Just happened to have acquired a 1996 Marlin catalog and was intrigued with their MR-7. What do you guys know about this gun? Looks like a Remington bolt. Whatever happened with this design? Is it a good design/good/bad features? They apparently guaranteed accuracy of 1.5 moa.

I'm looking at my 1999 Marlin Catalogue now. You're right it's got a push feed bolt on it. I think this was around the last year of production for a lot of their guns, in the 2000 catalogue the MR-7 is gone as well as the old camp carbine and a few others. I never handled one, but if i had to wager a guess, they may not have been able to compete with winchester, remington, ruger, et. al. in the bolt action rifle business and just dropped it.

I had a MR-7 in 25-06 for a short time a couple of years ago.Marlin took the features from other guns and put them alltogether in one. The bolt was like a Remington. the safety like a Winchester, and the magazine like a Browning.The stock was also a bit on the chunky side. I sold it real quick.

My dad has one in '06 that I load for and though it's not a tack driver, 1.5" groups is no problem. I've fed it 125gr Sierra's, 165gr Sierra's and Barnes. All about the same. He picked it up on a closeout sale for $200! Pretty slick rifle for that price.

Thanks guys. Any gunsmiths out there who may have worked on one or evaluated it and can give a rundown on its good or bad features?

If memory serves, these were Australian made rifles sold by Marlin.

500

Their catalog states "All Marlin Firearms are made in the U.S.A."

I have one and I really like it. Waxman was right on about the mix of features. I'm blown away that it didn't have a better showing because it feels great has so many nice features.

I usually buy Remington and Ruger bolt actions but I received this as a gift from my step-father. The trigger was rough at first so I had my local gun smith work it over and now it's great. The gun is very accurate and a pleasure to shoot.

This rifle is not worth much discussion. It has, for it's time, the wrong mix of features that are popular the primary ones being the lack of CRF and heavy and clumsy.

DonM: I'm having a little trouble understanding your comments. Sorry, if IN YOUR OPINION it's "not worth much discussion"; maybe it's worth it to some of the rest of us who enjoy discussing bolt action designs. What does "the wrong mix of features that are popular" mean? And what is "CRF" and what do you mean "heavy and clumsy" - catalog shows its weight at 7-1/2 lbs!? There are certainly "clunkier" looking and heavier guns. Looks and weighs about right for a standard hunting rifle to me.

I read on another web site that it may have been discontinued due to patent infringement suits filed against Marlin. I appreciate input from those who own or have owned this model.

The reason you don't see more of them is simple,patient infringement.Even that clunky stock got them in trouble with Winchester.My son has one ,good rifle.It is heavier than any other rifle in the family except the P-17 sporter.

It is heavier but I really like the way it feels in my hands. To me, one of the biggest considerations about a gun's weight isn't how many pounds but where the pounds are located. If it feels good in your hands, that goes a long way.

What the h**k are you all talking about..."heavier"? 7-1/2 lbs is pretty much the standard weight for most long rifles (e.g. Rem 700, Win 70, etc.). The only guns lighter are the synthetic stock/featherweight/short/fluted barrel guns. What kind of "wusses" are you guys?

You are reading factory specs,NOT carrying it.Believe me it is heavier than a post '64 M-70,and certainly M-700 and Browning A-Bolt,all wood,all 30.06,and all with 22" barrels.My son is 6'2" so it doesn't matter,I don't carry it any way.

We bought one in 97 for R&D. Pretty interesting little rifle, but the stock didn't really do it for me. Way too heavy in the pistol grip section. I've got pretty good sized hands, but it was too large for my comfort. It incorporated a lot of good design features like Winchester's trigger and sear, as well as it's safety. Accuracy on ours was excellent for a factory rifle. We routinely achieved 3/4 MOA with factory loads and that's without doing any glass work or barrel floating. Fit and finish was pretty good too. We finally got rid of it about a year ago for a Model 70 Pre-64 in 30-338 and an 03 Springfield. Not a bad trade to say the least.
I'm kinda curious about this patent infringement that has been spoken of. What could have possibly been a patent infringement on any part of this rifle? Most of these designs are going back over a hundred years. Last time I checked, patents are only good for 20 years. From what I understood, they quit offering them because they couldn't sell them. They didn't market the product very aggresively and I think they bombed on the stock. JMOT

Actually, I think the standard patent is good for 17 years, but don't take my word for it.

I think the Marlin 7, like all of their products, was a serviceable and reasonably well-made product. It simply offered nothing that wasn't available from someone better established in the bolt action rifle business, and had the detriment of a somewhat bulky stock (which seems endemic with Marlins. Did you ever compare a '94 Winchester and a Marlin 336? The Winchester seems sleek compared with the Marlin's heavy barrel and bulbous stock. The Marlin is, of course, a stronger design and a more accurate shooter on average.)

Marlin pulled the Model 7 from the market to cut their financial losses. Continuing to produce it in the low numbers in which it was selling was more expensive than shutting down the line, I would assume.

Not that this is going to make anyone jump for joy, but there is a small hardware store in E Tx that has one new, and it is discounted a little, but I still think(can't remember exactly since I wasn't all that interested) it is around $450 to $500. I think it is a .270 or .30-06. In the unlikely event that anyone is interested, email me and I will look up the store's number. It is in Center, Tx.

I think Browning had a problem with the magazine clip.Our MR-7 shoots O.K.,it's favorite load goes MOA,both '80 M-700 and the '95 A-bolt on the same loads will generally do better.

Actually Stonecreek is pretty close on his take on why Marlin quit making the MR7. I have SN 005 in a 30-06 and with a outstanding piece of wood and really like it although it sits in my safe all of the time.

I have a friend who works for Marlin and suggested that they offer the rifle in stainless and he said it had been discussed but that the competition in that area was already established and that the ROI was suspect. I like the rifle and if it was stainless with an eg H S Precision I would like to have one to hunt with but it would have to be a short action which the MR 7 was not.

I had one in .280 for a short time. It was a well built rifle and extremely accurate. But, as the others have stated, it was a large chunk of walnut to lug around. The drop at the heel was a little too much for my taste also.

I picked up one in 30-06 about a year and a half ago and love the gun. I�m not a very good shot but am getting .6 MOA out of anything I shoot (except 55 gr. Accelerators witch are just over an inch) even 110�s. I wouldn�t trade it for any Remington.

[ 11-10-2002, 09:55: Message edited by: cpt. caveman ]