Which rifle?

[Kestryll]

Okay, looking for opinions, advice and thoughts.
I am contemplating a new rifle but am not sure which one I want.
Right now I am looking at one of four rifles, well three rifles and one of them in two calibers.
I know someone will ask, "What are you planning to use it for?" Good question, I'm not sure.
I already have a .22 for plinking, a Mossy 500 for HD, a Mini-14 for casual targets and short to medium interpersonal relationships and a modified Mosin M44'pseudo-scout' rifle. I guess what I kind of want is a medium to long range accurate rifle.
These are the rifles and what I see as their strong points:
Stevens 200 in .223: Seems to be a nice well built bolt action, from what I've heard they are pretty accurate as well. I like the idea of using the same caliber as my Mini, don't have to stockpile another caliber.

Stevens 200 in .308: Same as above but in a larger caliber that seems to be more versatile however it is a new caliber.

Ishapore 2A in.308: Standard caliber, easily available ammo, I've heard the action is very fast and smooth on these and I can get it with my C&R shipped to my door. Down side is it would cost than just the purchase price to set it up like I'd want it.

Yugo SKS in 7.62x39: Not really a long range rifle but I could use it for short to medium and work on the Mini for longer reach. Yes it can be done with a Mini. The main draw of the SKS is the low price, ample available ammo and the C&R ease of purchase.


This will likely be my only rifle purchase for this year, as the guesthouse needs major repairs so my spending will be limited.
Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[Don't Tread On Me]

Hmm..

If the Mini is reliable and accurate, that pretty much fills your role as a short to medium range blaster. You've got the shotty for HD, and the Mosin as a light scout gun with punch.


If you go for the Stevens... Note one thing. The Mini can fire 5.56 ammo (correct me if I am wrong), but the Stevens .223 will NOT due to having a tight .223 chamber. So ammo compatibility will be there so long as you're using .223 in both guns. The Savage guns are suppose to be the best bang for the buck in bolt-actions. Every dollar you spend on it goes into accuracy. It might not be pretty or refined, but it should be accurate.


I'd take a look at .308 options too. If you want that .223 to do medium to long range work, then it will have to shoot some of the heavier bullets. The cost of these (if you don't handload) plus potential rifle-twist issues might not make it so worthwhile. I'd go for the .308 Stevens instead. If you want to consider another gun, the NEF (break action, single shot) Survivor in .308. It has a PG style stock and nice Choate furniture. The NEF guru's often get MOA accuracy out of this rifle using 150gr PP's. Perhaps the most accurate budget .308 out there. Bull barrel, decent trigger out of the box.


The SKS is cheap and nice, but you've got that role covered by the Mini-14 already. The 7.62x39mm isn't going to give you any range advantage or accuracy advantage over a Mini-14. And lately, the ammo availability and cost makes it less desirable to the .223.


You seem to like milsurps, while milsurps in medium bore calibers are nice, they might not fit your role for medium to long range engagement IF they do not possess the inherent accuracy to do so. Some milsurps are 2moa or better guns, others don't have a prayer at staying consistently under 4moa...So you have to decide what kind of range you're looking to reach out to and what size target you're looking to be able to hit.


I doubt any Milsurp except for a K31 or good condition M39 would be able to come close to what the Stevens .308 can do accuracy wise.

 

[MatthewVanitas]

Vote for a Stevens or Savage .308 with decent scope.


Ditto above: SKS redundant w/ your Mini, mil-surp might not offer the accuracy increase you're looking for.


-MV

 

[Soap]

Stevens .308 hands down. It is the most versatile out of the bunch and can help you learn yet another dimension to the art of the rifle.

 

[ReadyontheRight]

Stevens .308. Second choice is the Yugo.

Both handy additions to your collection.