Thread: Who's built off or uses a Stevens 200?

Beavis - it depends on your budget and purpose.

If your rifle budget is up to a grand total, then your 2nd hand Stevens 200 with a new trigger and Boyds stock will do very well. Will also look good. For similar dollars you have second hand Howa/Weatherby, new Marlin, perhaps a Weather Warrior etc. All capable of sub MOA with competent shooter and right ammos. All good options for the dollar.

If your purpose is primarily to find an accurate hunter, the Stevens delivers. They shoot well on the range - often outperforming more expensive makes. Sub MOA with them is common - as Normie's results above show - and you could spend 3 times the price on a rifle and get no more accuracy - even less. Does not need rebarrelling for accurate hunting purpose.

Aesthetics/beauty in our rifles does count, but peak accuracy (plus reliability) always come first. If you're on a budget and have to pay alot more for a rifle with better aesthetics but no improvement in performance, I would not bother - especially for a hunter.

I enjoy a nice piece of engineering, but personally I get alot of fun out of testing out cheaper brands, tweaking them, ammo testing and turning them into sharpshooters. Some of them really can be excellent range/field performers, and many times have seen them embarrass 'name brands' on range.

From my own experience with sporter makes, price is generally (but not always) an indication of quality, but its not necessarily an indication of accuracy. If the Stevens is in your $$ range, it is likely to be a good performer and with a few additions will make a fine hunter. A Stevens mod can be quite a reasonable option - though there are also other good make/model deals showing on trademe regularly.