[hansolo]

I'm on the fence regarding which new rimfire to buy: I know that the Ruger 10/22 is extremely popular; I have fired a friend's and it's a great rifle. BUT, I borrowed another friend's OLD Remington Speedmaster with the cool checked furniture and just LOVE the old-time aesthetics. I know that model is still around, as well as the Marlin 60. I had a couple of fail-to-feed with the OLD Remington and am thinking, "is this a common problem with all tubefeeders, or, is it probably that the one I had malfs with was not maintained and/or needed new magsprings??? Thanks!

(The 15 rounds in the tube goes a long way here in Krappy-fornia!):neener:

[sm]

The wood on those Remingtons are nice aren't they? Of a time gone by...
Tubefeeders, pure fun Marlin 60, these have proven acccurate.
Nice wood the Remmy, semi or pump.
Lever actions...great accurate guns.

Oh don't look at the old Brownings... that blue and wood ...right nice! Not really a tubefeeder...kinda tho, that Browning that breaks down and fed through stock...pricy...accurate....drool!

I've had real nice tack driving 10/22's. I did these out of the Deluxe stock--( I liked low key and letting the targets do the talking)Mine I was talked out of...oh their still playing games and winning money tho'. ;)

Find the ammo it likes and malf's greatly reduced. As long as I can remember. I've used X22lr...not always the most accurate...consistent and reliable tho'. For accurate- I cheated with these same loads.

[BusMaster007]

The Marlin 81TS is today's version of a rifle I just got last year that was my Father's .22, a J.C.Higgins/Sears bolt-action tubefeeder.
I hadn't seen it in 43 years...
I love that rifle for obvious reasons. :)

http://www.marlinfirearms.com/firearms/boltAction22/81TS.htm

[Chugach]

Tube feeders are great...grew up on one ( a Stevens? My brother has it now. ). Any malf's were attributable to a dirty action.

Browning, IIRC, still makes the tube-feed through-the-stock model. Really nice for us lefties...bottom eject, gorgeous stock. I've always wanted one, but the length of pull and the price (Grade I or Grade VI) always swung the decision some other way.

Love my 10/22, and there's a world of aftermarket stuff available for it. I've owned both Marlin and Remington magazine-fed rimfires. The trigger on the Remmy was far better.

Tubefeeders: just don't ding the tube if it's external.

[mini14jac]

My Dad got a Winchester tube-feeder when I was about 12.
He never shot it much, but soon, I was spending all my time dragging that thing through the woods.
He's gone now, but I think of him, every time I pick up that old rifle.

I don't think we ever cleaned his, other than swabbing out the barrel.
Finally, when I was about 35, it started jamming.
We had lost the manual, so he asked me to take it and see if I could fix it.
It turns out that take-down is really easy.
When I got it apart, it was filthy.
(I wish I had a clue how many thousand rounds of cheap lead .22s I shot in that gun.)
There was a broken piece of steel inside that was easy to make from scratch.
I don't think it has jammed since I got it back together.

Yes, tube fed .22s are cool.
Marlin, Remington, and Winchester still make nice ones.
You can get the stainless Marlin, with a scope, at Walmart, for around $130 last time I looked.

[foghornl]

The only problems i have with my OLD Marlin 99 are bad ammo....you can tell, it sounds strange more like a pooof. than a Bang! or a very dirty action

[Snowdog]

My first rifle was a Marlin model 60, and besides being a tack driver, it was dependable as well. It was traded with cash for an M1 Carbine years later, and though I love the M1, I missed the M60.

Now I have a new one that shoots just as accurate as the last. I don't recall ever having a misfire or feed/extraction problem out of either M60.

Use the money you save on the Marlin to buy a couple bricks of .22LR.

[Rupestris]

My first .22 rifle was/is the Marlin Model 60. Like Snowdog said, its a tack driver. It feeds/shoots/cycles almost anything I feed it. The one round that has given it fits is the Winchester XPert hollow points. The round is shorter than any other .22lr round and because of that it seems to feed at an awkward angle and hangs up about every 3rd round.:mad: It wouldn't have been a problem but I picked up 2- 500rd. bricks of 'em with the gun. :scrutiny: they do feed fine in my Remington Nylon 66(also tube fed) and a friends Ruger Mark II.
I had narrowed down my .22 rifle choice to the 10/22 and the M60. in the end, I had both guns on the counter in front of me and tried the fit and feel of both. The Marlin was a bit lighter, it seemed less bulky and just fit me better.
Rupe

[DMK]

The 15 rounds in the tube goes a long way here in Krappy-fornia! My 1980's Marlin 60 hold 18 rounds in the tube. :neener:

I don't think the tube mag makes a bit of difference to whether the rifle will jam or not. I've never had one single malfunction in my tube fed lever action. Whenever my 60 did jam, it always seem to be extraction/ejection related.

The solution to keeping the 60 reliable is.... clean the darn thing! Too many guys try to go without cleaning their 22s. If I clean mine after each session (including the bolt and inside of the reciever) and keep the action very lightly lubed, enough to prevent rust, but wiped dry, it never jams.

[Okiecruffler]

Another great tube feeder is the Remington nylon 66. My son has one and it shoots just as well as the Marlin 60's I have floating around. Only holds 13 rds tho' to te Marlin's 18. But it's not the least bit picky about ammo.

[Z_Infidel]

I have a Remington 572 BDL Fieldmaster pump-action tube feeder. Shoots very well and has always been dependable. It has never malfunctioned once.

[WalkerTexasRanger]

The first rifle I ever owned was a Remington 552BDL Speedmaster given to my by my Granddad. I still have it, and to this day it has functioned perfectly. It is the tube fed semi auto with the checkered wood stock. It is pretty damn accurate also. I love the gun, and you would as well....

[hansolo]

First, thanks for all your responses to my question on tube-feeders' FTF(or, not).

My choice is now MORE diffucult:uhoh:because none of the rimfires seem to be "duds"! I may have to buy them all! :evil:

[Destructo6]

I have an early 1980s Remington 552 BDL Speedmaster and like it quite a bit. I like the look and feel and the ability to shoot LR, Longs, and shorts without modification (20+ rounds of short in the tube). It also reliably cycles those Colibri SSS rounds.

Some brands of ammo will invariably jam on the last round in the tube while others run perfectly. Copper-washed ammo typically feeds best.

[Moparmike]

My stepdad has a Marlin tube-fed, and while its accurate, it has FTF's and stovepipes after the first tube. I have cleaned that thing to where you could eat off of its internals and it will still do that. I would like to get that thing at a range sometime with a sandbag and see what it will do.

Sorry that it wasnt too helpful:)

[Old Fuff]

Be aware that one problem with tube-feeding .22's is that a round can get stuck in the magazine. You cycle the bolt, nothing come out - so the rifle's now unloaded - you think. But if the gun's bumped the round suddenly is released, and the next time the bolt's cycled the chamber is unexpectedly loaded. When clearing the rifle always look and make sure you can see the magazine's follower. I saw a man get shot because of this once (fortunately he survived) but I've been very careful thereafter.