RE: Help with Rifle Selection.
I like the concept of the .308 Marlin Express, but I am very leery of this multiplication of calibers that goes on all the time. They build a caliber, you buy it, nobody else does, and you're stuck with a wildcat.
If I went Marlin, I'd fall in with a couple of posters on here and grab a 30/30, 35 Rem., or even a 45/70. The reason I faded on Marlin is they only offer a laminate stockin a 24" barrel, which makes the rifle too long for an ideal stillhunting platform. Their shorter barrels are wood-stock only, and I will not buy a rifle with a wood stock. Rifles are tools to me, not artwork.