Stevens Model 52

Speculation Is Half the Fun

- Terry Wieland

Sir Winston Churchill once described Stalin’s Russia as “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” In some ways, the same is true of the old Joshua Stevens arms company (Stevens Arms), and in particular, some of the finer rifles it produced in its heyday. One such is a rifle named “Lucile.”

Lucile is a Stevens Model 52 Schützen Junior, produced around 1902, chambered for the then-hotshot .28-30-120 Stevens cartridge, fitted with a palm rest and adorned with lovely walnut and a unique pattern of engraving. It’s a no-holds-barred Schützen rifle from the heart of that wonderful era, when Harry Pope was plying his trade and legendary names like Rowland and Farrow were astonishing the country with their marksmanship.

That is all I know for certain about this intriguing rifle. All the other details of its past life are lost in the swirling fog that is the history of the J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co.

For those unfamiliar with Stevens history, the name as it now exists – an economy brand owned for a century by Savage – does not even begin to suggest what it once was. Up until 1914, Stevens was one of the most prominent and respected names in American gunmaking. During the Great War (1914-18), it was engaged in military production. When it ended, with the remaining contracts cancelled, the American arms industry began to sort itself out, and the Stevens name and assets were acquired by Savage.