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60's .... current crop ?

2K views 19 replies 15 participants last post by  hunt22 
#1 ·
Was just wondering how the newer Remington-made, post-2004, Marlin 60's are in comparison to, say, the last Marlin-made units from the 1995-2003 era ?

Quality ? Reliability ? Accuracy ? Anyone who has rifles from both periods ?

Mick - The Fuzzy Limey
 
#2 ·
RE: Quality of new Marlins

Hi Mick - Tackbustr down in Texas here... from what I have heard and seen from my fellow Model 60 shooters...they recommend the "pre remlin" Marlins...

Mine is a 1989 model and has good metal to wood fit & functions perfectly...

You might try local Pawn Shops for older ones (1995 and before).. as they have good deals on Model 60's occasionally.

Best to 'ya :)
 
#3 ·
If you guys are in Texas, don't know how close to San Antonio you are, Drury's gun shop has a older model 60 instock, used of course. Didn't check out the price but I stopped by today and it was there.
I just purchased a late nineties model 60 , and it shoots great, I'm still learning but the gun sure is doing its part, now I need to do mine.
 
#5 · (Edited)
The general consensus here is: If you're going to buy a new Marlin, look it over carefully. Some are still getting out with the canted sights. It's becoming fewer and fewer, but QC isn't perfect and some are still on the shelves from the early Remington production. Of course QC has never been perfect for any manufacture. The occasional mishap will end up on a dealer shelf from time to time.

The rifles are still accurate and reliable. If you want to buy a used Marlin and take a chance on fixing something on your dime that's fine too, they're easy enough to repair and usually cheap to fix.

Not sure where you get the "post-2004" information, the purchase wasn't announced until late 2007 with the deal being completed early in 2008. The Marlin machinery didn't integrate into the Remington plant until 2008 or 09. Which is why there were some problems early in the Remington production. Until then they were still Marlin made Marlins.

If you decide to buy a new one, just give it a good look before putting down the cash. (or credit/debit card)
 
#6 ·
Many thanks ...

... to one and all ! Basically the consensus seems to match the opinions I had formed already, but without solid practical experience of the newer units. The question was one more of idle curiosity than a guide to buying one - lol !

A month or so back, on one of my "pawnshop rambles", prompted by a query from #1 son, I came across a place that had close to half a dozen of the little critters in their racks. One in particular caught my eye ... enough that, with a confirming phone call to said son, it followed me home. It is a '98 Model 60 in almost mint condition, other than the inevitable dried-out buffer block. It had been 40 - 50 years since I had last owned one, but lost no time in "restoring" it to original, plus a few tweeks to smooth and lighten the "operating lever" - lol. No real serious mods, but trigger is now down to about 4# ... if the 50+ year old kid, who's going to get it on his Thanksgiving visit, wants it any lighter he's on his own - lol !

I had forgotten over the years what pleasant little rifles the 60's are ... points well ... and tolerably accurate with most low-end ammo, like CCI SV, Federal 711B, CCI MiniMags and Wolf/SK stuff ... 25 yard groups, hand-held, off the bench, on my "short test range" are typically in the .6" to .9" range, so will make him a good squirrel getter !

Mick - The Fuzzy Limey
 
#7 ·
I picked up a Marlinton Mod 60 just over a year ago. I checked the crown to be sure it's centered, checked the sights to make sure they're centered, etc. I've been very pleased with it. It's VERY accurate and reliable. I personally like the shorter tube and barrel on the newer models. It makes for a shorter rifle that's easier to carry in the woods. Lett's face it, if you're squirrel hunting and need more than 14 rounds at once, you have found the honey hole and/or you need to spend time at the range.
 
#8 ·
Well I have both and have owned others from the "pre" era. The 2009 60SS is BY FAR the most accurate 60 I've ever picked up. The 1989 model I have is pretty accurate for a semi-auto. The 2009 model is pretty accurate for any out of the box rifle actually. I've shot groups of .39" at 90 yards with it and every shot was in the bullseye of a Shoot N See target. I have a scan of one of those targets if you'd like to see it. It's not the only one I've shot either.

I used to sit and knock out every bit of red from the center bull of those Shoot N See targets with the 60SS. It's pretty easy to hit it the first few times. Getting those last bits of red knocked out is far, far harder. It generally takes about 15 rounds to completely knock out the center bull of those targets from 50 yards. Try it sometime and see how easy it is.

My 2009 60 is well made and has no alignment issues or issues of any kind actually. It did come with the cheesy plastic sights but I've been using a scope on that rifle since day one. I'd change that day-glo plastic sight if I wanted to shoot it without a scope.

I'm not disputing that people have had issues. I'm just saying my 2009 60SS is exceptionally nice in pretty much every way. I do have to clean it more often than my older 60's and it is a bit more picky about ammo but not that much. And the more it gets broke in the better it handles all ammo. It has steadily improved since I bought it new in 2010.

If I had to give up one or the other of my 60's there's no doubt the old one would be gone. The old one still works just fine and is still accurate. But it was never as accurate as the new one which says a lot about the new one IMO. The old one is a fine rifle but the new one is clearly better.
 
#9 ·
Own two 60's, both SS (2009), and a blued 795 (2010) also. All 2009's, and the 795 shoot great. Just like the early 80's Glenfield. As accurate as the 81DL and the old J.C. Higgins branded Marlin bolt actions that I also have. Either I got lucky or Marlin was still making good rifles then. Hope it was the later, as I hope Marlin is around for a good long time.
 
#12 · (Edited)
... and a newer one ...

... must be getting even more senile !

After tinkering with the one mentioned above, destined for #1 Son, did a little more pawnshop browsing and came up with one of the "newer" ones ... a 2006, I believe, as the S/N begins with a 94xxxxxx ... one of the shorter-barreled SB models fitted with that exotic, virtually priceless Optronics 4x20 Silver(?) plated scope.

A few quick test shots on my short test range to verify operation and it headed for the basement workshop. The first thing I noticed was that there were absolutely no "toolmarks" on any screwheads ... probably had never been stripped or tinkered with by the former owner(s). Trigger pull was measured in the almost 6# range, with a fairly lengthy first stage. Internally, the barrel was spotless, with very crisp rifling and crown. The lower receiver/action showed a very slight amount of powder residue, so apparently little usage either. Bolt surfaces were slick and showed very little in the way of tooling marks. One of those rare "Old Virgin" rifles !

I did the usual '1-turn clipping' of the hammer spring, lightly stoned the hammer and sear faces, the usual de-burring/polishing of everything that moved, and a slight re-forming of the trigger return spring to lighten it a bit.

Although I had visually checked before purchase for any misalignment of the open sights ... none was apparently obvious ... once I had a scope mounted, it gave me the impression that possibly the barrel had been pinned with a very slight - < 2 degrees CCW rotation - but it may have been just the odd tip-off rings I grabbed from a drawer. Back to the 25 and 50 yard ranges for some more test firing.

Overall, it feels good ... points well, with excellent balance ... trigger pull is now quite crisp at 3# 2oz, with a very long first stage and a fair amount of overtravel ... will work on that later. 10-shot test groups, hand-held, off the bench, are holding within 1' comforatably, so the rifle is CMP competition capable in the right hands. I was using a Hawke 2-7X air rifle scope ... just about perfect for this unit.

Another fun gun to keep an old man happy ... may even let the kids and grandkids play with it ... IF they ever come avisiting - lol !

http://s1341.beta.photobucket.com/user/Fuzzy471/library/

Mick - The Fuzzy Limey
 
#14 · (Edited)
Marlin 60 SB's ...

Pricewise ... it seems that the new ones, without "silver-plated scopes", are going for around $240 or so in Wally World, plus tax and FID check fees. I got this one, with a little negotiation, with scope, tax, and FID check for just under $200, including a very nice leather-bound Browning case.

Another recent Marlin 60 acquisition has been a 1988 long-barreled/long-magazine blued unit ... was in almost mint condition, with a plain "factory cherry-coloured-varnished" stock. Haggled this one down to just over the $100 range, tax and FID included. I've stripped all the original blobby finish off the stock, re-contoured it to a hollowed-out semi-Schuetzen cheekpiece, completely cleaned, deburred and polished everything moveable in the action. The stock has been re-stained with Watco medium Walnut Danish Oil and shows some rather intersting grain patterns. Now has a very crisp 1#9oz trigger and shoots 0,5 - 0.7" groups at 25 yards, hand-held using CCI SV.

Since then I have seen a couple of other SB's while pawnshop junketing, both with "asking prices" in the low $200's. I did see an older Glenfield "Squirrel-stocker", vintage possibly 1970, last Friday, on consignment at a Chattanooga gun store. The stock was almost mint, except for a few minor varnish chips on the butt ... BUT - the action looked as if it hadn't been cleaned since new, though ! Asking price was around $125.

Many, many poor-to-fair-to-average blued oldies available in area pawnshops, most over-priced in the $125 - 150 range, and in filthy worn-out looking condition ... Sigh !

Going back to my opening post ... I have looked at quite a few new(??) blued Marlin 60's in several Wally Worlds, Sportsmans Warehouses and Dicks ... the 'rotational' mis-alignment of the front sights on a fair percentage of them is very obvious ... however I have also noted that many of these particular units are not the very latest production judging by their serial numbers.

Mick
 
#17 ·
Many, many poor-to-fair-to-average blued oldies available in area pawnshops, most over-priced in the $125 - 150 range, and in filthy worn-out looking condition ... Sigh ! Mick
A Gander Mt. near me has a squirrel stocked 60 @ $99.99 that looks like it sat in a nice dry closet for many years.

I'm a purist and was almost ready to plunk down the cash "even though it has sling studs installed".....only to notice they're installed way off center!

When in arithmetic does adding become a subtraction.....that's when. :sad:
 
#16 ·
I own a '76 Glenfield 60 and a post '09 (serial prefixed MM ) Marlin 60...

The '09 model is really accurate, but at about 1500 rounds in the LSHO lever broke. Sent it in for warranty repair, and then at 2000 rounds later it broke again. Sent it in for warranty repair a second time and they replaced the action entirely. It's been shooting okay since then, but I've only put about 500 rounds through it so time will tell.

The '76 shoots great, but every once in a while a round will fail to feed, getting stuck between the feed lips. I think this is because the old style feed throat that starts to separate after time.

I like the feel of the Glenfield more. The stock has nicer contours so it not only looks better, but it feels better in hand. I still think the new one feels a lot better than the Rugers and Remingtons that were on the shelves next to it.


Thing to remember... I have another 4 years to work out all the kinks with the new one. The '76 on the other hand, I have to do all the work for that myself.
 
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