USMC Sniper Carlos Hathcock’s First Rifle, Stevens Model 15-A

By Logan Metesh

U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- Ask anyone what kind of gun was used when they learned how to shoot as a child and they will almost always say it was some kind of .22-caliber pistol or rifle. Because a .22 is such a soft-shooting round, it’s perfect for teaching children (and adults) the fundamentals of marksmanship without scaring them away with loud noise or harsh recoil.

In the early 20th century, one such popular rifle was the Stevens Model 15, which was an affordable, easy-to-use, single-shot rifle.

The Model 15 was intended for the boy’s rifle market. Early models had a 22” barrel and later models had a 24” barrel. Regardless of barrel length, they usually tipped the scales at less than four pounds. Technically a bolt-action, it was a simple single-shot design. The bolt operated like any other bolt-action rifle, except that after extracting the fired cartridge case, there was no magazine that would allow the loading of another cartridge. Instead, the next round had to be manually loaded.

For the first ten years of production, which were 1937 to 1947, it was billed as the Springfield …Read the Rest

Source:: AmmoLand