Hey guys. I haven’t posted here in a while, but I thought this would be a good place to look for a little advice, since I know a lot of you are hunters/shooters. I have been putting off going through the process of aquiring the proper permits to buy and possess a gun. I live in Canada, by the way, so the process is kind of retarded. Anyway, I am looking at buying a rifle for target shooting and perhaps trying to bag a deer. I don’t need anything high end, just a good entry level shooter. I am looking at bolt action, and probably something in .308 caliber. I don’t much care what it looks like, I just want something that shoots straight and has a good, smooth action. Until a few days ago, I had only ever fired whatever .22 my father was plinking with out at his camper. I got my hands on a Savage Stevens 200 with pretty decent Bushnell on it. I loved how smooth the action was, and it shot good and straight right out of the box. I’m not set on any one model yet, but I have been reading some reviews online. Between the Remington 770, the Savage Axis, and the Savage Stevens 200, the 200 seems to come out on top. Have any of you used this gun? Can you make any recommendations for something that might possibly be a better gun around the same price range? Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
Remington and Savage were what I was going to suggest. I own neither, but I’ve heard that the Savage is more a shooter right out of the box. If you are set on .308 you should be fine, but make sure you know the minimum caliber that you can take big game with if you are open to options. For example, in Colorado, the minimum caliber for deer is 6mm, so you couldn’t use an AR-15 that shoots 5.56.
There are no deer where I live, but I know people that hunt them in NB and NS (the 2 closest provinces to me that have big game) and they use .308 so I should be fine that way. I’m open to other rifle options, but I think I’m kind of stuck at that caliber. I will likely pick up at least one more rifle in a smaller caliber just to target shoot with but I think my first purchase will be the .308, and likely some surplus 7.62 ammo for target shooting. I have read that most of that older surplus ammo can be corrosive though. Aside from cleaning the gun really well after using that ammo, is there a good way to prevent the gun from being damaged?
7.62 is NOT The same as .308. Corrosive ammo is fine, you just need to flush the barrel out with water after you are done shooting.
I wouldn’t shoot surplus 7.62 in a Stevens 200. If you want to save money on ammo, set yourself up to reload. The RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme kit is pretty much everything you need to get started, save dies and components.
Of the three rifles you mentioned, the 200 has my vote. Granted, I’d still go 700 and not look back, but your budget may be much happier with the 200’s package deal. 
should work fine for ya.
Stu- I do realize that .308 is a little different from 7.62 ammo. I also know that it is close enough to be compatible and is considered safe.
Mark- Why would you not put the 7.62 through that gun? I’m not sure if I will shoot enough to do my own reloading, but I have definitely considered it. How much cheaper is it compared to buying name brand? I have honestly not researched or priced what I will need to get started. Buying ammo locally I am looking at around $1/round and that could get pretty expensive for a day spent target shooting, which is why I was thinking about surplus for target shooting. If I get out often enough to make it worthwhile, perhaps reloading will be the way to go.
Thanks for the input guys. I appreciate it.
I load match quality .308 for about 37-38 cents/round.
[QUOTE=B18A1;2261016]Stu- I do realize that .308 is a little different from 7.62 ammo. I also know that it is close enough to be compatible and is considered safe.
[/QUOTE]
I’m not sure we’re on the same page here. When you say 7.62, are you talking about what you shoot out of an AK-47?
7.62 X 51 NATO rounds are based off of the Winchester .308, and are nearly identical. When I say nearly, I mean that they are considered “close enough” and are also considered safe to use in most .308 rifles. I thought they were the same until I did a little research and found that they are slightly different. I don’t know what length you would use in an AK, I don’t know much about them. I do know that 7.62 comes in 54mm, 51mm, 39mm, and maybe a few other lengths. I would assume the AK-47 would use a shorter round, but again, I don’t really know. When I was much younger, my father had a .308 that he used to fire some old 7.62 X 51 that he got I think from my grandfather.
That’s a hell of a difference from $1/round for commercial ammunition. The cost to get started is pretty damn steep though, so I might hold off until I see how much I end up shooting. Why is it that you wouldn’t put the NATO rounds through the 200? Something to do with the quality of the rifle? Or is it something to do with the ammunition itself?
AK is the 7.62X39. Those old military rifles use the 7.62X54. I just wanted to be clear which round you are talking about here because most of the time when people mention 7.62, they are thinking of the AK round. In my opinion, there is no such thing as “close enough” when it comes to guns. The cartridge either fits in the chamber or it doesn’t. If it is not exactly the cartridge for that gun, your accuracy will go to crap and it would not be worth your time anyway. Mark please correct me if I am wrong here.
I own a Savage in .30-06. I was totally impressed with how accurate it is out of the box with the included scope.
7.62x39, 5.45x39, and 5.56x45. 
That’s a hell of a difference from $1/round for commercial ammunition. The cost to get started is pretty damn steep though, so I might hold off until I see how much I end up shooting. Why is it that you wouldn’t put the NATO rounds through the 200? Something to do with the quality of the rifle? Or is it something to do with the ammunition itself?
It’s dirty as hell. Like Winchester White Box style dirty as hell. I just don’t like cleaning my bolt guns unless absolutely necessary–which means when accuracy degrades significantly past known averages.
I’ll shoot surplus stuff from my AK’s, SKS’, and AR’s all the time. Even my G19 gets whatever’s cheap for volume shooting. But for serious target work, hunting, etc., it’s handloads or QUALITY factory loads only.
And I only own one firearm that doesn’t get shot…primarily because there are no reloading dies available, no brass available (unless you buy loaded ammo and shoot it), and the two companies that actually MAKE ammo for it charge nearly $150 for 20 rounds. Sure, there’s some old Kynoch stuff out there for about $35/10, but that’s REALLY old ammo…don’t trust it.
I knew it was dirty, but I didn’t think it was THAT bad. Thanks for the info, Mark. I am looking into when the next safety course starts so that I can get into it and get my PAL, then hopefully I will have the money saved to get what I want. I think I am set on that Savage 200. It was the way I was leaning anyway after reading reviews and after having fired one myself, but having you guys back that up really made up my mind. It’s always nice to have people that know their shit to back up my choices. Thanks a lot guys. I will post up whatever I end up getting, which will hopefully be soon depending on how quickly I get into a course. They only hold them when they have enough names on the list, so I am hoping I get the call soon.
The only real “drawback” with the 200 is the factory stock can have forearm flex. They cut corners on that instead of elsewhere on the rifle to keep costs down. It’s serviceable, though, and for a hunting rig it’s perfectly adequate.
Good to know. None of the reviews I found online mentioned that. But they did mention that the gun is pretty servicable as far as aftermarket parts go, since it is very similar to another model they make. The 10/110 I think it was? In any case, I wont be entering any shooting contests. I just want something that shoots straight, is reliable, and will last me forever/until I move on up to something else. If I find the stock bothersome, I will start looking at aftermarket parts. I can’t see that ever happening, but you never know.
You’ll be delighted.