ya'll know me and my 22's..........here's a updated info on my favorite rifle.....
“GillGuns”or “Clackity~Clacks:
Stevens had a brand of rifles named “Springfield Arms Co.”, this was merely a brand manufactured in their own factory. Savage bought out Stevens in 1920.
The 87's were a mostly cheaper model with Beech or Birchwood stained to look walnut, they were copied from the 1936-1947 model's Buckhorn 76 and 076(best sights). Anything Buckhorn, was supposed to be a better rifle ~ wood, sights, etc. Pre-war models sport the checkering on the grip areas. The different models had small changes, i.e. trigger guards, painted stocks, even "tenite" i.e. plastic stock etc. The models with the "square" receiver ends will be what I discuss and “collect”: (87)A,AB,AT,B,C,D,K(carbine model). Then the rifle was changed somewhere around 1958 to have a sloped rear receiver endcap, but it still screwed in....models 87E,KE,J,N,187E,187H,188H~to me , the rifle then lost it’s “flavor” of the past.
And we also know that the war era spawned the 87M, A HIGH PRICED Garrand copy, it used the 87's basic features, with special peep sights, full wood, sometimes referred to in a magazine add as a “musket”. "It is probable that in this time (1940) the Springfield 87M was developed as a military-type training rifle."
"Its walnut stock and handguard resembled the Garrand's wood; its tubular magazine had to be withdrawn for loading; its utility was questionable and its production run short. The 87M is seldom encountered today in original configuration. After the war the 87M resurfaced in the Sears Roebuck catalog as the Ranger Model 101.22." There are some numbers stamped into the wood at the butt of these, maybe, just maybe relating to the total number made????
There was also a short lived "gallery" shorts only model 872(Savage 602,Ranger model 101.10) circa 1940~1946. These have special “guts’…lightened hammers and bolts and springs to offset the smaller recoil impluse of the 22 short.
The "clip" models were the same receiver etc as the mag tube models...with different lower cut-outs, (the receivers will not interchange with 87’s) only named 85's....85, 85A, 85K(carbine model)circa 1939. Similar models were Stevens Buckhorn 57, & 057 circa 1939-1947, and the 850.
Sears had their models stamped ranger 101.**…a Ranger 101.16 is a Savage 6, or Stevens 87, Sears 232 or 233 is a Stevens 87, westerfield had a 87 marked 808. coast to coast 288, westpoint 287, hiawatha 189-J, hiawatha 189-N & westerfield 808-N. 87J=B-964 belknap, 87N=B-964 belknap.
In May 1938 Savage made the 6 series~6A,AB,B,C (cheek piece model) D,S (factory installed peep sights) The 7 was the "clip" model~7, 7A, 7S(peep sights). The factory scoped models were 6E, 6H, 6DL, 6J, 6M, 6N, 6JDL, and 6P.
The 6D came out in 1955. It had a grooved receiver for the tip-off mounts.
So, I THINK that the 87 started in 1938 and ended with model changes 1958. These changes appeared to be the sloped rear cap, less "fins' on the left of the receiver, and wood finishes. Some of the Sears “Ranger” models had no “gills” at all in the receiver, one example I know of is without “gills” but has factory D&T holes.
They look good when they scope mounted with the T and N mounts and a old weaver 29S(1937) or even the cheaper weavers G (1947) B (1953) series. (Try Numrich Gunparts - I bought a Weaver accessory scope mount base plate which according to instruction sheet fits many of the Savage 6A variants - it matched the predrilled/plugged holes on our "Ranger 101.16/ Savage 6A" perfectly. Part Number 573370 - not shown in their on-line catalog.)
I think Savage started selling scopes and mounts in 1936 and D&T'ed the receivers in 1937. The receivers were D&T'ed with two hole for the Weaver T mount.
After WWII Weaver came out with the N mount which had four holes.
Looking in the scope book, I see that the "S" mount was first used in 1934 and the "T" was added in 1939.
Both scopes line up on the C/L of the bore. Mounting hole spacing of both is
approx. 2.35" CTC. The S-1 is called the low (C/L to T/Receiver=.5"), and the
S-3 (C/L to T/Receiver=1.0") is the high mount. These mounts are shown on page
263 & 269 in Nick Stroebel's book, "Old Rifle Scopes. I don't know if there ever
was a S-2 mount, or how it differed from the S-1 & S-3 mounts.
The 150 Savage peep sight with two holes will fit those two holes on the left rear receiver in the 87’s & 85’s.
Notice too......as we get toward the end of the era, the cheaper manufacturing techniques...I have a assortment of bolts, hammers, etc and some extractors are deeper cut, some shallow, some no longer spring loaded little hooks, but a one piece spring clip....also the EARLY 87's had no peep sight or "n" scope mount holes on the receiver ~BUT, nothing is sure here....ALL records are lost, I have been taking notes and old magazine adds to get my info~and last but not least.....the company used what it had.....as I have a factory 87K with a barrel mark "D" on it. Marks on barrels may help too in the manufacture date~Utica NY until 1947, Chicopee Falls until 1960, Westfield after that.
Additional notes:
Belknap 964A = Stevens 87N
Belknap B964 = Savage 87J
Belnap B967 = Savage 87N
Coast to Coast 288 = Savage 87J
Cotter & Co 168 = Springfield 87J
C.I.L 212 = Savage 7J
C.I.L. 221 = Savage 7J
Gamble Skogkmo 189N = Stevens 87N
Palmetto 11 = Stevens 85
Thanks be to’ Savage99’, & ‘Sarge’ & ’Fatstrat’ ‘22AGS’ ‘Flysalot’and others for this info~Also info from the book “Savage and Stevens Arms” by Jay Kimmel ISBN number: 0-942893-00-x
And of coarse Numrich Arms….
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