10/22 v Model 60

I know the 1022's are great rifles, platforms for custom builds, but I always thought they has too much wood in the buttock & forearms. I bought my grandson a model 60 and scope for graduating Hunter Safety Class. hdbiker

Marlin's slimmer grip is nice. Also cheaper, accurate, and no temptation for the goofy 5,000 round mags or various tactical add-ons. Having owned a 10/22, I'll never get another one again.

I have a 10/22 and only ever shot a 60. I guess I prefer the 10/22 because you can find them a tad easier.

I prefer a Remington 572 above all others but oddly, I also prefer a Remington 597 if I would have to choose a semi auto. You can usually find them cheaper than 60s.

jmr40 said:

The 10-22 will be shooting long after the Marlin 60 is worn out. With either gun the magazine is the weak link. The tube mags will eventually wear out from use and the cost to repair could easily exceed the value of the rifle. The Ruger mags are among the best, and if one goes bad toss it in the trash, replacements are everywhere and cheap.

Accuracy wise the Marlin has been pretty consistent over the years. Ruger has been inconsistent, some are every bit as accurate as any Marlin, some not. In my experience Rugers made within the last 10-15 years are pretty good.

That said I wouldn't have a standard Ruger carbine as a gift. But the good news is that they currently show 64 variants of the 10-22 on Rugers website.

https://ruger.com/products/1022/overview.html

I like the sporter versions, especially this.

https://ruger.com/products/1022Sporter/specSheets/1235.html

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While that may or may not be true, my Marlin 60 has been going strong for many years, and I’ll probably be long dead before it is “worn out”. And if the tube Mag does wear out, it’s about $20-25 for a new one. That’s about the same price as a 5 round 10/22 magazine.

earlthegoat2 said:

I have a 10/22 and only ever shot a 60. I guess I prefer the 10/22 because you can find them a tad easier.

I prefer a Remington 572 above all others but oddly, I also prefer a Remington 597 if I would have to choose a semi auto. You can usually find them cheaper than 60s.

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I just got a new Remington model 572 and I love it! killed a grey squirrel first time out last Thursday and its a sweet rifle!

hdbiker said:

I know the 1022's are great rifles, platforms for custom builds, but I always thought they has too much wood in the buttock & forearms.

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Bill Ruger was a smart man. Along with innovative design and manufacture, he knew that history and nostalgia would sell guns for him.
So the Standard Auto looked like a Luger. Luger & Ruger? Brilliant.
The Single Six capitalized on the popularity of TV westerns in the 1950s.
And, the 10-22 was designed to look something like an M1 carbine, to evoke the same nostalgia.
Hence the thicker fore end and the barrel band.

I've owned all of these guns, and multiple examples of some. I love them all.
The standard stained birch carbine stock works fine for me. My latest one almost looks like walnut.

Mr_Flintstone said:

While that may or may not be true, my Marlin 60 has been going strong for many years, and I’ll probably be long dead before it is “worn out”. And if the tube Mag does wear out, it’s about $20-25 for a new one. That’s about the same price as a 5 round 10/22 magazine.

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Absolutely true. This thread came up a couple of months ago, and jmr40 made the same incorrect claims (as below) about the Model 60 then.
It's an easy rifle to take apart if the need arises, and parts are cheap.
And really, how often does anybody have to replace a tube magazine?
A new basic birch stock Model 60 sells for $170.00 at Bass Pro.
A replacement inner magazine tube (brass tube with spring and follower) sells for around $36.00 at Brownells, but I am sure that you could find one cheaper if you looked.
Seems a lot cheaper than a new rifle. And it's a drop-in replacement, obviously.

jmr40 said:

The 10-22 will be shooting long after the Marlin 60 is worn out. With either gun the magazine is the weak link. The tube mags will eventually wear out from use and the cost to repair could easily exceed the value of the rifle.

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my local Walmart has the marlin 60 blued/wood for $157 seems to me that's a better deal!

I've owned both and a couple variants there of.

I find I don't really care for either, tho there is nothing wrong with either of them.

My favorite .22 is still the 597

Both are fine rimfire rifles, and in all reality, it boils down to whether you want the ability to accessorize. If you want a basic, reliable, accurate, inexpensive .22 semi-auto rifle, then the Marlin is for you. If you want a reliable, accurate, “fairly” inexpensive .22 semi-auto rifle that you can accessorize and play dress-up with, then the Ruger is for you.

It is said that the Marlin has sold over 11 million Model 60s and store brand equivalents. The Ruger 10/22 has only sold half as many, but is probably selling in greater numbers today than in the past, and may likely catch the Model 60 at some point.

Now, all that said; if I had the money to blow, I’d buy a Remington Model 552 Speedmaster. My dad had one from the early 60s while I was growing up that I used to plink, squirrel hunt, and blow the best parts of many Saturday afternoons with a $5 milk carton (You older guys know what I’m talking about) full of ammo shooting at cans. It shot shorts, longs, and long rifle, and (if you cleaned it every few thousand rounds) never failed to shoot. In my opinion, it was the finest .22 rifle ever built. One of these days I’ll buy another one, but at $600-700, they are expensive for a .22 rifle.

Always a good Idea to avoid religious arguments.

-kBob

If I had no 22 rifle and buying a new one, it would be the Marlin Model 60. I paraphrase this to be a general use gun; walks in the woods, plinking, and light small game hunting. I own a 10/22 Deluxe and it's a nice little rifle, but I think the Marlin's tend to shoot better out of the box. All that said, the my most used 22 rifles are a Remington 541-S, a Thompson Center Lynx, and the Weatherby Mark XXII semi. If I need to grab a 22 rifle, it tends to be the TC or Remington. I have others....

I grew up shooting my dad's Marlin 60 and I owned a Ruger 10/22. They were reliable enough shooters, but I was drawn away to lever guns and bolt guns in .22.

I have a Marlin 39 I've owned for decades. If I had to buy a new .22 lever rifle today in 2019, I'd probably get a Browning BL-22.

kBob said:

Always a good Idea to avoid religious arguments.

-kBob

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Lolololol.

I have both, they each have pros and cons. The Marlin (stock) is a very accurate rifle. I don't like reloading tube mags. As a hunting rifle is it is probably better than a Ruger. For range plinking the Ruger is more fun.

One can not do "Tactical Reloads" with the Marlin however
Replacing the simple, stupid buffer is a PITA

I own a 10/22, a M60 and a M290 (Winchester). The Winchester is my varmint killer.

The 10/22 is too fat, too short and too bulky.

James Fonteneaux said:

Sometimes I just can't help myself! I would agree with those who say the 10/22 is the choice for customization. I'll save that for other platforms.

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The 10/22 is the AR15 Tinker toys for rimfire fans. Folks on Rimfire Central are rabid about them. What other gun (other than a Glock) can you spend 10 times what it cost to do "mods" on it??
Buy a $200 rifle and spend $1,000 replacing every part on it?

chicharrones said:

I grew up shooting my dad's Marlin 60 and I owned a Ruger 10/22. They were reliable enough shooters, but I was drawn away to lever guns and bolt guns in .22.

I have a Marlin 39 I've owned for decades. If I had to buy a new .22 lever rifle today in 2019, I'd probably get a Browning BL-22.

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I HAD a 39A for a while, but is was problematic as far as firing pins went - they kept breaking, marlin kept fixing/replacing, all to no avail. I really liked it when it worked, it was really quiet with subsonic ammo to the point no hearing protection was really needed.

Charlie98 said:

Someone mentioned the sights...

I mounted a Williams receiver peep on both of my Marlins (the Model 60, and my single-shot Model 15) and I'm happy as a clam now. Never been much of a scope guy, and I even bought a nice Simmons 22MAG scope for the 15... which is just gathering dust on the shelf now that I have the peeps.

I have TechSights on my 10/22... I set the rifle up for my daughter to shoot an Appleseed with. They are hunky looking, but they work very, very well as intended. I even bought a takeoff stock and bushwhacked 1" off the stock to match her pull length (although that was some years ago, and I don't think she needs it any longer.)

Someone also mentioned the Winchester... I traded for a Winchester 9422 some years ago, as a gift for my then newborn nephew. Like all good uncles, I had to test fire it for a few years... it was a right handy little rifle. It did not have the accuracy of my Marlins, but that may have been my ammo choice, too. I have always lusted for a Marlin 39... just haven't gone there, yet.

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I put a williams reciever sight on my 60 and replaced the front sight with this williams ramp sight I took off another rifle. I had to drill and tap the barrel of course.

The Williams peep on my Model 15... mounted forward because of the bolt cutout, it sets farther back on the 60 receiver, of course.

My first semi-auto .22 was a new Winchester 190 given to me by aunt in the late 60’s. It was the first and one of the few firearms I’ve owned that was a POS. Many years later around 2010 decided to buy another semi. Looked at the 10/22 and Model 60, liked the Marlin better and got one. Only mod is the KAT trigger. My 60 is more accurate than my BIL’s 10/22 but the sample size is obviously too small to draw any conclusion.

The bolt release button on the 10/22 is incredibly hard for me to operate though I just did a google search and found there are after market devices that would work for me. Customize ability of the two is moot for me so there is no advantage to the 10/22 for me. And if I wanted custom or semi custom like .22 I’d just get a Volquartsen. If I ever buy another semi auto .22 it will be a CZ 512. I have one in .22 mag and though they cost much more than a 10/22 or Model 60 they are worth it IMO.

George P said:

I HAD a 39A for a while, but is was problematic as far as firing pins went - they kept breaking, marlin kept fixing/replacing, all to no avail. I really liked it when it worked, it was really quiet with subsonic ammo to the point no hearing protection was really needed.

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My 39 bought new in 1994 is still on its first firing pin. However, I do plan on taking it out next weekend at a friend's property for some high capacity lead slinging. I sure hope I don't end my day early with a broken firing pin.

I will say that my one gripe with the Marlin 60 is the ease with which you can bend/kink the recoil spring when doing a complete tear down/reassembly. Once you’ve done it once, you’ll probably not do it again, but it’s a very common mistake.