i cannot speak for what he bought even though this is an old thread i might as well have some input. I purchased a Marlin XL7 .270 with a synthetic stock and blued barrel a want to say about 3 years ago. I payed $300-350 for the bare gun and put a $100 bushnell on it. For the price its hard to beat. Like he said the trigger is amazing for how much the gun is. It will shoot 1" and under groups at 100 yards all day with 150gr rem corelokts. I also think the recoil pad is nice, supple and soft on the shoulder.