Fresh from my diatribe against Marlin Rifles comes this customized and scoped example of their stainless-barreled Model 983, as seen at Collectors:
Aesthetically speaking, I don’t see the need for the heavy rubber recoil pad (on a rifle chambered in .22 Magnum?), but other than that, it’s very nice — and the recoil pad is removable.
I bet that’s a one-hole shooter, all day and every day of the week. Yeah, it’s a lot of money for a Marlin, but that’s just another reason to hate them for stopping production: they’ve driven up the prices through scarcity.
Of course, if you forego the customization, Marlin 983 rifles typically run for less than half the above, if you can find one.
All that said, I prefer my earlier Model 882 SV:
…which really is a one-hole shooter, as anyone who’s shot it will attest.
I’ve put a recoil pad on various rifles of various calibers over the years, mainly because I was curious about what length of pull would do for cheekweld consistency and my accuracy.
If that were a Mil Surp rifle in a full-house battle rifle caliber (.22 magnum, really?), the length of pull is shorter to accommodate the variety of people who would carry and shoot the thing, so some kind of extension would be reasonable. I had one on my Mosin Nagant twenty years ago because I didn’t want to wear a thick winter coat while shooting the thing. That also helped me miss my nose when I worked the bolt. Seriously.
As its Collectors, it may be hiding a blemish on that pretty stock.
Can’t have anything that might make people not want to pay FULL price.