New stevens 200 7mm-08 sighting in problems

[ClutchKick]

I could not get this rifle to hit consistantly. Patched after the first and 2nd round like I do with any new rifle then started adjusting scope. at 50 yards bullets went everywhere within the red 5in diameter center of mass target. final group of 3 shots (rounds 15 16 and 17) had 2 touching center low and on flier right an inch and 2 inches high. does this sound like a bedding issue? I was shooting winchester 140gr regular rounds and have a cheap BSA illuminated scope ( that held zero on my howa 270 just fine)

[keeki]

sounds like a scope issue to me. ive mounted scopes and zeroed probably 20 or so stevens 200's and have never seen one shoot over moa. you could probably take all the screws out of the action and it would still shoot better than that.

[GaCop]

I suspect the BSA scope has gone belly up on you. An out of the box Stevens 200 will shoot tighter than that at 50 yards with a good scope. Look at the Bushnell 3200 series of scopes. Good value for the money in 3x9x40.

[FW Conch]

I'd be willing to bet it's not the Stevens 200. One thing to check- make sure the front scope base screw is not so long that it bottoms out on the barrel threads, not allowing the base to seat solidly. I "stone" all of mine a little shorter to make sure this doesn't happen. Gd Lk-Jim

[usmc_mwroseberry]

Which barrel twist do you have. If you have the 1 in 11.5 you can't run a bullet heavier than 130gr or the bullets won't stabolize and will be all over the place. Brother and I tried to shoot 150gr bullets in his and the bullet went sideways through the target at 100 yards. Strangest thing I've ever seen. The 7mm-08 is an excellent cal. but you need a faster twist to run the heavy bullets. I have a new McGowen being shipped to me now that is a 26" bull barrel with a 1 in 8 twist that I'm going to run the heavy bullets in. Things you should do.

Never use a bi-pod with a steven tuperware stock (see my post on stiffening up a tuperware stock)
Make sure the barrel and rear tang are floated
Run 120gr noslers in your stevens if it has a 1 in 11.5 twist
Use blue loc-tite on your action scope base and ring base screws.
Make sure you have a dependable scope on top of your rig.
After the first 3 rounds of rapid fire give the barrel 60 seconds between shots.

Try the following and let us know if you're still having issues.

[ClutchKick]

well looks like im after a new scope and lighter bullets! will report back in a few weeks after payday to update,

Thanks guys love this place!

[ClutchKick]

So I lock tited everything ( except the rings) got some of the hornady 139gr sst's and went out to the lease. moa groups at 50 and 100!
man does it loves these rounds, still want a better scope the zoom on this bsa sucks but she is shooting great! thanks for the help guys

[usmc_mwroseberry]

So I lock tited everything ( except the rings) got some of the hornady 139gr sst's and went out to the lease. moa groups at 50 and 100!
man does it loves these rounds, still want a better scope the zoom on this bsa sucks but she is shooting great! thanks for the help guys

NP just PM me if you have any more questions in the future usually I can help with most issues with the stevens.

Good luck,
Merritt