Opinions on Marlin/Glenfield Model 60

Been awhile since I’ve had one. However, when I was a kid, used one for squirrel hunting. Never had any issues with them. Weren’t the most accurate rifle and hated the integrated rail for mounting scopes. Even with those short comings, it put a lot of meat on the table.
 
I was raised with tube fed Marlins & absolutely love them. I have a 50th anniversary version wearing a Weaver 2.5-7x32 that I shoot the staples out of targets with when I get bored. Back when my eyes could still see iron sights, I ran a set of Tech Sights on it & used it to shoot rimfire steels matches. My mid pack finishes had nothing to do with the gun 😆

There's not an entire universe of aftermarket stuff available for them, like there is for the 10-22, but I also think the Marlins don't really need the help & shoot well out of the box.
 
I picked up a well used one along the way and figured that if it had a box mag, the 10/22 would have never been a thing. greaat little rifle.
I gave mine and a single shot .20ga to my sister's kids a long time back. from what I hear, one had a blast shooting and caught the gun bug, the other one had some fun but didn't take up the hobby.
 
Sold hundreds of them back in the day. When the stock truck would roll in, there were 3 or 4 each of the various shotguns, rifles and .22's, but cases of Model 60's. Good basic rifle that worked fairly reliably. It was not my favorite, but I didn't have any problem with them.
 
Ruger has the opportunity to manufacture three of the best .22 rifles ever made. They already make their 10/22. Now they can make the Marlin Model 60 and the Marlin Model 39A. No one has ever had a .22 rifle product line like that.
 
I’ve shot them since the 70s, great 22 rifles. Think I have 2 of them now. It’s a go to 22 auto loader.
You can’t go wrong with the 60!
But then I also liked the early Savage model 6 and Remington 241 and even the Remington 66.
I mostly shoot the 39A now! I’m a lever guy!
 
I have a 60 and it's not seen the sky for a while. This thread tells me I need to correct the situation, soon.

I got this 1985-vintage Marlin from my sister in NJ and this rifle had been her husband's.
He died in a car wreck a few years ago and left her with 2 young sons.

She exported it to me here in the United States, where, with iron sights, it out-shoots a 10/22 I have.

Maybe, one day, one of my nephews will want to try it out. Until then, I have a duty to fulfill.
 
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It is what I grew up shooting other than Daisy BB gun. Before I knew better hunted deer with it before I was a teenager. Hunted squirrel with it as well. Loved shooting the gun because my dad hunted with me with it. All memories of hunting with him are always special. Also fixed one up I bought from a pawn shop. Good shooting gun that will last a lifetime.
 
My model 60 is accurate and reliable. Only negative is the tube magazine; just slows reloads.

One day my brother and 3 of his friends were plinking on the backyard range I had at a previous residence. All 4 had 10-22's; molded to greater or lesser extent. I joined in with my marlin and the cheap scope I had on it, a 3-9 rimfire from Walmart.

Targets were 1" circles on a piece of aluminum siding at 30 yards. Goal was 10 shots inside without touching the line.

Everyone made fun of my kids rifle with the pencil scope. After 2 rounds, I had the hold figured out as my rifle was zeroed for 50 yards. My 3rd target (from a rest over the hood of the truck) was the first one that counted.

After 10 rounds, my brother had 2, one other guy had 1 and I scored 4. 2 others had 1 round touch the line. Somewhere in the middle the trash talk stopped.

The marlin 60 will do the job for most things at a reasonable price.

(My brother wound up dropping around $450 on his 10-22 to add a bull barrel, trigger upgrade, and new bipod. He can beat me regularly now, but I'm still running my $129 marlin stock with its $39 scope.)
 
When I moved to Virginia, one of the guns I sold was my Glenfield that I had owned since the 70's to @lasttombstone. I hope he is enjoying it, but I have since regretted selling it. Was trying to sell some guns here in Va - that is a story for another thread. But when I was at a gun shop in Lynchburg saw this stainless 60 that was part of an consignment estate sale of rifles sitting all by itself like an unwanted stepchild. The owner wasn't offering much for what I had to sell but he had a price of $200 on this. One of the guns I had was a Mossberg 535 that had been given to me. I asked would he trade even - end result I traded a well used turkey gun for an almost never fired 60 in stainless. Took my other guns home and considered the day a win!

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Great guns. DO NOT take apart the trigger housing assembly. It is like a Chinese puzzle. Of course there is probably a video at YouTube University showing you how to put it back together nowadays.
 
starsea said:
Great guns. DO NOT take apart the trigger housing assembly. It is like a Chinese puzzle. Of course there is probably a video at YouTube University showing you how to put it back together nowadays.
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My dad did this, took him a month of Sundays to get it back together, this was way before the internet.
 
Mine was made in 1962 but I got it in 1964 from a local gunshop. I sorta remember paying $35 or so for it but really don’t remember. Still have it.
 
All of the above is correct.
But they are definitely marketed for kids. For me the cheekweld is all wrong. It's not impossible but it doesn't come naturally, unless you're a young-un.
I have one like Armed4defense has that my Dad gave me so of course it's special. All stainless with a bunch of goodies. I need high scope mounts to just be able see through the scope without breaking my neck. It does everything it's supposed to however. Repeat; better for smaller people.
I had a squirrel stock model with the riser-bump built into the rear stock. Cute rifle, definitely a kids model. Couldn't get rid of it fast enough. Sold it to a good friend for $90 and he restored it and sold it for $200.
 
Have one. My favorite gun to shoot on the farm. Probably for Nostalgic reasons. I wouldnt put a bunch of thought into it if you can get one for couple hundred bucks and its in good shape. Get one. If you need a gun that serves some more specific needs. Get something else. To me this is a fun gun that brings back kid memories when kids had guns.
 
My first gun, and I still have it. I’ve had many of them over the years. Watch the safety on them, they tend to get wonky.
 
B00ger said:
Love them. Simple, accurate, and fun. Back when I started into shooting used ones could be easily found for around $100 bucks.
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Same here. Mine was plenty accurate for pitting squirrels. As has been mentioned, they work until they get dirty. Clean them and they are back on the job. I eventually sold mine to buy a 10/22, which worked far longer between cleanings and was much easier to field strip. I don’t advise field stripping the model 60. I learned to hose it down with PB Blaster then blow the innards out with an air hose and it would be back on the firing line.
 
Before I escaped PRNJ I had to buy a spare 10 rd mag tube insert for compliance. They just swaged a ring around the inner tube to keep the follower from going any further up inside. Because, you know, those dangerous hi capacity tube mags are so easy to reload.

 
cubrock said:
I don’t advise field stripping the model 60. I learned to hose it down with PB Blaster then blow the innards out with an air hose and it would be back on the firing line.
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...until you need to change the carrier. Then you learn how to field strip it.
 
cubrock said:
I never had to change a carrier.
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Marlin (remember them?) used to have a kit you could purchase for $18. It contained a carrier and some other small parts. Some of the carriers could wear out and cause feeding problems. In my case, it was the little Glenfield 75 that I bought for $25 at a pawn shop, later sold to you, and wished I had not (worry not, since replaced). I could not figure it out, called Marlin and they suggested the carrier kit.
 
"It's certainly a gun." Back when they were like $60-80 at pawn shops everywhere across the country they were a great affordable rifle. If they're still that cheap then they're still a great affordable rifle. But for getting into the $200+ range I'd rather buy a 10-22. In the $300+ range I'd rather buy a 15-22.
 
Gnash.Hyena said:
"It's certainly a gun." Back when they were like $60-80 at pawn shops everywhere across the country they were a great affordable rifle. If they're still that cheap then they're still a great affordable rifle. But for getting into the $200+ range I'd rather buy a 10-22. In the $300+ range I'd rather buy a 15-22.
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Sadly, I agree. Kinda like a Mosin for $100 is awesome fun…but at $400 it’s an over priced garbage rod.

The Marlin is awesome as a cheap, extremely accurate .22. But a $300+ rifle it ain’t.
 
I love those little .22s
My preference if for the older ones with the longer barrel and longer magazine tube.

Best thing about the long old ones is that the factory barrel will stabilize the 60gr sniper subsonic load.
Absolute hammer for squirrels
 
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