Nicknamed Gill Guns (because of 8 cutout slots (or “Gills”) located on the side of the receiver that help shoot powder residue out of the chamber to let the rifle run cleaner) as well as Click Clacks,[2] it was the most popular rimfire rifle of its kind in the world until the introduction of the Marlin Model 60 in 1960.
Prior to 1949 there was no alpha code used to date the development of the rifle.
Alpha codes date the year the rifle was manufactured.
Alpha codes are listed below: A=1949, B=1950, C=1951, D=1952, E=1953, F=1954, G=1955, H=1956, I=1957, J=1958, K=1959, L=1960, M=1961, N=1962, P=1963, R=1964, S=1965, T=1966, U=1967, V=1968, W=1969, X=1970 (Note O and Q were not used) The Stevens Model 887 is a semi-automatic rifle that fires the .22 Short, .22 Long and .22 Long Rifle rimfire cartridges.
Design to be an improvement over the original Model 87 (including two “Gills” instead of 8 and an aluminum magazine tube instead of steel), it was manufactured for only two years from 1978 to 1980.