 29, 1889 patent on the Favorite. His company, established in 1864, went through various changes, including names. At the birth of the Favorite, it was the J. Stevens Arms & Tool Company of Chicopee Falls, Mass. Also, there were so many variations of the original Favorite that it's difficult to pin down one set of standard features.

Pricing ranged from about $5 in the 1800s to around $9 at the end of manufacture for .22 Long Rifle, .25 Long Rimfire and .32 Long Rimfire. Readers interested in more detail are invited to attack the literature. We do know that a smoothbore version was available for .22 or .32 rimfire shotshell cartridges. More interesting for present purposes is the fact that at least a few Favorites were chambered for the .22 W.R.E (Winchester Rim Fire) round, forerunner of the .22 WMR (Winchester Magnum Rimfire), the chambering of the present test rifle.

Versatile Chambering

The test model that came my way from Savage is known as the model 30GM. While the original Favorite was not considered strong of action, the new 30GM version easily handles the .22 WMR. One amino engineer informed me that pressures for .22 WMR and .22 LR rounds are similar; however, in trying to verily this I received no call-back.

Regardless, the new Savage can digest the .22 WMR even if it does generate greater than .22 Long Rifle pressures. Unlike the original, which was a takedown via one screw, the 30GM is solid frame. Also, it's not made in America. The new rifle comes out of Lakefield, Ontario, Canada.

While later Favorites had an ejector, early ones did not. The test model I had extracted fared cases, but did not eject them. I had no problem plucking the spent case from the chamber.

Straightforward Sights

My sample rifle came with a front bead sight, very plain, drifted into a dovetail notch for easy windage adjustment if desired. The open rear sight matched the front in plainness-a simple U-notch. I shoot iron sights a lot and found these good enough for the closer range plinking I put the rifle through. There was no ladder under the rear sight of my test model. It was inadvertently left out. The rear sight is also drifted in a dovetail notch for windage, and with the ladder will be adjustable for elevation.