Marlin 60 Accuracy: Facts, not Fiction.

[ArmedBear]

Lots has been tossed around about Marlin 60 accuracy. Some claims are exaggerated, but the guns are actually pretty good.

Today I stuck on a Nikon 4x32mm ProStaff Rimfire Classic I got from Wal Mart for 100 bucks. I definitely recommend this scope! Could be the best value out there.

So, when I was almost done sighting it in with a bunch of messy moving groups, I figured I'd stop adjusting the scope, stick 5 rounds in the magazine and shoot them as carefully as I could at a fresh bullseye, and post the results here.

This is a 5-shot group of CCI Mini-Mag 40 Grain solids, claimed velocity 1235 FPS. 50 yards, outdoors, 4x32mm scope, off sandbags.

I think it's more than fair to call the stock Marlin 60 a MOA rifle. This won't win an ARA match, but IMO it's pretty damn good for a semiauto that sells for less than $150 brand new, shooting high-velocity ammo that's not specifically chosen.

Notes:

The longest distance (from the top shot to the one on the lower left) is 1/2" center-to-center.

This is not junk ammo, but it's not target ammo either, and I didn't try anything else. This ammo is all I had with me when I went to the range. I have no idea if something else would perform better or worse.

I was not using a machine rest, just shooting off sandbags. I only had a 4x scope. While it has a wonderful, sharp image, it's not a .22 target scope and is nowhere near the power used for serious .22 target shooting.

The Marlin 60 is 100% bone stock, recent production. I have not done any trigger work, or anything else to it. I use it for hunting small varmints in the sagebrush. It's had at least several hundred rounds through it since I last cleaned it.

The big hole at the bottom was from a .44 Super Blackhawk I was also sighting in today.

 

[22-rimfire]

That is pretty good shooting at 50 yds and a 4x scope. I believe many people over scope a 22 rifle beyond it's purpose. Unless you specifically are shooting targets pretty much all the time, 4x is a great scope; light, usually compact, and modest in price.

I keep 4x scopes on a number of my 22 rifles. Some deserve much better. One is a Remington 541-S and the other a Weatherby Mark XXII (semi). I will eventually upgrade the scopes on them.... but I keep buying new rifles.... (Frankly I have eased off on new rifles for a while too.)

 

[waburn]

Good shooting. Stainless or blued? This is typical of the Marlin 60. Good accuracy, reliable, and good ergonomics. If available try some Winchester Super X Solids, cheaper than CCI, and just as if not more accurate.

 

[ArmedBear]

This is typical of the Marlin 60.

It seems many 10/22 aficionadoes don't believe that, though. That's why I posted this.

It's blued. I bought the least-expensive version, because I wanted a scoped .22, couldn't stomach the idea of scoping one of my Model 39s, but didn't want to spend a lot more.

I have been pleasantly surprised at the 60. Cheap enough for plinking and varmint shooting, accurate enough to be a great range gun, too.

 

[ECVMatt]

My first M60 was a great rifle...

Unfortunately we used it as the ranch/truck gun for a number of years and it got trashed. It never stopped working, just super abused. It shot just like yours. Many a turtle, coon or marauding crow met its' demise from the Mighty Marlin.

I would guess that folks who mock the Marlin have never really shot one to any great extent.

I would really like to pick up a 16" SS carbine model they have out right now, and as a matter of fact I think I will go a head and order it right now.

Thanks for reminding me about a great little .22.

Matt

BTW...Have you tried the Skinner Sights for your 39's. They are great. I just put a set on my Mountie and love them.

 

[EAJ]

This is typical of the Marlin 60. Good accuracy, reliable, and good ergonomics.

+1, Enjoy. Purchased mine in 68. Not one issue or part replacement to date. Federal Champion (510) SP HV 40gr are relatively inexpensive and accurate in this one.

 

[FlyinBryan]

will those rifles also shoot long and short ammo?

 

[aka108]

For the money paid the Marlin 60 is as good as they get. Have to mention that yesterday was a pleasant one for me. The last two Ruger firearms I had were sold.

 

[RSVP2RIP]

The Volquartsen short kit for the 10/22 works great, even with CB's. You might have to do some fiddling to get it to fly but it is worth it. And yes, I cut my teeth on a 60 also, before I turned 15 and got my own 22, a 10/22. The M60 (ha ha M60) was unreliable until the thing was cleaned for the first time in 10 years or so. My father was a big believer in WD40 and that gummed up the trigger group and action. That experience turned me off to it forever and I won't let the stuff in my home.

 

[ArmedBear]

WRT shorts...

The Marlin 39 lever gun works with Short, Long and LR. Ditto for the Remington Fieldmaster and I think the Henry lever.

In semi, the Browning SA 22 and Remington Speedmaster are the only multi-length production guns I can think of at the moment.

I doubt they'd cycle CBs.

Apart from CBs, I've never fired a .22 Short, though.

 

[CajunBass]

No they will only shoot LR. I can't think of any semi-autos that shoot shorts.

Remington 552 Speedmaster is the only one I know of.

http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/rimfire_rifles/model_552_speedmaster.asp

Good shooting AB. I'm a 10/22 fan, but I admit that Marlin makes a good one.

I agree on the 4x32 scope too. That's all I've got on most of my 22's and it's all I've ever felt was needed.

 

[waburn]

Made in the sixties and seventies, the High Standard Sport King will shoot shorts, longs, and long rifles. Sears also sold them as a house brand, Sears 25. They were tube fed. See them for around $125, used of course. http://www.histandard.info/models/rifles.html Here is one on gun broker http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=129484921

 

[rangerruck]

your marlin, if well broken in, may shoot longs, maybe. I have one , that i did a molyfusion job to; not just the bore, but the moving parts, inside the receiver, outside the bolt, and the recoil rod and spring. it will cycle longs.
I also have the most accurate mod 60 ever made, ever, but that is another story.

 

[gunsandreligion]

and I think the Henry lever.

I'v shot ones with shorts.

 

[Mike U.]

Has anybody else noticed the difference between stocks on the older Marlin-Glenfield 60's compared to current production?

The older ones often times had beautiful wood stocks. Today's 60 are okay, but, the wood I've been seeing for years now is pretty, well, pedestrian. Anybody out there have a current production 60 with above average wood stocks?

 

[Pat4x4]

I have never had a out of the box 10/22 that would come close to out shooting a out of the box Model 60.. that being said I stick with the 10/22's because I like the action layout and design, I like the after market support better also.. Since I can't seem to leave things alone.. Also the Marlin and it plastics buffer parts the dry out and crack always make me mad

The Model 60 is a great gun for sure.. I still own one

 

[Tiomoid]

I love my model 60 and would never trade it away. On more than one occasion I have out-shot the field at my range with a $120 M60 and a $20 BSA scope. Using a front rest or sandbags more than once I have emptied the entire magazine into a hole the size of a dime. Long live the tube mag!

 

[ArmedBear]

the birch their using now

Marlin uses laminate stocks for all current wood Model 60s.

The base models are stained a uniform brown, and the higher-end ones are stripe-stained.

 

[c5_nc]

One of my Sears 3T (Winchester 190) semi-autos is marked to shoot shorts in addition to 22l and 22lr, have another of same model that is not marked, they look identical.

Have two Glenfield/Marlin 60s, I find MOA claim a little difficult to believe, generally with 22s to get GREAT accuracy tolarances have to be so tight that gun should be picky about ammo so that many of the bulk pack 22lr will fail or you have to find find what it likes, or use match ammo. I've only shot one of mine, can't remember the results. I always wanted to hit the range for a day and try tou all 10 or so different brands I have with each of common ammos, and compare them all.

 

[ArmedBear]

The picture is real.

The ammo was CCI Mini-Mags, not match ammo. Not the cheapest bulk ammo, either.

It's not a claim. It's how my gun shoots.

There isn't a gun in the world, not even the best 1000 yard benchrest centerfire custom, that will shoot worth crap with junk ammo.

Some bulk ammo is good stuff (e.g. Federal Auto Match), but some is junk. But with decent high-velocity ammo, the current-production 60s shoot amazingly well. Mine shoots MOA 5-shot groups with CCI Mini-Mags.

 

[hammerattack]

4" Group

Just to toss in my $0.02; I picked up a 1977-year Glenfield 60 at a hock shop a few weeks ago in very rough condition. The feed tube retainer had been broken and they used electrical tape to hold it in place. The feed tube (magazine) itself had been bent. The barrel was scratched and rusted in a few spots. The innards (to use a technical term typical of the locals) were filthy. The only bright spot was that the engraved stock had no major defects at all. I decided if nothing else, it'd be a fun plinking rifle. I shot some clp in the chamber, slapped a 10x scope on it and went to the range. The result - the rifle performed flawlessly. It never once failed to chamber a round or cycle. My shot groups were tight and circular, making me almost believe that the rifle made up for my usual diagonal tendencies. I wound up spending most of my time playing with the Marlin and changed my opinion of it entirely. It is now a candidate for restoration. Surprisingly, the innards cleaned up nicely, and there was no pitting when I knocked the rust off the barrel. I was able to order a few replacement parts inexpensively (though the 15 round magazine tube eludes me).

Now I just need to start stocking up on .22. If I can find it.

 

[minutemen1776]

I've had a Marlin 60 since I was in the 5th grade. It was my very first rifle and easily the best Christmas gift I ever received.

Several years ago, I bought every type of .22 Long Rifle ammo I could lay my hands on and tried them all in my Marlin. Using a cheap Simmons 3-9X scope, I shot carefully from a rest at 50 yards, taking breaks to avoid overheating the barrel. Then, I measured everything with calipers. The results varied from 3-inch groups with some ammo to less than half an inch with others. Oddly enough, my Marlin liked bulk-pack Remington Golden Bullets the best.

On my next outing, I carefully shot 10 5-shot groups with Golden Bullets. Again, I measured everything with calipers. I remember that my best group was three-eighths of an inch, but the average group size was just under a half-inch.

That, in my book, is a stellar .22 rifle.

 

[Tiomoid]

Oddly enough, my Marlin liked bulk-pack Remington Golden Bullets the best.

Seems mine does as well. I've also had good results with CCI Mini-mags, but I usually save them for my Walther.

 

[ArmedBear]

Laminate is actually stronger than solid wood if it has enough density.

Also, it's more stable. Wood warps with moisture and heat. Laminate has built-in resistance to warping due to the multiple layers.

Laminate is a plus. I'm sure it helps the gun's accuracy, compared to whatever they'd put on an inexpensive gun these days, otherwise.

I don't need the stripes, though they can look good.

 

[jackdanson]

Mines 20 years old, has god knows how many rounds through it, and can smack clays at 100 yards and golf balls at 50 yards using iron sights and cheapo ammo. Plenty good enough for me.