Forgive my ignorance, but I've never seen a Stevens close up. I've been hearing a lot of good things about them. But considering its a cheap rifle, what's the down side? When a company makes rifle that inexpensive, somethings gotta give.
downsides:
-blind magazine (no hinged floorplate, no DM)
-
sometimes feeding problems due to the follower/spring although Savage customer service will express courier you replacement parts in 1-2 days for any problems.
-cheap looking, so not much in the way of pride of ownership
-cheap stock with side-side forend flex... so no using a sling as a shooting aid
-no accutrigger
upsides:
-will take Savage aftermarket parts (cheap and widely available)
-easy barrel change with just a barrel wrench, GO guage, vice/pieces of 2x4
-accurate
-wicked service from Savage, they fedex stuff to you immediately
-cheapest bolt gun out there
-stock can be painted, or replaced with a Boyds or Richards Microfit stock and still cost less than other bolt guns.
i may have missed some things, by all means add to the lists.