Marlin XL7 w/scope

Could you give some details as to what failed. I have three Vanguards and would like to have some idea as to what I should be watching for. Thanks in advance for the info.
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All of them suffered from bolts locking up. The problems varied from pieces of debris (from the bolt) in the works, to bolts shrouds binding, to a firing pin that managed to miraculously increase its protrusion enough to pierce every primer.
In addition, one of them suffered from a trigger failure (broken part - not my rifle, don't know exactly what it was).

In nearly all of the incidents, the result was a rifle that could not be made to eject the fired case in its chamber.

In the worst case: The trigger was pulled. The firing pin (striker) moved forward. ...And the rifle did not fire. The bolt shroud was binding on the striker, and would not let it travel any farther. The rifle was likely to fire, should the striker be freed. ...But the bolt would not move. The case could not be ejected. The bolt could not be opened. The striker could not be re-cocked. The rifle could not be rendered safe. It had to be transported (muzzle carefully controlled) with a live round in the chamber, to a gunsmith, so it could be shipped back to Weatherby later (3rd trip, and second bolt for that rifle).

That being said... the man that has had the majority of these issues still loves the rifles, and has his eye on another Vanguard. :confused:
 
I have an XL7 in .308 that I consider to be a fine gun. However, stupidly shooting a Silver Bear round through it locked the bolt, and quite naturally, I broke the extractor when removing said bolt.

I called Marlin, and ordered a new extractor ($13), but they're throwing in a extra one for free. It does have the Nikon Bushmaster on it, and I like the scope very well indeed.

On the other hand, I've found FFL pawn shops to be treasure lodes. I bought a Savage 111, in 30.06, for $400.00, and it included a mounted no-name but seemingly mighty fine 3X9X40 scope, and talked them into throwing in a slightly older Leupold 3X9X40. Set side by side with the Marlin, the Savage seems a considerably better gun, stronger bolt, very accurate so far, good weight (maybe not so good for hauling around all day hunting), and so forth.

I asked how the pawn shop business was going and was told, "Badly. It's all going out, and nothing coming in. In other words, everybody and their brother is coming in to pawn stuff, wanting high dollar for it, but no one is coming in to buy stuff". I heard the lady answer a phone call while there. The part of the conversation I heard went like this, "Hon, we have a back room totally running over with air conditioners. You can bring it in for look if you like, but I'm telling you, we have more than we'll ever manage to get rid of".

As far as I can tell, this is the first time this bad economy has been an advantage for me.
 
FrankenMauser, thanks for the info. Was the cause of the bolt shroud binding discovered? As I mentioned I have three Vanguards. No problems so far. I did replace the triggers with Timney's which gave me a three position safety. I understand the new S2 Vanguards come with a new two stage trigger with a three position safety as standard.
Dallas Jack
 
The scopes on all of the budget guns are complete crap... Each and every one of them... You need to spend at least $150 to get a decent optic... Buying a $75 scope is nothing more than a waste of $75 you could have put toward a better quality optic...
 
FrankenMauser, thanks for the info. Was the cause of the bolt shroud binding discovered?
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The general binding ended up being some bad shrouds, that had small pieces breaking off. Weatherby replaced them, but the rifles had to fail first. The striker that was binding, I don't know what the initial cause was (so, the owner probably doesn't, either). I know the gunsmith had to butcher the bolt pretty badly, to render the rifle safe. All the parts and piece of parts were sent back with the rifle. When it came back from Weatherby, it had a new bolt.
 
Jeeze Frankenmauser maybe he should of traded that one off the first time he got it fixed.:confused:I still love mine,:)It has performed flawlessly. I did put a Timney on it ,with the two position safety ,which is nice but back to brass tacks, it's heavier than necessary, by like a pound or little more, but it shoots factory ammo into a real tight group at 100 yds. Not to shabby for a 350.00 rifle!;) I would like to test out the Marlin, however before I could really judge it one way or another,(good excuse to try different rifles) but my next purchase will probably be an FN Win. mod 70.;)
 
Just like everything made over seas for a bargin, quality and coustomer service is usualy compromised.I would stick to American made guns. Marlin replace a barrel on a 336 lever action for me no questions asked. The rifle shoots great now. Just as 300 Win Mag said dont waste your money on a cheap scope save a little more money and get a decent one that you will really like, after all this is a great pleasure to shoot a gun that you love.
 
Just to update yall on my decision. I went with a Marlin in .308 and bought some weaver rings and a Leupold Rifleman for it. Thanks to everyone who gave their advice.
 
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