Hi all,
I am just wondering what knowledge you guys have on the stevens mod 200. My father and i are looking at a budget rifle yet we still want something that shoots and functions well. We do want accuracy which I know you sometimes have to pay more for. We are looking at .223.
I understand these rifles are basically an 'old school' savage action without the accutrigger. They are on a grey ugly synthetic stock which doesn't worry me. Perfomance wise i would like to know if they have feed problems, sloppy action or anything like that. What kind of accuracy can be expected out of the box?
I have three. I am using this action and twice have used the barrels to build semi-custom rifles.
#1) 250-3000; used a short action and a 25/06 savage take-off barrel.
#2) 257 Roberts; used a 200 in 25/06, set the barril back and chambered for 257 Rob.
#3) used the action and installed a 308 take-off savage barrel.
All three have SharpShooter Supply competition triggers.
All three shoot 1/2 minute +/- at 100yds and MOA at 200yds if I do my part.
I am truly a Savage/Stevens fan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this topic has been tossed around a lot, by me in one late case. I got one in 7mm-08 I bought for a cheap gun to carry in the mesquite and brush. I got a couple of Savage and they are both tack drivers. after shooting 2 boxes of Winchester 140 gr. SP, I finally got my Stevens to be a tackdriver too. Great rifle for the price, if you aint a gun snob get you one, I am gonna get me another in .22-250. pay a lot for a Remington or Ruger or save lots of money on a 200 and use the savings on a Leupold. you got a winner then, if anyone laughs at you, shoot yours against their high dollar gun and I bet you will come out on top.
I am a model 200 fan I have two. As far as the plastic stocks are concerned I was looking at some Remington plastic stocked bolt action rifles at Dicks Sporting Goods that make the Stevens tupperwares look like works of art.
So i guess what most of you are all saying is that you can't beat this rilfe for the dollar? It is accurate and quite reliable and with the right optics you can have a really good setup?
I'm going to have a close look at one in the coming weeks, i hope it ends up being as good as you all say it is. I guess accuracy is my biggest concern but if you are getting sub moa then i would say that is a good rifle.
I love my Stevens Model 200 .223, some people have issues about the stock being "ugly" I kinda think it gives it a distinct look. Mine is accurate as any other rifle I have shot. My buddy who has a Tikka Lite .223 also could not believe that my "bargain rifle" could shoot so well. When I bought my Stevens it was only because I wasn't going to spend $500-$700 on a varmint rifle to lug thru the snow and bush. I want one in a 25-06 for deer I am that happy with mine.
I have my stevens 200 in .270cal and would not trade it for ANY rifle in the world. It is a tack driver now. Out of the box it was not a tack driver but with a small amount of work it will outshoot many other rifles that cost 3 times the amount. The best thing I did to mine was remove the rubber butt plate, pull out the styrofoam that is in the butt stock, and put some BB's in it. if you shake it it will rattle , but I like a rifle that is a tiny heavy on the butt end. It also helps with the recoil too.
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Great, definitely something i'm going to look at. I know the savage centerfire rifles have a good name and are quite accurate, so i hope the stevens is the same.
I will let you know what happens when i get mine. If it works out well, i'll probably get one in .308 as well.
My Stevy .308 took a nice 7 point white tail this year. They are very accurate, yours will be a center feed so look for a nice stock and it will drive tacks. Basic sniper platform. Great value.
i'm looking at getting a stevens now. i wanted the varmint 12 in .204 ruger but it's more than i can spend now. stevens doesn't offer in this round so my choices are the .223 and .22-250. i reload so price of ammo doesn't really matter. will be used for target shooting and varmints. which of the .22's should i get? the .22-250 seems the obvious choice because of the superior speed but i'm not sure how it is on barrels. also the .223 is offered in 1 in 9 twist. will this stabilize the light bullets like 55gr. or the .22-250 comes in 1 in 12 and how big a bullet can i go to for that? sorry all the questions all at once.
vivcv
My suggestion is go with the .223, I have shot my reloads from the 36 grain Varmint Grenades to 55 grain factory loads all with good results. The Winchester 45 grain JHP's come in a 40 round pack for about $22 and shot really well. My reloads in the 36-40 grain all group at around half an inch (on a good day lol) so I can't complain. I got my Steven's on sale at Wholesale Sports for $232.00 last Christmas. I'm not sure about the barrel life of a 22-250 but the .223 depending on ammo etc is supposed to last well over 5000 rounds. Of course I am biased about the .223 and love the round. The Winchester 45 grain is 3600 fps and you can get faster factory ammo. My reloads probably shoot between 3500-3700 fps (just going by loading data). No matter which round you choose for the price the Steven's 200 is a great deal! For reloading I use 26.2 grains of Varget with a 36 grain Barnes Varmint Grenade or the Hornady 40 grain V-Max. Always nice tight consistent groups.
Got one in 223rem dont look all that bad .A trigger job and that`s not hard to do. put a BSA scope 36x44 on it. worked up a few loads 40gr 50gr 55gr and working on a65 gr load now all shoot under .750at 100 yards SO IN All the Stevens 200 are about the beast deal you can get if you don`t have alot of money thay are well made and I don`t think you will find a bolt action rifle thats a tack driver any cheaper.I Know a number of shooters that own steven 200 from 223 to 300win mag and thay feel the same as I do. O if you shoot a 30-06 7mm rim mag or 300win mag
and it still has the factory hard black butt pad on it rember the rifle only hit the scale at 6 and a half pounds pluse what ever mount&scope adds to that.
Last edited by frank m; 07-22-2008 at 04:43 AM.
Reason: let shoters know the 06 and 7mm mag 300win do have some kik.
I've got a 200 in .308 and could'nt be happier. To me the gray plastic doesn't look any worse than the Remington plastics I've seen. I wish it were black like the Howa's but Duracoat can handle that, and besides, I'm not really worried about it. It shoots fine.
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wily1 I have had good tite groups from the 40gr VMax .430 or so.
I use once fired neck sized to my rifle win cases win primers H335 25.5 or 26.0
seat to 2.225 ocl bullet run out is about .002 or less. thay are cooken at around 3590
to 3610 whin thay hit a digger man not alot left .hope to get my own cono soon.
Cant up-load my pics their too big but I built a tak driver out of a Stevens 200 and boy does it shoot. Fire forming brass at the range 100 yds dime size 5 shot holes, love this one so much Ive started a second in 22-250.
Wow - read about this on here so I wanted to try it. I like to Antelope hunt in Wyoming so I decided to go with a Stevens 200 25-06 and build from their.
1) Stevens 200 25-06
2) Rifle Basix Trigger
3) Choate Ultimate Varminter Stock
4) Choate Bi-Pod Adapter
5) Shillen 25-06 AI Barrel
6) Recoil Lug replaced
7) Talley 20moa scope base
8) Tasco for now on their couldnt wait for the Leupold and had this in my drawer so off to the range to fire form brass and see what it will do.
Next to go Leupold custom shop scope, tactical bolt handle, and paint.
This is Ackley Improved now but havent shot those loads yet still fire forming brass but I have no complaints with this ...
stevens 200 
