Field Review of the Stevens Model 200 Rifle

The Stevens Model 200 Rifle is a budget hunting rifle designed to meet the needs of those who want a useful hunting rifle for a reasonable price. The Stevens Model 200 is essentially the old Savage Model 110. Having been a fan of the Savage 110 for some time, I naturally had the Stevens Model 200 on my short list of rifles when I needed to buy a new one. After giving a look at the Mossberg ATR, Remington 770 and a few other rifles, I quickly made up my mind to buy the Stevens Model 200. While the ATR and 770 are relatively new rifles with bugs that need to be worked out, the Stevens Model 200 is based upon a rifle that was made for decades and known for its accuracy, value and reliability.

The Stevens Model 200 is a bolt action rifle that retails for about $300. Package rifles with a 3X9X40 scope retail for about $350. Careful shopping can reduce these prices a little. The Stevens Model 200 rifle is available in short action calibers of .223 Remington, .22-250 Remington, .243 Winchester, 7mm-08, and .308 Winchester as well as long action calibers of 25-06 Remington, .270 Winchester, 30-06 Springfield, 7mm Remington Magnum and .300 Winchester Magnum. The Stevens Model 200 features a 22 inch barrel in standard calibers and a 24 inch barrel in the magnum calibers. Weighing in at about 6 ½ pounds the Stevens Model 200 feels much lighter than my wood stocked Savage 110.

One point of criticism that many have had with the Stevens Model 200 is the looks of the stock. The synthetic stock is a light gray color in contrast to the standard black. I personally prefer the gray look of the Stevens stock (but wish there was an optional wood stock), but that is a matter of taste that each hunter will have to decide upon for their self. A criticism that I have of the stock is the large channel around the barrel. The barrel is free floated but the gap between the barrel and stock is quite large. To make things worse, there is a piece at the end of the stock that reaches toward the barrel that provides a better look to the front of the rifle, but looks like a mistake from the top. In any case, I want an accurate rifle that works reliably and aesthetics are way down on the list of importance. The stock comes with sling studs attached.

I have only shot the Stevens Model 200 (I purchased a .270 Winchester) with a middling load of IMR 4831 using a 130 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip. After bore sighting the scope, the Stevens was fired at 25 yards to tune the scope in and then was fired at 100 yards. Groups were reliable at 1 inch or so with some groups being much better. While I'll tinker around with the load so more, shooting 1 inch groups at 100 yards in more than sufficient for hunting purposes. A couple shots over the chronograph showed the bullet moving at about 2950 feet per second which was more than expected from the relatively light load. There were no failures to fire, feed, or extract.

If you are in the market for an economical hunting rifle the Stevens Model 200 should be given a lot of consideration.