ATR vs Stevens

Foxer

Foxer

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I'm toying with picking up a 270 for use where the terrain would favour a little flatter shooting deer gun. Plus, it'd be nice to have a backup. So i was toying with picking up an inexpensive atr or stevens to fit the bill.

The question is - which one? Which is more accurate, and which is more reliable, etc.

Anyone played with both and have any insight to offer?
 
I have had 4 different 200 stevens. 223, 7mm, 308 and 300 Win mag. All were accurate between 1.5 and 1.0 inch... The recoil pad is terrible on them though. I no longer have any of them, there are better rifles out there, but they cost more. They are good for the 300 dollar price though...

I have read a lot on the ATR with good reviews. I would be interested to try one, but have not yet.
 
Well i guess i can always change the pad if i feel like it, but it's not like the 270's a big kicker :)

I kind of like the look of the atr better, but i've never heard anyone i 'know' tell how they shot. That's why i was wondering.
 
I have no personal experience with the atr, but remember reading a personal review on another forum a while back. The guy didn't have much to say bad about them, other than when he stripped it down, apparently it was a ##### to put back together. Take it for what it is though, maybe the guy thought he knew more about rifles than he did. Of course the Stevens has been beaten to death on here, I've got one in a .243, and it's fine for the price tag it carries.
 
I've had a Stevens 200 in 7mm-08 and admit I've been intrigued by the prices on the ATR from the Wholesale Sports catalogue. Looks like a good solid rig for the money. Either/or is probably not a bad choice...

That said, if it was me I opt for a Rem 700 SPS... I've had one of them in .30-06 and I liked it better than the Stevens. But it was about $200 more... but the choices in accessories for the 700, like stocks etc makes the 700 most attractive. ;)
 
Well the thing of it is there's only one or two places where it'd be of any real value over the good ole 30-06, and so keeping it 'cost effective' was kinda important. Just something to experiment with more than anything. I was just wondering if the stevens or the atr would be the better choice.
 
I don't think you could go wrong with either. Each has its virtues from a future customization point of view. (And I know you plan to eventually chuck the barrel and make a .35 Whelen out of it.)

Stevens: All Savage after-market parts available, including stocks. Other plus: You can change the bolt face and mag box. That means you can even make a .223 out of it someday, or a .300 Winchester (or WSM). I hear the issue trigger is a #####, however, and you may eventually want to change it. That will cost a few dollars. On the other hand, if you don't use it that much, the original trigger is the same Savage trigger that's worked for decades. The original trigger's adjustment is NOT user-friendly, however. I've handled the Stevens, and I actually liked the feel and balance of that stock.

ATR: It's shocking to imagine that you can get a serious rifle for less than $300. It comes with bases, so all you will need are rings and a scope. The action is the tried and trued Howa action, which was used for years on the Smith & Wesson rifle, as well as the current Weatherby Vanguard. This action is a real "President's Choice" (to borrow an analogy from the grocery store context). It was designed to feature the best elements of the Rem 700, Winchester 70 and even the M-16 (for the extractor). There are lots of after-market stocks available for the Howa action, should you wish to change. From everything I've read (I've never used one), they are excellent shooters. Trust me, I've read numerous test reports on these rifles, and every single one was glowing. You simply can't go wrong with this choice.

Again, we've discussed putting together a .300 Winchester Magnum for you, and I really think that would be a better choice than getting another .30-06 class rifle (which is really all that a .270 is). Let's face it, if the range is too far for you with your 168-grain TripleShock at 2,850 - 2,900, then you're going to need to go up significantly, and a .300 Magnum would have the advantage of also using .30 calibre bullets. You and I have discussed that your .30-06 as currently loaded is more than capable of shooting to 350 yards, and nobody can deny this. If you realistically want to improve the trajectory a bit or stretch the range to 500 (and you feel confident to shoot those ranges), then you should be thinking of a .300 Winchester or something similar. Properly loaded, it will do at 500 what your '06 load will do at 350. This cannot be said for the .270 Winchester, no matter what load you are using.

Even if you don't like my idea of building you a .300, at least consider the Stevens rifle in .300 Winchester. It can be had for the same price as the .270. And there is no competitive rifle out there that will give you a .300 Winchester Magnum in that price range.

Cheers,

AB
 
Well, after shooting prospers 200s in 7mm-08 and .308, I'd go that route. they're inexpensive, shoot REALLY well, and you don't have to worry about beating on the stock at all.
 
I've shot and handled two .270 ATR's. They both shoot very well. I prefer the ATR over the stevens. If you can get used to the integral sling swivels and trigger guard and the plastic bolt shroud you will probably like the ATR. It is a much better looking rifle than the savage/stevens.
 
Oscar Makonka said:
I've shot and handled two .270 ATR's. They both shoot very well. I prefer the ATR over the stevens. If you can get used to the integral sling swivels and trigger guard and the plastic bolt shroud you will probably like the ATR. It is a much better looking rifle than the savage/stevens.
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X2 ..I had one earlier in the year,30.06....was a nice handling and well balanced rifle,especially for the price...the fit and finish was pretty decent as well.....accuracy was around the inch mark if I recall and that was using factory ammo......the action and trigger pull were also surpisingly smooth and clean.....I would buy another for sure:)
 
Gatehouse seemed to make his stevens trigger usable. I never tried tweaking mine as I ordered a replacement trigger at the same time as the rifle. I like mine enough that I'd buy another stevens without hesitating. I've never tried the atr though.
 
I was able to tweak the trigger on my Stevens it's still not a accu-trigger but it's not too heavy and it breakes nice and clean. One thin that is encouraging about both of them is that they seem to be soild econo rifles inexpensive but still pretty good. And especially when you line up something like the rem 710 against them.
 
I dislike the ATR, simply because it ONLY comes in 270 & 30-06 - neither of those are anywhere on my 'favourite cartridges' list. I greatly prefer the feel of a short action - shorter bolt movement, usually smoother feel (due to the aforementioned short bolt movement), etc. It's purely an aesthetic/feel thing. If Mossberg/Howa made a 308 or 7mm-08, I'd be very interested in trying one. As is, I'm quite pleased with the performance of the Stevens's. They're ugly guns, no doubt about it and the injection moulded stocks leave a lot to be desired. Triggers aren't the best, but aren't BAD either. I've never had any creep issues with them, but I have with Vanguard/Howas before - not that creep is hard to correct. Stevens triggers are easy to tweak, and have a lot of adjustment. It's easy to adjust for zero overtravel (key factor in the 'crisp' feel department), and you can get them down to about 3lbs before you start getting slamfires (you can take them all the way down to a few ounces for range use, but if you slam the bolt shut too hard it'll go bang) But they work. They shoot really well, they're light, they balance well, and they have no useless extra features. They do have really ####ty recoil pads though, thin and hard as hell - with top loads my 308 was bruising me after a couple boxes of ammo at the range) Not the greatest guns in the world by any stretch, but I do believe with these guys you DO get more than you pay for.

If mossberg made 'better' (or at least more interesting) calibers, I'd certainly try one.
 
prosper said:
I dislike the ATR, simply because it ONLY comes in 270 & 30-06 - neither of those are anywhere on my 'favourite cartridges' list. I greatly prefer the feel of a short action - shorter bolt movement, usually smoother feel (due to the aforementioned short bolt movement), etc. It's purely an aesthetic/feel thing. If Mossberg/Howa made a 308 or 7mm-08, I'd be very interested in trying one. As is, I'm quite pleased with the performance of the Stevens's. They're ugly guns, no doubt about it and the injection moulded stocks leave a lot to be desired. Triggers aren't the best, but aren't BAD either. I've never had any creep issues with them, but I have with Vanguard/Howas before - not that creep is hard to correct. Stevens triggers are easy to tweak, and have a lot of adjustment. It's easy to adjust for zero overtravel (key factor in the 'crisp' feel department), and you can get them down to about 3lbs before you start getting slamfires (you can take them all the way down to a few ounces for range use, but if you slam the bolt shut too hard it'll go bang) But they work. They shoot really well, they're light, they balance well, and they have no useless extra features. They do have really s**tty recoil pads though, thin and hard as hell - with top loads my 308 was bruising me after a couple boxes of ammo at the range) Not the greatest guns in the world by any stretch, but I do believe with these guys you DO get more than you pay for.

If mossberg made 'better' (or at least more interesting) calibers, I'd certainly try one.
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The ATR is now being produced in 308 and 243..... Shouldn't be long before we see them up here.
 
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