Go for the marlin, i have one in heavy barrel with a wooden stock and i mounted a redfeild 3-9x scope. wow is the only word to describe the accuracy.ive fired 5 shot groups under an inch at 100 yards, at 25 yards its the groups are so small its hard to measure them lol. From all thw 17 HMRs ive seen its hard to go wrong. the savage guns are superbly accurate also. the only problem with the guns is the fact some owners try to mount cheap scopes on these rifles. I thing youll be happy with any gun you choose.