J Stevens Arms Serial Number Lookup
All of the factory records were burned by Westinghouse right after WW1, to avoid having them become evidence a Congressional inquiry. By my own survey, which I've only just started, a 46xxx s/n would put it somewhere in the mid to late '20s. Manufacture of the plain Model 44 ended in about 1932, (according to Frank deHaas). The highest s/n I've seen on a.25-20, (so far) is 52xxx. It's possible to date some Model 44s a little closer, when they are in the 1894 to 1903 area, due to feature changes which can be correlated to dated catalogs. Catalogs are the only signposts we have, unless somebody has an original sales receipt with date, or some other such document. It's also pretty certain that anything in a caliber bigger than.32-20 is pre-1903.
J Stevens Arms Company Serial Number Lookup
Stevens Gun Serial Numbers
In that year they started with the Model 44 1/2, and dropped the 44 action for everything but.22LR,.25 Stevens,.32 Long RF,.25-20,.32-20, and maybe.25-21 on special order. It seems to me that there were no obvious feature changes in run-of-the-bog Model 44s after 1903, but I haven't looked very hard at the post-WW1 (i.e. Savage ownership) period. Model 414, which used the 44 action, was 1912 to 1932.