Need advise on a new Rifle

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grubbylabs

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I just ordered my first new rifle. It is a Marlin XS7. After reading snakums review and talking with a few folks around town I went ahead and ordered it in 308. So any advise would be great. I have had two used rifles but this is my first new one and right now my only center fire.

what do I need to know about a new rifle?
 
jpwilly said:
Congrats!



clean it, scope it, shoot it (at the range)!

And be sure to take some pictures to share.
Click to expand...
This really is all there is to it. Personally, I really like the Otis cleaning system, augmented with my preference in solvents. It really adds to the life of the barrel to clean from breech to muzzle. Put a good scope on it with reliable mounts, learn your ballistics for that caliber, and shoot the pants off of it. You made a wise choice with .308.
 
The break in time is the amount of time it takes you to pull trigger. Clean it, take it to the range, shoot the hell out of it, have fun, come home and clean it, drink some beer and take some pics of the rifle, post on THR, drink more beer, see what people think.

There. I just planned your day for you. Easy enough.... :D
 
Remember....the pointy end of the round goes in the barrel first!

Jus kiddin'...your owners manual should explain all the finer points of disassembling,
cleaning, lubrication and the such.

Shoot it, enjoy it, don't over clean it, contrary to popular belief, you do not have to strip the barrel back to zero rounds fired condition after every shooting session.

Clean from the breach(bolt) end, wipe it down with an oily rag after a session and keep a log of what you shoot, ammo, distance, weather info. and so on for future reference, torque your action screws to the factory recommended spcifications...just to name a few items.

And please, don't use loc-tite on your scope mount screws.....

Have fun~
 
Can't wait to hear how you like this rifle. Every single thing I've ever read about them is positive. I'd really like to try one out. I see Cabela's had them onsale. If we had a Cabela's closer by I'd go buy one for that price. I wish the gun shops would sell them for that price around here. I may eventually pick one up anyway, but I've got other things I want on my list too that are ahead of it.

As for cleaning I really like the Tipton carbon fiber rods. I had a Deweys that I was never impressed with but it was decent. After using the Tipton rod I'm just amazed at how much I like it. One of the best gun accessory purchases I've made.

As for the above poster why do you say not to use loc-tite on the screws for mounting the scope?
 
Break in: That's when the rifle has some dents & scratches.

Clean a rifle in between range sessions and after deer season.
 
Read the manual first!!! pic up some tips from there about the gun, especially take down instructions. Clean it next!!! the bbl will be full of Dookey.
I like a break in on all my bbls, but not too much; I do 1 shot, 1 clean and lube, for 5 shots. Then 5 shots, clean and lube, and do that for 5 groups. Done.
 
And please, don't use loc-tite on your scope mount screws...
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Why do you say that? I use blue LocTite for mounts (none on rings) for heavy recoiling rifles with Allen head or Torx head screws. Am I missing something?

:)
 
I have an xs7 in 7mm-08 with the standard black stock. I took off the butt pad and stuffed a terry cloth towel in there real tight, now the stock is quiet and does not have that hollow sound. I also added a beartooth comb raising kit so the rifle feels better against my cheek and I get a slightly higher comb for looking through the scope.

My rifle came with the one piece scope mount. I would take it off and clean all the excess oil away, then reinstall it with blue locktite on the screws. I did not like the one piece scope mount because I could not get my fingers under it to load the blind magazine. The two piece winchester model 70 short action bases area direct fit and made loading easier for me. The magazine spring is very stiff, leave it loaded for a couple of weeks and it should loosen up.

Boyds gunstocks is doing a small run of the laminate gunstocks for the xl7/xs7 rifles from what they say on marlin owners forum. Its a wealth of info on these rifles.
 
Congrats as well too, .308 is a great all round caliber and makes for a good knock down as well. I have a very nice 1964 Mossberg 7.62/ .308 rifle, it is the bomb.
I can reach out to 500 yards with good results.

Maximo
 
Well now that I have the rifle on order a friend just told me, well gee I would have sold you my rem 700 308 for 250. So I went to the shop and like I was suspecting they did not want me to back out. So I traded a future puppy for the Rem 700. Now I will have two 308's
 
Sounds like you now have two rifles in the same chambering that you can groom for different tasks. Use the Marlin for hunting, and slowly build up (start small with good mounts and scope, then work up to a new stock, trigger, bbl) the Rem. for target shooting.

:)
 
Is his 700 an older one? If you you did awesome on that deal. The older 700's are great guns that you can't go wrong with either. I'd be hesitant to purchase a new one at a new price but the old ones seemed to be great.
 
I'd be hesitant to purchase a new one at a new price but the old ones seemed to be great.
Click to expand...
Hmm, good point, I was assuming that it was an older one. If it is newer scratch my idea of making it into a target rifle...perhaps you could do the opposite.

:)
 
Not sure how old it is but it does have a heavy barrel on it. It looks like it would be a good target or yote gun. Its not "new" But I am not sure how old it is.
 
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I don't have it right at the moment. Not sure when I will have it in my hot little hands. From what date should I avoid or how new?
 
Not sure exactly, but I think quality started to drop off around the turn of the millennium, getting worse year by year. I personally wouldn't buy one that is of recent manufacture unless I got a great deal.

:)
 
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