I've shot a lot of predator with a lot of different cartridges and never felt handicapped with a 1-14" ROT 22-250 shooting 55 or 60 grain bullets. Most of the predators that I've shot were under 300 yards and the majority were called in under 100 yards. I think that Marlin would have been smarter to go with a quicker ROT, but I don't see the 1-14" ROT being a significant negative factor for a varmint rifle that is intended (mostly) for an entry-level, factory ammo shooting, market niche.
That said, my Marlin XS-7 parts gun in 22-250 has a 1-9" ROT Stevens 200 223 barrel, rechambered to 22-250, installed.
My Marlin X guns are chambered in 22-250, 243 (factory specs), 257 Roberts, 25-284, 260, 7x57, and 308 (factory specs). Not prefect, but a really good value for under $300 in CM or under $375 in SS. I can live with the factory specs Marlin X guns, but have installed metal trigger-guards on all of mine and have installed a couple of Boyd's Prairie Hunter
JEff
