Well, I have a 597 magnum and frankly, I think it's a danged fine rifle. The .22LR I gather from other folks is as accurate as my magnum. It shoots tiny little one hole groups at 50 yards, is 100 percent reliable, and is a nice adult sized gun that fits like a rifle. Now, I really like my 10/22, but it's not as accurate and it is a bit like shooting a kid's air rifle, but it's very compact and that's a bonus. It's a ton of fun and well built. I cannot say any one of these choices is bad, but you'll save 50 bucks with the Remington and it's a more accurate gun that the Ruger and at least as accurate, probably more so than the Marlin. I don't own a marlin, but know lots of folks that do and have shot 'em and I know they're good, accurate guns and reliable and have been around forever. If you have many pawn shops around your area with decent deals, you'll likely find a M60 in one of 'em for cheap, common as dirt. The 10/22s are higher, but they were cult guns for a long time, all sorts of do dads you can buy, make 'em into anything from a tacticool plinker to a full on match rifle. You won't find that aftermarket for the Remington or the Marlin if that matters to you.
Frankly, I have the Remington, the Ruger, and now I wanna buy another 5 or 10 cheap .22s and want a Marlin somewhere, sometime along with maybe a Nylon 66 and a few other classics. I like .22 rifles, always have, and I only got five right now. I need more.
I can't say I've ever owned a .22 I didn't like and they're so danged affordable, heck, just seems natural to collect them.
My Ruger is neat, all stainless, Hogue over molded stock, rugged to the max.
