Stevens 200 or Savage Axis

I bought a 200 as a beater and the damned thing shoots great. If I had access to a shooting bench I'd take some interest in the "My hunting rifle shoots...prove it" thread. I sometimes wish I'd bought a really nice rifle, but you can't argue with a rifle that shoots hunting handloads into tight groups and it's a bonus that if you scratch it you don't cry yourself to sleep for a week.
 
For hunting with no real ambitions of modding, the Axis will do just fine. We did have a source of aftermarket stocks but that ended last year.

RB and Timney make triggers for pulls to around 1.5lbs so the same as the Stevens. The issue with the instock lug can be overcome

The Axis action is very similar to the Savage with far few parts. It takes similar TLC to make it run very nicely. the overal rifle is lighter then the Stevens and the det mag latch is quieter then the Savage. The more enclosed receiver is a positive to some, negative to others. Either way, less muck can fall into an Axis vs a Savage/Stevens.

My walkabout hunting rifle is an Axis 19" with a 7-08 Savage barrel. Does the job just fine. It is wearing so nicer clothes now and we see what a new barrel can do for its shooting demeanor.

The Stevens is what I use for my competition donor. Here I use the RB2 trigger and set for pull around 6oz. Barrels, stocks, rails, etc to set up for whatever I intend to do - f class, tactical, hunting, whatever.

If the long term goal is to mix and match part, the Stevens and Savage is where you want to start.

If you just want a strong durable and reliable hunting/field rifle, the axis is as good as many. I do consider the Axis the ugliest of the recent crop of plastic fantastics

also consider the ruger american. I am really liking mine and it offers lots of refinement for the money.

Jerry
 
BigUglyMan said:
I bought a 200 as a beater and the damned thing shoots great. If I had access to a shooting bench I'd take some interest in the "My hunting rifle shoots...prove it" thread. I sometimes wish I'd bought a really nice rifle, but you can't argue with a rifle that shoots hunting handloads into tight groups and it's a bonus that if you scratch it you don't cry yourself to sleep for a week.
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Everybody wants a nice rifle, but when you find yourself crawling on your belly and slidding your rifle along in front of you the synthetic stocks tend to be alot more appealing! I do not own a Stevens (yet) but have two Axis. The second one I bought a couple months ago and it seems to have a better trigger. It's a youth stock 7mm-08 and I put a 3x7x32 Prostaff scope on it. It weighs 7 lbs 2 oz. In my mind the perfect gun for my wife to start shooting/hunting with. All for under $500.

G
 
I should have thought to post these pics earlier. These are loads using the 180 Nosler Partition in my 30-06 Stevens 200. Aside from adjusting the trigger the is completely stock, no bedding or anything else. It is scoped with a Burris Signature 3-9x in Talley Lightweights. As you can see, the proof is in the pudding.
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I've got two 200's and they are quite good overall out of the box with any easy trigger adjustment; accuracy is great.

Not shot the Axis, but I did find the stocks felt cheap, and the LOP on the non-youth models is way too long.
 
BigUglyMan said:
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You can't argue with pictures! This thread has rekindled my interest in a Stevens 200 in .223 for bench, although I don't need it! I have an almost new VX-1 sitting in my safe and constantly nagging me for a rifle. I think I recently saw Stevens 200's on sale at Cabelas for ...$299 or something? How can you go wrong with that !
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