Disassembly and Reassembly of the Marlin XL7 Rifle

A centerfire bolt-action from Marlin? Aren’t they known for producing rimfire bolt-actions and centerfire lever-actions? If you asked yourself those questions, then I have some news for you. This isn’t the first centerfire bolt rifle Marlin has cooked up. If you have along memory, you might recall the Marlin MR7. From the ground up, it was designed to take all the best features of rifles already on the market and combine them in a single platform.

When the MR7 first rolled off the line in 1995, it had the flat bottom forging of a Model 70, basically the same means of trigger adjustment, and a three-position safety built into its damascened bolt sleeve. The MR7 had no barrel lug or nut and, as rifles went back then, it carried a comparatively high price combined with a promise of extreme accuracy. The retail price of the MR7 may have contributed somewhat to its lackluster sales.

Other factors could have been its less-than-comfortable walnut stock and a marketplace that was already saturated with rifles. In any case, production ended in 1996 after a run of only 25,000. Of course, due to the relatively small number produced, the MR7 is a highly priced collectible these days. So, considering its collectible status, I wouldn’t call the MR7 a total failure after all.

And neither does the company that recently acquired Marlin, Remington, H&R 1871, and Bushmaster, and united them all under the name of American Heritage Arms, Gun Division.

I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall when the discussions took place on expanding the product line to protect Marlin’s share in rimfire rifles from foreign and domestic competition. (I’m eagerly awaiting word of developments in that area.) At the same time, the decision was made to reenter the bolt-action centerfire business with a rifle rivaling the accuracy of the MR7, but selling at a lower price.

Basically, what Marlin was trying to do was to produce "a Cadillac at a Chevrolet price." The project began with considerable market research into exactly what hunters want in a hunting rifle’besides its ability to hit and take down the point of aim. What that research revealed came as no big surprise to the designers and engineers.

Hunters told them the safety should have two positions instead of three, the rifle Top of page: The XL7 is only the second bolt-action centerfire rifle to come from Marlin, the legendary maker of lever-action rifles. The first one didn’t last long; the XL7 probably will. should beatop loader, it should be a good-looking piece of machinery, and it should come with a trigger system akin to the Savage Accu Trigger. And, of course, it should be extremely accurate and very, very comfortable to shoot.

Thanks to simplified production processes using high-quality massproduced components, hunters are getting exactly what they asked for with the Marlin XL7. Its receiver is machined from bar stock. The design of the recoil lug is borrowed from the old Marlin Model 512 slug shotgun. The trigger looks "Glocky" (as does the Accu Trigger), but is more closely related to the Marlin MLS system. The two-piece bolt includes a twoposition safety and cocking indicator.

When around is chambered and the gun cocked with the safety positioned to the rear, the trigger cannot be pulled but the bolt can be opened and closed. A wooden stock is coming. When it arrives, it will be pillar bedded with additional barrel stabilizing points in the forearm. It will have a cheek piece and a low-positioned recoil pad like the present composite stock. This

Make sure the spring rests within it on reassembly. The assembly should not be taken down further and can’t be reassembled without a complex factory fixture. stock configuration contributes to a straighter than usual sight picture down the bore line. Taken all together, this design results in a very lightweight rifle with less felt recoil than many other bolt-actions’even when packing a potent round like the .30- ’06. I’m guessing that hunters are going to like getting what they asked for with this rifle.

And knowing hunters like I do, I think it’s likely you’ll be seeing a few XL7s come in the door of your shop’probably as a plastic bag full of parts. Field Stripping By the time you’re handed that bag, the "disassembly" will have been done, but I’ll assume you’re looking at a complete rifle, and tell you how the takedown should have been done. The rifle should be confirmed as unloaded’both chamber and magazine’and the safety should be in the "on" position. Your safety glasses should also be in the "on" position.

Now slowly draw the bolt to the rear while depressing the bolt release, and withdraw the bolt from the receiver. Next, invert the rifle and remove the rear and front takedown screws in that order. (When reassembling, the front screw goes in first). Now reposition the rifle right-side up and lift the barreled action from the stock. Note the placement of the magazine spring in the stock inletting, as shown in the accompanying photo.

At this point, the rifle is ready for a good cleaning and light oiling of all exposed metal. Don’t neglect to place a small dab of grease on the cockingcam surface while you’re doing the lubrication. The owner’s manual recommends against any further disassembly’a warning that was obviously ignored by any individual who hands you a bag of XL7 parts. The caution appears in the manual for excellent reasons’ most of which are about to become apparent.

Detailed Disassembly If you’ve glanced at the schematic, take another, longer look at it. Item #18A refers to the entire rear bolt assembly, which is housed in the bolt body (#3). Item #18A can only be disassembled and reassembled at the factory in North Haven, Connecticut. This is done using a highly complex fixture that employs miniature hydraulics, and can’t be duplicated outside the Marlin factory walls.

Of course, if you’re a good machinist, you could probably build one, if you could get your hands on a set of blueprints. But you can’t. I hope this point has been well made: Without the mini-hydraulic, multiple-spring loaded, quadrupleclamped fixture, you can’t take the firing-pin assembly apart. And even if you managed to get it apart, you’d need the fixture to put it back together. All is not lost, however, because you can remove the entire assembly from the body quite easily and replace it just as easily.

But even this requires you to adapt a tool in order to accomplish the deed. The tool is a small hex wrench that fits the square cut in the bottom of the bolt sleeve (#7) and goes through the cocking piece (#10). The wrench should extend beyond the sleeve for leverage. Leave the angled end on the wrench. It will act as a handle for removing the assembly, reinstalling it, and making any necessary adjustments of the bolt sleeve thereafter. These subtle rearrangements will be described later on.

Grasp the "handle" of your combo wrench/retaining pin and turn the bolt sleeve counter-clockwise. You may come up against a sleeve that has been torqued in very tightly. In this case, secure the base of the cocking piece between protected vise jaws, laterally pull the bolt body forward, and start unwinding. The threads are very fine, but the sleeve and firing-pin assembly will eventually let go of the bolt body. Don’t withdraw the retaining pin. Set the assembly aside as a unit and address the bolt head (#5).

Press the head toward the rear of the bolt

Marlin XL7 Bolt-Action Rifle (Specifications subject to change without notice) 1 Barrel** 2 Barrel Nut* 3 Bolt Body* 4 Bolt Friction Washer 5 Bolt Head* 6 Bolt Head Retaining Pin 7 Bolt Sleeve 8 Bolt Stop* 9 Bolt Stop Spring* 10 Cocking Piece* 11 Ejector 12 Ejector Retaining Pin 13 Ejector Spring 14 Extractor 15 Extractor Ball 16 Extractor Spring 17 Fire Control Housing** 18 Firing Pin* 18A Firing Pin Assembly 19 Firing Pin Sleeve* 20 Firing Pin Spring* 21 Firing Pin Cocking Piece Pin* 22 Front Fire Control Mount Screw 23 Front Takedown Screw 24 Magazine Box body until you can push out its retaining pin (#6).

Remove the head forward and examine it. The ridge at its bottom mates up with a groove in the bolt body. Unless that marriage is made, the head cannot rejoin the body.

And, referring back to the head-retaining pin: In the unlikely event it 25 Magazine Box Screw 26 Magazine Follower 27 Magazine Spring 28 Rear Fire Control Mount Screw 29 Rear Takedown Screw 30 Receiver** 31 Recoil Lug* 32 Recoil Pad 33 Recoil Pad Screw 34 Retaining Clip breaks or becomes lost, the entire bolt can still be rotated and opened on a chambered round. The head will retain the cartridge and withdraw it. This is an additional safety feature of the rifle.

The extractor (#14) slides in and out of a key slot in the head.

Under- 35 Retaining Ring 36 Safety 37 Safety Plunger 38 Safety Plunger Spring 39 Scope Mount Base 40 Scope Mount Base Screw 41 Sear 42 Sear Bolt Stop Pin 43 Sear Spring 44 Sear Stop Pin 45 Stock 46 Swivel Studs 47 Trigger 48 Trigger Guard 49 Trigger Guard Screw 50 Trigger Pull Adjustment Screw 51 Trigger Pull Jam Nut 52 Trigger Release 53 Trigger Release Pin 54 Trigger Release Pivot Pin 55 Trigger Release Spring 56 Trigger Safety Lever Pin 57 Trigger Spring *Parts available to qualified gunsmith only. **Parts installed at factory only. neath the extractor is a spring (#16) and ball (#15).

Depress the extractor to about mid-bolthead. Use a dental pick to cam the ball downward and watch out, or the extractor and ball will fly from the bolt face. After that, you can pull out the spring’carefully; stretching it would not be good. ¨

over 3 pounds for hunting, but can be lightened for target shooting. Doing this is quite simple’almost too simple. With the gun empty, the safety engaged, and the stock off the action, loosen the jam nut (#51) on the trigger housing. This releases the grip of the nut on the adjustment screw (#50). Insert a 3/32-inch hex key into the screw. Turn it clockwise to decrease or counter-clockwise to increase the weight of pull. When the desired weight has been reached, retighten the jam nut.

I can’t imagine this happening, other than by error in the hands of an uninformed owner, but if the pull is increased too much the trigger cannot be pulled at all. Conversely, it has always been my shop policy never to lighten pull below 3 pounds on any hunting rifle. Reassembly Tips Frankly, the only reason to remove the trigger is to clean up anything a flushing-out of the mechanism might leave behind. When reinstalling the trigger, keep that housing tilted down.

The part has to fit between and past the trigger and sear springs. Both trigger and sear are Teflon/nickel coated. Polishing could remove that coating. Excessive polishing definitely will. When reinstalling the bolt-sleeve/ firing-pin assembly in the Marlin’s bolt, remember those fine threads. They’re left-handed and must be turned in until the assembly bottoms out. Then back it off one revolution. This should result in a perfect marriage between the cocking piece and its notch on the bolt handle.

Sometimes you get lucky. Sometimes you don’t. When there’s too much of a gap (no specification available) between the bolt sleeve and the bolt handle, back off some more until the desired union is complete. If you don’t, you can expect misfires. When there’s not enough gap (no specs here, either), bolt movement will feel tight, as will the movement of the bolt handle.

When the cocking piece and notch look ready to live happily ever after, remove the wrench/retaining pin. (Once you’ve inserted the pin, don’t pull it out at any other time.) There’s no way to skimp on fine tuning the relationship between the bolt assembly and body. It’s the way things must be done when you’re working with the Marlin XL7. I