Savage model 74 single shot 22 rifle. cocks like an old sharp rifle. need help about its history and today's market value.?

Answer 1

From the 1880s to the 1930s Stevens Firearms and Tool Company made a series of single shot rifle which were quality firearms at low cost. Many of these models were aimed at the boys' market and beginning shooters. They were referred to as boys' rifles. Of the many Stevens models the most famous is the Stevens Favorite, made from around 1894 to 1935 approximately. This model used a lever that was also the trigger guard to open the action and insert one cartridge in the chamber. Pulling down on this lever made the breech block swing down so the action is referred to as a swinging block or dropping block action. The Favorite was so famous and had so much nostalgia connected to it that Savage Arms, who had taken over Stevens in 1920, made a highly decorative commemorative model of the Favorite for one year only in 1971. This was so popular that the company started making a non-commemorative model in 1972 which they made well into the late 1980s and was dubbed the Model 72. They also made an economy edition of the Model 72 with less expensive materials and less expensive wood, etc. This was the Model 74. It came out in about 1974 and I believe was only made for a few years but the actual inclusive years of manufacture are in question. In November of 2013 I obtained an excellent copy of the Model 74 for $125. I consider this model of firearm to be worth, depending on condtion of course, from $125 to $200 on todays market in November of 2013.