Reply With QuoteI'll say this having just bought another (used bargain) Savage the other day:
The Marlin, at least in its synthetic-stock form, very obviously competes with the Stevens rather than something with the Savage name on it. Pricing shows this clearly. The only exception would be certain stuff that Savage puts together for Wal-Mart.
With that in mind:
The Marlin stock is better; stiffer than the Stevens.
The Marlin trigger is better; the 2-screw Stevens triggers aren't very good, and the metal quality is poor (just like it is in the Accu-Triggers) so it's dicey at best stoning them. Marlin's trigger is very good, and better IMO than Savage's Accu-Trigger in both feel and parts quality.
The Marlin follows Remington's thought pattern of putting barrel contact points at the forend of the stock, but it seems like few of them make equal contact; this means the Stevens is more likely to shoot consistently well.
The Marlin is less expensive than the Stevens.
The Stevens has aftermarket stock choices. The Marlin does not, but Win 70 stocks are awfully close (can probably machine a place for the recoil lug and make them work).
Both use the same barrel thread diameter and pitch, making barrel swaps equally simple.
Both are American-made.
In short, the Marlin is what the Savage was a few (several?) years ago. The best-value, best hunter/shooter on store shelves. Whether that will bring Savage down or simply catapult Marlin up remains to be seen.
Bookmarks