Newly Redesigned Marlin 60 and Marlin 795 Impressions

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idcurrie

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I have purchased one each of the new production Model 60 and Model 795 rifles with the newly designed stock.

As you can see, the new stock has a differently designed comb, a differently designed fore end which is angular rather than rounded.

The new stock has a different medallion on the grip and integrated sling attachments. I have tested the new attachments with a bipod and they work fine.

The first thing of note is that the m60 is longer at 38" as compared to the 795's 37".

The barrel on the m60 is 19" long as compared to the 18" on the 795.

The sight radius on the M60 is 16.5" long as compared to the sight radius on the 795 at 15.5". In theory, this should mean that the M60 is capable of greater accuracy than the 795. Oddly, with both rifles zeroed at 50 yards, the M60 only had one notch of elevation remaining while the 795 had 3 notches of elevation remaining. I have no explanation for this as the sights are identical in every measurement.

The M60 is far more reliable. It fired through the entire 500 round brick without a single failure of any kind. The 795, on the other hand, had a stovepipe jam roughly every 20 rounds. The 795 would sometimes chamber a new round 95% of the way while the previous round is pinched thin in between the bolt and breach face. If the striker were to hit the rim in this condition you would certainly have an out of battery discharge. Thankfully, the rifle seems to have some kind of built in safety mechanism which prevents this from happening.

In actual field use, the M60 is twice the rifle that the 795 is. I find that the magazine on the 795 frequently catches on clothing when slung across the back.

When shooting gophers in a field where more than 10 shot opportunities present themselves, the 795 falls flat. You run out of ammunition sooner than with the m60. The magazine does not fall freely when the release is pressed. It requires a VERY firm tug to remove it. This is not easily done with one hand while trying to hold the rifle and the release all at once. The magazine kind of hurts the thumb when loading the last few rounds. Yes, you can spend extra money to get extra magazines which could be preloaded but then you're still left with the awkwardness of switching the magazines in field positions.

The M60 allows more shots without reloading. When reloading in the field, it is easy to sling the rifle from your left shoulder so that it is pointing at a 45 degree angle forward and up with the bottom of the rifle facing up towards you. Then, the tube is extended past the loading port. The tube does not need to be removed, it is held by the rifle in this position. You have both hands free to then effortlessly drop 14 rounds into that loading port. I find this can be done in less time than it takes to awkwardly change a magazine in the 795 in field positions.

I realize these are only single samples of each rifle but it seems that the m60 is more reliable, has the potential to be more accurate, and has a larger shot capacity. It is also more easily reloaded in actual field conditions. The M60 has a better profile and does not snag on clothes when slung on the back as the 795 does. I imagine the 795 might be better for use at the range if you have a lot of magazines.

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Is the muzzle end of the barrel on the 60 thicker than the barrel of the 795? That would make the front sight taller over the center of bore than the same front sight on the 795. (Zooming in on the picture, it does appear thicker.)

The M60 is far more reliable. It fired through the entire 500 round brick without a single failure of any kind.
If that is Remington manufacture Marlin. since the buyout, that is encouraging.
 
Yes, it's since the buyout. These new stocks have only been in production for a very short period of time. In fact, they sit side by side with the older style stocks at my LGS.

I will measure the barrels with my calipers and report back.
 
^^^^ Great eye. I simply closed the calipers around the muzzle of each rifle.

We now know why there is a difference in the elevation ramp height between each rifle.

The Marlin 795 measures 0.620" and the Marlin 60 measures 0.648" across the muzzle. Both barrels are much thicker at the rear sight. It seems that the barrel on the M60 is heavier and tapers less which explains the elevation difference on the rear sight.
 
The new laminated stocks on the wood 60 models are nice.
 
The 795 can be honed to rimfire perfection pretty easily. Mine also stove piped every ten or twenty rounds until I polished the bolt, tweaked the ejector tab, and honed the feeding ramp a bit. The owners manual also recommends CCI Minimags and since I made these changes, my 795 runs like a sewing machine. Most of these small modifications simply involved cleaning up factory burrs and rough spots, but the ejector tab got my attention. I was walked through the process by a thread that I found at rimfire central.

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=217
 
I bought my grandson a new Marlin model 60 for graduating his Hunters Saftey course,It funtions fine and is accurate but there's a coating on the inside of the reciever that is beginning to peel away.Don't know if this will be a problem.I wish I'd have shoped for a nice older one now.hdbiker
 
Someone messaged me asking how much the rifles weigh. I used a rapala digital fish scale.

It reports that the 597 weighs 4.18lbs and the 60 weighs 4.60lbs.


That coating is paint. It's a painted aluminum receiver. Nothing to worry about.
 
Like everything else they got cheaper, on assembly! Ive worked on these for yrs, my advice find and 1970s-1980s model, if you love 60s, 795s,etc. You wouldnt be unhappy, they were made better!
 
With respect to reloading tube-fed magazines, you can significantly speed this up if you're interested.

My first rifle was a Marlin 783 .22 WMR, tube-fed. I picked up a brass tube at a local hobby shop, sized to fit the cartridge, and cut it down to fit 6 rounds in each. Sealed one end with silicone rubber caulk and plugged the other end with a rubber cork.

Reloading in the field was as simple as pulling the spring loaded tube out of the magazine entirely, drop in the rounds from both brass tubes, then put the spring loaded tube back in the magazine.

It's not really all that awkward to carry two brass reload tubes with you...you can even make a belt pouch or something similar to carry them in. In cold weather hunting, I had no problem carrying them in a jacket/coat pocket.

Just remember to load the brass tubes bullet end first so they drop into the rifle magazine properly.

:):)
 
Thanks for the tip. I have done something similar with my Nylon 66 except I used arrow shafts. That works but I find the method described in my original post to be quite satisfactory :)
 
What was no surprise on my Model 60 that I bought for $150 out the door at Walmart with an 10% discount(and just happened to be there when they had some 22LR ammo) Remington-Marlin(Remlin) did away with the JM roll stamp, and used a now 9/64 alen -hex head take down screws and a buggered up mounting hole they doctored up, mounting screw that will be ok and no big problem.I think they are working on their quality control issues :)
 
I got a Boyd's laminated wood stock for my new Marlin 795, and it fit perfectly, with no modifications required. It's quite a bit stiffer than the plastic stock that came on it, and shooting with a tight sling doesn't deflect the barrel like with the fairly flimsy, lightweight factory stock.
 
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