I took it to the range and found accuracy to be lacking compared to my other, newer 336 in the same caliber. So I took it apart, with some difficulty. The band at the front of the forearm was so tight I had to tap it off with a hammer and a block of wood. And the front band was so tight I had to do the same. Then I discovered why. Here is a picture of the barrel and magazine at the muzzle with the magazine in its "relaxed" position:
![Image](http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e120/HeywoodJ123/336/barrelwithoutband.jpg)
Here is a picture of the barrel and magazine at the receiver (again with the magazine in its "relaxed" position). Note how the magazine is just touching the bottom of the barrel:
![Image](http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e120/HeywoodJ123/336/Barrelatreceiverwithoutband.jpg)
Now, if I put the front band on, the magazine is bent one way to curve around the bottom of the barrel, then the other way to follow the very front two inches or so of the barrel. Note that the gap from before is now completely gone. The following picture shows how far I was able to get the band without forcing it due to the amount of bending in the magazine:
![Image](http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e120/HeywoodJ123/336/Barrelwithband.jpg)
Looking at the bottom of the barrel, you can see where some of the barrel has been hogged away to lessen this problem (is this something Marlin does?):
![Image](http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e120/HeywoodJ123/336/Undersideofbarrelatreceiver.jpg)
Has anyone seen this before? If so, what is the recommended fix? One thought was to file/mill down the bottom of the barrel where it has already been hogged out, to make it even with the flat spot already there as shown here:
![Image](http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e120/HeywoodJ123/336/Flatonbarrelatreceiver.jpg)
Maybe there is a front band out there with a larger spacing between barrel and magazine?
Thanks in advance.