Stevens 200 in .223

FlyingHigh

FlyingHigh

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
27   0   0
Location
Grande Prairie, Alberta
hey all,
i'm looking at getting a Stevens 200 in .223 for varmint and long range shooting. shots would be made out 500-600 yards. i'm wondering if anyone has any experience or opinion on ths gun/calibre out to that range.

the choice of gun and calibre were made on a basis of economy and performance as i've been told by others.
 
caliber is excellent. Gun is good for the money but like all inexpensive factory rifles, there are lots of things you can/should do to them to obtain optimal accuracy.
 
After owning Stevens 200 in 223 I would say no. Not at 500 yards.
This is a 1 MOA gun after serious load development, and 1 MOA at 500 yards is 5", which is larger than your typical gopher. Throw wind and mirage into the picture and it becomes 10-15".
 
svt-40 said:
After owning Stevens 200 in 223 I would say no. Not at 500 yards.
This is a 1 MOA gun after serious load development, and 1 MOA at 500 yards is 5", which is larger than your typical gopher. Throw wind and mirage into the picture and it becomes 10-15".
Click to expand...

I'm totally shocked! Someone who DARES to challenge dogma?!!!....:eek:
 
Yeah, but what rifle is capable of consistently hitting a 2.5" wide by 7" tall target at 500 meters? I'd suggest shooting the little buggers within 300 meters and be prepared to miss about a third of the time.
 
its an excellent base, take a $300 gun, sell the stock and barrel for a little and put on a decent replacement stock and decent barrel. $200 for stock, $500 for a barrel, and youve got a great gun for $1k

if your on a budget, take the $300 gun, wieght the stock down a bit with some lead shot and epoxy, that'll stiffent it up a little too. bed it, and youve got the best $350 gun around.
 
not without some work. The stock is probably the weakest link, followed by the trigger. Bed it, and do some load work, and the rifle should be capable of consistent accuracy somewhere under 1 MOA. Don't expect one-holers or cloverleaf groups, at least, not consistently.
 
what would you folks suggest then for a gun that fits those peramiters? i'm not really a gunsmith, since i haven't been shooting more than a year. i'm slowly picking it up, but major mods are pretty much out right now, i'm basically stuck with shooting a relatively stock gun. the other gun i was looking at was the Remington 700 SPS Varmint. but it's a little more expensive.
 
Be happy with what you have because you can spend 5 times as much for a factory gun and achieve exactly the same results. The Stevens is a good gun for the money
 
If you haven't been shooting for more than a year, I highly doubt you'll be hitting gopher sized targets at 500-600 yards with any gun. Get that Stevens, and shoot it. Lots. It'll be a few years (and probably a few barrels) before you will be able to shoot beyond the capabilities of the gun
 
If you haven't been shooting for more than a year, I highly doubt you'll be hitting gopher sized targets at 500-600 yards with any gun. Get that Stevens, and shoot it. Lots. It'll be a few years (and probably a few barrels) before you will be able to shoot beyond the capabilities of the gun
Click to expand...

sorry, guess i wasn't clear enough. i've been off and on shooting for about 5 years, but i've only owned guns for about a year. i've basically been handed a gun, sighted it in and shot. i'm actually a decent shot. i have a Remington 700 in 7mm Rem Mag, 10/22 and a Mossberg 12 gauge. i'm getting 1 and 2 inch groups at 100 and 200 yards with the 7mm, just haven't tried out to long range, since it's expensive to shoot. the .22 i can get one and two hole groups at 60 - 100 yards on a good day. i figure with a good gun, with less recoil and more practice, i could handle the 7mm out to 1000 yards in a year or two (i shoot about 1000 rounds of .22 and 40 rounds of 7mm every weekend)
 
if you can find one maybe look for a savage 12fv, wss has them listed for $589

Ive got one in a 22-250 and its nice, the stock is the worst of it, its cheap and flimsy, but it is pillar bedded, so a little shotshell and epoxy in the crevases will do alot to stifen it up.

its got a heavy barrel so it takes a little longer to heat up, and the accutrigger takes some getting used to, I didnt like it when I first got it, but now im liking it more and more.

edit: where you located ? Im in Kamloops BC, I epoxy/steel bb's my savage 12fv stock, it did help alot but I ended up getting a chocote stock insted. if you (or anyone else) wants the old one they can pm me and pick it up for free.
 
Last edited:
Stevens stocks really are flimsy. If you are the least bit handy you can do a few things to help the improve the stock. There are lots of good pointers in several threads here. But with mine I reinforced the forestock with a steel rod from the tip to the action. Then I used bondo to fill in the stock voids. I was careful to shape the bondo to maintain the free floating of the barrel. I bedded the action and filled the butt stock with spray foam insulation. That added a good amount of weight and made all the difference on a bipod. I also texture coated and painted it. And lightened the trigger of course.

Total cost was minimal since I had everything but bedding compound at home already. I think for a new shooter the Stevens in .223 lets you play with the things I did and "learn" to shoot on the cheap. I have been shooting all my life (read long time) , but this is new to me so I appeciate being able to shoot all I want at a very affordable cost.

When I grow up I'll get a Remngton 5R milspec .308 :D

NOTE : When using spray foam insulation , make sure you allow at least a day for it to dry with the butt pad off. I found out that it can liquify inside the stock to a honey type stuff far nastier than any pine sap imaginable if you put the butt pad on too early. :eek:
 
Last edited:
prosper said:
If you haven't been shooting for more than a year, I highly doubt you'll be hitting gopher sized targets at 500-600 yards with any gun. Get that Stevens, and shoot it. Lots. It'll be a few years (and probably a few barrels) before you will be able to shoot beyond the capabilities of the gun
Click to expand...

For most part I agree, but I guarantee you he won't hit any gophers at 600 yards in near future.
 
prosper said:
If you haven't been shooting for more than a year, I highly doubt you'll be hitting gopher sized targets at 500-600 yards with any gun. Get that Stevens, and shoot it. Lots. It'll be a few years (and probably a few barrels) before you will be able to shoot beyond the capabilities of the gun
Click to expand...

If his learning curve is that slow then I would suggest another hobby. Considering a .223 Rem barrel can last as long as a .308 Win. you're talking a LOT of rounds down range if he goes through just (1) barrel, let alone several.
 
the feel i'm getting from here, is that i can't really buy a gun that doesn't need to much modification worth shooting long ranges without spending around 800 bucks or so. guess i may just have to bite the bullet and pick up the SPS Varmint or VTR.
 
A few pages back will be my post on the Stevens 223 I worked on. It did average 1/2 min at 200yds. Did some nice 3/8" groups at 100yds too.

I bedded the action and barrel nut, free floated the rest. Tuned the trigger but eventually that went out for an SSS unit - hate heavy triggers.

The factory Stevens barrels can be great shooters but almost all will open up when they get hot. I have yet to find a Savage or Stevens that wouldn't hold MOA or better giving a good load work up.

Many shooters are reporting 1/2 MOA type accuracy so mine is not an oddity.

Rems shoot. So do Tikkas and Winchesters. However, with any factory rifle, you can get some duds for barrels.

For what you are doing, I would suggest the Savage 12FV or another version with a stock to your liking. That way you get a heavier rifle right away with a decent trigger. The heavy barrel will be more tolerant of more shots before overheating.

I usually just open up the forend with LOTS of space around the barrel. Seems to work. Or you can reinforce as described or use plywood on the outside. Seal and spray paint and they look just like composite stocks. Makes for a great dirt cheap project.

From there, you need to do some load work up. I have shot 75gr Amax exclusively in mine. Benchmark and Varget (prefered) lit with CCI BR4 or 450 (prefered) in Win cases will get the job done. I use Lee collet neck dies, Redding body die and an RCBS seater. This can make ammo with under 3 thou runout at the bullet. More then consistent enough to shoot as good as the barrel will allow.

Odds are the throat will be too long for an OAL to fit in the mag. No matter as single feeding is not a big chore.

Get some Burris rings w/inserts and a decent scope. That will do more to improve your shooting then another brand of factory rifle.

As for hitting a pop can at 500yds, that will just take some practise and consistent ammo. The better BC of the 75gr Amax helps alot the further you want to go.

There are three articles in my sig line that will help you get started in LR shooting. Using my rifles, I have had every newbie I have taken out hit clay pigeon sized rocks at 500+ yds within a dozen shots.

If you can hit a small target at short range, LR just means you got to lean into the wind a bit more.

I enjoy using a scope with a mildot or hash mark reticle because it helps so much with wind doping.

Final thing, when working up a load, watch for vertical stringing. If you can dial it out, awesome. AT least try and minimize it cause it will drive you insane the further you try and go.

How far can a 75gr Amax out of a 223 go? Well, I think I have pretty much covered that. 1 mile is well within possibilities

AND a Savage will make the trip.

Jerry
 
even at 800 you'll still want todo a little work yourself to get it to shoot beter. if you want something that is completly done for you then outofbox guns arent going to cut it, something custom like from ATR, but you'll be paying alot more for it then a savage stevens.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom