stevens 243

kyotekiller25

kyotekiller25

Well-known member
My wife bought me a stevens 243 for my bday. I mentioned to her the other day that I woudln't mind having one for a truck gun and something to build off later.

Let me first say I really really really dont care for savage rifles. I had 2 experiences with them already and each were not good. My dad and I both bought 270 WSM's and neither of them shot worth a crap. Best I could do was 1.5" at 100 yards for 3 shots from a bench. Both of them were sold shortly after.

That was before I knew what you can do with a savage/stevens action.

I just plan to run 70g nbt's through it and see how it shoots. Hopefully it will be a MOA coyote rifle out to 400-500 yards. If it dont shoot, I can always rebarrel it.

Can the stevens trigger be tweaked at all?? Pretty rough from the factory...

Anyone got any recipes for 70g nbt's??
 
i was gonna ask same ? bought the steven's 243 gonna buy 1 soon and wondered how they were i've had savages b4 but mostly remington's but know new job and cant afford a new remington 243 but the stevens was in my price range be interested to find out what ppl say and what hand load's they recomend have a buddie who will reload for me and teach me soon as i get my gun and stuff to reload with ...sniper
 
ive had one in 22-250,shot between 1/4 and 1/2 at 100 yards,i have a .223 now,shoots the same,all with reloads
 
The stock Stevens trigger can be lightened up some. Take the stock off and look at the bolt side of the trigger. You will see a piece of round spring wire. On the right side there is a allen screw that the spring wire rests on. By backing this allen screw off you can ususlly get down to around 3-1/2#. You can also replace the spring wire with a piece of .039-.042 music wire (availible at most hdwe stores). This will get you down to around 2-1/2#.

The next option is to call Sharp Shooters Supply and get an old 3 screw trigger from him. The pull weights will be the same as above, but you will be able to adjust sear engagement and over travel. A 3 screw trigger will cost you about $25

The third and best option is to call Sharp Shooters and order one of his competion triggers. These are far smoother and are fully adjustable for pull, sear engagement and over travel. I think that they will run around $90

As with all trigger work, don't forget to reassemble the rifle and slam the butt on the floor several times to make sure that the trigger isn't too light and lets the firing pin fall.

Don't judge your barrel until you have about 100 rounds thru it. Some Savage/Stevens barrels shoot great right away, others take a little while to smooth out.

As for loads, grab some Varget or H4114 and start playing with loads. You will find the sweet spot.

BTW, my Savage 270 WSM did alright for me.

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Brent, thanks a lot for the information.

How important is the lower screw that holds the trigger guard to the stock?? Reason I ask it because I already stripped the POS. I dont think its one of the main action screws so hopefully it wont have any effect on accuracy.

I"m gonna be busy hunting for the next 3-4 weeks, so I wont get around to shooting it untill then.

I mounted my sightron 3-9 w/mildot on weaver base/rings last night.

Need to tweak the trigger some, and get some 243 dies/brass and I'll be good to go.
 
Originally Posted By: kyotekiller25
How important is the lower screw that holds the trigger guard to the stock?? Reason I ask it because I already stripped the POS. I dont think its one of the main action screws so hopefully it wont have any effect on accuracy.

Don't worry about it. I seem to lose that screw every time I put on a replacement stock. I won't have the right drill bit to drill a pilot hole for the screw. By the time I remember to buy a bit, I have lost the screw
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I don't know about the NBTs but 40.0 GR of IMR 4350 and the speer TNT is real nice out of my Savage 10 . You may want to check out savageshooters.com lots of info for the stevens rifles there .
 
I couldn't get the 70 nbt's to shoot out of my savage, but it will shoot 5 shot group well under moa using 75g v-max's over varget.
 
Just finished lightening up the trigger.

I got some H380 and W760 to start with for powders. I bought some 70g nbt's and will probly get some 55g nbt's to try as well. 55's just shoot so much flatter...Plus they'll burn my barrel out quicker!!

I debated on whether to buy the 70g nbt or 75g vmax. I actually grabbed the 75g vmax first, but being a nosler guy at heart, I ended up putting the 75g hornadys back on the shelf and walked out with the 70g nbt's.
 
i bought a stevens 110 in 243 used from a guy out of the local paper. played around with different loads and it really likes 85 grain bullets. i have a burris 4.5x14 b-plex on it and can get 1-1 1/4" at 225 yards. i only paid $100 for the rifle.
 
Got a pile of loads worked up tonight and will be hopefully shooting them tomorrow.

Have 55g nbt, 58g vmax, and 70g nbt all loaded up with W760 and H380.

Got 5 loaded up to break in and sight in, then I have 15 loads of 3 shots each. 50 rounds total. Will set up the cronograph as well.

Hopefully something will shoot out of this thing.

Should have a range report sometime tomorrow.
 
Well got back from shooting and was decently surprised by the little stevens.

Out of 14 loads, 4 went under 1" with 3 going under .75" for 3 shots at 100 yards from a benchrest. The average was 1.2" I shot 50 rounds and didn't even clean once. Temp was 30-40 degrees so not much wait time inbetween shots. Was going to break in the barrel, but this is a $300 gun, I had to ask myself why am I breaking in this barrel??? I'll scrub it down tonight with a brush and some sweets and call it good. I had no malfunctions of any kind. Loading and unloading was good.

Overall, I would have to say I'm pretty impressed with this rifle so far. To just throw 14 loads together and have 4 go under 1" is a great start. Now I know where to work around and I'm sure it will be a consistent 3/4 MOA shooter.

Heres a pic of the rifle. I know we all know what unpainted stevens look like, but I've never seen one with a sightron scope on top, lol. Its an S1 3-9x40 w/mil-dot, perfect for a truck rifle IMO.

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Heres the best 3 groups from today, all 3 were with the 55-58g nbt's or vmax. Nice that it likes the little 55g-58g barrel burners!! I only had 2 loads with 70g nbt's with W760 and they didn't fare as well, about 1.5" With tweaking I'm sure I can get them down, but why bother right now.

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Plenty accurate for what I bought it for, a beat around truck/loaner gun.
 
I love my Stevens in .243! I have better luck with a heavier bullet in mine, not for accuracy but in retrieving coyotes.

Last Friday went out with a friend and he shot a coyote at 80yds with a 55grn NBT from his .243 Stevens. We searched for a long time and never found it. Of course, everyone and their brother's aunt's neighbor will chime in about shot placement.

We found poop, a puddle of pee and large puddle of blood but the blood trail went light and we never found it after our search. I hear people say the NBTs splash if they hit something hard so maybe it hit a rib or a hip bone, who knows.

My Stevens' shot a 5/8" group with factory ammo. That's good enough for government work.
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Good luck with your new truck gun!
 
The 55's at 3900-4K will definately splash at that range. They literally are like a bomb at that speed, I doubt it even takes a rib to make them come apart. You dont get to many exits with them. I've shot a few with my moms 243 and 55's and got mixed results as well. Some will be a bang flop, other will be a bang flop/spin, then get enough momentum going to run over to the next county.

The best is to stay away from bone inside 200 yards. Put it behind the shoulder and more en likely you'll get your coyote everytime. Put it on his shoulder and coyotes can run very very good on 3 legs...However, past 200 yards where the velocity has slowed down a bit, it should do its job and bust the shoulders and you'll have your coyote everytime. Just kinda depends on the situation really.

I'd like to try and find a good load with a 70g nbt for that exact reason. To help with the runners. get a little more penetration out of the 70g bullets on bone. They just dont shoot as fast or flat, and for a truck gun, thats what counts.
 
Never had a 55 "splash"... even at 4k+... on well over 100 coyotes, most exited. I've shot two muley does with the 55s out of my 6mm... both exited... both does went down in a hurry. Funny how mileage varies huh?

That's a pretty sweet little rifle for $300... buddy of mine just picked up a Rem. youth .243 at Wally's for about that... good deals to be had on rifles these days.
 
It is funny how other peoples experiences can differ.

I've not shot anywhere close to 100 coyotes with that combo, more like 5-6, but of those 5-6, 2 or 3 really lacked penetration, resulting in a runner or spinner. Ranges have generally been from 100-300 yards.

I'll give it a shot this winter and see how the 55s hold up. If I dont like em, I'll go to the 70

Is there a decent wood stock for a good price to put on the stevens that is drop in ready to go?? Thats one thing I definately want changed. The flex on this stock is incredible...I'm surprised it shot as good as it does with the stock.
 
For the stock, anything that fits the Savage 10/110 will work.

Choate has a nice sniper stock and course there are your "run of the mill" Bell & Carlson, HS Precision, for synthetic. Don't know about wood. I guess that makes my comment immaterial?
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I'm thinking of getting a brake put on mine. I hear it reduces the recoil by more than 50%. That would help me keep my eye on where the coyote goes if/after I land a round in it.

Good luck!
 
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