Winchester Model 290 vs Marlin 60 .22 lr

[nathan]

I ve shot for the first time my bro in law's Winchester model 290 with bushnell scope , and im beginning to like it . He acquired his from his dad who passed away 10 yrs ago. His dad bought the gun at a gunshow. It s not the most beautifully crafted gun there is but its very accurate. It has a thick barrel which is nice. And the 15 round magaziine tube is plenty enough for a semi auto. No fumbling of magazine and the anxiety of loosing it is a big plus.

The simple and slim design makes its very handy . Only drawback is , the trigger break is on the heavy side. OVerall, i impressed with the genius tube fed design vs the mag that sticks on the bottom that im used to.

The Marlin 60 which is another tube fed design (im not familiar with it) and still in production today. Do you think the Marlin 60 is a much superior design ? The barrel with microgroove rifling they used makes it very accurate ? I wonder why Winchester stopped the model 290 in 1976.

A gun i ve shot looks similar to this ,

 

[rcmodel]

I wonder why Winchester stopped the model 290 in 1976.

Because Winchester went belly up in the late 70's due to raising production costs and labor troubles, and sold the company to its employes, which then became U.S Repeating Arms.

Then they went bankrupt in 1989 again.

The 290 was a cheaply made rifle introduced in 1968 to replace the finely crafted guns the Winchester name was built on.

The reception from shooters was ice cold to all the cheap production short-cuts and new designs to replace the old classics that came about in 1968, and the company never recovered.

Todays 'Winchester' company is only a name used on firearms made by FN-USA, and a company in Japan.

rc

 

[Cee Zee]

The 60 is certainly a better built rifle than that Winchester. There's a reason it is one of the most popular rifles ever built. They work and the tube design is a very good design. People worry about the mag touching the barrel all the way down but I've never seen a Marlin that shot differently with a full mag or just one in the tube. The tube doesn't stop the rifles from being accurate. It isn't a bolt action level of accuracy but it does pretty darn well IMO. It will generally shoot more accurate than a Ruger 10/22 if both are bone stock. But the Rugers can be built into far better shooters rivaling what is possible with bolt action rifles.

Still I can't find much reason to complain about groups like these shot with my Marlin 60SS (stainless version). The distance was 90 yards. I shot 3 rounds first and didn't want to mess up a near perfect 3 round group (for a semi-auto that is) so I shot the next 5 rounds into the second group.

I really don't shoot that rifle for groups very often but I have others if you're interested. Mostly I use it for plinking and hunting. It shoots very accurate for a stock rifle. The above groups were shot within a week of me buying that rifle. It also shoots accurate from a cold bore which is very important for a hunting rifle.

 

[bearman49709]

I've owed both, as much as I like the 290 the 60 is a better gun. I know two people who have lost their mag while hunting, one was a Remington 742 the other was a Marlin 60.

 

[gojuice101]

I've never dealt with a Winchester 290 but I do have two Marlin Model 60s. They are great guns. Accurate right out of the box and completely reliable.

 

[moxie]

Model 60 all the way over the 290. The only real competitor, IMO, is the Ruger 10/22.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

I've had 2 290s and countless 60s...

The short answer is supported by me still having 2 60s and no 290s.

The first 290 I bought was in a short sighted rush to buy what I perceived to be Winchester "quality". I was disappointed. The hoped for quality was totally lacking and what's more, as these were famously touted as being able to swallow short, long and long rifle, my first one had been fed A LOT of shorts. The chamber was toast and reliability suffered.

The second one fell into my lap and even though it was in "like new" condition, I couldn't warm up to it. One thing I really disliked was the pistol grip - far too exaggerated for me. Kinda like a trap gun. The sights were sorta cheap and mounting a scope was a problem as three different types of rings kept working loose.


Nope, couldn't give me one these days and expect me to keep it if Marlins are still about.

Todd.

 

[nathan]

How heavy is the trigger break on the new marlin 60s? I might get one of the laminated with stainless steel barrel.


http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/...in+60+SS+.22+LR+Semi+Auto+Stainless+Laminated

 

[MI2600]

Am I missing something? My Marlin 60 is tube fed. How could you lose the magazine? Are there two different models?

 

[bearman49709]

MI2600; I have no idea. I was hunting with him around 1973-74 and saw his mag was missing, when I asked him he said he lost it hunting.
I don't know how you could lose a box mag ether, I've hunted with them for over 40 years and never lost one.

 

[Cee Zee]

I have no idea. I was hunting with him around 1973-74 and saw his mag was missing, when I asked him he said he lost it hunting.

He would have had to take the whole rifle apart to get the tube mag off. He might have lost the inner magazine tube, which is what pushes the bullets down the tube mag. People sometimes lose those but the gun won't operate at all without one.

 

[Lone Star]

There is a box magazine version of the Model 60, called the M-795. In stainless, it's M-705SS. I like mine, with the black synthetic stock. A great little trail rifle or survival gun.

Accurate enough for squirrel hunting. And it can serve for home defense, if you can't reach a better suited gun in time.

Winchester's 190 and 290 are cheap designs but I saw some in their catalogs that had super wood.

Remington's M-552 is a good .22 with a tubular magazine. Still made, I think, but be careful of Remington quality today on any model!

 

[12Bravo20]

I have a Marlin Model 60 and Model 70 along with a Winchester 190. The only difference between the 190 and 290 is that the 290 has a fancier stock. The Marlin is a lot better than the Winchester. There is not much you can do with the trigger on the 190 series rifles. The only reason I still have the 190 is because it was my grampa's rifle.

 

[Cee Zee]

There is a box magazine version of the Model 60, called the M-795.

The 795 is not a version of the 60. It is a 795. Yes there similarities but that doesn't make one a version of the other. Marlin doesn't list the 795 as a version of the 60.

BTW I have a 795 and two 60's. All are accurate and reliable. I like my 795 because of the weight. It's a pound lighter than the 60. At 4.5 lbs. it is great for squirrel hunting. It feels light as a feather to carry around especially on a sling.