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58K views 31 replies 27 participants last post by  KHos 
#1 ·
Hey everyone,

After a close analysis, I have decided to get a Marlin Model 60 as my first .22LR. I now have to decide, though, which Model 60 to get. If anyone can answer some of the following questions, I would greatly appreciate it.


  • I have heard that the older rifles had an 18 round tube capacity. The new ones only have 14; does anyone know why they changed it?
  • In a few places, some people said that the older models had all metal parts whereas the new ones have some plastic in a few places. Does anyone know if this is true, and if so, which parts? Does it affect the longevity or proper function of the rifle in any way?
  • Some people said that the new models have a revised ramp design and a better bolt. Anyone know if this is true as well?
  • I really like the look of the 60SS, which has a laminate stock. Some people acted like the laminate was inferior, though. Is that true? If so, how so?
  • Is the stainless steel version a poorer quality metal than the blued version?
  • What advantages (if any) are there to buying a used model 60 over a new one?

If you have anything else you would like to share about the Model 60 or its various iterations, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks for your help!
 
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#2 ·
An older model 60 may have some advantages as you mentioned. However, I would just buy a new one. 22 are either rarely used or shot a ton. You're not saving much by buying a used 22 rifle.

If you plan on using copper washed 22lr bullets, I have been advised that ammonia based copper removal solvents are not good for stainless guns. However, wax coated unjacketed lead bullets are the most common round there is.

I really like everything marlin makes. The new ones have some pot metal and some plastic pieces, but the gun will treat you well in new form.
 
#3 ·
Congratulations, you made an excellent choice. I'm not a Marlin 60 expert by any means, but I think I can answer a couple of questions. Yes, the older ones had longer barrels and magazine tubes and they also had metal trigger guards and followers. The new ones have plastic trigger guards, which I do not think is a problem, but Rimfire Technologies makes an excellent all metal replacement if it bothers you. I do not know about the ramp design. I have an older Marlin 60, my son has an even older Glenfield 60, but we both have new SBs on our Christmas list. As far as I know, the new ones are very fine guns, no need to shy away from them in favor of an older one. The bolt does not stay open after the last shot on some of the very older ones, so I would personally avoid those. Some new ones come with a CenterPoint scope, which some people don't like. I haven't tried one, so can't comment on that. Really the only weakish link in a 60 is the recoil buffer, but they are cheap and not too hard to replace. If you buy a used 60, be sure and check the buffer.

I have only seen pictures of the 60SS, but the laminated stock looks great. If I saw one it would probably go home with me. In the meantime, I'm drooling over the 60SB. Paint the stock camo, put a scope, sling and bipod on it. As a fried of mine used to say, "It'll drive dress pins." Oh, heck yeah...

~JohnP
 
#4 ·
I have an older Marlin that still has the plastic trigger group. I see no problem in this design, some shotguns now have plastic trigger groups that are stronger than the original. Round capacity is really no big deal, if you want to you can get a loading tube that will load the rifle in seconds, that is what I use.

As far as the laminate stocks, these are actually better than the wood ones, the laminate prevents the stock from swelling on humid or wet days. Stainless is nice and requires less maintenance.

The Marlin is an excellent choice and should last you your lifetime. As far as used, I have my father's rifle and I have had to repair the stock and the trigger due to wear and use. A forty year old rifle starts to show it's wear.
 
#5 ·
The longer barrel and mag were dropped for weight and legal reasons.
Keeping the count under 15 allowed them to avoid any legislation issues in Kommiefornia and the like.

The plastic parts are going to not last as long as metal ones. Just a matter of fact. The plastic outgasses and breaks down eventually. Of all the parts, I'd get a couple of good buffers and not worry about it though.

The feed ramps have been redesigned/changed over the years, the older ones can be sent back to Marlin for retrofit, not a bad idea and they'll usually go through them and fix any other issues.

The laminate is better for accuracy and breakage prevention. It's also heavier. Personally I like the added weight.

I just built a 60 out of spare parts for the 7yo, they're a good gun.
 
#8 ·
...

The plastic parts are going to not last as long as metal ones. Just a matter of fact. The plastic outgasses and breaks down eventually. ....

Hell, I've got an early polymer grip on a H&R handgun made around 1955 that hasn't been stored very kindly most of its life ... the metal has rust, the grip looks brand new.

The fact is, present day polymers are so stable, there's no way to even non-destructively test the longevity.

Extraterrestrial archeologists will find polymer lowers laying around long after we're gone and all metal components have oxidized to dust.

- OS
 
#6 ·
Have a Marlin bolt action .22 magnum (tube fed magazine) and a Marlin 39A (.22 LR), you'd be hard pressed to find a more accurate .22 then a Marlin. And considering for hunting small game such as squirrels, accuracy is quite important. My two Marlins love Winchesters, standard Super X, Remingtons are all over the field...some guns like different brands of rounds, and of course autos digest some rounds better then others besides the accuracy differences between different brands in different guns.
 
#7 ·
As far as magazine capacity goes. You can order the older magazine tubes from brownells and they will fit just fine. Just check you local laws on extended magazines. Or magazine capacity.

I own an older one from the 1970's and it has it's share of problems. I've seen the older models at gun shows go for around $100. Just remember that all the marlin/glenfeild parts are interchangable. So if you got an old wooden stock one. You could add a newer type stock for pretty cheap.

As far as reliability goes. Everything after time breaks. No matter what it is. I've had some feed problems out of mine. Which after some looking around found that the marlin model 60 is known for this issue. But such is the way of the marlin model 60. Even my friends jams from time to time.

So in short. If you really want something reliable get something blot action. You can't go wrong with it. And if it jams in bolt action. You're probably doing it wrong. :)
 
#17 ·
As far as reliability goes. Everything after time breaks. No matter what it is. I've had some feed problems out of mine. Which after some looking around found that the marlin model 60 is known for this issue. But such is the way of the marlin model 60. Even my friends jams from time to time.
Are you firing Federal Bulk Pack ammo? My Model 60 and my friends (both about 2 yrs old) jam firing Federal ammo. I now use CCI Mini Mags and have not had a jam since. The same goes for my friend. I have heard from others on other boards that had the same problem. The jams were all FTE's and I can only conclude that the CCI Mini Mags causes the rifle to get full blowback which fully ejects the brass.
 
#9 ·
I also have a Glenfiels model 60, I think its made in 67 as it's stamed with a 67. I have jamming problems with it. It will usually jam every 4 or 5 rounds no matter what type of ammo i use. Iv'e cleaned it & cleaned it. Taken it apart several times. Still jams.

I usually just keep a small screwdriver handy so I can pluck the jammed cases out of there after every couple shots. It's a pain in the as$.

Anybody know what the problem may be or is it worth getting fixed, New Model 60's are on sale for 150 right now.
 
#12 ·
How well do you clean the barrel? The chamber area could be dirty. 22lr target shooters who are of the opinion of not cleaning their barrels clean the action and chamber area of the barrel after each shoot.

Remove the recoil spring and move the entire action by hand. IF you feel something catching or rough, find out the cause. I am a marlin fan, but only own their lever and bolt guns right now.

Get a exploded model of the gun. MAke sure you didn't swap springs or have something in the wrong place. My only 22lr semi-auto has springs that can be mixed up easily. A remington 522 viper. Extremely reliable and accurate, in the metal magazine version.
 
#13 ·
I've heard people complain about jamming, feed, and ejection problems on old Marlin 60's. None of them really can't be solved by replacing all the spring which iirc only costs a few dollars.

The action breaks down pretty easily, just be careful the hammer spring like to fly away and the ejector spring is a bit tricky to get back on.

Also make sure the extractors are sharp and even more importantly that the little recesses that extractors slide into, they tend to fill with fouling leading to jamming.

Also the feed ramp will get fouled over time make sure it's clean.

The one I've got is pretty old, when I bought it it was pretty woebegone. Jammed every three rounds, I rebuilt the action, sharped the extractors, and refinished the stock and bluing.

I spent probably 120$ and I got gun that was just as good as new.
 
#15 ·
There is a big difference between the old models and the new. A new 60 has a bolt hold open device, the old does not. This upgrade screwed up the guts a little bit in that the ejector spring can move right and left on its pin and suddenly the extractors throwing empties inside the gun. This also happens on the old models but the old build was more solid.

This causes the classic mod60 jam with an empty wedged in with a partially fed and now bent new shell.

The cure for this is to give a slight bend to the left on the ejector spring tip when looking at the bolt face. Put the bolt onto the frame without the receiver cover and watch it moving with the new bend. It should rub the inside of the ejector cut as the bolt moves forward and should not move over in front of the bolt when moved back. It should stay square in the slot of the bolt and rub on the left side of the bolt looking at the bolt face but never move over in front of the bolt when all the way back.

Now take your op rod and roll it on the table to see if its bent. If straight, put the whole mess back together and go shoot the crap out of it, without any jams.
 
#18 ·
There is a big difference between the old models and the new. A new 60 has a bolt hold open device, the old does not. This upgrade screwed up the guts a little bit in that the ejector spring can move right and left on its pin and suddenly the extractors throwing empties inside the gun. This also happens on the old models but the old build was more solid.

This causes the classic mod60 jam with an empty wedged in with a partially fed and now bent new shell.

The cure for this is to give a slight bend to the left on the ejector spring tip when looking at the bolt face. Put the bolt onto the frame without the receiver cover and watch it moving with the new bend. It should rub the inside of the ejector cut as the bolt moves forward and should not move over in front of the bolt when moved back. It should stay square in the slot of the bolt and rub on the left side of the bolt looking at the bolt face but never move over in front of the bolt when all the way back.

Now take your op rod and roll it on the table to see if its bent. If straight, put the whole mess back together and go shoot the crap out of it, without any jams.
Awesome, I'm gonna have to get out my model 60's as soon as I get home, always wondered what to do about that!
Maybe not a good idea especially with the price of ammo, but if it's only a little bent I put the new shell in anyway, never had any problems.
Also, what is the OP rod? The magazine tube?
 
#19 ·
Marlin 60 capacity, bolt hold-open

Although this is four years after the question about the Marlin 60 capacity and bolt hold-open and the fine replies by whirlibird & Brew, since answers here are Googled forever, I'm going to add some comments. Wikipedia now has about the best answers to those and other questions http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlin_Model_60
Some quotes from that site:
"During the late-1980s, the capacity of the rifle was reduced to a 15 round maximum limit, to meet New Jersey's firearms law for semi-automatic assault weapons. [so New Jersey made its rules possibly before Commiefornia] For a few years in the mid-1980s the Model 60 rifles had both the "last shot hold open" feature and also held 18 rounds in the tube magazine. Those rifles with those two features are among the most sought after Model 60s. The redesigned magazine tube was visibly shorter than the barrel, which is how rifles from this period can be easily identified. Then, in the early 2000s the length of the barrel was reduced from 22 to 19 inches (559 to 483 mm), to match the length of the reduced length magazine. This had the effect of reducing the length of the rifle from 40.5 to 37.5 inches (1029 to 953 mm). "

Then, regarding the bolt:
"The Model 60 has a manual 'fully open' bolt hold position, activated by pushing the charging handle inwards towards the gun when it is in the fully retracted, open breech position. To close the bolt with the manual bolt hold-open engaged, the charging handle must be pulled out, away from the gun, before the bolt will go forward. Since 1985, the Model 60 has also included a patented automatic 'last-shot' bolt hold-open. This latter feature is a safety feature that locks the bolt half-way open after the last cartridge is fired, thereby allowing the safe inspection of the now-open action. This also notifies the user when the gun is empty. "

And yes, I have a Marlin 60 with an 18 round tube magazine and with a manual bolt hold-open as well as the last-round hold open. Only a few of these were made in the 1980s when I bought mine. A fine semiautomatic rifle!
 
#24 ·
Although this is four years after the question about the Marlin 60 capacity and bolt hold-open and the fine replies by whirlibird & Brew, since answers here are Googled forever, I'm going to add some comments. Wikipedia now has about the best answers to those and other questions http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlin_Model_60
Some quotes from that site:
"During the late-1980s, the capacity of the rifle was reduced to a 15 round maximum limit, to meet New Jersey's firearms law for semi-automatic assault weapons. [so New Jersey made its rules possibly before Commiefornia] For a few years in the mid-1980s the Model 60 rifles had both the "last shot hold open" feature and also held 18 rounds in the tube magazine. Those rifles with those two features are among the most sought after Model 60s. The redesigned magazine tube was visibly shorter than the barrel, which is how rifles from this period can be easily identified. Then, in the early 2000s the length of the barrel was reduced from 22 to 19 inches (559 to 483 mm), to match the length of the reduced length magazine. This had the effect of reducing the length of the rifle from 40.5 to 37.5 inches (1029 to 953 mm). "

Then, regarding the bolt:
"The Model 60 has a manual 'fully open' bolt hold position, activated by pushing the charging handle inwards towards the gun when it is in the fully retracted, open breech position. To close the bolt with the manual bolt hold-open engaged, the charging handle must be pulled out, away from the gun, before the bolt will go forward. Since 1985, the Model 60 has also included a patented automatic 'last-shot' bolt hold-open. This latter feature is a safety feature that locks the bolt half-way open after the last cartridge is fired, thereby allowing the safe inspection of the now-open action. This also notifies the user when the gun is empty. "

And yes, I have a Marlin 60 with an 18 round tube magazine and with a manual bolt hold-open as well as the last-round hold open. Only a few of these were made in the 1980s when I bought mine. A fine semiautomatic rifle!
I myself own this version that has the full 18 round tube and the last round hold open. I wonder what mine could fetch for these days.
 
#21 ·
I've got a Model 60 which has an 18rd. capacity and has the "last shot hold open" feature. I've been shooting Federal ammo and have had nothing but feeding problems. I'll be upping my ammo quality and rebuilding the action / cleaning her up. I suppose I should ask, does my Marlin fall into the 'Old' or 'New' catagory as far as parts purchasing is concerned?
 
#23 ·
year of manufactor

All Marlin Qwners:

Marlin year of manufacture maybe determined from the following list of letter/numeral prefixs to the serial number; this coding only applies to serialized rifles:

1946-C
1947-D
1948-E
1949-F
1950-G
1951-H
1952-J
1953-K
1954-L
1955-M
1956-N
1957-58-R
1958-59-S
1960 (August)-1961-U
1961 (August)-1962-V
1963-W
1964-Y,-Z
1965-AA
1966-AB
1967-AC
1968-AD, -68
1969-69
1970-70
1971-71
1972-72

Starting in 1973, the year of manufacture maybe determined by subtracting the first two digits of the serial number from 100:
Example: SN 2512345 would have been made in 1975 [100 - 25 = 75].

For Marlin Rimfire Rifles [non-serialized]:

From 1962 thru 1968 Marlins rimfire rifles (other than the 39 series lever actions) used a two letter date code that was stamped on the barrel. This date code is different than the one already listed, as Marlin rimfire rifles (other than the model 39 series) did not have a serial numbers until required to by Law after 1968. The first letter of the date code represented the month of manufacture while the second letter indicated the year. This date code was usually stamped on the left side of the barrel just in front of the receiver. The first letter of the date code is as follows:

A = Jan.
B = Feb.
C = Mar.
D = Apr.
E = May
F = June
G = July
H = Aug.
I = Sep.
J = Oct.
K = Nov.
L = Dec.

The second letter of the date code is as follows:

F = 1962
G = 1963
H = 1964
I = 1965
J = 1966
K = 1967
L = 1968

So a date code of "JK" would indicate that rifle was made in October of 1967.

The above "codes" provided by RFC User "plinker Tom".


Here is an alternative Link: www.oldguns.net

Marlin owners: SAVE this table to your hard drive......

Enjoy...! !
 
#25 · (Edited)
I have a Model 60 that is almost 30 yrs old. It has the plastic trigger guard and bolt hold open device and only jams when it gets real dirty. It holds 18 rnds and in my opinion that ain't enough! This was my first gun given to me by my Dad and it has tons of rounds thru it. I wouldn't trade this rifle for anything - it is the best .22 in the safe (and there are several different ones in the safe!). You can't go wrong with this gun IMHO.
 
#26 ·
I had the Marlin 60 and the Ruger 10-22. I loved both rifles for shooting long rifle rounds but needed a more versatile .22 for long term shtf. I went to the Marlin 981-t bolt action tube fed. This rifle shoots any type of .22 rimfire made. I found that using the little CCI CB-shorts for small game was a real good choice as they are so quiet they dont spook game and that alone may save you by not giving away your position to intruders who may hear your louder long rifles. You still get the microgroove barrels and the great accuracy. I topped mine with a Redfield revolution 2 by 7 scope. It is the most versatile of all my guns in that it is my main game getter for long term. I would consider this feature in bolt action tube fed rifles. They shoot everything in .22 rimfire.
 
#27 ·
:thumb: I have both the Mod 60and the 981T...bought them new and at an extremely low cost, back in 2004.

I have been so impressed with the 981T, for once in my life I am at a loss for words. I had some CCI sub-sonic shorts and I have no doubt that a flea-fart makes more noise. Both of mine have plastic stocks, but as simple utilitarian items, I don't care about looks...just function...and every shot is on the mark.

I just wonder if/how REMLIN screwed up these great items as they did with the leverguns...glad I got mine early before the takeover.
 
#30 ·
Marlin 60 ammo tube protection

I picked up a Marlin 60 some months ago and I like it pretty well, but I can't seem to get used to having a skinny ammo tube under the barrel.
Can't rest the rifle comfortably (for me) over a limb or a fence without sliding off the stock and onto the ammo tube.
So... I gave the matter some thought, then went to NAPA and got a foot of 3/8" split conduit normally used for holding wire bundles together over an engine.
It fits tight, won't scratch the finish, won't rust or corrode. Slide it onto the tube, pull it off and back a bit to reload, then push it back onto the tube.
A hard knock would probably still dent the tube, but anything less won't bother it now.
Pictures here if you don't know what split conduit is:
http://abintra.elementfx.com/articles/ammotubecover.htm
Ed
 
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