I bought an early Marlin 17V in 2002, and it's been a keeper. I've also owned a Savage and a 455 in HMR, and that old Marlin outshot both of those rifles. I still have it, and it averages 5/8" at 100 yards with the original Hornady 17 VMax load. The Marlin doesn't like the 20 gr. loads at all, the Savage shot everything "fairly well", but nothing as good as that Marlin shot the 17VMaxes. The 455 was the combo gun, and it never shot anything particularly well, but it favored the 20gr. load.
Based on that limited experience, I'd say look up a Marlin, save a wad of money, and have a rifle that shoots as well as any of the others, and better than most. I think I paid $220 for that Marlin in '02.
