The Little Stevens that might...

Thanks for stopping in Jerry!

Forget about hoping factory ammo will give you superb results. No without some luck and some pricey match ammo are you going to get great results
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I know what your saying here, Currently i'm looking for a decent factory load that's cheap and will group a bit better then an inch just because... Well... "just because" and for no other reason... I have some 55gr SP and FMJ bullets as well as H4895 and CCI BR primers I will try tommorow in my ever growing collection of fire formed brass... I'm really looking forward to seeing the results.

I can see why the Bedding is such a big deal with these rifles... When I get started tonite on the bedding work I will highlight some of the gaps the factory left in various spots... The action is only contacting the stock on 2 points about 1/8" wide by maybe 1.250" long in the front and 1/2" at the back... The recoil lug is not even in contact with the front stock pillar...



Why is the Stevens 200 so inaccurate? When I compared one to a Savage 11/111 they looked almost identica (besides the trigger)l. So why does the OP's Stevens get over an inch grouping yet a 11/111 get sub one inch?
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Drache


There are lots of happy Stevens owners out there that got MOA rifles out of the box, mine is 2MOA but keep in mind I'm measuring 5rnd groups and as it gets better thru my tuning I will switch to 10rnd groups... Anyone can fire lots of 3rnd groups and post the absolute best, I want consistency.
 
Load up some Hrn 22cal 55gr SP or even the Hrn FMJBT and enjoy sub MOA performance with H4895. Lots and lots of 22cal varmint bullets will happily shoot into itty bitty groups over H4895 so you will find a great load.

I would hold off using the BR4's until ambient goes over 10C. CCI450 work great in all temps.

Other gems are the Hrn 68gr BTHP and Sierra 69gr MK. Have never met a Savage that didn't shoot them really well. I use Varget but it just really doesn't matter with any suitable powder from Benchmark to Varget burn range.

Look at my post on bedding - near this post. you want to see generous bedding....

I sincerely doubt you will see very good accuracy past 5rds with this Stevens. As they almost always shoot very well, they almost always warp as things heat up. I have had wonderful 1/2 min accuracy but keep the barrels cool.

Enjoy...

Jerry
 
Drache


There are lots of happy Stevens owners out there that got MOA rifles out of the box, mine is 2MOA but keep in mind I'm measuring 5rnd groups and as it gets better thru my tuning I will switch to 10rnd groups... Anyone can fire lots of 3rnd groups and post the absolute best, I want consistency.
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I thought they were all 4 shot groups and one was either pulled by the shooter or was the cold barrel fouler shot.........
 
You'll no doubt see some improvement with the new trigger. The stock trigger is a waste in time & energy. Ditto with the factory stock. Unless you're doing the work yourself, I wouldn't pay a gunsmith to bed it. Sinking $100 into a $50 stock is a bad investment.

Garbage in - garbage out. Leave the cheap 55gr. FMJ's and SP's for plinker ammo where accuracy isn't the prime consideration shooting them. Surely, you must have some decent .224 cal. bullets already or can get access to them at the store where you bought the rifle? Get some 52gr. Sierra HPBT Match or the equivalent Hornady A-MAX bullets to start handloading with. Simply put, if it won't shoot flat based match bullets well, I wouldn't hold out hope for better accuracy with lesser quality bullets.
 
Hotwheels81 said:
but keep in mind I'm measuring 5rnd groups and as it gets better thru my tuning I will switch to 10rnd groups... Anyone can fire lots of 3rnd groups and post the absolute best, I want consistency.
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I think that there is your problem. Your too honest. :D


EDIT: just in case your wanting tips my stevens 223 liked 69 grain smk and varget or 55 bts and a stout charge of BLC2. I had some real half inch 5 shot groups out of the factory barrel with those combos. Of course not all day every day. Dumping the factory trigger is one of the best mods, as well as dumping the stock and the barrel if you want consistancy. You can only expect so much from the savage factory.
 
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Time to put on the thinking cap...

Hmmmmmm

Too much muzzle jump on this rifle... Weak stock forend... Bad bedding...

Let's start at the front and begin working our way back with an action plan.


I know some of you might not understand my muzzle jump comment so let me elaborate on my problem with it and how I'm going to get 2 birds stoned at once...

99% of my shooting with this rifle will revolve around a Bipod or a Caldwell Tac-Driver shooting bag, I would really like this rifle to shoot well with little input from me aside from my shoulder catching the recoil and my finger squeezing the trigger.... As it came out of the box I have to use a 2 handed strong hold to keep my scope on target at 25M and my groups get very "interesting" if I allow any type of freedom during recoil...

A nice heavy HEAVY contour barrel would no doubt smarten this rifle up in a hurry but since i am already pinching pennies for another project we resort to adding weight to the stock instead of the barrel ala plan "B"... The cheeseburger diet

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I know Its a lot to ask from such a small framed sporting rifle but never the less I will attempt to fatten the little princess up a bit and see what happens, I'm not dillusional either, I understand gains will most likely be minimal but every ounce in the rite direction is still better then none.


I have a stick of Devcon magic putty here I'm about to start mixing and kneading in the #8 shot, this stuff sticks to ANYTHING and dries hard and fast! I will be filling in the void spaces in the bottom of the stock from the barrel nut foreward... I have another product that I will use to bed in the action, more on that later.

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Since i have the exact same stock i will certainly be watching this thread to see what you do to bed it. Possibly a new method of securing the blind mag? not a whole lot of room to work with around the back pillar.

I added a "little" reinforcement to stop mine flexing as much.


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That was easy :D

Notice I'm keeping the lead/putty mix quite low in the stock? I'm leaving room incase I wish to add more later, as it is I just added a bit over a pound of lead and putty to the forend... I still have approx .250" clearence between the barrel and fill.

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Ok now lets look at the actual bedding this rifle has... Oh wait... It doesn't :D


Note in the first pic the scratched areas where the action was free to shift fore and aft during recoil, it has rubbed a nice clear trail across the top of the block cast into the stock, I had removed the action last nite from the stock after a long day of cursing fliers and chasing POI with my scope to see this.

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Hard to see with my iPhone pics eh? Here's a sharpie highlite of the actual contact area, keep in mind the highlite marks are the only contact the front of the action has with the stock! The recoil lug on the barrel is not making contact with the front of that block!!! it's all left up to the action screws :eek:

I double checked clearance by stacking scotch tape on the front surface 2 pieces thick till I felt it make contact... That's a big gap.

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Now let's look at the rear bedding area...

At a quick glance you see a flat metal surface in the center, looks nice and firm!... Too bad the action doesn't touch it!?!? No.. You see the 2 plastic ribs on either side? That's where the action comes to rest! Once again scotch tape reveals all... If you crank the rear bolt down hard enough it will touch that strip of metal in the middle BUT the savage action is round and that tab is flat so not a secure mating surface by any stretch...

Once again I highlited the actual contact areas for clarity.

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Since I'm not super comfortable just slathering goop everywhere I will start by boxing in the areas I wish to bed first then apply a thick coat and set the action into it... No budget bedding job would be compleat without 2 very essential items.... JB Weld and Cooking spray :D


Here is the dam for the recoil lug and barrel nut

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I need to do some tinkering to protect the blind mag... Wish me luck.
 
I had a Tikka Varmint in .222 Rem that wouldn't shoot factory ammo period. Nothing under an inch. The right handload and it was under 1/2 an inch. I'd try a 60 gr V-Max at or near max load (24.9 in Hdy manual) of Varget or a 69 gr. SMK with around 26.0 gr Varget. I wouldn't bother with factory ammo if my goal was to shoot small groups.
 
Wow that was fun!

Makes me wish I had 3 hands :D

Anyway!

Protecting the blind mag but still filling between the stock and action is not what I would call "easy", I cut 2 pieces of cardboard from a trap shell box to fit along side the mag and filled in the very bottom of the void with some plastic bag pieces just to make sure the JB stays up top.

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I gave the JB about 15min to thicken up on my mixing board and applied it thick in the front under the recoil lug and barrel nut and just enough everywhere else... I hope :D

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After the JB was placed I gave the action a liberal spray of lube... Wish I had some kiwi polish or car wax but I'm just not that we'll equipped yet.

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With a bit of apprehension I gently and evenly lowerd the action into the goop and rocked it slightly to release any air from behind the lug... Then I torqued the action bolts down after checking that no JB made its way thru the pillar holes onto the bolts....


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It even sits damn close to where it was before I added anything...

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Now I'm going to have a few ciggys and perhaps a lil schnapps, in a hour I will pull the action screws again and make sure no JB has oozed down the holes then let it setup till tommorow afternoon... The Devcon putty I glued the shot in with is already hard as a rock... Gotta say I already like the way it feels way better!
 
I get around .75" groups with mine (plus the odd .5"), but I think I bedded my Stevens 200 before I even shot it, so I don't have a proper before and after.
 
another way to do that is to remove the magazine and fill the area with clay/playdough looks like that mag is going to be a permenant fixture? You can also put some tape shims on the bottom of the recoil lug so that when they are removed the action will near down on the bedding and not on the recoil lug.

Nice call on the wieghted forearm. Don't know about muzzle jump? but wieght is your friend.
 
Its been a busy couple weeks :D

After my last post between the weather and work I ran out of steam on this project, BUT!! The bedding did setup quite nicely and I got ahold of a few more goodies :D

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I was out playing around yesterday with a fellow Nut and brought the Stevens with me and a paltry 10rnds of 69gr SMK's around 23gr or H4895 seated to 2.400"... I regained some ambition after my GF shot this 3rnd group @ 80yrds


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Needless to say my curiosity got the best of me and I got to work first thing this morning at the loading bench.... I built 50rnd's total, 25x Hornady 75gr match and 25x 69gr SMK with the same powder charges and same 2.400" OAL in fireformed neck sizsd IVI brass starting at 23.5gr H4895 and working up to 24.5

Not so happy with the Hornady match but it seems to improve the harder I push it... Problem is I'm at 24.5gr with some flat ass primers and I want to go just a touch more... May try some Winchester brass and work it back up but I really like my IVI brass!!!

Best of 5x groups, shot off bipod with a rear bag, all groups shot 5rnds in 5min

23.7gr H4895 with 69gr SMK's
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23.5gr H4895 with 69gr SMK's (I called the flyer :D )
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Now here's my chance to make excuses... I took the first shot and felt my hand move at the last second, then I shot 2rnds and the bolt diddent strip the next so I had to fiddle with it and shot the next 2... This group could have been excellent :stirthepot2:


24.5gr H4895 with 75gr Hornady Match
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All in all I'm very happy now... I have a B&C medalist tactical coming from Mystic Precision and a lot more load development to do but if I were a coyote or a gopher... I would be getting very very nervous about now :cool:


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Stay tuned, more to come in a few weeks!
 
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I have some load tuning tips on my website in the tech section. Measuring your powder to within 0.1gr is really important for a 223.

You are off to a great start. Consider Varget as you will be able to get more powder into the case. A bit slower so that helps with the 75's.

Love to see this rifle give you 1/2 to 3/4" groups on a regular basis.

By the way, have you considered having your GF do the test firing?

Sorry, (ducking for cover) but you posted here target :)

Jerry
 
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