Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Marlin XL-7

Just received 3 Marlin XS-7s this week, 2 CM 308s and 1 SS 308. The CM rifles are going to be rebarreled to 22-250 via a couple of new take-off from Stevens 200s. These are the 22" 1-9" ROT 223 barrels that I used to build my 22-250 parts gun and a couple of guys who have shot it wanted me to put together a couple more for them. The SS rifle is going to become a 260 via a SS A&B barrel for a friend of mine in NH.

Jeff

Years ago, I received a NRA commemorative Marlin MR-7 in 270 Win as a gift. I stuck it in the safe and didn't give it much thought until I was heading out with my SS Rem 700 270 Win and thought "what the heck - I might as well see how it shoots" so I brought the MR-7 along. Gotta say I was VERY impressed; so impressed that I even took it to the smith for a trigger job.

FWIW - that rifle is probably the most accurate big game rifle I've owned and would give most varmint rifles a run for their money! The Marlins may not be fancy but they're definitely one helluva bang for your buck......

Well the extended antlerless season opened the 1 st of Jan so I went today figuring there wouldn't be as many people out there. About sundown I spotted a bunch out there about 500 yds in a WIA area. Grabbed my gear and got within 225 to 300 yds of the lot by easing along the far side of the fence,it was choked with tumble weeds and snow drifts so I blended in ok. Called the stalk good at about 225yds from the nearest antlerless deer.He was a young buck with no horns yet still a little short in the face, but broadside to me.I used the gate post as a rest and kneel position to drive a 150 Hornady SP flatbase thru his lungs about 1/3 of the way down from the top of them. They had a nice looking hole about an inch in diameter thru them and out the other side. Apparently my stalk was good enuf as at the hit he came my way for about 25 yds before piling up. Load used was a CCI 200, WW brass,near max dose of TAC and the 150 gr Horn SP flatbase at ~2800+. I don't think he weighed more than a 110 dressed but felt like 250 after I got done dragging him out to the road thru the snow drifts. yeah there were bigger ones, but he was the closest and at 15 minutes after sundown(good to hunt till 1/2 hr after)I use the the sure thing policy. I was using a 6x Burris with fine crosshairs and a 2 minute dot which I used to help figure the range. 2 deer so far with 1 shot apiece,yeah I like it for the money spent. Magnum Man

My friend bought a XL-7 in 270 and the very first load tried out of it gave groups around 1.75" at 200 yds. 60 grains of H4831 and a Nosler 130gr Ballistic Tip at 3050fps. that gives the load a MPBR of 297 yds. Can't ask for much more than that can you?

As A side note, I did have a XS-7 308 made into a very handy accurate carbine with the results and history posted here.

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/4673021/1

I now have my 3rd "X" gun at home and plan on rechambering it[7-08] to a 284Winchester. I'm also eyeballing a black "X"gun in 243 as the platform for a 358 or 260 rebarrel job. McGowen is selling drop in barrels for the "X" guns so that should make things easy.

Update on the XS-7,pretty much have left it stock with no improvements to the gun other than getting the barrel worn in.The TAC load still shooting good even with other 150 gr bullets subbed in.Gun is dead nuts reliable zero wise. On last monday I put it to work on a pronghorn buck at 290 yds. The shot was slightly downhill at just a little less than full broadside. The wind was running about 12-15mph at a 45 degree angle to the buck. I put the DOT on the bucks horizontal whiteline~4-5" back of his vertical whiteline on his right side. the wind drifted the bullet forward as anticipated and the drop from my zero worked pretty good also with the bullet hitting the right frt leg bone just below the blade socket entering the chest taking out the forward end of the lower lungs exiting in frt of the left frt leg.He covered about 35 yds and collapsed. I went down to him and dressed him out. Don't like dragging my eating thru the dirt and weeds so I walked out got the game cart and went back to get him. 150 gr Hornady SP all you need and just about as simple as it gets.For them that need to know,little less than 13" and as good as any I saw,just no older bucks survived the winter of 09-10 in that area. He eats good. Magnum Man