.22 accuracy

[pinstripe]

Just came in from the range. I took along a couple of .22 rifles (cheapest way to shoot). One is a Marlin 60 and the other is a EM1-22 made by Erma with some collaboration with Iver Johnson. Anyway, the latter one looks like the M-1 carbine.
Both shot extremely well, but I believe the Erma was alittle more accurate. I have cheap BSA scopes on both of them. The Marlin jammed 2 times. Both times I noticed that the spent brass was out of the chamber, but still in the receiver. I know the extractor is good and strong and the rifle clean. I was using Remington Goldens. I clean my guns very often and keep them lubed with tru-flow. It has silicone and teflon with some penetrating oil. Good stuff.
I was just wondering if any of you have had problems with the Marlin 60 ejecting spent cases fully. It may also be the Remington Goldens (which I am not a big fan of). This rifle has always been alittle finicky as to what it shoots. Just let me know about your Marlin 60 experiences.
Thanks

 

[esmith]

Remington golden bullets suck. I had more duds and jams in my magazine than with any other cartridge. Remington thunderbolts which is even cheaper works a lot better.

 

[Average Joe]

My Marlin model 60 jammed so much, I sold it, and bought a Ruger 10/22.

 

[ojibweindian]

Federal and CCI high velocity 22's work well in my Marlin 60. The Remington stuff just stinks; failures to feed AND eject, and that stuff is dirty as all get out.

Hope you didn't buy a lot of the Remington; if so, then get a bolt action.

 

[Sunray]

It's not just Marlin 60's. Most semi-auto .22's are ammo sensitive. That's why you have to try a box of as many brands as you can to find the ammo your .22 will both shoot well and cycle the action.

 

[Bartkowski]

The thunderbolts are working for me too. They are a little dirty, but shoot 1inch at 50 yards easy. I am using a marlin 25n if you care. I haven't had any duds, jams or whatever, so far I have shot 500 of them so I give them a nod for accuracy and consistency.

 

[pinstripe]

I got these goldens at a gun show for a good price ($9.50/500) so I bought one brick. I usually shoot the Federal bulk stuff or Federal champion. These seem to be good middle of the road rounds (maybe some Winchester wildcats). I do have a bolt action Romanian training rifle that will eat anything you feed it. I think I will "save" the goldens for her.
Thanks

 

[rangerruck]

two things, never buy remminton bulk, you are asking for trouble.
secondly if you ever take the action out of the mod 60, you will see one of the curly springs, that comes into a straight wire, that points slighlyt upward, and inward, right towards the center of the feed channel. this is the ejector wire.
you can see if sits in a little 'slot' on the side of the action there.
take a needlenose, and slightly bend the end of that ejector wire, a little more in, and a little more higher, across that open space of the feed channel. should be good to go.
But seriously, try other ammo first, problem will proly go away, with just doing that.

 

[dfaugh]

I was using Remington Goldens.

And that's the most likely problem....

My buddy and I went on a quest to find the most accurate loads for our .22s (5 in all). We tried all kinds of ammo we could get our hands on. I have now fired over 5000 rounds through my Model 60(acquired used), and in all that time I had exactly 5 FTFeeds (all stovepipes). Note that NONE of the ammo we tested was Remington, as we both learned to avoid that junk years ago.

Try some Wolf Match Target, this is most accurate in mine (followed closely by Winchester T-22s and Federal "Classic").

With the Wolf MT I can consistantly shoot 1/2" groups (10 shot) at 50 yards. With a $40 Tasco 3-9x scope. And the rifle functions flawlessly.

P.S. Mine shoots better when "dirty". after I clean it it takes 40-50 rounds to settle down to best accuracy.

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

I've never had any luck with Remington .22 ammo. I had a Marlin 60 (sold to my nephew) it didn't like Rem. I've had good luck with Super-X, Blazer(dirty) and Federal for cheap shells. Mini-mag is better. Federal auto-match is better yet.

 

[Red Tornado]

Just to provide a dissenting opinion, I've had really good luck with the Golden Bullets. They're more accurate than all the bulk and most other ammo's I've tested and they function great in my rifles.

Okay, they're probably the problem in your Marlin, but I don't think they're universally bad. YMMV.

BTW, I do the same thing with all my ammo that doesn't feed/cycle/eject/etc. Feed it to the M69. Eats anything and shoots it accurately. What a fabuous plinker.
RT