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Stevens 200 Review

The Stevens 200 is intriguing, not because it is different from existing products, but because it is the same. The 200 is basically a repackaging of Savage’s tried and true 110. The 110 in its various incarnations has never been a pretty gun or particularly smooth, but that is not what people buy them for. Savage rifles shoot wonderful little groups over and over again, a performance is made all the sweeter knowing what you shelled out for such a great-shooting gun. There is nothing more satisfying than having a rifle that shoots better, but costs less, than the rifle one bench down. With an MSRP of $420 (in the real world you’ll probably get one for around $350), the Stevens 200 will have a lot of people eating crow.

The 200 has everything that makes a Savage shoot well. The barrel is free floated and the floating bolt head allows for better accuracy and less factory fitting. The only thing missing is Savage’s AccuTrigger, but Savage owners got by without it for a long time and one can be installed aftermarket if the 200 owner wants it. The 200 probably has all the little foibles of its Savage ancestors, but it also has their attributes. The areas in which we deducted points from the Stevens shouldn’t come as a surprise, with the floating bolt head being a bit of a double-edged sword. While the bolt design resulted in an excellent score for accuracy, more parts means more points of failure and ultimately lower overall reliability and durability.

Ranked #6 of 7 in our Best Budget Bolt Action Rifle Comparison

Ruger American Review

The Ruger American is the company’s first venture into any kind of entry-level bolt gun, although the price of all Ruger products has always been very reasonable for what you get. The American is a big divergence from the company’s previous bolt action offerings; about the only thing it has in common with other Ruger cousins is the reappearance of a two position tang safety like that found on original Model 77s.

Action-wise, this new Ruger has three locking lugs and a 70 degree bolt lift. Multiple bolt lugs are nothing new — the Weatherby Mark V, T/C Venture and the old Texas Rifle all have more than two lugs; currently there seems to be a resurgence of interest in the idea. The American’s trigger is adjustable and the action is bedded, both features which generally improve accuracy. The overall package is trim and feels light with good balance for offhand shooting. Ruger’s traditional receiver-integral dovetails for scope mounting have been abandoned on this model, but the new scope base is included in the box. Some folks will miss the dovetails, but if the new scope mount works well most will get over it. The most interesting feature of the American might be its magazine. While detachable magazines on bolt guns are no longer uncommon, the American has a polymer three-round rotary magazine, which makes it unique. At first blush a plastic rotary magazine might seem like a bad idea, but Ruger turned out a lot of them for their 10-22’s over the years and they were very reliable. No centerfire magazine will see nearly as much use as one for a 10-22, and rotary magazines are less prone to rattle in the gun or in the pocket.

With The American we have been cautious in our scoring. It lost points in the scope mounting, fit/finish, loading, safety and accuracy categories. The average grade for accuracy should be expected on a very light sporter in early production. The rest of the points were lost because the rifle is such a radical departure from Ruger’s time-tested designs. When people step into new territory they may stumble. This might be unfair to a company like Ruger that prides itself on breaking new ground, but we’ll have to wait and see which of the new concepts fail or flourish. The new Ruger American has a lot going for it and they are going to sell a lot of these rifles. Ruger has an extremely loyal following and some folks will buy this rifle just to have another Ruger product.

Ranked #5 of 7 in our Best Budget Bolt Action Rifle Comparison

Marlin X7 Review

This rifle was voted the deserved title of “Best Value” based upon a combination of features and MSRP. Marlin is a very old company that has largely worked in the lever action market. For over a century American gun nuts have bought half a dozen Winchester lever guns to brag about and one Marlin to take hunting. The X7 is a bolt action rifle that is meant to continue this tradition. This gun is not going to break your bank account, but beware because it will fill your freezer.

The X7 comes with pillar bedding and an adjustable trigger to improve accuracy. The rifle’s stock is black synthetic with a cheek piece and a fairly nice recoil pad. The magazine is of the traditional fixed type and capacity is four plus one. Right now the X7 is only available in six calibers, all pretty standard fodder, and that is in line with the rifle’s overall concept. The X7 also comes with a one-piece scope base thrown in for free, so you don’t have to go hunting around sporting goods stores. The Marlin lever guns were always what you pulled out of the rack when you were headed somewhere you didn’t want to take your Winchester and now you can pull the X7 out of the rack when you don’t want to risk your thousand dollar bolt gun.

Any of the areas the X7 lost points in were due to sacrifices that should be expected with a rifle in this particular price class. The X7 has a two-position safety which, although probably not a problem for most folks, cost it a point in the comparison. The lack of a free scope mount that might be hard to locate cost two points in the scope mounting category and the rifle’s fit/finish is only average. A point was also deducted for accuracy because, while the Marlin should shoot just fine, it may not deliver the accuracy that other rifles in the comparison (which have been in production longer) will deliver. With its features and very low MSRP this rifle is going to become a kind of guilty pleasure for the bolt action crowd.

Ranked #4 of 7 in our Best Budget Bolt Action Rifle Comparison

T/C Venture Review

Thompson Center is best known for single-shot rifles like the Encore, but its bolt action offerings are interesting. T/C seems to like their rifles to be different and the Venture is no exception. For starters, the Venture has three locking lugs. This gives the rifle a quick 60 degree bolt lift and allows for slightly lower scope mounting. Whether or not the multiple lugs add strength or the shorter bolt lift adds speed are just two more of the everlasting debates in the shooting world that have been going on since Roy Weatherby introduced the Mark V. In practice, the difference mostly boils down to preference.

T/C is also using a new type of rifling for the Venture barrels that they have dubbed 5R. This rifling is nothing out of the ordinary aside from the rounding on the edges of the lands. T/C claims that this rounding will make for both easier cleaning and greater accuracy. 5R rifling will definitely make cleaning easier, but despite many claims of exceptional performance improvements over the years we have yet to find one design that can solely be attributed to for greater accuracy. The execution at the factory of any given rifling is what counts, although by now one can assume T/C has a pretty good handle on rifling barrels.

The Venture lost a point for durability mostly because it is a new design. No one knows how well these rifles will weather the years, so the point deduction is just to remind you to take that into account if this is going to be your only hunting rifle for a while. The scope mount was judged to be average because it is not free and is as untested as the rest of the rifle. The Venture also lost a point in the fit/finish category. T/C products tend to have a focus on function over appearance, but T/C buyers have never seemed to mind this on the Encore.

While the Venture is an intriguing rifle and there are probably a lot of guys out there who would like to give it a try out of sheer curiosity, which may not be enough to keep it in production in its current form. The Venture has a lot in common with the newly released Ruger American, which is available at a lower cost. This does not mean that T/C will stop making the Venture, but it may have to evolve. If the action of the Venture proves to be popular and dependable then T/C will likely begin to dress up the rifle and offer it in varmint, tactical or other special models which will have specific targeted uses and correspondingly higher price tags.

Ranked #3 of 7 in our Best Budget Bolt Action Rifle Comparison

Howa 1500 Review

The Howa 1500 is the twin to the Weatherby Vanguard. For the most part only a stamp machine somewhere in Japan knows the difference between these two rifles. This is the case because Howa has been making very accurate rifles for decades and Weatherby wanted a good rifle to put their name on for their lower-priced line. Firearm companies do this all the time to get a bigger share of the market and avoid retooling. A good product is good regardless of the box it comes in. In the case of the Vanguard and the Howa, this is actually pretty handy because scope mounts and other accessories are interchangeable. When something changes on one of these rifles it changes on the other, so the Howa now has a three-position safety and a two-stage trigger like the new Vanguard.

The main divergence in the Howa is that it is not available in Weatherby cartridges, but is available in more standard cartridges. The buyer also has more choices when it comes to choosing a finish, stock or barrel with the Howa. While the Howa has more options, a point has been deducted in the fit/finish category. This does not mean the Howa is poorly assembled. Where the fit counts (the bedding and barrel channel) the Howa is very well done, but the Vanguard has a better stock-to-action fit which, although of purely aesthetic value, earns it an extra point. Another differentiator is the lack of an accuracy guarantee on the Howa, but they usually toe the line with or without a guarantee.

Ranked #2 of 7 in our Best Budget Bolt Action Rifle Comparison

Winchester SXP Review

“Yeaahhh, everybody’s shootin’, chuka-chuka, pow-pow!”

Gotta love that Winchester commercial with the catchy little ditty of a theme song. Certainly it’s as memorable as the Winchester name, but only time will tell if the Winchester SXP pump-action is as worthy of such memory.

Not sure why, but for some reason the Winchester SXP reminds us of a Ruger 10/22. Maybe it’s the way the “satin finished” stock is made, but we expect to hear a little “ka-cha!” that the 10/22 makes when fired instead of the kaboom of a shotgun. Weird, right?

Winchester has a little experience in making firearms, right? They’re a Quintessential American company, but this gun is made in Turkey. Don’t worry though, it’s made to Winchester spec.

The styling is just okay. Nothing really impressive or remarkable about it. The safety also happens to be in front of the trigger guard, which we thought was an odd choice for locations considering most shooters are used to it being behind the trigger guard.

The shotgun does have some merits and features worth exploring and consideration for your purchase. Its 3” chambering lets you take down some of the heavier game out there. It’s got a really good recoil pad, a “dropout” trigger group for easy disassembly and cleaning, and what we believe is the most impressive feature on the gun: a rotary bolt system.

As recoil hits, the inertia of the bolt begins to cycle the action so that by the time you are ready to pump the next shell into the chamber, it’s already half done for you. Essentially with every shot, you just need to pull the forend forward and pull the trigger. Impressive indeed!

The SXP also features a hard-chromed chamber and bore instead of traditional bluing. Brass front-sight bead and the full array of choke tube options are available.

Chuka-chuka, pow-pow.

Ranked #7 of 7 in our Best Pump Shotgun Comparison