March 2022 • Nebraskaland 41
As one of more than a million of
this model Stevens sold, the fi rearm
— one of the fi rst mass-produced semi-
automatic .22s — is far from being a
rarity.
I could not even guess how many
rounds it has fi red. It helped put food
on the table for my grandparents when
they were newlyweds. Long before I
took aim with it, and years after those
jackrabbit harvests, my dad and uncle
remember it entertaining the family as
a plinker around the farm — especially
on the many nights the TV's one
station was on the fritz. They say one
of Grandpa's favorite activities was
lighting and extinguishing matchsticks
with a careful aim. If the farm's varmint
population needed to be curbed, it was
the go-to tool. During wheat harvest,
it rode on the combine. Despite heavy
use and minimal cleaning, Dad says he
cannot remember it ever jamming or
misfi ring.
As Grandpa aged, the rifl e was
put into storage with his other guns.
Sometime after he died in 2001, they
were passed on to family. I decided to
clean the Stevens well enough to stop
the rust and keep it as a conversation
piece. Beyond that, I had little optimism
about its future.
After inspecting it, though, I was
pleased to fi nd the bore free of rust and
corrosion, as were all of the mechanics
of the trigger and bolt assembly. A few
blasts of an aerosol gun cleaner had
those parts moving well and looking
fresh again. All of that Red Willow
County dirt came off easy enough, and
the rust on the exterior of the barrel and
magazine relented by rubbing it with
fi ne steel wool and oil. After cleaning
and oiling, I put the gun in the cabinet.
It stayed there for more than a decade.
Even though the Springfi eld Stevens 87A, purchased by the author's grandfather about eight decades ago,
shows signs of abuse, it's been refi nished and given new life.
JUSTIN HAAG, NEBRASKALAND
