Stevens 87A with Iver Johnson pad?

Hedley · August 9, 2006, 04:17 PM

I picked up a Stevens model 87A rust bucket recently for less than $30 as a cheap dime-store .22 auto to tinker with. As far as I can tell, it has no serial number anywhere; Just a bunch of patent numbers on the reciever. Online searching has told me that finding an exact date of manufacture is impossible.
I detail stripped it, acid washed everything, applied some Oxpho Blue, and replaced the guide spring to get it looking and feedind pretty sharp. Last night when I started to work on the wood refinish, I noticed the buttplate had "Iver Johnson" molded into it, with the owl head emblem. I'm not familiar with that manufacturer or if they farm out parts to other manufacturers, but I have seen Johnson shotguns before. Can anyone tell what the story is behind that and if it's just a well-fitting bubba-job?
Thank you,
Hedley

here she is the day I brought her home

RJay · August 10, 2006, 10:26 AM

Iver Johnson was one of the largest handgun manufactures in the world. ( note I said was, Iver John is no more). Your butt plate is a replacement, Iver Johnson had nothing to do with Stevens, Stevens is part of Savage.

SIGSHR · August 11, 2006, 03:34 PM

I second what Rjay said, I have two of these Savage-Stevens-Springfields
(one doesn't even have a manufacturer's name on it.), my first one came with a fairly thick rubber recoil pad marked "Red Duck-Chicago, Ill. A previous
owner must have had a glass shoulder. The second has a factory recoil plate.

LightningCrash · October 8, 2007, 01:56 PM

I have one of these as well, it's not a bad shooter. From what I gather these were made post-WW2, but specifics are pretty much impossible to come by.
Stevens/Springfield/Savage all made these at one point or another. My dad got mine for $20 many years ago. Street value seems to be $50-100 right now, and they're not bad for going after small varmints.

Hawg · October 8, 2007, 06:24 PM

I got my 87B for 15 bucks but the bolt spring was weak. Replaced it with one out of a Ford C-4 transmission valve body. Works fine and has for the last 25 years. Mine had a steel Winchester buttplate on it when I got it. It now has a plastic Marlin plate. I think the original buttplates must have been prone to breaking.

James K · October 9, 2007, 04:59 PM

If the spring from a Ford transmission will make those POS's work, it is the only thing that will. They are the worst .22 semi-auto ever made, anywhere at any time. A person who has one that works is lucky but if it stops working don't even bother trying to fix it, you will end up in the local looney bin.

Unless you buy that transmission.

Jim

Hawg · October 9, 2007, 05:42 PM

I like mine. It's accurate and with the long barrel fairly quiet. It does gum up the action more than any other auto I've ever had no matter what I feed it. When it gets really dirty it'll hang up once in awhile but I can't complain, not for what I've got in it. The spring didn't even cost me anything.

August 9, 2006, 04:17 PM	#1
Hedley Senior Member Join Date: May 9, 2006 Location: South Texas Posts: 1,279	Stevens 87A with Iver Johnson pad? I picked up a Stevens model 87A rust bucket recently for less than $30 as a cheap dime-store .22 auto to tinker with. As far as I can tell, it has no serial number anywhere; Just a bunch of patent numbers on the reciever. Online searching has told me that finding an exact date of manufacture is impossible. I detail stripped it, acid washed everything, applied some Oxpho Blue, and replaced the guide spring to get it looking and feedind pretty sharp. Last night when I started to work on the wood refinish, I noticed the buttplate had "Iver Johnson" molded into it, with the owl head emblem. I'm not familiar with that manufacturer or if they farm out parts to other manufacturers, but I have seen Johnson shotguns before. Can anyone tell what the story is behind that and if it's just a well-fitting bubba-job? Thank you, Hedley here she is the day I brought her home __________________ It is imperative to strike down the rise of modernism which would lend itself to folly such as the use of billet components.

August 10, 2006, 10:26 AM	#2
RJay Senior Member Join Date: November 2, 2005 Location: Arizona Posts: 1,936	Iver Johnson was one of the largest handgun manufactures in the world. ( note I said was, Iver John is no more). Your butt plate is a replacement, Iver Johnson had nothing to do with Stevens, Stevens is part of Savage.

August 11, 2006, 03:34 PM	#3
SIGSHR Senior Member Join Date: September 13, 2005 Posts: 4,700	I second what Rjay said, I have two of these Savage-Stevens-Springfields (one doesn't even have a manufacturer's name on it.), my first one came with a fairly thick rubber recoil pad marked "Red Duck-Chicago, Ill. A previous owner must have had a glass shoulder. The second has a factory recoil plate.

October 8, 2007, 01:56 PM	#4
LightningCrash Junior Member Join Date: October 8, 2007 Posts: 1	I have one of these as well, it's not a bad shooter. From what I gather these were made post-WW2, but specifics are pretty much impossible to come by. Stevens/Springfield/Savage all made these at one point or another. My dad got mine for $20 many years ago. Street value seems to be $50-100 right now, and they're not bad for going after small varmints.

October 8, 2007, 06:24 PM	#5
Hawg Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2007 Location: Mississippi Posts: 16,190	I got my 87B for 15 bucks but the bolt spring was weak. Replaced it with one out of a Ford C-4 transmission valve body. Works fine and has for the last 25 years. Mine had a steel Winchester buttplate on it when I got it. It now has a plastic Marlin plate. I think the original buttplates must have been prone to breaking.

October 9, 2007, 04:59 PM	#6
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	If the spring from a Ford transmission will make those POS's work, it is the only thing that will. They are the worst .22 semi-auto ever made, anywhere at any time. A person who has one that works is lucky but if it stops working don't even bother trying to fix it, you will end up in the local looney bin. Unless you buy that transmission. Jim

October 9, 2007, 05:42 PM	#7
Hawg Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2007 Location: Mississippi Posts: 16,190	I like mine. It's accurate and with the long barrel fairly quiet. It does gum up the action more than any other auto I've ever had no matter what I feed it. When it gets really dirty it'll hang up once in awhile but I can't complain, not for what I've got in it. The spring didn't even cost me anything.