So ive read many different takes on barrel swaps with these, what have people experienced firsthand? Will prefit savage barrels work with the xs7?
Like if a guy wanted to rebarrel an xs7 243 to 6.5x47L
I've put several small shank Savage-made and after-market Savage specs barrels on Marlin XL-7 and XS-7 actions. I always shorten the barrel shank by 0.05", one full turn of the barrels, as they are threaded 1/20", and recut the chamber to insure proper headspace.
The Marlin bolt face has a slightly deeper recess than the Savage bolt such that the front of the Marlin bolt can touch the rear of the Savage specs barrels and cause the person installing the barrel to think that he/she is getting correct headspace when in fact the headspace is actually slightly in excess. The difference is small, but it is there. That said, a lot of people screw small shank Savage barrels onto Marlin XL-7 and XS-7 actions without going to the extra effort that I do and claim not to have excess headspace issues, but I wonder how many of them actually have/use SAAMI specs "GO" and/or "NO GO" headspace gauges.
I currently have rebarreled Marlin XS-7s in 22-250, using a 1-9" ROT Stevens 200 223 barrel, in 257 Roberts and 260 using A&B barrels, and in 6.5 Creedmoor using a Savage barrel. I also have rebarreled Marlin XL-7s in 7x57 using an A&B barrel and in 338-06 using a Shaw barrel. The 1-9" ROT 22-250 conversions were popular with my friends, so I did six or seven of them. Since I was cutting a new, larger, chamber, going from 223 to 22-250, I didn't bother to shorten those barrels.
Screwing a 6.5-47L Savage specs barrel onto an XS-7 action would be easy to do and safe if the person doing the work has the proper headspace gauges.
'Hope this helps.