I've had my Marlin 925 for two months now. I've put a Burris Fullfield II 3-9 scope on it, and a Safari Ching Sling.
Out of the box, it made 7-shot groups of about 1" at 50 yards. Sometimes much more, sometimes a little less. When shooting with the sling, the groups opened up quite a bit (2" or more).
I decided that the sling was putting pressure on the stock which was putting pressure on the barrel, so I floated the barrel and bedded the action. Now it shoots 7-shot groups better than 1.5" every time, and some better than 1/2". That's with bulk ammo (it seems to like Remington golden bullets) from field positions. The only thing I can't figure out is why it doesn't shoot for beans from the bench. I'm sure it's the loose nut behind the trigger. It does pretty well from prone, though.
Biggest plus: It shoots pretty well for $180, and better after you add $15 worth of epoxy to it.
Plus: Fit and finish is good for a $180 gun. The laminate stock is plain but solid and you won't cry if you put a dent or two in it. It's held up well to my inept attempts to learn 3-position shooting with it. It's got sling swivel attachment points. The receiver is grooved and tapped for scope bases and mounts. The stock seems well proportioned for my 5' 5" frame, and has enough drop that I can shoulder it normally instead of just having the lower corner of the butt in my shoulder.
Minus: The magazine holds 7 rounds, an odd number. You have to be gentle seating the magazine home or it can go past its stop and seat too far. The bolt is stiff to unlock, making it a little hard to work quickly. The magazine well is plastic, but it seems solidly built and is hidden when the gun is assembled.
Biggest minus: The magazine release is odd. Instead of squeezing the magazine release towards the magazine, you have to push it away from the magazine. That makes one-handed magazine changes very awkward, for if the magazine won't drop free you now need another hand to pull the magazine out of the well, for the hand pressing the lever is in no position to grab the magazine.
Summary: I bought this rifle to learn riflery, and it's been very good for that. The sling swivel mounts allow me to learn how to use a shooting sling, and the scope lets me focus on the fundamentals without my rotten eyes making me cross. Learning to work the bolt quickly and accurately is a lot of fun. On top of all that, it's accurate enough from field positions that I can take it small game hunting. I'm very happy with this rifle and would gladly buy it again.
