Domino
Member
Alright guys, I thought I would give an update. I bought a Marlin Papoose several months ago and I would like to share some of my experiences with it. Accuracy and reliablity are both very good. I have only had failures with Fiocchi and Aguilla ammunition (go figure :roll: ) but with CCI ammo it has been 100%.
Here are some groups taken from 25 yards at an indoor range while standing and resting my elbows on the table. The scope was set at 4.5X and I didn't really take too much time with these shots. I dime is shown in the center of the targets.
From Left to Right and Top to Bottom:
CCI Blazer 40g LRN, CCI Mini-Mag 40g CPRN, CCI Mini-Mag 36g CPHP, CCI Velocitor 40g CPHP
Fiocchi High Velocity 40g LRN, Remington Bulk 36g CPHP, Aguilla Rifle Match 40g LRN. Aguilla Pistol Match 40g LRN
As far as the rifle goes I have mounted a picatinny rail, Leopold see-thru rings, and Bushnell Banner 1.5-4.5X scope. I've taken off the factory iron sights and installed a Kel-Tec SU-16 rear sight and an old 10/22 front sight I had laying around. I plan on getting the tech sights front sight since the current front sight isn't tall enough to zero the rifle at 50 meters. But even so the sight picture is very good and very fast to aquire. It offers an excellent backup if the scope fails and it should NOT require a rezero upon barrel removal.
I have added a modified buttstock shotgun shell holder that holds 5 ten round magazines.
I have also modified the buttplate with a shoe string that allows for quick removal.
Inside there is enough room to fit 200 loose rounds in a plastic baggie.
Here it is in its factory floating case with its barrel, barrel wrench, scope, tools, and extra mags/ammo.
Some of my Observations
Pros:
-Accurate: The groups speak for themselves
-Durable: Stainless steel and aluminum construction.
-Reliable: Over 500 rounds of CCI ammo and NO failures of any kind. It seems very reliable for a rimfire.
-Compact: Breaksdown to around 20" and can easily fit into any backpack.
-Light Weight: 3.25 lbs empty and is around 6 lbs with everthing in the picture. 22LR ammo is very light.
-Easy to maintain and repair: very simple design and easier to takedown than the 10/22.
-Bolt hold open: What can I say, the 10/22 doesn't and its a nice feature.
-compact magazines: Mags are more compact than the 10/22 and have been 100% reliable so far.
Cons:
-Difficult to mount scope: it uses a 3/8 scope base which is notorious for scope drift, I had to mount a sturdy picatinny rail to keep my scope from moving and it was an extra $30
-Poor factory iron sights: stock sights suck pretty bad IMHO so I had to get something better. By the time I am done with mine I will have $25 invested in iron sights.
-Loss of zero with scope: The POI will change slightly when removing the barrel but not much. My scope has quick adjusting windage and elevation knobs making the process pretty seamless and I can zero it in around 5 shots. I don't consider this to be a big deal since once the rifle is deployed in a survival situation it will probably stay that way.
-Barrel nut might come loose after extended firing: After firing 50 rounds in rapidly the barrel on mine has come a little loose. Its easy to tighten right back it right back up and again its not a huge issue since I don't see the rifle shot very often when hunting.
-Stiff trigger: pretty common with rimfires, particularly Marlins. Its stiff but quite workable as you can see.
-Difficult magazine release: Mag release is a pain and I requires two hands to operate.
As you can see it is not without its problems but even so it seems to be to be pretty a sturdy and very nice rifle. It won't be replacing my 10/22 anytime soon but it feels the survival role better even though it doesn't really compete with my 10/22's versatility.
All in all, it is an excellent pack rifle and should serve well in a survival role or at least as well as a 22LR can. Its certainly much better than the AR7 and it offers more firepower than a bolt action like the Chipmunk.
Here are some groups taken from 25 yards at an indoor range while standing and resting my elbows on the table. The scope was set at 4.5X and I didn't really take too much time with these shots. I dime is shown in the center of the targets.
From Left to Right and Top to Bottom:
CCI Blazer 40g LRN, CCI Mini-Mag 40g CPRN, CCI Mini-Mag 36g CPHP, CCI Velocitor 40g CPHP
Fiocchi High Velocity 40g LRN, Remington Bulk 36g CPHP, Aguilla Rifle Match 40g LRN. Aguilla Pistol Match 40g LRN
As far as the rifle goes I have mounted a picatinny rail, Leopold see-thru rings, and Bushnell Banner 1.5-4.5X scope. I've taken off the factory iron sights and installed a Kel-Tec SU-16 rear sight and an old 10/22 front sight I had laying around. I plan on getting the tech sights front sight since the current front sight isn't tall enough to zero the rifle at 50 meters. But even so the sight picture is very good and very fast to aquire. It offers an excellent backup if the scope fails and it should NOT require a rezero upon barrel removal.
I have added a modified buttstock shotgun shell holder that holds 5 ten round magazines.
I have also modified the buttplate with a shoe string that allows for quick removal.
Inside there is enough room to fit 200 loose rounds in a plastic baggie.
Here it is in its factory floating case with its barrel, barrel wrench, scope, tools, and extra mags/ammo.
Some of my Observations
Pros:
-Accurate: The groups speak for themselves
-Durable: Stainless steel and aluminum construction.
-Reliable: Over 500 rounds of CCI ammo and NO failures of any kind. It seems very reliable for a rimfire.
-Compact: Breaksdown to around 20" and can easily fit into any backpack.
-Light Weight: 3.25 lbs empty and is around 6 lbs with everthing in the picture. 22LR ammo is very light.
-Easy to maintain and repair: very simple design and easier to takedown than the 10/22.
-Bolt hold open: What can I say, the 10/22 doesn't and its a nice feature.
-compact magazines: Mags are more compact than the 10/22 and have been 100% reliable so far.
Cons:
-Difficult to mount scope: it uses a 3/8 scope base which is notorious for scope drift, I had to mount a sturdy picatinny rail to keep my scope from moving and it was an extra $30
-Poor factory iron sights: stock sights suck pretty bad IMHO so I had to get something better. By the time I am done with mine I will have $25 invested in iron sights.
-Loss of zero with scope: The POI will change slightly when removing the barrel but not much. My scope has quick adjusting windage and elevation knobs making the process pretty seamless and I can zero it in around 5 shots. I don't consider this to be a big deal since once the rifle is deployed in a survival situation it will probably stay that way.
-Barrel nut might come loose after extended firing: After firing 50 rounds in rapidly the barrel on mine has come a little loose. Its easy to tighten right back it right back up and again its not a huge issue since I don't see the rifle shot very often when hunting.
-Stiff trigger: pretty common with rimfires, particularly Marlins. Its stiff but quite workable as you can see.
-Difficult magazine release: Mag release is a pain and I requires two hands to operate.
As you can see it is not without its problems but even so it seems to be to be pretty a sturdy and very nice rifle. It won't be replacing my 10/22 anytime soon but it feels the survival role better even though it doesn't really compete with my 10/22's versatility.
All in all, it is an excellent pack rifle and should serve well in a survival role or at least as well as a 22LR can. Its certainly much better than the AR7 and it offers more firepower than a bolt action like the Chipmunk.
