Just got a new Marlin 60, my first gun...Now have Questions!

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IdealFugacity

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And now I'm worried! I've been reading about storage, dehumidifiers, and on and on for 2 hours now.

I already know that tomorrow, the night before my first use, I will disassemble and clean up any crud in the action then LIGHTLY oil it, and also I will run solvent and dry patches thru the barrel to make sure there's no manufacturing remnants.

After shooting it Saturday and Sunday I'll clean it again, this time with a thin coat of oil on the inside of the barrel instead of solvent when I am done (and on outside surfaces too).

But now... I only have the soft carrying case I bought at the same time as the rifle.

It seems like most storage solutions will cost more than the Marlin 60 did! My apartment also is out of room ... and now I'm starting to worry I bit off more than I can chew, which seems silly when I'm only talking about a way to store a rifle.

I would love any suggestions.
 
Dont worry too much about it. A 60 is a great gun, in part because they are durable and reliable. As long as you clean it well periodically, theres really no problem keeping it in the case under your bed, in a closet, etc. Dont think that you need to run out and spend $200+ on a gun safe. Now if it would make you feel better to have it locked, by all means, go for it.

My 60 lives in a cheap safe (maybe $150? - its been awhile) with my other guns, and Ive never had a problem. Now if I spent $3000+ on a fancy safari rifle with gorgeous wood, then Id think about a humidifier and a big expensive safe.

Now - go out and enjoy your new toy ;)
 
Thanks for the info. I'm definitely not looking for a thousand dollar unbreakable safe...I feel plenty fine about the chamber lock on it for my current life situation / living arrangement. My main concern is maintaining the reliability of the gun.

Your post alleviated my concern somewhat. I do want to gain the proper habits right off the bat regarding proper care and maintenance. What does a regular rust/cleaning maintenance program look like?

For example, I'm going to use it for the first time this weekend, in the free outdoor range in the community my parents have a vacation home in PA. That's the last weekend I actually have available until mid-September (unless I pay to go to a range near where I live, and those are SPARSE and far away when you live in Jersey).

In the intervening 8 weeks, and other similar periods, how often am I taking the gun out and cleaning it? Just oil down the bore and the outside of the barrel, or am I taking the action from the stock, disassembling and oiling etc? I don't want to be one of those users who "did more damage by overcleaning" but I don't want to take the easy/lazy way out using that as an excuse, either.

I get way too amped up when I enter new hobbies, but find that I can learn a ton about proper care and maintenance early on and then the rest of my career I get to enjoy it and focus on new nuances! So I apologize if these are too many detailed questions from a newbie but am very grateful for any more comments.
 
I live in a very dry climate, and my guns are in soft cases hanging from the wall. If you are worried about rust or damage caused by humid air, you could put one of these in the case with your rifle.

http://www.amazon.com/Pelican-1500D-Desiccant-Silica-1500-500-000/dp/B0018O035O

If you get the rifle prepped well it will require minimum care unless you live in costal Jersey.
It's hard to talk specifics, because each situation is different. I have two Marlin 60's, they require very minimal care.
 
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Don't oil the inside of a rifle barrel unless you plan to store it for a long time. When oil burns it leaves carbon deposits. In turn, these carbon deposits ruin the accuracy of your rifle. If you use a bore cleaner that contains oil run dry patches through the barrel until they are dry. Just brush the barrel of your rifle after each use. I hope you enjoy your Marlin 60. I have a model 60 that is over 35 years old. My model 60 still shoots great.
 
I responded to your other thread. Sorry did not mean to scare you. Just wanted to caution against storing in your soft case. If you are not worried about locking it up it will be fine in a closet as long as you do not ignore it forever.
 
Don't worry about cleaning it so much, it wont rust overnight, or in a few months if you are in a reasonable climate. After your first initial cleaning any rust preventative product will work and under normal conditions wont need to be reapplied for about a year probably.

I really like my model 60, and I like well lubed parts, but I run my model 60 dry. Seems like even a light coat of oil picks up and holds onto all the grit and grime in 22 ammo and gums it up pretty quick.
 
The model 60, my favorite 22 and I own a lot of them. First off, take it easy on the cleaning. IMO, the fastest way to ruin a 22 is to clean it. I dont clean my 22s for a long time. They'll run a long while without cleaning them. At the most I'll run a 22 bore snake down it every 1500 rounds or so. I'll strip it and clean maybe once a year. You can learn a lot on that by watching a youtube video or two. Lots of good info out there on them. As long as you wipe them down with some oil its not gonna rust. You dont need much to keep them in good working order. I would watch putting them inside of a foam case, I have had guns rust a bit in them. You can pick up an inexpensive gun cabinet to put it in if you really need it to be safe from children and such. Oil is your friend. Get a good quality oil and you'll be fine.
 
JDMorris said:
The 60 is not an easy gun to take down if you are new to shooting.. Lot's of little parts and it has to come apart and be put back together in steps.
Click to expand...
I agree completely with JDMorris. When my Model 60 gets dirty I just take the stock off and rinse it with hot water. If it is really nasty I use a little Dawn and a toothbrush. After washing I blow dry it. Once you get the metal warm you can let it sit for an hour or so. I lube it lightly with remoil or 3 in 1 oil. Then put the stock back on it. It's good for 120 days or 500 rounds.
 
I agree that it's a good idea to clean the bore before the first shots, but most 22 rifles rarely, if ever need their bore cleaned again. THe lubricant on the 22 bullets forms a natural protectant of the bore.

I rigorously clean my centerfire rifle barrels, but I never clean the bore of even my most expensive and accurate 22's.
 
I was a member of my university rifle team many years ago. We shot Remington 40X's and the bores were never cleaned. You do more damage to a .22 rimfire bore by cleaning than by any other means. .22 caliber cartridges are self lubricating as Elkins mentioned and it's rare to ever find a .22 with a rusted bore.

Wipe it down with an oily rag after use, spray out the action and trigger mechanism with carburetor cleaner every year or so, and lightly lubricate the moving parts. The gun will outlast you and your grandchildren.
 
Good choice. Those guns are, well, bullet proof. Ever watch "Swamp People"? Looks to me like 2 or 3 of those guys have 60's and they're all rusty and they just spray a little CLP or whatever in the action now and again.

Just keep it dry, keep a little oil on it, an it will run for a hundred years. You'll be handing that gun down to your grandchildren. Safes are good but all that fancy de-humidifier type stuff is for collectors...who have 10's of thousands of dollars of investments to protect. The normal American shooter, like you, just needs a silicone rag, some oil, and a few patches. If there are little kids around, you're gonna want to keep it unloaded and get a trigger lock or some kind of action lock. The Ruger 10/22 has kind of neat action lock thing.
 
Wow thanks for all of the fantastic replies! The rifle came with a lock that has a tab that prevents the chamber from closing.

Totally new to this, so when you say you don't suggest "taking the action apart", that means to go more steps than the ones outline in the manual? The manual describes removing the action section from the stock and trigger, and going as far as removing the bolt and recoil spring. Is that "taking the action apart", or only if I go further steps than that?

Thanks for all the great reassuring posts. Maybe I will get a chance to use it before sunset tonight if I just need to run some dry patches through the bore first, and nothing else : ) driving past a PA state game land range tonight on my way to the lake house, got my permit for those ranges the day after I bought the rifle.
 
I do;t own a Marlin 60 but a few years ago I purchased at Taurus 22 cal rifle. In the owners manual it stated that it was never necessary to clean the bore, just keep the action relatively clean. Same would apply to the 60 and other 22's as well.
 
Yeah...that's taking the action apart. I don't think the model 60 is any where near the hardest .22 semi-auto to take apart but I think it not the easiest either. A lot of guys spray some CLP (google that, there are many brands and it stands for Clean, Lube, Protect) with the little spray nozzle straw thingy and get it all wet up in there with the product (make sure you shake CLP well before spraying) and then they blow it out with either an air hose or that canned air stuff. Doing that a couple times should do a halfway decent job of cleaning all but the filthiest gun. That's going to be messy so take the action out of the stock in one piece and do it somewhere outdoors or in a shop.

You got a good'n going there. Enjoy it.
 
Spray oil + Bore Snake at most, and even that's a lot. I have a marlin 795 that I've never cleaned, at it's never failed.

I think maintenance on a .22 is a good idea if you want to get in the habit of maintaining firearms that actually require it, but your Model 60 definitely won't. In fact, take-down might be more detrimental to it than never cleaning it (i.e. you could pretty easily bend the recoil/bolt spring or damage the thin extractor hook).
 
I wouldn't say that I used it like a beater gun but I have put my 60 through it's paces with less than regular cleaning and it's still accurate and reliable. Just oil it on occasion, moreso if you're in a humid enviroment, and you'll be shooting if for years to come.
 
Man, it seems to me that you're just too amped up about this. The gun is to enjoy not fret about. Go shoot and have fun, wipe it off with an old rag that has been sprayed with gun cleaner/lubricant, store it upright in the corner. I live in Florida with 75% humidity and don't do any more than that.

I use a NEW cloth diaper with G-96 and just wipe down the outside and run a swap up the barrel when I think of it.
 
My model 60's action got gummed up to the point it was stove-piping empties and failing to feed last year after I-don't-know-how-many years of not cleaning it. I disassembled and cleaned it. PITA! I should have just hosed it with brake cleaner. My groups opened up double so I haven't shot it much lately. I think I need to burn through a couple bricks of 22LR to get it back into shooting form. (DARN IT! another need to go shooting. :evil:

I agree with the bulk of the above posts, in that your Marlin 60 is happiest wearing its work dirt. Keep the outside clean and brush the barrel. Light oil outside never harmed a weapon AFAIK. Store it with a barrel lock if you have kids. Keeping it in a case all the time might lead to rust. As I have no kids in the house, mine lives in my bedroom closet, loaded, xcept when the g'kids come over, then it's locked up in my cheapo gun locker.

I really like my 60. I trust you will too.
 
The Model 60 by design is going to be dirty. If you get remington ammo after 500 rounds it will have a thick layer of crud on the parts under the bolt. The method of care really doesn't matter that much. Everyone has a different opinion of how to care for a model 60. Most of them last a long time for everyone. Just give it some care!
 
Hi there. I, just like you, am brand new to shooting. My bros and I picked up this hobby just last month as something to do during the summer and I fell in love with it. I, again just like you, also purchased a model 60 just yesterday. I actually started with the Ruger 10/22 but was a very close call between that and the marlin. I came about a $50 coupon for a local gun store and I just couldn't resist and I went and got me the Marlin.

Anyways... all this is to say that I have also read that you need to field strip and clean a new rifle before you shoot it for the first time. I went on youtube and found this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VfC_2qxvV0
(I used this one but there are several available just do a search and pick the one you like)

I dissasembled and cleaned the rifle and found it to be very easy. I don't know anything about rifles but the components looked filthy to me. I don't know if this is normal but I doubt it. Cleaned it and lightly oiled it and took it out to shoot for the first time today and it worked flawlessly. The only other experience I had with this sort of thing was when I did the same for my ruger a couple of weeks ago following a video on the ruger website. I feel that if I can do it...anyone can :)

I hope this helps some...good luck. :)

P.S.
I used hoppes #9 solvent and Hoppes gun oil to do the cleaning in case you're curious.
 
first of all, you are going way overboard on the worrying. yes, clean the gun before using it. yes, clean and oil it afterwards. until about 5 years ago, all of my guns got stood in the back corners of closets. if you have small children, you will need to put some kind of a locking device on it, and place the rifle where their little arms and fingers can not reach it. you may also find that for a short while, that the gun needs to be "run wet" until the parts mate in. i bought my son one for Christmas this year, and the only way it will not jam is to spray oil the action.
 
When many weapons are assembled grease is applied to the parts. The grease used in a factory is not a lubricant, it's a preservative. The manufacturer has no idea how long the gun will sit before it is put into service. All new weapons should be field stripped and cleaned before putting the new gun into service.
 
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