Savage 64 or Marlin 60

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Fonzie2k

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Hey everyone! I've been doing a lot of research on guns lately and every search I make takes me to THR forum. It seemed logical to join and ask questions here. I've been looking into buying a .22 and I have it narrowed down to these two rifles: The Savage 64 and the Marlin 60. I have a preference for the Marlin but it does not have detachable magazines.

Long story short I was wondering if anyone had experience with both of these rifles. I'm looking for something rugged, fun, and inexpensive.

Thanks!
 
no experience with the savage 64 but i have developed quite a fondness for the marlin 60. ive owned mine for several years and have put tens of thousands of rounds through it and malfunctions are an extreme rarity. my opinion of some of the features are as follows:

3/8 dovetail---probly not the most secure scope base on the market but for a .22 it works just fine. ive had scopes on and off of mine over the years and i havent had any problems with it. dont be surprised if you develope some scratch marks on the dovetail. dont worry about it, theyre character marks.

tube magazine---i can relate to your view a little bit on this one. it is frustraiting havign to flip the gun over and reload every 15 rounds, but eventually you will get to where you can do it fairly quickly. if you only fire a few shots it is pretty quick to top off the mag. for me, fixed vs. detachable mag comes down to the main intended use of the rifle. for the range, the detachable mag is more handy. while hunting, i have found a detachable mag to poke me uncomfortably in the side (i carry with the rifle at my back on my left sholder only). with the tube mag, this problem is eliminated and i rarely have to reload during a hunt.

stock sights---not a huge fan. they are easy enough to use but mine has a tendency to change while shooting and must be glued once set. mine is one with a screw adjustment that i havn't seen on many others. if yours comes with the ladder type adjustable rear sight then this will be a non-issue

aftermarket parts---for the most part your SOL. the're are very few upgrade parts for the m60 but on the plus side, they seem to very rarely need them.

accuracy (not really a feature but deserves to be noted)---very nice. i usually sight in around 40 yards and in the prone position with an improvised rest, it is not at all uncommon to put 5 rounds into a half inch (this is with federal bulk ammo). i have only done a little shooting at 100 yards but was pleasently surprised. it was fairly windy (7-9mph cross-wind) but was still able to achieve +/- 2 inch groups. need to wait for a very calm day to see what its really capable of.

in the end it really comes down to personal preference. i prefer the marlin 60. if you decide you want something else, go for it. if you do decide to go with the 60, i doubt you will end up with a very reliable, sweet shooting .22 that will last you for many years to come.

edit: forgot to add...welcome to THR!!!
 
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Thanks JEB!

I hadn't really thought about carrying the gun with a detachable mag. I'm mostly going to use it to sling over my shoulder and head out to the woods. Definitely some helpful insight. As for upgrades I won't be getting any. Thanks for the response!
 
I have shot both, for about 30 years now. they are both very good, and neither will let you down. if you need a mag fed marlin, there are tons of new and used models out there that use them, particularly the new 795's.
you can get mod 70's, 75's, 99, 99m1's, and others, agian all used though, but I have no probs
whatsoever getting a used marlin.
now then for accuracy and multiple rounds; if you get a new marlin, it will
hold 14 rounds in the tube, you don't have a mag to loose, rarely have I ever even seen the problem with a bent tube, though it does happen occasionally.
Accuracy goes to the marlin, it is not huge by any means, but it is consistently better, with the marlin.
Now for the brass ring; if you can find a marlin made between 85 and 88, it will not only have the last round boltholdopen lever, on the right side of the trigger, but it will also have the feed tube that holds 17 to 19 rounds!!!!since 89, all bbls are down to 19 inches, and all tubes are down to 14 rounds.
Awesome, it is the gold standard, and holy grail, of the budget/ to get/ to hunt and plink with/ 22's that you can get.
 
I own both the Savage 64 and Marlin 60.

They are both as accurate as one could ask for.

The Savage magazine is a bit pokey when slung. And it only holds ten rounds.
The Marlin tube mag can be reloaded fast with tube loaders.

If running around in the woods means thick woods and brush, the Marlin might be better just because no mag sticking out of it, and more capacity before a reload.

If you have no problem with the magazine, the Savage 64 will be fine.

If you do decide on a Marlin 60, the ones made in 1985 introduced the last-shot bolt hold-open feature. The ones made before (iirc?) 1988 still had the full-length magazine tube that was as long as the barrel. These held 18 rounds. After 1988 (or whenever it was) they reduced the mag tube length to only hold 15 rounds to be compliant with New Jersey law on magazine capacity, then in 2002 (again, iirc) they shortened the barrel so it was the same length as the shorter mag tube.

So I would look for a between 1985-1988 model with the 18-shot mag tube and the last-shot BHO. IMHO those are the nicest ones, especially with a real hardwood stock and not a laminated one.

I got lucky and found an as-new 1987 model with BHO and 18-rd tube for $100.

You can find either the Marlin 60 new or used, for around $100-$200, or the sister Glenfield model for between $50 and $125 used depending on condition. If you get into Glenfield, they have a pressed design in the stock- little animals- and you can try to complete a set of all the variants.

New Savage 64's are what, $150 at Wal*mart, and used models are available for around $80 and up depending on if you want stainless or blued, and wood or synthetic stocks.
 
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=550013

Discussed to death.

I have two marlin 60's and they have been great. Trouble free since the 80's! They feed just about anything I throw at them.

Don't let that tube loading scare you. When you're shooting bulk...which you will be...loading those mags takes awhile, too. Get a speed loader from cabella's for tubes and you'll be loading and shooting just as fast as the magazine fed guys.

Accessories aren't out there like they are for a 10/22, but that's not a big deal for most of us. Williams firesights and techsights make some great aftermarket sights. The stock ones are cheap, but they obviously work great as I am just getting around to trying out aftermarket ones...and mainly because I just want a peep sight. 10's of 1000's of rounds, many dead squirrels, lots of slain paper targets and tons of fun. Not to mention, many a first time shooters have learned on my marlins and went on to buy their own firearms. This does have some drawbacks....my girlfriend started shooting on my marlins, discovered she was an excellent shot with them and moved on to claim my AR which I was wanting to sell. Could be worse...I mean a gorgeous girlfriend who loves your AR and marlins as much (or more) than you do ain't so bad. :)


The Savage is a great rifle, too. I can't give you any advice on it as I have never owned one.

Edit: Don't fret about cleaning the 60. My 60's don't like to be cleaned. I snake the barrel after each outing and strip the receiver around every 10,000 rounds or when it gets "crunchy." My 60's are picky eaters after being stripped and cleaned until I get a hundred or more rounds downrange.
 
My opinion: go Savage. I've read reviews on what people have done with Savage 64's, and they're very impressive. The accuracy is reported to be incredible. I believe it, too, because Savage rifles in general have a reputation for being more accurate out of the box than other brands. I long ago decided that if I replace my Ruger 10/22, I'm going Savage.
 
I own both.

The Savage is ridiculously accurate, slightly moreso than the Marlin. The iron sights on the Savage are also much, much finer and aid in precision shooting; I really dislike wide express-style sights on rifles. The stock fits me a lot better, and I prefer the convenience of a magazine over the tube; spare mags can be found for around $12 if you look around (including Walmart, last I checked). The Savage breaks down for detail cleaning a lot easier than the Marlin does.

Downsides: the stock is pretty cheesy in both look and feel and would probably benefit from some paint, and I really prefer the older stamped safety over the newer style - the new one hurts my fingers.
 
After having used detachable box magazines I've become a fan of tube mags and now own four rim fires with tubes. But the same Marlin 60 action is available with a box magazine if you prefer, it just has a different model number (Marlin 795). Speed loaders are available, I like them.

Aftermarket stuff... not much in the way of accuracy because they don't need it. You'll find your rifle will have a preference for a certain type of ammo and the only way to find out is try a bunch. I have peep sights on one of my 60's a Center Point scope on the other, there are some inexpensive red dots out there to try. Boyd's makes some nice stocks, I have one of their walnut thumbhole stocks and really like it. The Ruger 10/22 is the rifle for modifying, but that gets expensive fast.

The only down side I have experienced with the M 60 is the triggers are not great (out of the box), but I'm really fussy about triggers. Info on fixes are available at rimfirecentral.com. I continue to fiddle with mine. I suspect the Savage might have better out of the box trigger, you need to try both.
 
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I don't like tube fed rifles, feels like loading a muzzle loader all the time. Since your choice is between these two, go with the Savage 64, But, I would go with the Ruger 10/22.
 
Ignore ruger suggestions unless you want to drop more money in upgrades to get the same accuracy the Marlin and Savage already have.

Sure some Rugers are accurate out of the box, but the better chance of getting a accurate to very accurate rifle lies with Marlin and Savage as they are typically more accurate than the Rugers.

There's a reason there aren't as many after market parts for Marlins as Rugers- it's because they don't need them.;)
 
I have owned both. IMHO the Marlin 60 is the best "bang for the buck" in the .22 world. Would second comments about the accuracy of both vs the 10/22. I have owned several 10/22's over the years and unless you want to invest and trick one out you are wasting money compared to either. And as mentioned above plenty of used Marlins out there either tube fed or mag fed (I have both), and they can usually be found around $75 to $80.
 
I Bought the Savage this weekend. I finally went and held both guns and the Savage just felt right. Thanks for all the input, She seems like a sweet shooter!
 
And that feeling is worth an awful lot when it comes to enjoying the rifle.

Have fun with it!

Oh, and WHERE'S THE PICTURES?????
Click to expand...

What he said.

Many folks scoff at my cheap 60's. But they work and I enjoy them. One of the two is nearly as accurate as my friend's 10/22; which annoys him because he has $500+ in a scope with bullet drop reticle, heavy bull barrel and a nice thumbhole stock. It's even more accurate with my girlfriend shooting it.
 
Tube feed mags load way faster than box mags.
Loaded my daughter's new 10/22 one time and that was enough. I can load and empty my Marlin 60 or my Savage 6A in less time than it takes to load that 10-22. The Marlin and my old Savage are both tack drivers.
 
You can make a .22 tube fed speed loader from a hollow aluminum arrow by removing the tip, fletches and plugging the ends.
 
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