What kind of accuracy could I expect with a stevens model 200 in .308win? To what distance is this rifle/round effective too? Now I know with certain ammo/loads accuacy and range can very. I am only talking about the average ammo....the middle of the line stuff meaning a box of .308s for $20 not $50+
Stevens Model 200
- Thread starter ranger_dave
- Start date
saskgunowner101
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- near Prince Albert
They shoot pretty good. The one I just sold liked Federal 150's (Power-shok??) and you could count on it shooting 1-1.5@100 meters. We're not talking lead sled or rest and sandbag.....off the bipod. I've no doubt it could do better, but who uses sandbags and a rest in the field??
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- Location
- Virden, MB
You will get good accuracy out of the box. My 7mmRM and 223 both could do .5 at 100 yards after some tweaking and handloads. The beauty is down the road you could turn the same gun into a match rifle. It all depends on how far you want to go, sky is the limit.
I have owned 2 Stevens 200's and believe you get more out of them than most $600 rifles.
Drawbacks
-ugly flimsy stock ( I've stiffened them up with bondo and bedded the actions, plus a paint job)
-stiff trigger ( Has a bit of adjustment or swap with an aftermarket inexpensively)
-no removable magazine (not that big of a deal really)
Advantages
- Everything can be swapped out for match parts including barrel without a gunsmith
- Stock is pillered
- action is solid and proven accurate
- stock barrel is thin but very accurate
- floating bolt head trues itself and bolt timing can be adjusted to make it very smooth to cycle action
I have owned 2 Stevens 200's and believe you get more out of them than most $600 rifles.
Drawbacks
-ugly flimsy stock ( I've stiffened them up with bondo and bedded the actions, plus a paint job)
-stiff trigger ( Has a bit of adjustment or swap with an aftermarket inexpensively)
-no removable magazine (not that big of a deal really)
Advantages
- Everything can be swapped out for match parts including barrel without a gunsmith
- Stock is pillered
- action is solid and proven accurate
- stock barrel is thin but very accurate
- floating bolt head trues itself and bolt timing can be adjusted to make it very smooth to cycle action
It's not a .308 but its a stevens... this is the first grouping after bore sighting my 7mm-08 at 50 yards
The final grouping of the day at 100 yards
A new trigger should really help. The stock is horrible but the action on mine is really smooth. I'm impressed with this rifle.
The final grouping of the day at 100 yards
A new trigger should really help. The stock is horrible but the action on mine is really smooth. I'm impressed with this rifle.
That can happen with light barreled rifles, and eventually even with a heavy bbld gun. I had a light barreled 300WM from Savage and it was quite sensitive to barrel heat. 3 shots, 3 climbing points of impact. Changed to a heavy Savage barrel, now its hardly a problem.
A top quality barrel will not shift POI as it heats.
The Stevens is about the cheapest centerfire bolt action rifle on the market. The fact that they tend to shoot as well as rifles costing 4 - 5 times as much tells you that money spent on a factory rifle is not proportional to accuracy.
It is a sporting/hunting rifle. It is not intended to resist the heat of firing 20 shot strings, it is not designed to render benchrest accuracy, and it is not manufuactured with top quality components.
Having said all that, you can still have lots of fun with them, and some shoot surprisingly very well (I saw a .223 version that was a sub .5MOA shooter!). The corollary is that some do not shoot that well. Tolerances of manufacturing mean some are better/worse than others.
If you want true precision accuracy, you will need to swap out a number of components to make that happen - or you can spend the money to achieve that right off the bat.
The Stevens is about the cheapest centerfire bolt action rifle on the market. The fact that they tend to shoot as well as rifles costing 4 - 5 times as much tells you that money spent on a factory rifle is not proportional to accuracy.
It is a sporting/hunting rifle. It is not intended to resist the heat of firing 20 shot strings, it is not designed to render benchrest accuracy, and it is not manufuactured with top quality components.
Having said all that, you can still have lots of fun with them, and some shoot surprisingly very well (I saw a .223 version that was a sub .5MOA shooter!). The corollary is that some do not shoot that well. Tolerances of manufacturing mean some are better/worse than others.
If you want true precision accuracy, you will need to swap out a number of components to make that happen - or you can spend the money to achieve that right off the bat.
well what my plan is is to get the rifle and learn to shoot it well. Money is tight so this is about all I can aford for a centre fire. So I am planning once I get good with this rifle is to upgrade it and keep working on my accuracy rather then buying a whole new rifle and re-learning it.
saskgunowner101
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- near Prince Albert
Food for thought....practice a bunch with a rimfire rifle and slowly get used to whatever centerfire rifle you get.
If you're that bad a shot that you have to worry about using the 3rd or 4th shot to knock down what you're shooting at you should take up knitting.
It always amazes me that new hunters feel that they need something that spits out pills fast to be effective.
The whole thing boils down to taking some time at the range, space the timing of your shots, and learn where that bullet is going to go when you pull the trigger. Get to know your firearm as an extension of your arms and you then become an effective shooter.
It always amazes me that new hunters feel that they need something that spits out pills fast to be effective.
The whole thing boils down to taking some time at the range, space the timing of your shots, and learn where that bullet is going to go when you pull the trigger. Get to know your firearm as an extension of your arms and you then become an effective shooter.
Its not that I am planning on taking alot of shots to hit my target but I like shooting my ruger 10/22 alot and I like shooting cans and I like to be able to keeping shooting and move on to another target but I relize with a much bigger cal then a .22LR the barrel can heat up and throw off your accuracy. And basically I love shooting and once I get it I don't wanna shoot it too much/too fast and start to permentally ruin my barrel.
Ranger Dave,
I have had seven Stevens 200s in a bunch of different calibers from 223 to 300 Win Mag. They all shot very well, and did not exhibit undue amount of 'walking shots' as they heated up. Certainly not enough to worry about in a hunting rifle.
Ted
I have had seven Stevens 200s in a bunch of different calibers from 223 to 300 Win Mag. They all shot very well, and did not exhibit undue amount of 'walking shots' as they heated up. Certainly not enough to worry about in a hunting rifle.
Ted
saskgunowner101
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- near Prince Albert
If you want to stress yourself, go shopping with a woman. If you want to relax, bring a couple or three rifles, get on the .22 for a bit, shoot a group with the centerfire, pull the bolt, shoot rimfire, have a smoke/sammich, centerfire is cool again. Repeat.
Another thing to consider, is the purpose of the rifle. If it's your hunting rifle, it doesn't need to put a bazillion rounds into a small area on a regular basis. If all goes well hunting, you only need to put one round there, and do it once.
Another thing to consider, is the purpose of the rifle. If it's your hunting rifle, it doesn't need to put a bazillion rounds into a small area on a regular basis. If all goes well hunting, you only need to put one round there, and do it once.
X2. My Stevens 200's in .223, .22-250, 7-08 and 7mm RM hold zero when they get hot. The barrels are free floated by the factory, so they shouldn't touch the stock, even as they get hot. That said, on my 7-08 the barrel channel was a little tight on one side, and as a precaution I did a minor bit of relieving. It shoots well.
I know that I get a little paranoid worrying about it warping from over heating but its because I am not a great shot yet(not too bad with the 10/22) so I plan to join EESA and shoot it alot for about a year to get good with it and then going hunting with it next year and I just don't wanna have to replace it by then.
- Location
- Virden, MB
In 308 you will get 2500 rounds before you notice it start to burn out.
The only way you are going to burn out that barrel is by shooting 100 rounds through it under 10 mins. You will lose a little accuracy at the very most if you shoot conservatively. I know some tactical matches where there is 30 targets and you are timed and the 308 still holds up. I would not want to try that too many times on a sporter barrel as that could be pushing it. Point is, you lose accuracy, and maybe the slightest barrel life. You are not going to destroy the barrel by far.
The only way you are going to burn out that barrel is by shooting 100 rounds through it under 10 mins. You will lose a little accuracy at the very most if you shoot conservatively. I know some tactical matches where there is 30 targets and you are timed and the 308 still holds up. I would not want to try that too many times on a sporter barrel as that could be pushing it. Point is, you lose accuracy, and maybe the slightest barrel life. You are not going to destroy the barrel by far.
