12 years ago a buddy of mine took his .243 Stevens 200 to work one night and left it on the loading dock. The plant was out in the boonies and a pack of wild dogs had been hanging around and one almost bit a truck driver. Unfortunately about midnight the rifle was backed into by a forklift and the forklift won the fight. Cracked the gray plastic stock, trashed the scope and bent the barrel. I ended up buying it for $50. I used the receiver with a Criterion .204 ruger barrel, a Rifle Basix trigger, and a $100 Boyds stock. Changed the bolt knob and put a $ 200 Mueller scope on it and it was a tackdriver for about 3000 rounds.
Since then it has went through a .223 barrel, a couple of different stocks and had several scopes mounted on it. Here it is in it's latest version. A 6BR repeater. MDT stock and 6BR magazine, Magpul buttstock, Criterion 26 inch 6BR barrel in Varmint taper and a Clearridge Scope. 6BR has feed problems from most magazines but the MDT works great. A new bipod is on the way from Brownells.
I had worked up a load using N133 powder, 68 gn Berger FB bullets and CCI primers but decided to switch to Federal primers and save the CCI's for my F class rifle. I did a test to yesterday to see if I needed to tweak the powder charge and looks like .1 gn increase from the CCI load works best. Over a .5 grain spread in powder load I had a had a average of .6 MOA five round group. With a low of .473 MOA and a high of .739 MOA seated at magazine length. @ 3100 FPS this will be a great little varmint rifle with the right bullets without having to worry about getting real anal on powder charge
Anyway the rifle shoots great and looks great The little Stevens is unrecognizable from the truck rifle my buddy bought at Wally World years ago for about $300. I think I have had more fun with changing this little rifle around than any rifle I have ever owned. It's a kick when people see it for the first time and ask me what brand it is and I tell them it is a Stevens.
edit - the blue painters tape below the bolt is where I wrote the scope dope, not real fancy but it works
edit 2 - I figure no one has ever heard of Clearridge scopes either. I bought my first one before I bought that Stevens action. Now I own three and the originals glass is still clear and the turret adjustments are still crisp. Great little American owned company with quality reasonably priced scopes
http://www.clearidgeoptics.com/about-us-s/1821.htm
Since then it has went through a .223 barrel, a couple of different stocks and had several scopes mounted on it. Here it is in it's latest version. A 6BR repeater. MDT stock and 6BR magazine, Magpul buttstock, Criterion 26 inch 6BR barrel in Varmint taper and a Clearridge Scope. 6BR has feed problems from most magazines but the MDT works great. A new bipod is on the way from Brownells.
I had worked up a load using N133 powder, 68 gn Berger FB bullets and CCI primers but decided to switch to Federal primers and save the CCI's for my F class rifle. I did a test to yesterday to see if I needed to tweak the powder charge and looks like .1 gn increase from the CCI load works best. Over a .5 grain spread in powder load I had a had a average of .6 MOA five round group. With a low of .473 MOA and a high of .739 MOA seated at magazine length. @ 3100 FPS this will be a great little varmint rifle with the right bullets without having to worry about getting real anal on powder charge
Anyway the rifle shoots great and looks great The little Stevens is unrecognizable from the truck rifle my buddy bought at Wally World years ago for about $300. I think I have had more fun with changing this little rifle around than any rifle I have ever owned. It's a kick when people see it for the first time and ask me what brand it is and I tell them it is a Stevens.
edit - the blue painters tape below the bolt is where I wrote the scope dope, not real fancy but it works
edit 2 - I figure no one has ever heard of Clearridge scopes either. I bought my first one before I bought that Stevens action. Now I own three and the originals glass is still clear and the turret adjustments are still crisp. Great little American owned company with quality reasonably priced scopes
http://www.clearidgeoptics.com/about-us-s/1821.htm
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