Marlin MR-7

[jvs]

Since its been about 7 or 8 years since Marlin stopped making the MR-7, does anyone have an opinion on how they perform?   At the range the .30-06 always had a one in three flyer.  And to be fair, my Winchester .308 Featherweight did the same thing, but thats another story.

I have two MR-7's, and after a substantial amount of work they are top notch shooters.   But if I had to pay the going rates for all the work that had to be done, the cost of the work would have far exceeded the price of the rifle.  Which only shows what kind of thought Marlin put into the Model before it went into assembly.  

Would I buy another MR-7 if it was still available?   NO !

Am I happy with the ones I have now?  Extremely.  It is the most accurate rifle I have.

IMO, Marlin should have done more homework.

[VAhuntr]

I almost bought one several years ago but I really can't remember why I did'nt get it.  I remember I liked the looks and feel of the rifle but don't recall much else.  How long did Marlin make these?

[jvs]

I almost bought one several years ago but I really can't remember why I did'nt get it.  I remember I liked the looks and feel of the rifle but don't recall much else.  How long did Marlin make these?

I'm not sure how many years it was.  It wasn't many though, certainly not more than 5, maybe only 2 or 3.  They sold pretty good at first, then went crashing.  I also heard that there were design lawsuits involved.  Marlin used a Browning Magazine design and a Winchester Bolt/Safety design.  One other design was involved but I don't remember whether it was Remington or Ruger.  One of them sued I heard.  How true it is, I don't know.

Anyone who took one of those rifles apart was not too happy with what they found.  My rifle had to be refitted from front to back before it was made right.  Then there is the Micro-Groove rifling issue.  Marlin got alot of Nasty Grams from Smithys about the MR-7.

Maybe the MR-7 will go the same way the Marlin Model 455 did.  Until then, mine does a good job.     NOW.

[Zachary]

I remember them too, but I also remember that the reason that I didn't buy one was because I was (and kinda still am) in a stainless synthetic phase, and Marlin didn't make any at the time.

Zachary

[jvs]

I check the Auction websites a couple of times a year just to see where the MR-7's are priced.  They really didn't go up in price since they were first brought out and they didn't drop any either, but they are getting fewer and fewer to be had.  Some can still be found in NIB condition.

Nothing in the MR-7 comes close to the Model 455 Bolt action that Marlin produced in the late 1950's.  The 455 had a FN action, a Sako trigger and a Bishop stock.  They are real tough to find.

[Dand]

I have long wondered what the long term opinion would be for those rifles.  When they came out I was real interested but when I handled one it just didn't seem as refined as a Rem 700 or similar.  The stock was a little clunky too.  Too bad, as it had a lot of great features if they had been properly executed.  Didn't realize they had a microgroove barrel.

I think I'm glad I passed them up. I too was looking at stainless most of the time.  For Alaska I'm convinced stainless is the best way to go.

[jvs]

I agree that the forearm was a little chunkier than alot of other makes and models out there but it isn't hard to get acustomed to it.  They had a good idea and design, where it fell through was in the assembly and quality control I believe.  At $329, the price wasn't bad.

Of all the complaints though, they should have used different rifling.  I still don't know for sure what micro-groove rifling is and whether it is in a sense like button rifling or not.  For Marlin Micro-Groove rifling is a ® ™.

[USA Varminter]

in essence microgroove rifling are more, smaller, shallower grooves.  Ideally they seal better to the bullet w/ less deformation.

I've heard they don't work as well for some bullet types, and is better with others.  Like cast bullets prefer ballard, non microgroove in jacketed.  That's what i've heard atleast.

[bchannell]

Are you sure that the MR7 had micro groove rifling? I thought that was only a rimfire thing.
My shooting pal has a MR7 in .270, and I'll sure check it out soon. He bought his last year, and with absolutely no mods, it shoots like a laser. It's has wood touching the barrel, and the trigger is heavy, but he's able to shoot under an inch at 100 yards with factory ammo on a regular basis. He's made some long distance kills on deer, so I'd say he's pretty happy with his Marlin. They're just uncommon enough to be rather cheap at gun shows, so he got a good deal on it. I can't see anything that won't hold up on them over time, and, at least his shoots really well, so I'd sure try one if I were so inclined. But, I'm a Ruger and Tikka fan, so I'll pass on them for now.

[jvs]

I am positive that the MR-7 has Micro-Groove rifling, it says so right on the barrel.  At least mine does.   What I don't know is if Micro-Groove is the same as Button or not.

Marlin also uses Micro-Groove rifling on most of their Lever Action guns.  except for some of the 'Cowboy' models, which have a deep cut Ballard rifling.  It's been that way for many years.  If I'm not mistaking, Marlin started micro-groove back in the late 50's or early 60's.

I didn't mean to infer that all MR-7's needed alot of work.  Mine did.  I guess Marlin let a problem free one slip through every so often in the first few months.  

From what I heard back then, by the time Marlin did a better quality control on the MR-7,  it already had detractors.  Something that a new model can't overcome.