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If this is the case why not just machine off the front of the bolt?
that is much less cost than a new reamer and gunsimth job.

the bolt nose has nothing to do with head space the bolt face does.

the 130 grain is the best bullet choice for the 270 win.

The problem is with barrel installation, not checking headspace after a barrel is installed.

With the deeper recess in the Marlin bolt than the Savage, you might put the gauge in the Savage barrel, screw the barrel into the action until it meets resistance, and think it is seating the gauge against the bolt face but it is really seating the back of the barrel against the bolt nose, and the gauge is loose in the chamber.

Bruce

The rear of the Marlin and Savage/Stevens barrels are flat, while the "nose" of the bolt heads extend ahead of the "face" of the bolt, so the "nose" MAY come into contact with the rear of the barrel before proper headspace is achieved. The "face" of the bolt is recessed behind the "nose" and since the recess is greater on the Marlin bolts then it is on the Savage bolts that I have measured you get the potential for excess headspace even when the headspacing feels correct.

Until you have a more complete understanding of the issue, it might be better if you read more and commented less, particularly regarding an issue where there is a real possibility of injury to the shooter.

Jeff

260Remguy,


Can you clear something up for me? You write:

"The rear of the Marlin and Savage/Stevens barrels are flat, while the "nose" of the bolt heads extend ahead of the "face" of the bolt, so the "nose" MAY come into contact with the rear of the barrel before proper headspace is achieved."

Are you saying that the Marlin breech face is completely flat like the Savage barrel breech face? If that is the case, the Marlin and Savage barrels should be completely interchangeable. But the above discussion would suggest that they are not. Is there a relief cut around the outer diameter of the Marlin breech face to compensate for the longer distance the Marlin bolt 'nose' is from the 'face'?

Thanks.

The Marlin has a deeper bolt face recess(BFR)

Therefore, either the Marlin barrel is chambered shallower, or the gap between bolt nose (BN) and barrel breech (BB) is smaller on the Marlin.

If the Savage barrel is chambered deeper, then when installing the barrel, BB may touch BN before the gauge touches BF. This will cause excess headspace. Check to make sure this is not happening before firing.

Once head space is set, just put black shoe polish or something like that on the bolt nose and close the bolt. Then remove the bolt and check for signs of contact between the bolt nose and the barrel. If no contact, then you should be good to go.

I'd do something like that before I went to the trouble of machining and then having to cut a chamber a little more.

That might work, but my Marlin XS-7s have black bolt heads, so you might need to use a different color indicator.

I like tight/minimum headspace on my bolt action rifles and I have an old Rockwell/Delta metal lathe and a variety of finish reamers, so having both the tools and, to a degree, the skill that allows me to do these barrel installation to my standards. As I've said before, there is often more than 1 path to a desired outcome and the path that you describe may work just fine.

My primary concern is to raise the red flag regarding the installation of Savage/Stevens 110 series specs barrels on Marlin XL/XS-7 receivers. Those barrels may install and headspace properly without any machine work, however, there is the possibility that the deeper recess of the Marlin bolt fact MAY create a false headspace "feel" IF the "nose" of the Marlin bolt inpacts the rear of the barrel BEFORE the front of the headspace gauge impacts that chamber shoulder. I have installed exactly 1 A&B Savage 110 series barrel on a single Marlin XS-7 action. A sample of 1 is clearly insufficient to predict the universe, but I have felt compelled to bring this issue up because I missed it the 1st time that I installed this barrel. It was an "awe-[bleep]!" moment for me when the deeper recess of the Marlin bolt face was brought to my attention. I had "assumed" that Marlin had copied the Savage bolt specs along with the barrel specs, but someone who actually checked the measurements brought the deeper bolt face recess to my attention before I'd had a chance to go to the range. Bottom line, I made an assumption that turned out to be incorrect and it was a cold slap in the face, but I'm glad that I was able to inspect and correct the excess headspace before I fired the rifle.

Jeff

OK. I see what the issue is now. The Savage barrel may (or not) have a longer chamber than the Marlin barrel (assuming both are for the same cartridge) because of a shallower BFR. Thanks guys.

lassie,
I agree, the 130gr is the best LEAD bullet for the .270

The 110 gr ttsx stands for tipped triple shock bullet. that is a COPPER bullet.

It all sounds real tempting, less recoil (lighter grain) and flatter shooting. i don't see why it would not work as long as my XL-7 likes to group them.

One layer of masking tape on the head of the guage would tell you what's touching what.

Lotta drift here, but time for an UPDATE.I have worked off an on with the xs-7 308 all spring and summer. Its a good shooter. I have used a 6x24 Tasco tactical type scope on it,just to try something different.With WW and FC brass I have stayed mainly with TAC and CCI-200 primers using Hornady 150 gr SP & btsp bullets. I also had some of the old 150 Remington Bronze Pt Expanding bullets which grouped well.At 5:20 tonite I put one of those Bronze Pt bullets behind the left shoulder of a 4x5 whitetail buck at 90 yds offhand. he was at a slight angle away but it broke the right shoulder and exited a little farther forward.He covered an easy 100yds downhill before piling up. Fat but no major trophy, just nice and an easy 250 yd drag to the nearest road for pickup removal.That 6x24 made the gun handle like a club, but I found a replacement for it last week.Tommorrow I will put a Burris 6x with fine crosshairs and a 2" dot. Still have 5 more deer tags... Was going to use it antelope hunting but used my Shiloh Business rifle in 45-110 for that, but that is a different story. Magnum_Man

I currently have 4 Marlin XL/XS-7s on 11/2/10:

XS-7 in 22-250 using a rechambered 1 in 9" ROT Stevens 200 barrel that was originally chambered in 223. Set the barrel back 0.20", about 4 threads on the 20 TPI barrels, and recut the chamber to insure tight/minimum headspace. Shoots MOA+/-, mostly minus, with 55 grain Winchester/Olin factory loads and 60 grain Partition handloads.

XS-7 in 243, factory specs. Shoots MOA+/- with 80 grain Federal factory loads and slightly larger groups with 100 grain Federal factory loads.

XS-7 in 257 Roberts using an A&B Savage drop-in barrel from MidwayUSA. Set the barrel back 0.20", about 4 threads on the 20 TPI barrels, and recut the chamber to insure tight/minimum headspace. Shoots sub MOA with 75 grain VMax and MOA+/- with 100 grain Partition handloads.

XL-7 in 7x57 using an A&B Savage drop-in barrel from MidwayUSA. Set the barrel back 0.20", about 4 threads on the 20 TPI barrels, and recut the chamber to insure tight/minimum headspace. Shoots MOA+/- with 140 grain Partition and 154 grain SpirePoint handloads.

Although the geometry of the pistol grip radius is a little open/shallow for me, the over all geometry of the Marlin XL/XS-7 stocks is superior to the competition in the sub-$300 market niche.

Jeff

My Dad bought a Marlin XS7Y in 7mm-08 for my little sister. First 4 shot group ever shot out of it put 3 in the same ragged hole and the 4th about 1/4" from the others with Federal Fusion 120gr. She just killed her buck with it this past sunday with a 190 yard shot. Im thinking about picking one up in 308win for myself and maybe a 270 win for my girlfriend.

Check out DeerTracker picture of his sister's deer in the deer hunting section of the forum.One happy little girl.It's worth the look.

Processed my 308 shot 4x5 whitetail tonite and that 150 gr Bronze Point Expanding sure blew the heck out of the right shoulder. Basically destroyed everthing above the socket on the right blade. Got the roast below and the shank meat for grind, but muscle tissue on the outside and inside of the blade was a goner. Right in the league with the first Blowup Tip Noslers way back when... Magnum_Man

I'm liking mine. I got it used here for $325/shipped. All my other rifles are 700s. This one feels like a 700 at the bench. Very good value for an extra rifle or for the first time owner/shooter.

The scope mount works well for shorter scopes (2x7) on a long action.



Second trip to the range with it after switching scopes.

Very good value and as accurate as you will get for 3 times the money. IMO

Amen, Brother, that sums it up quite nicely!

Ted