Picked up Stevens 200 in .223 Today

5

5.56YoteKiller

New member
My brother picked up a Stevens 200 in 223 at one of our dealers today. $325 out the door. Not too bad, IMO.
I've been reading everything I can find on it and most of the things I read are true.

Stock is a little cheesy, flexes easily. It's free floated as stated. The pull is about an inch too long for me since I don't have gorilla arms.
lol.gif
I do have one question, since the forearm on the stock is so flimsy, where is the best place to attach a bipod?

I put scope bases and medium rings on it while I had it in hand. Don't know which scope he's planing on using. Nothing over 40mm hopefully.

The bolt is slicker than owl snot. Smooth as any high $$ bolt action I've tried. The trigger was really surprising. No creep, broke like glass, and over travel is non-existent.
I'm guessing it's breaking around 4.5-5 lbs. Not as heavy as I imagined it would be.

I ran some solvent and a brush down the bore a few times, then patched it to remove the gunk. Patches finally came out clean. I have a few hundred FMJs, so I'm going to run a hundred or so through it to break it in. Then start working up a load or two with V-Max.

Really, not a bad rifle for the money.
 
I got rid of the stevens stock and found a b/c stock smothed up the trigger a little, and mine shoots like a house afire.... for the money can't beat it
 
i bought that same gun last year.
it is accurate and fun to shoot.
i sanded and camo'd the stock, it looks good now.
shoots even better.
got my first coyote with that gun @ 275-300 yards.
barrell and action=awesome
stock=cheap (but does what it has to)
 
had one andt it shot great. Just replaced it with a cz. It shot great. It loved 52 gr bergers with 25 gr of benchmark. One hole shooter with that combo. The stock should be strong enough for the bipod i used one all the time and it still shot good
 
those Stevens in 223 are the best thing goin for the money. I'll smooth up the triggers and take sand paper to the stock.

Really Marlin and Mossberg have dropped there shorts in the Varmint hunter area. I'd try that Marlin in 223 IF THEY MADE ONE, sadly they don't even make a 22-250 and they already have a short action with the 308 bolt!

snooze ya loose Marlin!
 
Back the trigger off to just a hair over 3 pounds and try 50 to 55 grain Nosler ballistic tips with benchmark or W748. You can't go wrong with either powder. Mine likes the BT's. I can shoot ground squirrels out to 200 yards with no problems.

RTLOF(TONY)
 
Fore arm of stock.. Get a few carbon arrows, cut sections out of the stock. Drop in the arrows, add some resin... This should stiffen the stock without adding much weight.

Good luck..
 
Originally Posted By: Brasshound Fore arm of stock.. Get a few carbon arrows, cut sections out of the stock. Drop in the arrows, add some resin... This should stiffen the stock without adding much weight.

Good luck..


I saw a couple sites that showed this being done w/pics.
I'll see if I can find it again.

Another thing, I think I've read that replacement barrels are drop-ins.
If so, where can a person find a barrel tool, and what is involved???. Head space gauges are a given.
 
I had the model 200 in .22-50 and it was a great shooter, sold it to a friend and bought the model 10 pc in .223, my new carbine will out shoot his stevens "most" days but it don't shoot $300.00 dollars better. His stevens does for $349.00 what my Savage 10 pc does for $665.00 kills coyotes only his does it minus a couple pounds. The stevens still has a caldwell bipod the one like the harris and I had zero problems with it on the stevens stock and when on the bench shot off it all the time, and with hornady v-max bullets it would shoot a 1/2 inch when I shot good, my model 10 pc will shoot less but again for the money not that much better.....long live the stevens
 
[/quote=5.56YoteKiller]

Another thing, I think I've read that replacement barrels are drop-ins.
If so, where can a person find a barrel tool, and what is involved???. Head space gauges are a given. [/quote]

You will need a Savage nut wrench and an action wrench. Some will say that you can use a barrel vise instead of an action wrench. That is right if the barrel has been off before. A factory barrel is a B to get off the first time and it will require an action wrench.

Everything that you need is availible at Midway.
 
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