There’s only one word to describe the Marlin 60 — more of which have been sold worldwide than any other .22 rifle, ever — and that word is FUN. Fifteen rounds of .22 in the tube, a backyard full of old tin cans… I know, that’s so old-school these days, but remember whose website this is. But don’t take my word for it.
Reader Brad_In_IL (who suggested this GGP) writes of his Model 60:
Before moving from the frying pan to the fire (MA –> IL) I bought my ’60 from my fave LGS. I paid something like $70 for it from the used rack. I can’t speak to the history of my particular rifle, other than it was built in 1990. When I bought it, the condition was “barely out of the box” almost new.Like so many other firearms, my ’60 is much more accurate than me. Still, the gun is hoot to shoot, more fun than a barrel of monkeys, etc. Spinners are among my favorite targets because immediate feedback. My ’60 tends to like higher velocity .22lr fodder, though CCI Standard also functions well. One ammo in particular which the rifle does not like is Federal Auto Match target grade. My Browning Buckmark also does not like the Federal, so I’ve quit buying it. Different owners may have different experiences.Cleaning is straight forward, with one small but important caveat. Upon reassembly after cleaning, it is VERY easy to bend the recoil spring. Ask me how I know. That said, I ordered a couple extra and ALWAYS keep one in the range bag.There’s a whole crowd of people who talk smack about tube-fed rifles. Personally, I don’t mind ’em. One accessory item I do recommend for anyone with a tube fed 22 rifle is the Spee-D-Loader. I bought the Spee-D-15 which holds 15 rounds of .22lr in each of its eight tubes for a total of 120 rounds. Best accessory I’ve ever bought for this rifle, hands down. Here’s the link to Spee-D-Loader products.So there you have it. This is my rifle. There are many others like it, but this one is MINE.
One point to make, for those who might not already know it: .22 rifles are funny beasts in that they will “prefer” some ammo over others; even if two otherwise-identical rifles have consecutive serial numbers, Rifle #1 may shoot Brand X better than Brand Y while Rifle #2 will shoot all X-rings all day with Brand Y. I don’t know why this is, but it’s happened to me and to others more times than I can count, so there it is.
So while Reader Brad’s Model 60 hates Federal Automag, your Model 60 might love it to death. Experimentation, my friends, is the key… lots and lots of lovely experimentation. Now stop reading this stuff and take your .22 rifle and a few hundred rounds for an outing. It’s a moral imperative.
Is that a plastic stock?
Q,
From the pic, I can understand why you’d think plastic. No, the stock is wood. Good old fashioned Olde-Skool wood. Not walnut, maybe birch.
What is plastic is the trigger guard. I have to be careful with cleaning chemicals as some which contain petroleum distillates can “melt” plastics.
Kim, this Saturday I’m off to the range. Gonna get to shoot a 40-ish year old BHP, among other things.
Good guns. Had a monkey wards version that would only shoot single shot. Tool the gun apart and cleaned about a quarter inch of good off the top of the receiver above the bolt. Fixed it right up. Thing would shoot the magazine out as fast as you could pull the trigger. Tack driver as well.
Had to give it up I first came to the city as my land lord at the time did not want guns in her home.
I’ve got a pre 68 Model 60 (no serial number) with a cheap Tasco scope. I bought it from a colleague at work for $50 in 1988, spent about $30 for the scope at Wally World, and added a cheap military pattern leather sling. The gun is still one of my favorite plinkers. I’ll agree that they’re ammunition sensitive. My rifle shoots best with cheap Remington Thunderbolts in keeping with the low budget theme of the gun and scope. I ran some jacketed Aguila through it during the great .22 shortage and it did pretty well with that too – although the Aguila was extremely dirty. The old Marlins weren’t as sexy or tacticool as a Ruger 10/22 but they were solid rifles and you can still find a decent used one for almost nothing.
I think my Remy 552 is a close cousin. Fastest and most fun rifle I’ve ever owned, ans I say this as a 10-22 devotee. Will eat .22 shorts a dozen at a time — plinking could not be better.
I’ve never been a fan of the Marlin rimfires, mainly because of the stocks – – I don’t like the esthetics of the Monte Carlo stock. These days Marlin doesn’t even offer the option of walnut.
I’ve never had a tube-fed. When I took my first hunter safety course I fell in love with a Remington Nylon 66 but never got one. I’m a happy 10/22 owner; at this point I’m not sure I’d buy another .22 autoloader.
I recently pulled my first gun out for a trip to the range. Sears Ted Williams (made by Ithaca) single-shot manual hammer cocked carbine. It was as sweet and wonderful as the day my Dad gave it to me for Christmas and it certainly got some appreciative looks at the range.
I have at least three of these, one or more being a Glenfield label. I look forward to giving them to my grandsons when they’re ready.