Mart, my band is about 2/5" in front of the fore end (where the original one was)(it was cracked) when it belonged to this guy. Needless to say it was pretty "gray" when I got it, but knowing Doug Turnbull since he was a toddler helped get it restored/improved for slight less than Obama is spending every day.

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Gentry makes the best barrel band, You can get them already blued from Brownells and CONTRARY to what the Brownell catalog says they are tapered. There is a dot in the metal right above the swivel hole on one side. That goes toward the butt. I have installed several over the years using super locktite and a brass drift to knock em' on. Never had one come loose.

On the 22-06, when I bought mine it was shot out (HiVel powder was rough stuff). I had it rebarreled to match the original contour but with a 1 in 8 twist.

It will push an 80 gr Sierra MKBT bullet at 3600 fps. H869 is the only powder that works.
It will shoot 1MOA or better to 600 and is usually shoots better groups at 200 than 100 (bullet "going to sleep"?)
Easy to load but tricky to get to shoot well. Only winchester brass (thinner), expensive Redding bushing dies and so on. 75 gr Swifts and 62 gr TTSXs and 70gr TSXs also shoot very well. Have not tried Bergers yet but want to try the 22 cal 90 Grain Match Target VLD.

I also built a switch barrel Marlin Model X7C Long Action that was a 270 WCF using a Savage 22-250 barrel rechambered to 22-06. It would push a 50 gr at 4000+ (22" bbl 1 in 12 twist). It was VERY accurate shooting 3 in 1/2" at 100 and holding 3 in 2.5"@300 (farthest I ever shot it.)

BTW the Marlin is a great rifle for dirt cheap and the Savage nut barrel swap method would let you have anything that uses a 30-06 case (long action) or 308 (short action) as a basis. All you need is a barrel vise, the wrench and a headspace gauge. The swap takes about 20 minutes !

the rifle:

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