# Bicycle Rifle



## filmonger (Oct 21, 2014)

Here is a picture of a stevens single shot bicycle rifle with a detachable stock.....

My question is were these really made for Bicycle use and for what purpose? Single shot does not seem very useful.


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## fordsnake (Oct 21, 2014)

A single shot for a bicycle...how about a cannon?




Taming the Wild West


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## filmonger (Oct 21, 2014)

Woow -  a cannon.... Interesting Noise maker!

I see the benefit of a small firearm that can be attached to a stock giving it improved accuracy - but.... the single shot! Certainly you could not use this one the move.


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## 66TigerCat (Oct 21, 2014)

From a Copake auction a few years ago.
http://www.auctionflex.com/showlot.ap?co=9768&weiid=2836651&lang=En#images


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## bricycle (Oct 21, 2014)

filmonger said:


> Here is a picture of a stevens single shot bicycle rifle with a detachable stock.....
> 
> My question is were these really made for Bicycle use and for what purpose? Single shot does not seem very useful.
> 
> ...




I especially like the hair in the rear sight....... Is that what they mean by a "hair" trigger???


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## Gordon (Oct 21, 2014)

*rifle*

Since there is no holster we have to assume the rifle was carried stuffed into the owners pants, so we know where that hair came from.


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## fordmike65 (Oct 21, 2014)

*Graybush*



Gordon said:


> Since there is no holster we have to assume the rifle was carried stuffed into the owners pants, so we know where that hair came from.




Probably an old timer.


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## bricycle (Oct 21, 2014)

Gordon said:


> Since there is no holster we have to assume the rifle was carried stuffed into the owners pants, so we know where that hair came from.




eeeeww!


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## bulldog1935 (Oct 21, 2014)

the competition was Marble's Game Getter, an over/under .22/.45 (.410 ga) and a much better target sight




here we go - http://americansocietyofarmscollectors.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/B021_Kyser.pdf 
the Stevens Reliable was introduced in 1877, and had nothing to do with bicycles - it was intended for target shooting

And of course the Birmingham Small Arms bicycle museum with great links to military bikes
http://bsamuseum.wordpress.com/1-welcome-to-the-bsa-museum/

and should you desire a New Game Getter, they are for sale (I desire one, but not for the price)
http://www.marblearms.com/thirdGeneration.html 
though I do have the honking commemorative knife Marbles made to go with the Game Getter


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## fordmike65 (Oct 21, 2014)

Ah...a comp pistol. Being a single shot makes perfect sense now. I'd still ride around the hood strapped with it tho. Nice piece.


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## filmonger (Oct 21, 2014)

Interesting read bulldog .... The bicycle model looks like it had a large sight.

Maybe that is splitting hairs!


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## bricycle (Oct 21, 2014)

filmonger said:


> Interesting read bulldog .... The bicycle model looks like it had a large sight.
> 
> Maybe that is splitting hairs!




eahhhmmmmmmmm!


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## bulldog1935 (Oct 22, 2014)

filmonger said:


> Interesting read bulldog .... The bicycle model looks like it had a large sight.
> 
> Maybe that is splitting hairs!




peep sights are fairly standard in military and target arms because they give the longest-possible sight radius, and the aperture effect improves your eyesight - here's one I put on my daughter's Henry H001 (an amazingly accurate little lever .22, made in the US and one of the best firearm buys extant - $225 at the right discounter)



 



The sight on the Stevens Reliable is a half-buckhorn, which was a very typical sight in the 1880s


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## Rivnut (Oct 22, 2014)

Stevens also called these pocket rifles.  When broken down and put in a "pocket" the pocket "Fits perfectly within a Diamond frame."

http://www.oldbike.eu/museum/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Stevens-Bicycle-Rifle.jpg


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## bulldog1935 (Oct 23, 2014)

Rivnut, that ad is beyond cool and worth showing again


 
The frame bag is wonderful

but the Stevens Reliable pistol on the previous page is not a Stevens Favorite.  
This is a Stevens Favorite takedown rifle - this particular example a .25RF and the s/n dates it to 1911


 
the D-ring-screw on the bottom detaches the barrel from the receiver

found this photo of a Favorite taken down



you can see in the ad, the frame bag has a lower sleeve for the stock and an upper sleeve for the barrel, 



and it looks like any quality rifle scabbard you might find on a cowboy's saddle


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## Intense One (Oct 23, 2014)

Saw one of these on the "Pickers" show with Mike Wolfe on a recent episode.   Cool


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## bulldog1935 (Oct 23, 2014)

Intense One said:


> Saw one of these on the "Pickers" show with Mike Wolfe on a recent episode.   Cool




just don't believe the prices you see there, nor on Antiques Roadshow, nor on Pawn Stars - it's entertainment and they make up a lot of shhhtuff.

Even with its immaculate case colors, metal butt plate, folding tang and Beech front site, the Favorite above is only worth $400, though it would be twice that in .22LR - they haven't made .25RF ammo in the US since 1939, and the last boxes made in Canada in the '60s, sell for $5/shell - expensive shooting, even with a single-shot.


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## hoofhearted (Oct 23, 2014)

*Years ago, had a small collection of these J. Stevens specimens.

NONE of THESE SHOWN were mine ... but mine were similar. 
All fully-functioning.  Kept two.

If you enjoy these ... Google ... IMAGES  ... J. Stevens - Bicycle Rifles and Pocket Rifles.
Not all "Pocket Rifles" came with a detachable, shoulder-stock.*

Prepare yourself for a wall of confusion when you research these ... there is a great-variety of design,
and barrel-length variation -- not including factory, special-orders and/or equipment.

...... patric


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## bulldog1935 (Oct 23, 2014)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevens_Arms


> Target pistols[edit]
> Joshua Stevens produced three lines of single-shot tip-up target pistols named after contemporary gunmen.[15]
> 
> Stevens-Conlin No. 28 – named for James Conlin, owner of a Broadway Avenue shooting gallery in New York City.
> ...




did find this link with a Stevens ad naming the pistol as the model 1884 Bicycle rifle, this answer's the OP's question
http://www.oldbike.eu/centurycolumbia/?page_id=460 
I have Jay Kimmel's book on Stevens - need to look at it...
There is also a Kenneth Cope book just on the break-action pistols and pocket rifles.


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## bulldog1935 (Oct 24, 2014)

Jay Kimmel's book identified the bicycle rifle introduction as 1877.  
Though the action is the identical, he treats the pocket rifle as a separate classification from the pistols, and the pocket rifle is one of the earliest products marketed by Stevens.  
Within Kimmel's book, Kenneth Cope wrote the chapter on the pistol, with no reference to the pocket rifle.  The target pistols were produced until WWII.  
BTW, it's not legal to own a folding-stock arm produced after 1900 with a barrel less than 18 inches (or requires BATFE permit) - it's classified by ATF as a sawed-off shotgun/rifle.  Older than 1900, it's classified as a relic, and not a firearm.


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