The 880SQ was supposed to the cats meow. Closest to the 7000 available to Joe Sixpack. Keep us informed on your build.

 

My older Marlin catalog said the barrels for the 880SQ were 'specially selected', whatever that meant, also for the 7000.

 

Had one, shot very well withe CCI SV and Wolf Match. Buddy begged me to sell it to him. I have a couple of CZ's and it hangs with them quite well. it is down to the shooter. Both come in second behind my Winchester 52, but not by much.

 

Mine are the two most accurate Marlins I have had. About 30 if you were wondering haven't kept many too long with 4 daughters they don't last long.

 

I bought mine used and had to have it re crowned. Nice accurate rifle, mine really likes CCI Blazers.

I put mine in a Boyds stock and added a Timney Trigger.

 

My favorite rifle Marlin ever made. I've got one that I got new in '98 and wouldn't sell it. It has been retired as a target rifle, but it's still my main hunting rifle. They are one of the all-time bargains in accurate rimfires.

Edited to add, the barrel is officially 22" according to Marlin specs.

 

I have a Marlin with a "Micro-Grove" that was given to me back in 1963. My uncle Dick found it in a ditch, refinished it, installed a set of target sights (front globe and rear peep) and gave it to me for Christmas. I shot that rifle in NRA matches as a kid, got my Boy Scout Marksmanship Merit Badge with it and shot it in matches on the HS Rifle Team. Took it to school once a week on the school bus and kept it in my hall locker ... WOW have times changed!

Back in the late 1990's I started to get interested in rimfire silouette. The friend that introduced me to it shot a scoped Anschutz 54 sporter that he constantly bragged on. That 40 year old Marlin with target sights and I could hang with him and his scoped Anschutz.

I still have that gun in my safe ... blueing is almost gone, the high gloss finish on the stock is crackled, but is still shoots better than I can.

'nuff braggin on an old gun, here's what I wanted to add to the conversation.

Theory behind why bullets rise or fall in response to a cross wind has to with the number and depth of sharp edges at the lands and groves causing lift as the bullet rotates during flight ... much like a pitcher throwing a breaking ball. RH twist causes a bullet to rise/drift left in response to wind from the left and drop/drift right when the wind is from the left - approximately from 10 o'clock to 4 o'clock. Theory has it that fewer edges results in less rise/fall. When I shot 22 benchrest around 2000, barrel makers were experimenting with fewer groves, shallower groves and wedge shaped groves in an effort to minimize the effect of cross wind.

If you slug a micro-grove barrel what you find are very narrow marks in the bullet ... almost like they were sliced with a knife's edge rather than the traditional square edged groves made by traditional rifling.

I always wanted to try a micro groved barrel with a match chamber against a Lilja, Shillen, Walther barrel in the same bedded action/stock/trigger/scope combo ... in otherwords remove all the variables except the barrel. My working theory was that there would be less rise/fall in response to a cross wind because if the unique rifling ... but I never got around to it.

 

The early ones had match chambers and not sure how many were made before they switched to a standard chamber,the super high velocity crowd probably had some thing to do with speed over accuracy shift

 

The first year 880SQ rifles have the serial numbers beginning with 04 (1996). The semi-match chamber barrels all have two screw holes with filler screws where a front sight should be and a blank rear scope dovetail.

Mine is a 1996 model with the semi match chamber which I bought used in 1997. Using standard velocity, wax lubed 40 grain ammo, CCI SV, Eley Target, etc. it will put five shots in under a half inch at 50 yards all day. I finally added a Rifle Basix trigger this past week and can't wait to hit the range again. Even with the stiff factory trigger, this rifle out shot my CZ-452, Remington 541T, Remington 521T Jr ScoreMaster, Browning T-Bolt and a couple other, all of which have been sold or traded. My 81TS is nearly as accurate, though it favors high velocity ammo.

 

I bought mine back in 2000 or 2001. At the time it was about $220, which was pretty pricey for a 22 unless you were buying a Ruger or CZ.

I put a Rifle Basix trigger in it (which is a must) and a Simmons 22mag 3-9x32. Dynapoints tend to shoot about 3/4-1" at 50 yards. Minimags solids will do 1/2-3/4". You can kick a shotgun shell at 50 every time with no effort.

1/2" groups are a dime a dozen online (and for frequent shooters with highly modified or pricey factory guns and pricey ammo they probably get that), but the 880sq shoots great real world groups for the casual shooter. :bthumb: