Manbearpig,
First of all, you have the best profile shot ever. Secondly, I like the idea of the Marlin. I will have to do more research on it. Anyone else have anything to say about the Marlin?
Also good to hear to stay away from the Rem 770.
check this thread starting at Post #111:
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=419256&page=2&highlight=Marlin
theyre relatively new-ish in Canada but there are a few CGNers that have them and are very happy with them.
the XL7/XS7 seems to be a sortof mix between a Remington 700 and a Savage - it even comes with an Accutrigger type trigger. some places (LeBaron) overcharge for them but according to this thread they go between $330-370 at Bass Pro.
if youd asked me a year ago what rifle i think is the best bang-for-your-buck id have said the Stevens (i own both a Savage and Stevens) -- but it looks like the Marlin offers the same accuracy, but with better design and a lower price. i would give it a shot.
the scope i recommended is also one of the best deals going right now on a very good bang-for-your-buck scope and if i didnt already have about 3 more scopes than i do rifles, id pick one of those up for myself.
btw: some people are recommending heavy barreled varmint rigs. id like to add my 2 cents on that as well:
in
Ontario you dont encounter 'high-volume' varmint shooting like they do out west. we dont have legions of gophers swarming over the land here. we have obese groundhogs - which are getting scarcer each year - and at most youll fire a couple shots then do some walking or waiting.
all else being equal, a heavy contour barrel will usually not be more accurate than a standard contour one. the main advantage it affords is less shot-stringing in follow-up shots because the barrel takes longer to heat up. but if you are only firing 1-2 shots at a time at 5-10 minute intervals, this will hardly come into play. what
will come into play, however, is the fact that you are carrying a rifle that is several pounds heavier.
my original Ontario varmint gun was a .223 Remington 700P with a 26" heavy barrel on it (~9lbs to start)). add a bipod, steel picatinny rail/tactical rings, and a ridiculously huge scope and you get a
very heavy rifle (i estimate over 14lbs). it was brutally uncomfortable to lug across farm fields all day. looked something like this:
i would not recommend such a thing for an Ontario varmint gun. go with a standard contour barrel for lighter weight, and a moderate scope (ie: not a 50mm objective monster). in Ontario it will have very few disadvantages compared to a heavy barreled varmint gun, but will be much more versatile and pleasant to carry.
nowadays my ideal varmint rifle would be something more like this lightweight Remington Model 7 Predator, but with a slightly smaller/lighter scope than what he has on it in Talley Lightweight ringmounts.
