C&R · IIIA · 034
Stevens New Model Pocket Rifle, first issue, .32
Section IIIA: removed from the NFA, classed as an antique (outside the GCA)
Official wording
ATF P 5300.11 · APRIL 2025 EDITION · SECTION IIIA · VERBATIM · PDF P. 80 ↗
Stevens, New Model Pocket Rifle, first issue, cal.’s .32 short or long rimfire.
What this entry requires
- ATF REQUIRESMade 1898 or earlier (ATF’s dates)
- INFOAn antique under federal law, outside the GCA.
Editorial facts · Our research
- Country
United StatesBasis: outside reference ³- Manufacturer
- J. Stevens & Co.Basis: outside reference ¹
- Type
- OtherBasis: the ATF wording
- Action
- OtherBasis: outside reference ⁴
- Caliber
- .32 Short, .32 LongBasis: the ATF wording
- Made
- c. 1872–1875ATF: made in 1898 or earlier; start year approximateBasis: outside reference ²
- Service
- Commercial
Source
- Official wording
- ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section IIIA · PDF p. 80 ↗ · ATF original ↗
- Entries
- 1 line
- Verbatim check
- Checked against the PDF text before every release
- Editorial facts
- Confidence: High · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
- References
- 1. Wikipedia, “Stevens Arms” ↗, maker: J. Stevens & Co. 1864–1886; J. Stevens Arms & Tool Company 1886–1916
- 2. gunvalues.gundigest.com ↗, years: Gun Digest: First Issue New Model Pocket Rifle, "Chambered for .22 and .32 rimfire", "Approximately 8,000 manufactured between 1872 and 1875"
- 3. Wikipedia, “Stevens Arms” ↗, country: "an American firearms manufacturer founded by Joshua Stevens in 1864" in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts; maker of the pocket rifles
- 4. thefirearmblog.com ↗, action: the Stevens Pocket Rifle "was essentially the same firearm as the Pocket Pistol" with a longer barrel and detachable stock; the pocket pistols were "single-shot single-action pistols": a single-shot tip-up, action Other
- Fact tags
- ATF the ATF wording states it.
- REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
- ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
- NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
- Source checked
- 20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
- Corrections
- 2 changes · see below
Correction history
- Evidence passEditorial confidence: Low → High. Re-rated after supporting references were added or re-checked.
- Data-trust reviewMaker: J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co. → J. Stevens & Co.. Firm was J. Stevens & Co. until 1886
Historical context

Image: U.S. Patent 44,123, “Improvement in breech-loading fire-arms, sheet 1” by Joshua Stevens, Public domain (US patent). Retrieved October 2026.