I would like to get a cheap, accurate, .223, and the Stevens 200 seems to fit that bill. What kind of accuracy should I expect, and with the 1 in 9 twist (I think?) what bullet weights should I use? Right now I can either get a 45/70 or .223, and the .223 is a more economical option that will allow me to practice more.(Don't kick me outta the *"almost" band of 45-70ers* though!)
How good would a ... Trashco 6x24x or something of that nature do? They sure are cheap, and lots of people use them with good luck.
Thanks for any replies!

I'm not sure what a trashco is.I have 4ea. 200 Steven's ,one in .223 and one in .22-250. both are cabable of 3 shot or 5 shot groups at MOA. I ave a little feed problem with some and trigger problems with all. roger

Hmm, I knew about the bad trigger, but not about feed problems. Is this on the .22-250 or .223?

As cheap as the Stevens are you will be pleasantly surprised by its' accuracy and function. I've heard Barsche say before he's had feeding problems but I have several buddies with these rifles and not a hitch with them. Everybody here is getting sub MOA groups and some groups are downright tiny.
As for scopes I haven't bought a cheap scope in years with the exception of a 3-9x40 Sightron for $100 and this scope surprised me with its' clarity and it is shooting .5" groups and better on my 6.5x55. If I were you though look for a used Leupold or Nikon on E-bay and get something you may really like.
Good luck and good shootin'.

I own a Stevens 200 in .223 and it is by far the best bang for the buck. I have no problems getting a 3 shot 3/4" group at 100 yds using Winchester White Box 45 gr. JHPs. However, with that said, I too have some feeding issues like bartsche stated. It is with the White Box ammo and I usually get a failure to feed on the last round. I think the magazine spring needs to be bent out a little. Anyway, as for the trigger, they are easily adjustable...They will only go down to about 3.5 lbs. I set mine at 4 lbs and it's a livable solution. Another option is to spend the $65 for a Timney. For the $260 I gave for my Stevens, it's a great gun that you don't have to baby.

I've seen some cool paint jobs on Stevens 200's that kind of cover up the stock some. What are some ideas that aren't too much "on the edge"?

The triggers are the same as pre-Accutrigger Savages.They can be adjusted to a good trigger in my opinion.If you do a search,you can find out how on the net.I adjusted one down to a clean,crisp 1.75lbs with no creep.I've did others that I could only get down to 2.5lbs safely.I would let the trigger distract me if you can turn a few screws and read directions.Check out www.savageshooters.net for some ideas and opinions.

I've been asking all the same questions there too.

I am looking at the same rifle for the same reasons Tyler, but from everyhing I have heard, I'll bet the gun is far more accurate than I can shoot. Looks like they are available with iron sights also (stick a peep-sight on there and I am golden!), Big-5 has them for $325, just undecided if I want another bolt gun.

But to go back to your point about barrel twist and bullet weight:
How heavy can you go with a 1-9" twist? 64 grain powerpoints? Or how about the 69 grain match bullets?

I have absolutely no trouble with 69 grain matchkings from my 9 twist Savage in 223. Varget or H4895 work well with them out to 300, the farthest I've had opportunity to fling them. Mine shoots from 40 grain (with a reduced load of blue dot per Seafire) to 69 with remarkable (to me at least) accuracy across the board.

I'm hoping I can get one cheaper than $325!

quote:

I'm hoping I can get one cheaper than $325!

It will be a cold day in hell when you can find great gun prices in California.

I had three in .243 They were bad luck rifles for me. I traded them all in on a Browning a-bolt. They vould make a good lamp if your handy with tools !
Seriously, some people I know have had very good luck with them. I strarted out to buy a utility rifle for yotes and ended up spending a lot more than I wanted.

I've owned one Trasco scope in my life long before they went out of business and were bought. The scope worked fine. Well to a degree it did. I could sight it in and that year it would shoot fine. Then the following season I'd got to zero my 7MM Mag in and it would be off 3 inches at a hundred yards. Not a confiedence builder. I moved to scope to a lesser recoiling rifle and that was never an issue again. But it did shake my confidence in Tasco and I never bought another one.

I've only used a 4x15 Tasco on one of my .22's, and it did well. Hard to zero, but held that zero well, I could hit bottle caps at 50 yards, but it just looked goofy being so small, so I changed scopes.

Hey, I love those little 4x15 scopes! Had one on my .20 cal pellet gun, one on an old Glenfield .22 - also had a 2-7x20 on my Savage 24 that always looked like it had been filled with vaseline but otherwise worked like a charm!

My springer .22 airgun is heck on scopes, nothing seems to stand up to it, so it's just open sights for me.