Is a Stevens model 200 just a Savage without the accutrigger?

[manbearpig]

hey folks,

i have a friend who is considering buying a stevens model 200 in .30-06 as a cheap working deer rifle. hes been burned with used gun deals so he is bent on buying a new rifle, but cheap - he wants it scoped for under $500 tax in. really the only way hes going to do that with a new gun is with a remington 770 or stevens 200.

on the surface, a stevens 200 looks identical to a savage 110/111 without the accutrigger and with an even cheaper synthetic stock (id never thought this would be possible) and finish. is it actually compatible with savage parts?

he asked me which of the two i would buy and i told him probably the stevens over the remington... does anyone disagree?

 

[Airborn_69]

Very close..

 

[RickF]

The Stevens is a Savage with the stock made on the old Savage molds, and minimal handwork.

 

[manbearpig]

so aside from having a different stock and a cheaper finish, hes basically buying a savage 110 for half the price?
so all savage stocks, parts (except accutrigger), etc will all fit flawlessly? aftermarket savage barrels are compatible?

sounds like quite a deal compared to the remington 770.. which is a completely dumbed down, cheapened 'disposable rifle'.

 

[Beadwindow]

Tell him not to get the 770.

The Stevens 200 is all he needs.

The latest SIR flyer that I recieved has the following prices.

Stevens 200 for $329.99

Stevens 200 with 3x9 Scope (7mm Rem Mag and 300 Win Mag only) $389.99

Savage 111FCXP3 with Simmonds 3x9 Scope, Sling & Swivels and detachable magazine for $429.99

I must confess that the Savage rifle with scope would sound a bit more appealing to myself, but not for any fault on the part of the Stevens 200. Were the scope package for the 200 available in 30-06 or .308, that would probably be my favourite choice. I own a Stevens in .223 and hope to get some decent optics for it in the near future. So far I have to admit that I'm impressed with it.

Cheers,

Frank

 

[pac11]

Yes they are a hell of a deal. Especially if you take off all the mold lines with a razor blade, degrease and paint the stock. You have to degrease or the paint will want to peel off.

 

[manbearpig]

The latest SIR flyer that I recieved has the following prices.

SIR?

please enlighten...

and yeah at those prices i would get the savage w/scope... by the time you buy even a cheapo scope and bases/rings you are over that anyways. how are simmons scopes? i was going to recommend he get a bushnell legend or something in the $150ish range in the least.

 

[Nine]

sirmailorder.ca/show_prod.php?product_id=426338&cat_id=10&subcat_id=30&PHPSESSID=4f1dac75d0ee672a0686aa20fa21addf

 

[manbearpig]

wow, i dont think he can go wrong with the .30-06 savage, even comes with quick release swivels and a sling. with shipping and tax he might even make the $500 mark and wont even have to fins mounts, rings or have it boresighted.

 

[Big Game]

stevens 200

Irecently went into SIR and bought the stevens package in the 300 WM. A far superior rifle to the Remington Model 770. The gun is pillar bedded, and although the stock is ugly it can be improved with paint. I,ve seen some excellent camo jobs on CGN. The Remington also has an ugly stock and the barrel is pressed into the action. The scope on either the stevens or savage packages isn't great, but should make an adequate starter for a non magnum rifle.

 

[Nine]

A stevens 200 and something like a weaver K6 would be under $600. Heck of a deeeeal.

 

[Mystic Precision]

The Stevens 200 IS a Savage with the most recent non accutrigger trigger group. ALL aftermarket parts fit (standard barrel shank). If looking for bases, you want the same parts as the round top Accutrigger Savage action.

The stock is a mixture of old and new. Same material, just a different colour. Paints easily.

From what I have been told, the Stevens are made from parts that aren't used in a particular Savage run. Why Stevens will have the full range of finish from beautiful gloss bluing to matte blue. From the old flat foreend stock to the new rounded ones.

I have bought quite a number now and it is always a treat to see what you actually get.

One thing I know for sure, they all shoot once bedded and with handloads. They all have heavy triggers that really only come down to around 3lbs.

My most recent 223 will shoot under 1/2 MOA on a calm day out to 200yds.

Not bad for $325...AND a bit of tuning.

Jerry

 

[manbearpig]

so for a 'working gun' it sounds like the stevens 200 is pretty much the best value going right now.

its a shame they dont come with irons, would make an even cheaper working gun.. plus its nice to have something just as accurate and effective as a high dollar rifle but that you dont have to worry about dinging and scuffing and painting the hell out of. for some reason these types of guns end up being used more and being more 'fun'... its like buying a brand new pickup truck: consciously or subconsciously you end up babying it and holding back, and it crimps the fun factor

im tempted to order one myself now. just a basic cheap stevens, get the finish bead blasted off, and parkerize it myself, paint the stock and make it into a truck gun. a few months ago i made myself a parkerizing setup and im itching to try it on something larger than small parts (i have a large barrel/action tray, just havent used it yet).
its just really a shame that there are no irons on it, i wouldnt even bother mounting a scope. is it because the savage action - with the barrel nut used to headspace the chamber -- makes it impractical to have sights on the barrel?

 

[LeftFootOfDoom]

mysticplayer:

I was wondering if you could post some details about how you tuned your stevens rifle.

The reason I ask is that I bought one because a guy at my club had one in 223 and with only a replacement trigger he consistently gets 5 rounds touching at 100m.
My 223 gets consistent groups of 1.5 - 2 inches at 100m. Since these are pillar bedded and free floating I dont know what I can do to bring the best out of this rifle. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Mystic Precision]

Big post in the precision forum with my work up of the Stevens 200. There is also a post in the Gunsmith question on bedding the stevens that I responded to. If you do a search looking for my posts, you will find all the recent stuff.

Bedding and ammo are huge factors in making these rifles shoot. Also, making sure the foreend has ALOT of space between it and the barrel.

Pillars are not enough to control the action moving in the stock.

Jerry

 

[woodchopper]

I've got a savage 111 witout the accutrigger with the detachable mag, and a stevens 200, which is really almost the same rifle. Trigger on the 111 was visually identical, but when I tried to set teh stevens trigger I noticed it would not go as light, and the trigger engagement was not as smooth. But with a little more work I should have tha fixed.

Other then the slight differences the stevens is a great deal.

Oh and with my first 22-250 handloads for the stevens I shot groups under 1"

 

[Airborn_69]

my first 22-250 handloads for the stevens I shot groups under 1"

Glad to hear you've found one..

Still planning to convert it to an AI?

 

[220Swifty]

This is my stevens 200 in 358 win. (should awnser you question about barrels, stocks, etc) I was born a 22-250, and i ordered all the parts as short action savage. Great gun, original stock makes it worth the price, but the accuracy petential exceeds the price. On ething i did with the original stock was pulled the recoil pad and filled it with expanding foam. Eliminated the hollow sound without adding any real weight.