Semiauto .22 - Rem 597, 552, or Marlin 60?

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Dollar An Hour

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The Marlin gets alot of praise for accuracy. Is that the micro-groove rifling at work, or is it a gimmick?

*EDIT* Didn't care for the way the 597 felt. But I really like the Thompson Classic .22 - that was nice. I think it's down to the Thompson or the Marlin.

Haven't decided on the box magazine versus tube on the Marlin. Kinda want to try a tube mag.
 
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Dollar An Hour said:
The Speedmaster 552 is the most expensive of the bunch by a good margin, but it can shoot .22 shorts and longs. How useful is that though? Are .22 shorts any cheaper than lr? Good for plinking?
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I really like my 552. It's very accurate and easily feeds any 22lr I've fed to it. The advantage of the 22 shorts is that they're quiet, if you need to do some pest control.

The downside of the 552 is that detail stripping/cleaning is not easy. I did mine 2 nights ago (after a year and a couple thousand rounds). Getting the bolt, feeding chamber, & trigger group clean are a pain. I actually take out the barrel so I can remove the bolt. It's not incredibly difficult, but you'd appreciate a third hand in the process. The trigger group can be brushed or dunked, but detail stripping it is something I've avoided because it appears difficult to reassemble.

Richardson
 
ReadyontheRight said:
The Marlin 60 gets my vote! 18 rounds, accurate and inexpensive.;)
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I thought the 60 held 14 rounds in the tube? :confused:

Richardson - thanks for the heads up on the 552 being a PITA to strip, that's good to know.

Which of these .22's has better sights? I may scope it eventually but not right away.
 
Marlin 60 all the way. I would say mine has at least 50k rounds through it. When I was 8-10, I would ask for bricks of ammo for every present I could think of. I gave it its first thorough internal cleaning this year. Up to then it had just been wiped down with RemOil. It is a darn reliable, accurate, and in my opinion, good looking rifle. It has taken more squirrels and rabbits than I would care to count. This winter it is getting its first stock refinishing!

As far as magazine capacity, the older style model 60 had the magazine tube that went clear to the end of the barrel. I believe the new ones stop about 3-4" from the muzzle. I don't know why they did that, but I'm sure they had a reason. Go for the 60!
 
whenever 22's come up there are always zillions of people who recommend 10/22's, and a few who recommend remington's, which I always find odd. I've owned alot of 22's over the years, including multiple examples of marlin's, 10/22's, a couple remington's, etc, etc. I would have to say that pretty much all of the Marlin's I have owned would have outshot all the 10/22's I have owned. I've never had a truly accurate 10/22, and a good percentage were jammers as well. I have had the odd marlin that would jam occasionally or were mediocre accuracy wise, but the worst of these were on par with the average 10/22 I have owned, and I have had severla marlin's tha never jammed and were quite accurate. I only owned one 597. I don't recall having jamming problems myself--it actually had a pretty snooth operating action. The triger was just awful though which may have contributed to its ho hum accuracy. I also had one of the old "Vipers" they used to make, which was actually pretty accurate. If you used hyper velocity stuff it was also pretty reliable, but with standard velocity stuff it would often hang up.

Right now I own an old Marlin 995 which has never jammed on me and is fairly accurate, but alas nowhere near the one I had as a kid which was a tackdriver--wish I never let that one go.

I also have a CZ 452, which is one of the most accurate (non match)22's I have ever fired/owned and which I would highl recommend is you're interested in accuracy.

If I were looking for more of a fun gun 22, I'd want to look at the new Taurus 22's they recently came out with--they have a pump, lever action and a copy of the old model 63 semi auto.
 
Dollar An Hour said:
Richardson - thanks for the heads up on the 552 being a PITA to strip, that's good to know.
.
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I had the 552, a FAL, and an AK clone on the table... most sporting arms are a PITA to strip, and the 552 might be just "typical" for a semi-auto .22lr. I think the Ruger 10/22 is a good bit easier. Either way, they're dirty, so I don't want any more and have become inclined to look at bolt & pump .22's for more regular range usage.
 
You didnt mention...

you didnt mention the marlin 795 semi-auto .22 LR 10 rnd clip fed rifle. its reliable and accurate and light. i think they are less money than the model 60. ive had one for a few years and enjoy it very much.

PS, there is an effort to get Ramline to begin to make their hi-cap 25 rnd mags for the marlins again. they stopped making them during the ban, and havent started them up again. if theres enough interest they may bring them back. if you are interested, Call Ram Line customer service at 1-800-635-7656 between 9:00am and 4:30 pm central time, and let then know that you would like to see some new Marlin rimfire mags on the market
 
LynnMassGuy said:
Don't buy a 597. They feed like crap.
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Just got back from looking at .22's. The 597 felt too plastic-y. I guess plastic stocks will do that. :rolleyes:

I prefer the sights and wood stocks on the Marlin or the Thompson Classic anyway. (which I haven't heard much about).

So what is the scoop on the Thompson? Worth considering? It felt a bit more substantial than the Marlin, but it might be because the only Marlin they had was the laminate stock version, and the T/C is Walnut.

The only negative on the T/C I saw was the 5-round magazine. FIVE ROUNDS!?
 
The Thompson Center classic is one heck of a gun. I have a Benchmark, and its dead nuts reliable, and the most accurate .22 I've owned. I highly recomend them to anyone in the market for a high-end semi. The attatched image is 5 rounds of Wolf Match Target at 25 yds.
 

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Looking at the Thompson site, it looks like the 10-round mag they use on the target model should work on the Classic, so that's cool.

It comes down to about $180 difference from the standard Marlin 60 to the Thompson.

The T/C feels better, but I'm not sure I'd have any more fun with it.
 
I have no experience with the Thompson so I can't comment on them. I had a Marlin Model 60 until recently and it was always reliable and accurate. I too have taken quite a few squirrels and rabbits with it over the years. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another.

I would stay away from a 10/22 unless you have an uncontrollable urge to tinker eternally with your gun. They are basically crap out of the box without a lot of work. They can be made into decent pieces, after a significant time investment and probably doubling your $ investment above original purchase price to make it into a decent shooter with an acceptable trigger.

If bolt action is an option, I would go with a CZ hands down, but out of the ones you have listed, go with the Marlin.
 
What a load of Crap!

i can honestly say that this is the first time iv EVER seen anyone say aything bad about the 10/22. Everyone else in the world loves them.

You must have tested some prety Messed-up 10/22's...or just not like Ruger. My 10/22 has chewed thoulsands of rounds of El-cheapo Remington without a single complaint.

But im sure that me and and the thoulsands of others who love them dont know what we are talking about. :D
 
What a load of Crap!

i can honestly say that this is the first time iv EVER seen anyone say aything bad about the 10/22. Everyone else in the world loves them.

You must have tested some prety Messed-up 10/22's...or just not like Ruger. My 10/22 has chewed thoulsands of rounds of El-cheapo Remington without a single complaint.

But im sure that me and and the thoulsands of others who love them dont know what we are talking about. :D

Every problem i have ever heard with the 10/22 comes from bad mags. this is mostly because people use crapy, off- brand Hi-caps. Another problem is that people dont know how to clean factory Rotary mag. ;)
 
There is no doubt that the Model 60 is king of the value dept. They don't cost much, they feel good, and they work. I also have the 597 and mine has the synthetic stock and the flat metal finish. Not beautiful, but a good feeling gun and mine cycles with anything I feed it including Remington Sub-sonics, but a beauty it ain't. If you want a good shooter AND a looker in the 597 take a look at the laminated stock, heavy barrel version. It's a beauty and none of these things command a premium price.

I've never fired the Benchmark, but have only heard good reports on their accuracy. They initially were reported to have had a magazine problem that I would imagine has been worked out.

Regards,

Skip
 
Go with the 60,lets put it this way when you invest the $85.00-100.00 in a Marlin Model 60 you getyour money's worth in spades it's one of the best rifles I've ever owned,fired,or taken into the hills to hunt with.

The same goes for the 795.

Lets' put it this way I like Ruger pistols and all but as far as their rifles go,my uncle has used both the 77/22 (Bolt action) and the 10/22 he had taken quite a few rabbits with them.

One day while me and him were target shooting (We were plinking at an old refridgerator at 80 yards) He started wanting to make it into a shooting contest,so we shot bullet hole for bullet hole three shots each.

He was using his scoped 77/22 and I was using my open sighted 60,both of us were taking a rest off the side of the truckbed.I went first firing my three shots,Then we walked over with a black marker to check then mark where my shots hit,I know you might think I'm lying through my teeth but I put all three almost through the same hole (The reason I didn't get the third one in the same spot was I pulled off a bit) .

When my uncle took his shots it was like he fired a shotgun at the target.

I didn't mean to hi-jack the thread.
 
KaceCoyote said:
Marlin 60 all the way. Aside from bad Ammo, my 60SSK has not had a single malfunction.
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The Marlin seems to be everyone's darling. :D

How's everybody feel about the tube magazine? I read that you can make mini-speedloaders out of the larger-diameter soda straws? Tubes are easier on the thumb than a box mag too.

Also I noticed the stainless 60's get a hooded front hi-viz sight and folding rear, but the blue guns don't. What's the advantage to having the hood?

I saw a 60SS today for $209, retail is $260+ so that's seems OK.

FWIW, the Thompson Classic is $299 at the same place.
 
Dollar An Hour said:
The Marlin seems to be everyone's darling. :D

How's everybody feel about the tube magazine? I read that you can make mini-speedloaders out of the larger-diameter soda straws? Tubes are easier on the thumb than a box mag too.

Also I noticed the stainless 60's get a hooded front hi-viz sight and folding rear, but the blue guns don't. What's the advantage to having the hood?

I saw a 60SS today for $209, retail is $260+ so that's seems OK.

FWIW, the Thompson Classic is $299 at the same place.
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Not a HUGE advantage, but it does ensure the thing doesnt get knocked about.

I like the tube magazine, it holds something like 15-20 rounds and thats plenty for a .22lr. There are no mags to loose, no protuding magazine to snag on something when your trudging through thebushes. Its slender, well balanced, easy to clean and quite accurate. My 60ssk is a absolute to terror to all tennisballs, and pops them regularly out to 60 yards.

Its not picky about ammo, though 22 shorts need to be single fed. The controls are easy to use, and though some folks consider it plain its a fine rifle nobody can argue with. My only real qualm is that I need a single tool(a straight edge screwdriver) to pull it apart for service. I suppose I'm abit spoiled by alot've battle rifles in that reguard.
 
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