"The rifle was designed from scratch to meet a price point--a bargain one--but we knew we could still build a quality rifle," Foster said.

The round receiver is machined from a 4140 steel alloy and is 1.350 inches in diameter. The rear receiver bridge is contoured, and the action has the same base and hole spacing pattern as the Winchester Model 70. The rifle will be introduced in three standard-length chamberings: .30-06, .270 Winchester, and in a nod to Western hunters, .25-06. And the 3-inch-plus ejection port cut is plenty big for loading and unloading. A gas vent is drilled into the right-hand side, forward of the ejection port. The .185-inch-thick recoil lug is sandwiched between the receiver and the barrel.

The XL7 is the platform that will relaunch Marlin into the world of bolt rifles. This bargain-priced gun offers riflemen a lot for their money and simply feels like a more expensive rifle in the hands.

Thankfully, the magazine box is locked into the receiver and does not rattle around in the stock. A small lip at the front of the magazine box slips into a slot milled into the receiver's bottom. A screw goes through a tab stamped into the box and threads into a hole just ahead of the trigger group. It is one of many nice touches on the XL7 that did not cost a fortune but adds to an overall sense of quality. A plastic follower and spring assembly match recesses in the stock's floor to complete the blind magazine.

ACCURACY RESULTS:
LOAD	AVERAGE VELOCITY (fps)	AVERAGE ACCURACY (in.)
Remington 150-gr. AccuTip Boattail	2910	1.02
Federal Premium 165-gr. Nosler Partition	2830	1.03
Hornady Custom 165-gr. InterBond	2800	0.73
Winchester 180-gr. Power-Poiint	2700	1.61
Winchester Supreme Elite 180-gr. XP3	2750p	1.22
Accuracy is the average of five, five-shot groups at 100 yards fired from a Caldwell Rock BR rest. Velocity is the average of 10 rounds measured 15 feet from the gun's muzzle.

Up front, the bolt is very similar to the Savage Model 110. The bolt head is a separate piece that is pinned to the bolt body. A wave washer holds the bolt head in place, but there is some wiggle, which allows the dual, opposing locking lugs to center themselves in the lug recesses. The right-side lug houses the extractor, which Rozum described as a "detented sliding member." The MIM part is based on a 4140-alloy equivalent and slides in and out of a lateral cut in the lug's face. A slot cut into the same lug's side matches a rail in the inside of the bolt raceway and prevents binding. The plunger-style ejector sits at the 5 o'clock position on the bolt face.

The bolt body has straight, longitudinal flutes that reduce surface area by 20 percent and give all the nasty dirt and grime picked up in the field a place to go when the action is cycled. The depths of the flutes are finished in a matte black--the same as the shroud and bolt handle--while the body is left in the white with a brushed finish. The bolt handle is cast, has two checkered panels on the knob, and is copper brazed onto the bolt body.

The articulating trigger-release lever does not allow any rearward movement of the trigger until it is pulled flush with the trigger's face. The trigger's pull weight is adjusted by loosening the jam nut on the set screw and turning the screw in or out with an Allen wrench.

The bolt shroud is also a casting, though an elegant one, complete with a small shoulder that protects the shooter from nasty gases in the event of a pierced primer. A small cocking indicator--a holdover from the MR-7--peeks out from underneath the shroud when cocked. Red highlights accentuate the visual cue.

One of the more important innovations that came along at the last minute was the trigger. We started with an MR-7 trigger, but at the 11th hour, we moved away from it and created something totally different," Rozum said. "It took about six months from concept to production. We wanted to offer the customer something that was user-adjustable and very safe."

The Pro-Fire trigger system has an articulating trigger-release lever that moves through a slot in the trigger bow and will not allow the trigger rearward until it is depressed. Parts are housed in an alloy casting, and sear engagement and overtravel are preset by the component's geometry. Pull weight is adjusted by first loosening a jam nut on a threaded set screw protruding from the front of the housing and then turning the set screw either in or out with an Allen-head wrench.

Securing the barrel with a nut is a cost-effective way to ensure proper head spacing. Marlin's low-profile nut blends in nicely with the barrel and receiver. A recoil lug is sandwiched between the receiver and barrel nut.

Turning the set screw in will increase the pull weight, and turning the set screw out reduces the pull weight. The pull weight ranges from can-hardly-make-it-go-off heavy to 2 1/2 pounds, where the unit bottoms out. Triggers come from the factory preset at 3 1/2 pounds.

Unlike the Savage AccuTrigger, which can be tripped without releasing the sear and then has to be recocked, the Pro-Fire trigger can be either pulled rearward or not, something determined by the position of the articulating trigger-release lever.