Stevens 200...how accurate

Kombi,

Do you guys have an open season on Dingo's? What are the pests in your country that you are allowed to shoot anytime?


I smell a Stevens lovers/haters controversy post coming up.

They are fairly accurate for the price you pay. They are a nice gun to tinker with, and add accesories to.
 
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powder burner said:
Kombi,

Do you guys have an open season on Dingo's? What are the pests in your country that you are allowed to shoot anytime?
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You need a permit to shoot dingos as they're a native animal, and to be blunt, they aren't as big a problem as people would have you believe.
Roos are also protected so you need tags or a permit to cull them.
But there are LOTS of feral animals which are open season.
We have rabbits, hares, foxes, feral cats, wild dogs & goats are fairly common in the more temperate zones.
If you think coyote are cunning fox are a real challenge.
You can add pigs to that if you're hunting in the outback as well as donkeys, wild horses and camels.
If you head north to the Northern Territory and North Queensland you can add scrub bulls(feral cattle) and Asiatic water buffalo to the list.
In pockets down the east coast and ranges and in Tasmania there are also a number of species of deer including fallow, hog deer, red deer, chital and the big sambar deer.
In Victoria, the state for which Melbourne is the capital, there are seasons for some deer species but by and large if you pick your spot you could hunt any of these species year round.
There's also a huge game ranch at Water Valley in South Australia where wapiti and black buck antelope, in addition to the other deer species I've mentioned, are available for hunting and I believe the rates are very reasonable.
Trophy fees for some deer species and particularly for water buff are beginning to rear their ugly heads depending on where and who you hunt with but if you can get contacts, particularly for hunting deer on rural properties where they're a pest, you can avoid these and bag some seriously good heads.
As far as I'm aware Victoria is the only state that has a duck season these days unfortunately, but there are some goose hunting seasons on the Bass Straight islands between mainland Australia and Tasmania.
Water fowl hunting is largely outlawed in other states apart from special culling permits on rice plantations and other rural locations.
But, yes, there is a wide variation of game but, as I said before, you need to pick you spot and you also need access to the applicable location, which as you guys would well know, is always the trick.
Plus animals like sambar and water buff either require being reasonably involved in a local scene or paying a guide for the priviledge.:(
Possibly the best thing about hunting in Oz is that most of our varmint, small game hunting and roo shooting is done at night over a spotlight.
Try getting away with that in Canada!;)
 
Sounds like it a lot of fun over there.....

As for the Stevens 200, I would not spend a lot of money on it, if thats the case you would be better off buying a higher end Savage with accu-trigger or higher end rifle.

With that said, lighten up your trigger and you can handload. Play with a lot of different loads, every rifle has one it just loves. I know a couple of guys who got their 223 down to half in after playing with a lot of handloads.

Even if you were to spend 300 bucks on the rifle, to improve it, you will still have to experiment with handloads, to see which one it will like.

They are accurate and a good deal, what you are not paying for is fit and finish, they are pretty basic. But don't expect a 299 dollar rifle to shoot ragged holes... If it does, then you are lucky.
 
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I haven't met a factory Savage/Stevens that couldn't get under MOA with a bit of easy work. 1/2 MOA has happened more often then not.

First off, bed that action. The pillars are excellent but the inletting is horrid. Once bedded around the action screw holes, recoil lug and rear tang, work up loads using Lee collet sized fireformed brass. Open up the foreend so that it can not touch the barrel.

With some Benchmark or Varget, depending on bullet weight lit by a CCI BR4 primer, there is little reason the rifle can't shoot better.

I really like Vmax and Amax bullets but Nosler comp and Sierra Matchkings also shoot very well.

Don't expect to use garden variety SP bullets and expect bug hole groups. QC on these bullets is usually poor so you get flyers. Stick to varmint or match quality bullets and groups will shrink.

I really like low trigger pull weights for best accuracy so swap in aftermarket triggers. The SSS trigger works very well for 1lb and heavier. The Rifle basix 2 for down to a few ounces.

Jerry
 
thanks mystic, thats the kind of info I was looking for. I am currently using benchmark under 40 grain vmax's at 3595fps for the group size mentioned at the beginning of this thread. What powder/bullet combo have you had success with in this gun/calibre?

Thanks
Chris
 
Chris, don't shoot a 223 at this time. Would suggest you bed that action before doing anymore load development. Just too much wiggling around in the stock for consistency.

From there, just work up in collet sized brass and it should do better. My guess is that you have two or three clustered then one that is 1/4 to 3/8" out.

Don't use a mag primer with this powder and case. Not needed and can cause pressures to spike which throws flyers.

Also, make sure the rests are solid, optics are clear. No use trying to shoot if the support equipment is not reliable and accurate.

Do lighten that trigger as much as possible. It will help alot with accuracy as you don't need a death grip on the rifle to make the trigger break.

Consider using a heavier bullet. You never know but it might like the 50 to 55gr Vmax/Amax better.

Jerry
 
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