All other things being equal, I would choose the Marlin XL-7 over the Stevens 200 simply because of the vastly better trigger on the Marlin. I hunted for years with a pair of Savages I bought in 2000. Both of them have Timney triggers because I just couldn't live with the gritty, hard pulls of the factory units.
The Stevens 200 rifles have the same bad trigger. The Marlin has a very functional ripoff of the Accutrigger.
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