advise on rifle build please-Stevens 200

About 10 years ago, I bought a Stevens 200 in .270 at Academy when they were trying to get rid of them. I bought it for my then young son and cut the barrel and stock, and let him hunt with some reduced power ammo.

He's older now and has other rifles. I would like to turn that rifle into a .308, and add a suppressor for varmint and deer hunting. Considering that I will need a new barrel and stock, is it worth it to rebuild this action? Would I be better off selling this rifle/action and buying a new Savage in .308 ready to go? I have a lathe and can thread a factory barrel so that is a no cost issue.

My plan is to end up with a budget .308 with about an 18" barrel threaded for suppressors.

Would selling the action offset the cost of the new rifle enough to justify the trouble of shipping and such? Or should I just buy a new stock and barrel?

Opinions greatly appreciated.

Your biggest cost will be the barrel. You will need a different baffle on the bolt if you want a short action throw on the bolt. The bolt face should be the same. You may even be able to find a lightly used barrel that fits your needs without any additional machining. There should be magazines for .308 in the long action available as I believe it was available from the factory that way.

Of course I could be totally wrong on this...

If I use the my action, cant I just load .308 into the existing mag box and have it feed right? I thought the older Savage actions were all 'long' actions.

You may be able to run the magazine as is. I have not done such a conversion. Looking back in the archives I am seeing evidence where people have used the long action magazine as is for the .308 family of short action cartridges.

Put the barrel on it and try it. Work your way out of issues do not create them. Yours is a true long action. No baffle change as you will be pushing the rounds to the rear. When you find money for a short action trade or whatever. put the barrel on it. Just do it.

Robin hood is giving good advice.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Robinhood

Put the barrel on it and try it. Work your way out of issues do not create them. Yours is a true long action. No baffle change as you will be pushing the rounds to the rear. When you find money for a short action trade or whatever. put the barrel on it. Just do it.

---

I think I understand what you are saying, but........I haven't begun getting any parts, I don't have a barrel to put on and try.

Where I am right now, is needing to make a decision of whether to build up around the action I have, or sell the action and use the money toward the cost of a new rifle.

Let me ask another question; Which will cost more? A) buying a barrel and stock or B) buying a new rifle (minus the profit from selling the action I have)?

Building off your action gives you the flexibility to assemble "custom" based on what you want. Stock, trigger, barrel, etc.
Savages are considered by most (myself included) to have the most accurate, "out of the box" rifles, most will shoot MOA or better- which is fine, for your application.

IF there is a factory offering that has what you want (many will come with the muzzle threaded for a can or brake)- go for it, and sell your action for what you can get to put towards it.

By the time you buy an aftermarket barrel,have the muzzle threaded, trigger (the old triggers were crap- as were the Tupperware stocks of that day), and likely a stock as well, you'll have spent far more than a 110 factory rifle.

There was a wood stocked axis for 339 and then you take off 60 for a rebate. It would be hard to beat that.

1st, IMO, the 270 is a fine rifle like it is. I have both, the 270 & several 308's! It's personal preference.

The 308 should reach out a little further vs. the 270. Under 600 yards, both are great.

Building off your current action is no problem. The magazine shouldn't be an issue either. I have built 308's using Long Actions. Many have done it.

Building a rifle and handing it down to your son has special memories.

Both/all of your ideas will end up being your personal preference.

Just let us know if you have further questions,

Merry Christmas,
Dennis

I recently finished a 6.5 Creedmoor build using one of my long actions that was 30-06. The shorter Creedmoor case chambers fine from the magazine and I have the added benefit of having enough room to seat bullets out as far as I want and still can load the magazine.

[QUOTE=sclearman;444885
Where I am right now, is needing to make a decision of whether to build up around the action I have, or sell the action and use the money toward the cost of a new rifle.
Let me ask another question; Which will cost more? A) buying a barrel and stock or B) buying a new rifle (minus the profit from selling the action I have)?[/QUOTE]

Many start with the idea of needing to build a rifle. But they don't have a clear plan to start with. That 270 is a fine rifle and with the right bullets, it can do many things.

Start with a plan. "I want to build a short action for medium game". "I want a range gun that will shoot to X distance off a bipod". "I want something I can hunt with and shoot steel at longer ranges". " I want something that does not cost much to shoot". " I reload". "I buy off the shelf Ammo". " I have a budget of xxx.xx".

From there we can determine if you build, sell and buy.

^^^ Plan was clearly stated by the OP:

Quote:

---

My plan is to end up with a budget .308 with about an 18" barrel threaded for suppressors.

---

Simple enough question. Which is cheaper?

"Budget" .308....

Plenty of take-offs available (including new) in .308 on Fleabay and classifieds, for $100-$200. Can't do cheaper than that.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tobnpr

^^^ Plan was clearly stated by the OP:


Simple enough question. Which is cheaper?

"Budget" .308....

Plenty of take-offs available (including new) in .308 on Fleabay and classifieds, for $100-$200. Can't do cheaper than that.

---

I'll buy that. I don't know of any 18" threaded barrels but if a 20" threaded will do, a hog hunter barrel would be perfect.