Guys, this gun is at my LGS............... tell me your thoughts on what is worth, just want other opinions, pls.
I am assuming it likely shoots, but being sold it probably doesn't 'win matches' any more........
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/885621445
$350?
I don't think of Stevens 416s as being competitive rifles, not in the same class as Remington 37s and Winchester 52s, more like Savage 19-33s.
Stevens 416 fits in the class of the Rem 521T/513T. It was the Savage/Stevens entry into the 'military trainer' market, back in the day. IRCC, it was also sold commercially by Sears, Roebuck Co under the designation of Ranger.
I have one and if the gun you are looking at in your LGS is complete with the open/peep sights, I wouldn't consider $350 to be outrageous. I haven't shot mine much (like a lot of other rifles), but as I recall it was a solid shooter. In comparison to some of today's bolt action rimfires, the trigger sucks. But the same could be said of a number of vintage rimfire bolt actions.
I had a 416 and my thoughts mirror WiFowler's. Definitely 2nd tier.
I owned a 416 for a number of years and spent considerable time wringing it out with a 24x Redfield 3200 scope. What I found was that with the ammo it liked best (and I tested it with a large number of different target ammo varieties), it would average 0.51" for 10 five-shot groups at 50 yards. By comparison, the Remington 40x I owned at the time, topped with the same scope and run through the same test protocol, would shoot 0.37" for the same 10 5-shot groups at that distance. I'm not a benchrest shooter nor is my benchrest technique particularly good, but the difference in accuracy between the two rifles was relatively small, given the difference in price.
My 416, which had U.S. Property markings, with the original Stevens sights but without the scope, sold at a local gunshop for $475 about a year ago. I'd consider paying up to $500 for one in excellent condition and perhaps $400 for one in 90% or better condition.
As an aside, according to the Savage historian I spoke with, the non-U.S. Property marked ones are actually less common than the marked ones. About 2/3 (if I recall correctly) of those manufactured went to the government as training rifles.