Marlin Model 60 vs Ruger 10/22?

[JRockman]

I know there may be some strong opinions regarding these two choices, so that's why I'm asking!

Looking at the base models in either of these options...Under $200 for each.

Want to hit 40oz cans (perhaps bottles) at 50-100 yards (e.g. good accuracy but not sub-moa) for cheap.

Want to avoid jamming issues...drives me crazy.

What do you think?

 

[BENELLIMONTE]

I own both so this is a tough call. I would go with the Marlin 60 because it is out of the box a more accurate rifle in my experiences with both the 10/22 & the '60.

 

[PT1911]

10/22 all the way.. .more options down the road... sufficient accuracy and will last much longer than most model 60's... they tend to eat themselves pretty early on... if you doubt that... get one.. shot 500 rounds through it... with regular cleaning and you will find the action full of metal shavings and a noticeable grit to the working of the action... this will soon be refuted by all who have owned a model 60 for 37 years and maintain that without so much as a single patch down the bore it works as well as it did when it was new... a model 60 is a decent gun and can be had for 60-80 bucks used any day for a reason... that is just about all they are worth...

does that mean I will never get one? no.. it just means I wont be disappointed WHEN it has issues...

I also prefer mag fed to the tube system.

 

[BigNYMini]

Both great rifles. Best way to describe them is that each has its own personality. Jamming issues are generally magazine/ammo related.

Marlin 60 = Cheaper. Out the box accurate (micro-grooved barrel). Tube fed (up to 17 rounds-older models) no mags to purchase or lose. Not accessory friendly. No frills... no non-sense.

10/22 = Not as cheap. Ok accuracy (stock). Lots of tacticool stuff and accessories ($$$). Base model purchase generally doesnt stay that way for long. Smaller footprint.

40oz cans? of what?

Marlin can do golf balls at 50-75 yards. Ruger... hand balls.

 

[WNTFW]

The Marlin has the edge on accuracy.
The Ruger has the edge on being easy to clean.

I'd say the Ruger would be easier to clear "jams". Notice I'm not saying you won't get FTFs and FTEs. Both may give problems.

The Ruger mag is easier to reload in certain conditions.

I'd also look at which one is easier to add a sling to.

I have the Marlin and it is a shooter. I hated the original sights though. With a scope it is pretty impressive. I have had 10/22's for extended periods left in my care so i have shot them. The iron sights on the Ruger are better in my case.

Both should be more than up to the task.

 

[FlyinBryan]

i bought a model 60 right out of high school (early 80's) and it wouldnt run at all.

i was never able to get it to feed, much less fire, a single round. im sure it was a defect because every time i tried to chamber a round, it would jam and knock a hole in the case and gunpowder was going everywhere. i returned it to walmart intending to exchange it for another one, which im sure would have been fine, but they didnt have another one so i got an iver johnson us carbine 22 instead. it was a faithful reproduction of an m1 carbine. i shot the carbine for a while but then wanted to upgrade stuff, like hicap mags and folding stocks and such. since that wasnt happening with the iver johnson, i bought a 1022 and have owned at least one ever since.

 

[rugbyer81]

I have the Marlin and what PT1911 said about the action/trigger becoming gritty after several hundred rounds is definately true. Cleaning one isn't difficult, but the grit gets in lots of places in the action that can be pretty difficult to reach, and these are the places that tend keep everything from running smoothly. As has been said many times before, mine is quite accurate and I rarely ever have a jam with it, but I always disassemble and clean at least every 500 rounds.

 

[rangerruck]

never get a new mod 60, allways used, at a gunshop or pawnshop, and never pay more than 100 bucks for one.
new ruger 10.22's are mostly plastic now; plastic front site base, plastic bbl band, plastic trigger housing assy., with plastic parts in it. Also the finish on the receivers/ bbls on the new 10.22's , is like Ray Charles using a Hershey bar.
Just terrible.
As for accuracy? it is no question, that any marlin mod 60 unmodified, will allways outshoot any ruger 10.22, and that includes 10.22's that are highly modified, with 100's of dollars of new parts.
the best of the mod 60's were made between 85 and 88. You can tell these by they have a 22 inch bbl, and the feed tube will go almost all the way to the end of the bbl, usually within 1 inch as long or less. These will hold 17 or 18 rounds in the feed tube, plus one in the bbl. They will also have the last shot bolt hold open lever, on the right side of the trigger housing, just forward of
the trigger.

 

[chevyforlife21]

i have both .i like the feel of the ruger and all the accessories including high cap mags available its a very reliable gun and stays real clean in the action the mags get kinda dirty though but whatever. now the accurcy is horrable. with the marlin its super accurate i can shoot a hot wheels at 50 yards but after even only100 rounds the action does get a sandy grity residue which doesnt seem to make it jam but i still take it apart after every 250-500 rounds.

 

[CZguy]

I know there may be some strong opinions regarding these two choices, so that's why I'm asking!

Looking at the base models in either of these options...Under $200 for each.

Want to hit 40oz cans (perhaps bottles) at 50-100 yards (e.g. good accuracy but not sub-moa) for cheap.

Want to avoid jamming issues...drives me crazy.

What do you think?

Both rifles would do what you are wanting them to do. Having owned both I prefer the Marlin. Why settle for hitting the can at 50-100 yards when you can hit it dead center with the Marlin.

Also you can find a good used model 60 at a pawn shop for $60.00 easily.

 

[bensdad]

I'd be willing to bet that there are more Marlin Mod. 60s than any other .22LR rifle in the world. There's a reason for that.

Like to tinker? Get the Ruger.
Like to shoot? Get the Marlin.

I could tell you of a couple range sessions I've had where guys with 10-22s had to make excuses about why their gun was "off" that day
but it would read like internet bravado. Heck, get the Ruger. You can spend a lifetime trying to find just the right aftermarket goodies to make it shoot as accurately as a 60. Good luck with that.

ETA: In fairness, I have two Mod. 60s. One eats Fed. bulk-pack without issue, but jams on anything solid lead. The other one doesn't like the Fed. I have no idea what accounts for the difference.

 

[FlyinBryan]

As for accuracy? it is no question, that any marlin mod 60 unmodified, will allways outshoot any ruger 10.22, and that includes 10.22's that are highly modified, with 100's of dollars of new parts.

so are you saying that a stock marlin 60 will outshoot a 1022 with a shilen or clark custom barrel?

i have no doubt that a stock 60 will outshoot a stock 1022, but there is no way a stock 60 will outshoot a hotrodded 1022.

as far as pure accuracy goes, a stock model 60 is probably not going to break into the top five if your talking about going up against modified rifles.

just check out the july rimfire match. if im not mistaken, a stock 1022t is leading both classes.

my 1022 has a 100 dollar gm barrel and i just cant see a stock marlin 60 coming even close to it.






like i said, and i will repeat it, a stock 60 will probably outshoot a stock standard version 1022, but when a stock marlin starts going up against custom rugers, it is not going to come out on top

 

[KenWP]

How does the Model 70 Marlin stack up to the Model 60. The model 70 had a k6 Weaver scope on it when I bought it and seems to shoot well enough to use it. I have a 10-22SS model but since I only paid $30 bucks for it brand new it dosn't owe me any money.

 

[JRockman]

40oz cans? of what?

Canadian Colt 45 Malt, no doubt!

 

[mp5a3]

I have and love the Marlin 60, it was my first gun and I've been shooting them since the 80's. I love the tube feed, the last thing I need is more mags. I have AR15 mags, AK mags, Sig mags, Glock Mags, MP5 mags, etc. I like just going to shoot with the gun and a box of ammo, nothing else needed.

 

[VeggieH]

10-22 for the 30 round clips......................oh yeah

 

[JonB]

Marlin.

More likely to be quite accurate out of the box. I can't disagree with the action getting dirty - especially with Remington bulk crap. But as to it wearing out?? Not sure I buy that one. When it's dirty, you clean it. Just like any other gun.

Mine got crudded up after about 700 rds of Remington. Cleaned it good, switched to Federal and it runs like a top.

The irons sights as so-so, I went with a 3x9 scope (even though I found 4 to be about the perfect setting).

As to the pawn shop buys for 60-100 bucks. Ha! not where I live. I haven't even seen a Mod 60 in a pawn shop around here. So if you can find it for that, grab it.

But I wouldn't really call those built guns Rugers. They're custom guns that are only based on a Ruger. And it's cheaper to buy a gun already built because you're not paying for parts you end up not using. Think about it. You buy a Ruger with a barrel and you put a better barrel on it and what do you do with the old barrel you have already paid for? You toss it in a box in case you might need it 20 years from now. That's about all you can do with it.

+1 Easier to just buy it custom built. Volquartsen has some good stuff. Probably the only way I would buy a 10/22.

 

[ArmedBear]

If you just want to buy a .22 and go shoot, get the Marlin and a Nikon 4x32 scope, and go to it.

I sold my 10/22 because it was a jam-o-matic, the mags are a PITA, and it was nowhere near accurate. It's good for one thing: customizing. If you want that, get a Magnum Research MagnumLite, save money, and get a fully-custom 10/22 out of the box, with a better receiver than a Ruger-based gun will ever have. If money is no object, get a Volquartsen.

If you just want a .22 that will shoot straight, get a Marlin 60.

FlyinBrian- This is a 5-shot group at 50 from my BONE STOCK Marlin 60 that I bought new for $137. CCI Mini-Mag 40 grains. Nikon 4x32 Rimfire Classic scope, $100 including rings.

http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=5624479#post5624479

 

[BENELLIMONTE]

A clarification on my earlier post. I own a stock Marlin 60; a stock 10/22 and a 10/22 Target model. The The Marlin shoots better
and jams less than the standard 10/22. The 10/22 Target shoots better than the marlin but jams occasionally. Oh I forgot to add that the Target 10/22 was about 200.00 more than the Marlin!

 

[rangerruck]

Okay, Flyinbryan, I wasn't going to do this, but here goes;
this is a stock mod 60; allbeit it might be the most accurate one ever built.
I got it at a pawnshop for 75 bucks total, it looked like it had never been fired.
It hadn't, becuase there was a 22 mag round jammed in the feed throat assy.
I took it out, and went to work.
this is sandbag rests, 100 yd targets, with a Tasco varmint 6x24x42 scope.
Again, 100 yd targets, sandbag rests only, and these are only a few of the targets shown, as I was testing over 100 diff types of rounds, over a 2 day period.











Those are all 1 inch dots, so as you can see, pretty much every group here,
is 1 inch or less at 100 yds. And take a second look at that American Eagle
group, that is 4 shots in the same hole , with 1 called flyer!!! awesome. I am a decent enough shot, but this rifle is deff better than me.

 

[jackdanson]

this will soon be refuted by all who have owned a model 60 for 37 years and maintain that without so much as a single patch down the bore it works as well as it did when it was new..

Yep! Like me!

Marlin 60 all the way.

 

[JonB]

Nice shooting Ranger! What was the 'best' ammo you used? I see several that look very close. I have been feeding mine mostly Federal or winchester bulk for plinking and whacking gophers.

I get nice groups at 50 yards (ie cover with a quarter or smaller) using cheap ammo. Haven't tried for 100 yrds yet, might try next time I actully get range time. 2 kids under 2yrs old has really cramped my trigger time ;-)

 

[ArmedBear]

I have to do some more shooting like rangerruck. The group above was shot when I was at the range for other things (e.g. sighting in using my .44 handloads in a Super Blackhawk at 100 yards -- see the big hole in the picture).

The point is: my 60 is a recent-production gun with the wood stock (all Marlin 60 stocks are laminate, now, even if they don't look striped). I bought it new a bit over a year ago. His is an old one with a press-checkered solid wood stock.

It's not just his gun. It's not just my gun. IMO the Marlin 60 is THE ONE if you just want to buy it and shoot it.

In order to get a 10/22 to shoot as well, you have to do this:

 

[FlyinBryan]

definitly better than a stock 1022, but still not as good as a customized 1022.

it does look good enough that you should go and try to unseat that 1022 thats leading both classes in the rimfire match, but be advised, fliers count.

the op is reffering to stock rifles, and for that the 60 looks better.

 

[Horsemany]

Marlin-hands down.