What to choose for my "donor" gun?

[crash32]

I am building a rifle for under $1,000 including the glass. After much research and advice.... I have been looking extensively at the Savage Stevens 200 in the .243 cartridge. I plan on maybe changing out the barrel, perhaps a fiberglass stock, and maybe a trigger job. The only thing that I do not like about using the Stevens 200 for a donor gun is that the .243 would be the only caliber that is ideal for target shooting.
I was hoping to maybe use a .260 or a 6.5 Creedmoor. Is there another GREAT action or "donor" gun that would be very inexpensive to base my build off of that uses the .260 or 6.5 Creedmoor in case I decide not to go with the .243?

Thanks guys

 

[Texaszach]

If you plan on changing the barrel the Stevens would just be fine I believe.

Go to savageshooters forum and they are quite passionate about building on the 110/10 and Stevens 200 action

 

[crash32]

So for the money.... the Stevens 200 cannot be beat for the action?

I was just hoping to have the option of using a .260 or 6.5 Creedmoor. I think that the .243 would work for me well, but I think I would be happier using something with a bit more power for shooting at 300 yards as opposed to the standard 100 yards.

 

[MCgunner]

delete post

 

[Texaszach]

You definitely have the option of doing a barrel swap on a Stevens 200.
But that 243 barrel will likely shoot very well. And 300 yards is easily doable with a 243.

You could build your own rifle with a savage action and the Stevens provides for a cheaper platform to start from.

I bought mine with the same intention. I replaced the trigger with a rifle basix in about 30 minutes and might buy another barrel one day if I decided to change it up.

But honestly after seeing how it shot and how easy and comfortable the rifle is to me, changes are not neccessary. I have one in 270 and it is an awesome hunting rifle.

If I did make changes I'd buy an aftermarket recoil lug, barrel, and an aftermarket stock. That's about all I'd consider doing to it... But you might shoot it and realize it just needs a trigger job and that's all for your needs.

 

[Kachok]

+1 on the Savage/Stevens action, best in the buisness design for ease of use, and a STRONG aftermarket. If you want to skip the aftermarket trigger you can buy a full fledged Sagave 110 Accutrigger which is a darn good one if you tune it down.
I bought my Savage 110 30-06 with every intention of making a 280AI target gun out of it, then I made the tragic mistake of shooting it first. Darn Savages always shoot so good I cannot bare to tear them down that is how I ended up with half a dozen of them
243 is fully capable of long ranged shooting with a tight twist barrel and 95-115gr VLD style bullets, the 6.5s have their fair share of advantages though, higher BC bullets mean less wind drift and the larger bore with the same powder charge means alot less throat erosion. But the 243 has it's advantages as well, tons of readily available brass and a wealth of reloading information make it a contender for sure.

 

[jim243]

I was just hoping to have the option of using a .260 or 6.5 Creedmoor. I think that the .243 would work for me well, but I think I would be happier using something with a bit more power for shooting at 300 yards as opposed to the standard 100 yards.

Ha ha ha, that's funny. Try 600 yards for the 243.

Jim

Savage model 10 in 243. With a muzzle valocity of 4,000 fps with light weight bullets, see if you can get that from a 6.5.

 

[aubie515]

If you start off with a Stevens 200 in 243...just swap barrels...the go/no go gauges are the same. You will probably want to replace the factory stock as it's a POS.

Enjoy playing with the Savage...that is what is so great about owning a Savage is you can tinker it yourself when time/money/skill allows for the upgrades.