Has anybody tried one these? They have been out a couple of years now and wondered if anybody has tried them. Comments and opinions? For the price they look like they sure would make a good beat around or truck gun. I tried the search function and got miles of posts but no mention of the XL-7. Magnum_Man

I am very happy with my Marlin XS7 in .308. I posted a run down of what my first impressions were when I got it at the following: https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth...etting_my_Marlin_XS7_set_up#Post3292735.
They are as much gun as you can get right now for your money. I expect that prices are kept low and will rise as more people begin to realize their value. I read somewhere recently that Cabella's are selling them for $279 which is what they were selling for at Bass Pro when I bought mine.

Tarheel

I have fooled around with a couple and they are LOT of rifle for the money. If I was an entirely practical rifle loony (which apparently doesn't exist) they would be one of the big game rifles at the top of my list.

The term "Entirely Practical Rifle Loony" is an oxymoron. Such as "Common sense".

I have an XS-7 in 243 that I keep at my MIL's ranch in SD. It is a good shooting rifle. I bought a couple as gifts when Cabela's was selling them for $270.

Jeff

All the good features of a Savage, but with style.

Bruce

Yes, Good shooters on the cheap. Get one before Marlin decides they're selling them too cheap.

Thanks for the link Tarheel and the replies from everybody. I have been looking for a real durable truck gun,that doesn't cost alot, yet is an exceptional value. Looks like I'm looking at the right rifle. I have several hundred 308 cases and NO 308 plus I have a set of dies, heck that is excuse enuf. I thought the picatiny rail type scope mount they come with offered alot of adj too. Right now Cabelas is running them out at $279. Little early, but it will fly as X-mas present to myself. I really would like one in 7-08 but they don't stock that or the 25-06 chambering. Magnum_Man

IMO, they make a great custom rifle, for not a whole lot of money.

I've seen where a few folks have made the long action XL-7 into .35 Whelans; but I'd rather redeux a short-action XS7 into either a .338 federal or a .358 Winchester.

And.......The adjustable trigger's already in there, just like Ragu' spaghetti sauce.

.

Better than a Savage! Especially the stock!

...and the trigger, and the looks, and the price, and the weight, and the feel, and the...

my XL7C 270 shoots everything really well-its favorite handload goes into 1/2 inch or less repeatedly! this rifle is out of the box stock and shoots as well or better than any rifle i own-the kicker is the 279.95 i paid for it shortly after they were introduced-price is up a little now but i am going to buy another in 30-06 soon!

I have one in 30'06 and it consistantly shoots groups under .75" with 165 grain bullets. It seems to prefer the 180s, but they are too heavy for the deer I hunt with it. I love the weight and feel of the gun in my hands, and the trigger is so nice. I liked it so much, that I bought a XS-7 in 308 and sent it to a gunsmith to shorten the barrel to 18". For less than $400, I get a light weight timber thumping carbine. Not bad at all.

Here are a few examples of what a Marlin will do.













Not bad for a $300 gun.

Good shooter; the rifle and the man behind the trigger.

I gifted an XS7 in 243 to a friend of mine for his 72nd birthday. He is enjoying 0.5 groups. Sometimes a little better, sometimes a little worse; depending on the load combination. He is thrilled.

I bought two of them in .270 for each of my sons. Both are very happy with them.

I now have five of them, two 30-06, two 270, and a 7mm-08. All shoot well under an inch at 100 yd.

Ted

cabela's sent me a coupon the other day for 10% off and the XL-XS 7 Marlins were priced at 299.95 so that put it down to 269.95+ sales tax. Still around here you can't buy a used 336 30-30 for that and that is about what they get for USED Sav 110E and Stevens 200's. So the new Marlin XS-7 in 308 Win. came home with me. It took about 2 minutes to drop a 8x Leupold in Weaver rings on the the Marlin scope rail. Another minute to check the rough scope to bore alignment. I'll load some ammo in the morning and be shooting by noon at 50 yds just to get the scope on the x.The Marlin is to be a left in the truck gun,(behind the seat ready to go outfit) I'll put it thru its paces and find out if it will work. Magnum_Man

Good for you!

Let us know how it shoots!

I am mad at them. I am mad because that under $300 gun outshoots my $2000 Mannlciher Schoenauer. That buncha jerks

Savage has an excellent reputation for quality, accuracy and reliability, but attractiveness is one of the Savage Bolt Action's features. Maybe, the Marlin will spur them on to develop an attractive action.

I think we are all angry at someone for just this reason! I'm angry with Winchester, Colt and Remington.

Unfortunately, Remington, winchester, and others can't sell a gun like the marlin under their names. If they did, who in their right mind would by any model 700 or model 70? MArlin took the best features from proven guns and put them all into a package the average blue-collared man can afford.

Now if we can get Marlin to offer a factory carbine and some more chambering in the XL and XS guns we can all have a gun for any reason.

Makes me think that in this day and age of CNC, plastics/composites, powdered metal injection molding, and NO "hands-on" perhaps the M700, M70, M77 and any other $500+ gun should actually be a $300 gun.
Suppose they've been riding the Gravy Train for a couple of decades?

Well the stock is serviceable, the follower is plactic, which I don't like. The trigger takes some getting use to and of course the barrel nut is butt ugly.


Biggest issue with an example of 1 is ejection is less than enthusiastic, and I've heard of a few others just like that.

Time is the best test and we will see, course lots of folks enjoy beating the drum for new stuff.

Gotta agree, barrel nut is ugly. In combo with the Rem spacer/lug it's even uglier than Savage.

Who cares? That barrel nut is why the guns are so accurate and don't cost a fortune. If you have any mechanical ability, you can by a barrel kit from E.R. Shaw for $200 and change the barrel on the gun.

I have no issues with ejection and after 20 shots or so[to get used to it], the trigger feels the way a trigger should feel. Crisp, clean, and repeatable.

Remington, Winchester, Browning, etc., can't sell a gun like thew Marlin. It would ruin their price point. DO you think Cadillac or BMW would ever sell a $15,000 car? No, because their customers expect certain features and finishes in their products.

that butt ugly barrel nut arrangement makes for a shooting machine-if you want to spend more for less performance that is your call-i have shot some of the best groups of my life with my XL7C 270-this is from a out of the box stock rifle that i paid less than 300.00 for!

Easy, easy guys. I'm one of the XL7 drumbeaters. May have had the first one on this site. Been talking about them for two years now. Am familiar with the good and bad points. Have my 3rd one in my hands now. Still think they have some ugly features that I can live with for the $$.
As to the big 3 and the "features and finishes", the Marlin fit and finish equals the lower tier guns of the big 3.
I just don't believe headspacing a real barrel costs the manufacturers an extra $2-300.

i forgot to mention that i also don't have any ejection problems or feeding problems and the trigger was good to go as it came out of the box-i have rifles that i have 2 to 3 times more money in that the XL7C shoots as good or better-enough said!

Agreed, in fact I'd be surprised if any other rifle but the Marlin XL7 exists 5 years from now. They are the best rifle in the world.

While the headscaping method saves alot of money, other things save money too. Matt blued finish, plain jane recoil pad, smaller bolt handle, plastic stock, plastic trigger guard, plastic follower, blind magazine, less marketing, no show/famous personality sponsorships, no NASCAR sponsorships,etc,. They all add up to a more expensive firearm. Why do you think Mathews bows are so expensive? It seems like everyone under the sun is paid to use them and promote them. Remington, Berretta, Winchester, Browning all have expensive deals they pay for and it effects their sale prices.

Make one in 338 Federal and Marlin has a sale!

At his price, ugly becomes beautiful. And, it is more attractive than the Savage.

Well I sorted brass by brand this AM and perused the bullet,powder and casing supplies. I have several part boxes of 125 gr Sierra spitzers and thought that might be the place to start.After sizing a supply of Fed brass,I trimmed and did a VLD chamfer on the cases. Primed with CCI-200 primers. Chose IMR 4320, just like the Sierras, a part can. Initial work,sighting in, and familiarization does not need to be with prime components. 12 rds and it is on the money at 50 yds. Used 2 shots at a time, before adjusting the scope. Nice pairs anywhere from 3/8" to 3/4" apart beween the pairs. 50 yds because that is the length of my range off the back of my deck to the target butt.50 yds will put it pretty close at 100. I will now size all my brass and trim it. Probably sort thru the 30 cal bullets and see how I'm sitting for the 150-165 gr wt range. I believe I have a box of the Nosler 150 solid base bullets left,that should be fine for deer and antelope. Guess I could have stayed home and done some more loading and shooting but it was time for the afternoon mallard flight, did ok there too. Magnum_Man

Are you loading for a 308? If so be VERY CAREFUL with those Federal cases. I myself and many others have nothing but bad luck andserious case failures with Federal 308 brass. After 2-3 firings, the primer pockets are so loose they're junk. It's also not uncommon to have the primer pocket expand so much the primer falls out or disappears when firing the cartridge. In my own personal experience, this has happened with mild loads and I sell or throw away any federal 308 case I find at the range.

It's only been an issue with the 308 cases, and I believe that is due to the GMM ammo federal sells. I believe any case that doesn't meet GMM standards is loaded into the hunting ammo. It is fine for one firing, but all bets are off after that. they make the cases to be the most accurate cartridge possible and they don't give a hoot abouot reloading them. I've had no issues with the 243 cases I use but 308 cases get sent to the scrap yard.

dsm, I will take your experience with FC cases and watch them real close. I did notice that after sizing and triming them all that I appear to have 3 different lots some 162 grs, some 165 grs and a 3rd group at 176 grs which is pretty close to what the LC military weighs.

Do they make the Marlin in Left hand?

Nope. You'd need to do like Boddington and thousands of other lefties do. I wouldn't plan on a left handed action in the near future either.

No they do not BUT my buddy (a southpaw) bought a right handed 7mm08 (tack driver) and says it is faster than his LH Savage in 300 Win Mag. Why? Because it is so light (2-7 Leupold) he can hold it with his left hand by the pistol grip and operate the bolt with his right. Snickety-snick action helps too.
-Savage floating bolt head
-Savage barrel nut
-Glock safety trigger
-700 stock, safety & bolt handle
-Weatherby fluted bolt body & shroud
-Pillar bedding

They borrowed all the best ideas.
With mine GBing and free floating doubled accuracy.
Savage barrels also interchange and a barrel swap takes about 20 minutes.
My XLC "270" is now a temporary 22-06 (reject Savage 22-250 barrel rechambered). Both calibers shoot rather well.



22-06 55 gr Dogtowns, 65 gr H869 +-4000 fps.

I can't speak to much on the Marlin XL-7's since I haven't owned one yet. But if it shoots and handles as nice as the MR-7B that I gave myself for Christmas back in 1999, I will be owning some soon.

Lucky dog to get a rare Marlin!

you forgot, M70 bolt stop/release

Question on the Savage barrel interchangeability...which size shank?

I had no idea there were different ones. Mine came off a standard Savage sporter model like they sell @ Wally World.

It is the older, standard, smaller size.

Bruce

Thanks Bruce

If the barrel wasn't factory chambered in either SAUM or WSM it will have the proper diameter and 20 TPI thread specs, but because of the slightly deeper bolt face on the Marlin bolt, you will probably need to shorten the barrel at least 0.05" and recut the chamber.

Jeff

While some Marlins may have that problem from what I have read most don't...
See link for barrel changing.. Lots of good info on this site regarding the Marlin..

http://www.usa-shooters.com/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=346
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

But you see the root of the problem. Some shadetree 'smith screws a Savage barrel into a Marlin receiver, drops a headspace gauge into the chamber, closes the bolt, and then screws the barrel in and/or out until the bolt is just a little hard to close. Then he tightens the nut and he has acheived "match-tight" headspace.

OR HAS HE?

Since the recess of the Marlin's bolt face might be 2/100" deeper than the Savage bolt faces, the friction/tightness that feels like the headspace gauge coming into contact against the shoulder of the chamber MIGHT actually be the front of the Marlin's bolt coming into contact with the rear of the Savage barrel. Since headspace is measured in incriments of 1/1000", this scenario would put the headspace too long/loose/excess at 20/1000". I don't know if excess headspace in the neighborhood of 20/1000" would cause case seperation the 1st time you fired a new cartridge, but it might.

I think that a lot of people are swapping their barrels and encountering this scenario without realizing that their "match-tight" headspace is actually loose/excess headspace, but probably at something less than 20/1000", so the case stretching doesn't show up immediately.

I wonder if Marlin went with a deeper recess in the bolt face specifically to discourage folks from swapping Savage barrels onto their Marlin receivers.

Jeff

Jeff,
I see the problem..
Maybe the smart thing to do is to take the material off the Marlin bolt "nose" if you are going to use barrels fitted for Sav. actions.
That way you wouldn't have to set the barrel back and re chamber.
Could you still use the original Marlin barrel if you did that, or would you have to lengthen the chamber using a bolt with a shorter nose? Or have two bolt heads eh?
If I can find a .358 up here that doesn't cost more than the rifle I will go the switch barrel route with my XS7..
And yes I am a shadetree'er..

Yeah, same here, hence my question. I'm thinking .260 Rem and .338 Fed...

I don't think that shortening the bolt is the best course of action, but there are almost always most ways than 1 to skin a cat.

If you did trim the "nose", you'd almost certainly have to lengthen the original factory fitted barrel's chamber to achieve the proper headspace.

I don't know if Marlin has bolt heads available.

MidwayUSA has A&B barrel in 358 for about $130.

Jeff

MidwayUSA has A&B barrels in 338 Federal for $130, but they are no longer having these barrels made up in 260. I have 1 that I bought for a switch-barrel project in 2006 and it is a pretty good shooter.

Jeff

NO!!! don't screw with the bolt. When I did my 22-06, I headspaced on a min gauge. A no-go will not go in, not even close. So obviously the bolt face and barrel face are not hitting, nor controlling the head space.
Here's pic of fired cartridges from the 22-250 barrel in 22-250 before rechambering and 22-06 after. Both were fired multiple times with just NECK sizing.... Note the big bulge from excess headspace (LOL) and, BTW, both are right at correct OAL. The few 1000th in any non coned breech action, of the cartridge, that is "unsupported" means nothing as it's in the web.
Then we have the millions & millions of 03s', M54s and M70s with coned breeches have tons of unsupported case web and are not known for cartridge failures!

Yawn.............!

Yup, go to sleep, you might awake with some regrown brain cells....

I was thinking that 20/1000" of excess headspace might cause the case to stretch and then seperate at the top of the web. A properly headspaced rifle with a cone breech won't stretch or seperate cases any more or any less than any properly headspaced rifle.

Jeff

If you could have a free bolt action rifle from any of these manufacturers-Remington, Ruger, Winchester, Browning, Sako, Tikka or Marlin; I doubt anyone would choose the Marlin. The reasons that you would choose one of the others is what you are paying extra for. Don't tell me that "ugly" does'nt matter. Attractiveness is something that costs extra whether we are talking about cars, trucks, women or guns. I don't have a problem with the the Marlin X rifles. Great price for a very capable hunting tool. I would rather carry my tricked out Mountain Rifle than the Marlin (so would most on this site). This is not a knock on the Marlin, I may buy one to kick around with because I love messing with rifles. But don't try to pitch it as the same as the Remingtons/Rugers etc..

BIG "IF".

To me, attractiveness is relative and I don't find the Marlin XL/XS-7 to be an ugly rifle.

The Marlin XL/XS-7 are designed/intended as entry-level CF bolt action rifles. No frills, but good basic rifles that, IMO, are the best option currently on the market. You can't buy as much performance potential in a new CF rifle anywhere for the same $$ on 01/10/10, you just can't. Heck, they were so cheap that I gave them as stocking stuffers to some of my friends!

I didn't think that I was "pitching" the Marlin as the as the Remingtons/Rugers etc. I doubt that I'll ever own more than a couple of these rifles, far fewer than my Husqvarnas, Mausers, Remingtons, Rugers, Sakos, Savages, S&Ws, Winchesters, etc.

Jeff

Just handling them, the Marlin XL-7 looks as nicely built as the Remington 700 SPS Buckmaster, which is $250.00 more. It's lighter. If it shoots as well as owners say, I think it's worth a try. If it shoots the loads I want it to shoot, then I say Teflon or Cerakote the barrel and make it a sheep and goat rifle. May have to add some iron sights, but the one-piece rail base would support a variety of red-dot sights.

I'm a satisified customer.
Picked up one in 30-06, Loaded IMR4831 and 150 grain Sierra Pro Hunter Spitzers hit the range. After lapping, got 3/8 inch group at 100 yards (3/4" - 5 shot group). Hard to beat. Good bang for the buck.

Took the 25-06 XL7 out today for the first time. Shot up about 20 or so rounds of unknown origin. Looked like 3 diff case brands with 3 diff bullet tips. Got no idea what they were. Kinda dangerous I suppose.
Didn't clean it either, whatever factory gunk was in there stayed in there.
Shot one set of four rounds into 7/8".
7 rounds of another type went 1-9/16".
Others were for getting near zero.
Currently has an old Bushnell 4X. The gun is gonna shoot. Guess I don't care what speeds I'll get with the 22" bbl. Probably would be around what speeds a 257R would do? Maybe faster? Fun for cheap.

I agree with you; for the money they are the best option out there. I also never said they were ugly. I reserve ugly for the bolt on Savages.(No shroud to speak of)

How can a rifle that is a visual knock off of a Remington 700 Classic be called ugly?

Bolt handle looks like it is attached to the very back of the bolt. (Savage) That is Ugly to me.

The bolt handle is ahead of about a 1.2 inch shroud, sort of like a Sako. Looks a lot better than a Savage 110, to my eye.

http://www.shootingtimes.com/longgun_reviews/ST_Marlinxl7_200804/

Anybody know what that big screw head on the rear of a Savage bolt is for?

yeah you can swap out bolt handles or disassemble the bolt.

I am talking about the Savage.

i know. thats what the screw is for.

Is that screw for tightening groups?

No, that's the barrel nut. The screw is a velocity modulator.

Agree here. The Marlin's (regardless of price) are nice looking. The Savage's are just plain ugly and heavy-looking in the action area.

I have the XL-7 in .270. For now, I shoot Remington's managed recoil rounds. With that recoil pad and that ammo, it is like shooting a .243. It groups lights out at 100 yards, not so good past 200. Thats the ammo (designed that way) not the rifle.
So....has anybody gotten good groups with their XL-7 .270 past 200 yards?
I am thinking about using the fed prem 110gr ttsx for long range hunting, 3400fps should aim real nice out to 300 yards for deer.

+ 1 on bang for the buck-my out of the box stock XL7C 270 will run with 800.00 rifles and beat most of them-279.95!

is the marlin XL-7 not really a long range rifle then? i dont expect match grade accuracy at 300 yards, but hopefully good enough to shoot a deer.
i have only shot the rifle 22 times and have killed a doe at 85 yards with about the 14th shot.
i will shoot it at 220 yards and find out, just wondered if anyone has already done that, so i could have an idea of what to expect.

I think the XL-7 is perfectly capable of being a 'long range' rifle, in terms of grouping well enough to make a 300 yard kill.

Just purchased an XL-7 in 308 that I plan on preparing for a Fall 2010 antelope hunt. Fully expect the gun to be capable of making a kill out to 400 if needed.

Purchased one on sale at Bi Mart for $257.00.. took one in 270 Win.. so far all testing at the range has been stellar! Shoot as good out of the box at my Savages, which out shoot most of my other rifles out of the box.

While it is an economical rifle, and I don't like the plastic follower, besides that I have no complaints. I got it for the switch barrel capabilities. I am planning on putting an A & B barrel in 257 Roberts on it from Midway for $130.00. It is a Shaw barrel, and Shaw barrels have shot well on my Savage test mule rifle..

I am going to complete the intial package with a new Redfield Scope in 4 x 12 with the ballistic reticle with the circle X reticle.

in its future will also be a barrel in 6mm Rem ( fast twist), and a 7 x 57 Mauser chambering, and a 220 Swift.

in the long run for under a grand, I'll have a nice switch barrel rifle chambered in those calibers, plus including the 4 x 12 Redfield scope.

Add me to the group of Marlin XL7 loonies. I just purchased a 30-06 in the Marlin XL7. Plan to make it a pack rifle.

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

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