Last week I bought a new marlin XL7 that was chambered in 25-06. I bought a Marlin after reading several good reviews about it and its economical pricing. Got it for $280.00 bare, I put a bushnell trophy series on it. I sighted it in with some factory SST rounds and to get a few pieces of bass for it to hand load up.

The fit and finish was better than I expected and the black synthetic stock is very functional in design and layout. The bolt cycled without complication and locked up very securely. The trigger was factory set and I am guessing somewhere around 4 lbs. It breaks clean and the butt pad really absorbs quite a bit of the shock. Very comfortable to shoulder it up. The factory ammo grouped ok for functional use but the hand loads I will work up should really tighten this weapon up. The barrel is crowned and heats up quickly after 4 rounds. The weapon feels good and handles quickly.

The main draw back is the savage style box mag with low rings it loads slow putting shells in it. Not really a big deal. For the $400 I have in it including weapon, scope, and leather sling, I think its a keeper.