Ruger 10/22 vs. Marlin 60

[Rich Stern]

For my fellow gun nuts.



I've been a Marlin 60 fan for a few years now. Always bought into the idea that the gun should be accurate enough out of the box that you didn't need to start spending twice as much for add-on parts. But, after having restored a few older Marlin 60s, I got a bit tired of the hinkey action inside the 60. It's functional, but the tube feed adds complexity and extra parts. It's a nightmare to take apart and reassemble, and is generally the weak link of an otherwise good gun.



So I decided to dip my toe in the 10/22 pool. Mistake! (dollarwise)



I set out looking for a 10/22 to play with, and eventually customize. Few weeks ago, I found a used, mid-1980s model across town, and got it on the cheap. Started playing with it. OK, I get it. This thing is ridiculously easy to take apart and work on. Trigger is easy to modify. And the barrel v-block attachment...I finally get it.



(I'm reminded of Brendan Fraser in "Blast From The Past," who, while living in a bomb shelter with his parents for 30 years, could not understand his dad's description of baseball. After emerging from the shelter, he goes to his first game, sees it, and says, "I get it!")



At the range, with the gun in stock form, using iron sights, I was cleaning out the 50 yard small game knock down targets. These are squirrel, woodchuck, rabbit and smaller, etc. sized targets. Knocking down seven in a row was pretty easy...thought these 10/22's were supposed to be inacurate!



After that, I've developed a bad case of 10/22 fever. I like shooting the gun stock with iron sights, will be perfect for walking in the woods during small game season. But, of course, I want to try the "ultimate" 10/22 thing, so I'm going to build one as well. Will be selling off my last Marlin 60 and picking up another 10/22.



Argh. Should have just left well enough alone and never disassembled any of those Marlin 60 trigger groups. It never would have come to this.

 

[Scott R]

I pulled the action out of the wood stock and put it in a Hogue Overmold stock, swapped the factory barrel for a Adams and Bennett bull barrel, and topped it off with a Simmons .44 Mag scope. My 8 year old daughter has started shooting it recently (only gun she's ever shot) and she loves it. She went through 200 rounds of ammo at the gun range with it last week. I didn't have anymore targets with me at the range, so I found a piece of cardboard and drew a 4" circle on it and set it out at 50 yards for her. Of the 200 rounds she shot, I think she was out of the 4" circle on the first 2 shots. The rest were all within the circle. I hadn't shot it in a few years, so I decided to shoot it some. We've got a steel plate target at the range that was 75 yards away from the firing line. I shot 20 times with everyone of the shots hitting the bright orange "bulls eye" on the steel plate. She is now wanting her own, so I guess Santa better be on the lookout for one soon!!!

 

[Bill McElroy]

LOL...I have a Ruger 10/22 also...love it....paired with a decent 4X scope (I have a simmons) it's a critters WORST nightmare...mine's dead-on at 50yds!!

 

[Dan J.]

You're going to have a ball with the 10/22!! The bolt-on mods are simple to install and a hoot to play with. (1" bull barrell would be my first recomended upgrade.) If you can find the "Gattling" attachment for the trigger, you'll amaze yourself how fast you can cycle through rounds. (I bought mine at Cheaper Than Dirt some years back.) My 10/22's were my favorite varmint gun until I got my first .17 HMR. The range and accuracy of that little round is incredible!! (You'll get "rimfire fever" and get one of them too, I bet! :lol: ) Whatever you do, don't cheap out on ammo. Remington Yellow Jackets are the best bulk round I've shot in the 10/22 without any cycling issues and speed feeding with large cap. mags. Like Mac said, drop a decent scope on it and you'll be driving tacks at 100+ yards. Have fun!

 

[TritonGlenn]

Rich,

I am also about ready to jump on the 10/22 crazy train. :lol: Got a 10/22 synthetic / stainless on the way soon. I've not been a fan of the way they felt in stock form, but I was playing with a Boyds thumbhole stock and Green Mountain barrel the other day... I think I'm going to like my new addition after some changes are made to it.



All the best,

Glenn

 

[Humminbird Greg]

Okay, I shouldn

 

[TritonGlenn]

Greg,

Or... you could sell one to me at a good price. I'm looking for another to tear apart in order to upgrade it with a kit I found.... .22 magnum.



All the best,

Glenn

 

[Rich Stern]

Greg, I've been reading about the upgrades lately (and reading and reading and reading...).



Consensus is the trigger is your best bang for the buck, followed by a barrel and then stock work. If you prefer the traditional contour barrel, tuned versions are available as aftermarket.



For triggers, you can do drop in parts ($30 to $125) that reportedly get you down to 2.5 to 3lbs. trigger pull, with some, little, or very little creep, depending on how much you spent. You can also stone your own parts and play with the springs. You can send your trigger group off to any of a number of experts who will get the most possible out of the stock Ruger trigger for about $85. Then there are the drop in triggers: Timney, Hornet, Volquartsen, and Kid. Range from $100 to $300. The Kid trigger is an amazing product, but it costs 50% more than an entire 10/22. But it's capable of being set at under 1 pound with simple screw adjustments, and is supposedly rock solid and as bullet proof as it gets.

 

[Eric Aasen]

I have 2. One is a lightweight with Hogue stock, carbon fiber bull barrel and a Weaver 2-7 power scope. The other is a heavyweight with Boyds thumbhole stock, Green Mountain bull barrel and a Weaver 4-16 scope. Both had the trigger polished by a good gunsmith. You can get a trigger job for about $25 while some of the aftermarket triggers will run $200-$300 Both will do right at 1" at 50 yards with the right ammo. The heavyweight likes the Winchester PowerPoints or Federal Gold Medal. The lightweight just eats up the CCI Velocitor. Both do ok with el cheapo Federal or Remington bulk. They are both fun to play around with and were great fun to build.



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