I like the heavy barreled rifles from both Marlin and Savage, but have not had good success with light barreled Savage Mark IIs or 93s. The 2 light barreled Savages that I have had were poor shooters, so I rebarreled them with Green Mountain barrels, the Mark II F from 22LR to 17HM2 and the 93F remained a 17HRM, with with a heavy flutted barrel. The Marlin stocks, both synthetic and laminated, fit me better than the Savage synthetics. I think that you would do well to try them for fit, 'cause accuracy wise they are likely to be equal in all regards.
I have 7 light barreled Marlins; 2 917S, 2 982S, 2 981TS, and 1 980S that are all good shooters, but they are also all pre-Remington rifles.
Jeff
