Have a Ruger 10-22, thought I'd check out the Marlin 60, which boasts it's the "most popular .22 rifle ever made." No wonder they're so cheap. The don't work very well. Tried three of 'em and every one jammed after the first loading. The first one I tried never even fired after repeating loadings. The second one fired successfully after 10 bullets were loaded into the tube and then jammed on the next loading. The third one jammed after five bullets were loaded. The cartridges got stuck in the chamber every time after sliding the bolt back and could not be extracted without a tool. The embarrassed salesman was at a loss for an explanation. Will never look at another Marlin again. I don't understand how they sold so many of these .22 turkeys.

I own a marlin in .308 and it's been a great gun

I bought one new 13 years ago and its great. For the price its a way better value. Ive never had a jam with it. Maybe an older one would be better - wouldnt be the first time that kind of logic worked.

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It aint rocket surgery

Shot thousands of rounds through my dad's old Marlin 60 and never had a jam with any kind of ammo.

Post 2007 marlins aka freedom group marlins are junk. Pre 2007 when it was the North Haven plant rifles are great and reliable shooters.

Marlin 980DL is my .22mag turkey rifle. Remington 552 speedmaster .22 is the squirrel slayer. Both are nearly as old as me... I guess they don't make 'em like they usta.

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Halfway and one more step

That means you'll never have one of these.

Marlin 39s and Camp carbines are hard not to like. You're going too cheap or maybe you're a dark cloud when it comes to mod 60s. I don't own one now but I've owned some good ones but now I'm a gun snob and just shoot guns I'm proud to own.

Mod 60s are as good a $100 .22 repeating rifle as you're apt to find.

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God spelled backwards is dog.

It sounds like you have one of those "Remington" Marlins.......

I have two of them, one a 1960s model(marked Glenfield rather than Marlin) and one that's about 10 years old.

The 1960s one usually does fine for the first 100 rounds or so. After it gets gunked up from 100 rounds, it will start to misfeed(usually about once per magazine) but will usually chamber if I pull back on the bolt a little bit. By 200 rounds, it will only feed correctly about every other time. Once I take it home and clean it, it will again work fine. This one is the more accurate of my two.

I have yet to have a single misfeed or any other problem with my 10 year old one, although I don't think I've ever stretched it past 300 rounds or so without cleaning. This one also has the last shot bolt hold open feature, which is nice, although it holds fewer rounds than the older one(I think 14 in the tube rather than 18).

About the only thing I put through mine are Federal bulk packs.

I believe this is the best explanation. iI have heard the new ones have really gone down hill but i do not have any personal experience. I have the good fortune to own a Marlin 39a gold trigger which has been in my family since it was purchased new in 1976. At 50 yards i can shoot the entire 16 round tube magazine pretty much into a group the size of a dime. From 50 to 100 yards bullet drop and atmospheric conditions start to factor in but, with some practice you can still shoot the eye out of a squirrel.




Like i said i think the older ones are better. Here is my marlin arms 9mm camp carbine which i am happy accepts the same magazine from my smith and wesson model 469.



and finally if we are showing off marlins. here is my Western Auto Model 200 30/30which was manufactured my Marlin Arms and sold under the brand Western auto supply company. This firearm would be the equivalant to a Marlin 336 and i believe was also sold under Sears , Jcpenny and some other names..



Therefore i am sad to hear marlin has gone so far downhill because these IMO are some of the highest quality pieces i have ever seen also the reason i do not need to expand my collection in any of the calibers i have chambered in the marlin.
Gl and have fun
Dave
p.s. Doublesharp, i like your collection as you can see we share taste in our collection of fine arms.
my regards to you

Where are these $100 M-39's being sold today?

Around the early 60's(?) and up till about '72,,the feed throat in the 60 (was the Marlin Model 90,,the Glenfield equivelent was the Model 60) was a sintered metal casting, 2 halves rivited together. The ejector itself was cast right into it. Being the tiny projection on the top left hand corner, it just didn't do the job as the ejector a lot of the time. It couldn't stand up to the pounding it took.

It literaly wore off in a handfull of rounds many times and many rifles never made it out of the range at Marlin only to be carted back to the Repair Dept for a new feed throat.
Continuous problems with them.
Pallets full of rifles returned from BigBox stores that were sold and return on warrantee. Most said 'will not eject'.

The feed throats were a vendor purchased item and they used to come into the factory by the industrial size cardboard barrel full.

There were other minor problems with the rifle on and off that you could attribute to QC most of the time, but all in all it was a pretty good design for an inexpensive mass production rifle,,except for that feed throat.

A 99M1 Model box magazine feed M1Carbine look-a-like made at the same time and using the same action never had any problems. Feeding from a straightline detachable mag,,it avoided the tubefeed necessary feedthroat that gave so much trouble.

In '71 one of the long time Repair Dept employees came up with a simple design change. It used one of the ends of the torsion spring used to power the hammer as the ejector.
R&D stole his design, never gave Larry credit for it, never paid him for it even though he submitted the idea long before that on a factory employees idea form. He had made the prototype and it fired over 25k rounds w/o a FTE.
Every tube feed from about 72 or so on had that design change and saved Marlin big money and the rifle itself. It was their bread and butter gun. But rifles made when that sintered metal ejector was used were a curse to the company and users.

The nylon/plastic recoil buffer in the rear of the action frame cracks w/ age too. Even ones from the late80&90's assemblys I've seen are already cracked and fall into pieces when you take them apart.
..and not from use either. I recently fixed up an 1985 purchased rifle that had been shot once by it's original owner and put away.
It's recoil buffer was cracked and split. I fixed the 15# trigger pull (measured on a gauge) and the heavy sideways push of the forend on the bbl.

It shot real 1" groups at 100m for me w/a 3X9 cheapy scope set at 9 once fixed up. I was impressed.
Before that a range test resulted in me pulling on the trigger and wondering out loud if the safety was on.
The poor trigger pull was a sear that looked like it had been caught sideways in the Marlin-a-Matic Sear Making Machine and never discarded. Nicely bued, but with scared and heavily damaged edges,,it was used in the rifles assembly, the rifle went bang,, and out the door to another satisfied customer it went.
Just really poor QC,,and that's the downfall of most mfg'rg companys lately.

Make sure the recoil spring in the bolt is not kinked in any way. It will cause FTF/FTE. Re-assembly w/o using care usually results in putting a kink in the spring. It'll work manually and all seems OK,,but it can cause malfunctions as it slows down the action speed.

Just some thoughts...

I like single shots, pumps and bolt action 22s mostly. But a couple Winchester 63's are pretty nice shooters.

Texas star, i agree i think DOUBLESTAR made a mistake on the prices.
The 39a and the 9mm camp carbine should fetch about 700$ up until a few months ago. The marlin 336 is champ too and would probably go for a bout 800$.I am not exactly sure on the prices as im not in the market
gl and have fun
dave

The question was about a Marlin mod 60, Mine is a Glenfield, made by Marlin, model 60...I think it was made for Kmart..
I have no idea how many troublefree rounds have been fired thru this rifle,,My .02...Accurate, dependable, many a squirrel's last sound they heard was the crack from this puppy..Third from the bottom up...

It was the Marlin Model 90.
At the same time that they made the Glenfield line,, the rifle was the Glenfield Model 60.

The Glenfields used a hardwood stock (usually birch) stained to look like walnut. Sometimes small differences in sights, grip caps, or lack of, silver or blued trigger instead of a gold plated trigger,,,things like that. Otherwise they are the same rifle.
Same as the trade name rifles made for and with 'JC Penney', Sears, and other retailers names on them. Small cosmetic differences,,the main working parts all came from the same place, assembled by the same people.

When Marlin discontinued using the Glenfield 'trade' name altogether (I don't recall now when it was,,80's perhaps(?),,the Marlin Model 90,,then became the Marlin Model 60.

Someone at Marlin was probably paid to think that up.

I realize the older Marlins were better made. The problems described in the newer ones turned me off. I've heard the butt-end feed tubes on the Remmy Nylons are pretty reliable. I'm happy with the 10-22 for now but looking for another semi-auto .22 rifle and have ruled the Marlin 60 out.

I had one of those 1972-73 marlin tube-fed .22's, really wish I still had it.

I've owned at least three Ruger 10-22's in the 70's 80's and 2000's. Don't miss any of those.

I've put thousands of rounds through my Marlin 60 with nary a problem. Since you were looking at a "Remlin" rather than a real Marlin...well, let's just put it this way, if it comes from Freedom Group I've seen their quality control in two different rifles. One of them is so poorly finished you can cut your hand on the sharp edges.

CW

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μολὼν λαβέ

2152HQ, the box mag fed marlin is the 989M2 and the short turbe carbine is the 99M1. i have both plus a 99(pre mod 60), a 60 and a 39A(1950). there are replacement buffers now that are not made of the same nylon stuff the OEM ones are. i've replaced several over the years too. i don't think they age well whether shot or not. as stated earlier the later produced Remlins are not as well made. lots of good info on rimfirecentral.com and marlinowners.com. lee

Over the years, I have had several Model 60's come and go. All of them have worked better than they should have. We would shoot hundreds of rounds through them, shoot a little brake cleaner into the action every now and then carry on. I am actually on the look out for a beater Model 60 right now. Full disclosure, I have absolutely no experience with the newer Model 60.

Just find one of these an be done with it.

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Halfway and one more step

Thanks Lee for the Model # clarification. Been a long while since I was there, loose track after while. It's good to have a brain refresher!
I never much look forward to tearing one apart anymore.
Those 989M2's were a hit though and popular as ever. They were packaged with 2 magazines IIRC. Seems like a 5rd and a 10rd.
They always seemed to work well and who didn't like the looks of an M1 Carbine.
Mostly got sent back in for the rear sight being damaged or someone took the internal action all apart and it came back in a bag minus some springs.
That was common for any of the semiauto 22's. Even the 49's. People just loved to take them apart for some reason.

I am a huge Marlin 60 fan. I also own Ruger 10/22's. My Marlins will out shoot the Rugers every day of the week. I have had the buffer break, but its a $15 part and I can do the repair myself. 1000's of rounds of fun in between buffers. Hard to get that much fun for the $150 price tag!

Out
West

My sixty got plenty mad at the abuse-----I calmed her down---but she carries a grudge.
wants to know if you clean her cousin up ever once in awhile and try treating her like a lady.
Blessings

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TEXAS, by GOD

I'm confused now...is it still the worst rifle ever made or does the OP need to edit the title to Worst rifle ever made for me?????

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Thirty characters. Exactly...

I'm just curious what shop you frequent lets you fire 3 different guns?? Did you actually buy these?

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"You're messin' up my Zen"

Im sorry i grew up with a Marlin model 60. 10s of Thousands of rounds thru it. Never hardly cleaned it. Eat everything and anything put in it. Id buy another one in a heart beat.

I bought my model 60 new in the mid 80's. I have never had a problem with it after thousands of rounds. Havent even cleaned it 3 or 4 times other than a wipedown externally once in while. Im pleased with mine.

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Go Big Blue

Is that a Rossi?

Heres a Winchester......

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Dum vivo cano

Bought a new Marlin 60 this past summer from Academy and real pleased with it. Changed the springs to Mcarbo springs and now have a 3.5 lb. trigger pull and tested couple hundred rounds CCI standard velocity with no problems and 1/2" groups at 50 yards with a fixed 4 power Nikon.

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It's the worst rifle I've ever tried. As for "made," decide for yourselves. I put it as a question, not a conclusion. I tried three of 'em and all had FTE/FTF issues.

They were used but looked to be in good condition at a gun store/pawn shop. I paid $129 for one and took it to the range. Wouldn't fire. Took it back and the owner followed me back to the range and brought 2 other Marlin 60's with him. They both worked for a few rounds, then jammed. I then followed him back to the shop and got a full refund but no apology. Took two hours out of my life. I will not shop there again.

What ammo were you using? I have a 99M1 that will jam in a heartbeat with the high velocity .22 ammo. Works like a champ and deadly accurate with standard velocity ammo.
Remember, when these were first designed most .22 ammo was standard velocity.

I have a Glenfield mod. 60 as well as a Marlin mod. 60. I have shot thousands of rounds through them, then my sons shot the **** out of them. They are still going strong after all these years.

Winchester bulk HP. Tried CCI's and others, didn't matter.

That SIR is a Winchester 1906 built in 1922, a factory nickel one, that appeared under the Christmas tree in1963 with my name on the tag!

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Halfway and one more step

I love pump guns...I have a 39A but gallery 22s are my favorite.

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Thirty characters. Exactly...

That's a beauty. Merry Christmas to you.

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Dum vivo cano

Worst rifle ever? LOL.

My Model 60 will shoot one tiny ragged hole at 50 yds. I have never had one issue with it minus the time I had a spring attached wrong and it wouldn't eject. I couldn't ask for a more accurate .22 out of the box. No mods needed to this thing to make it a competent tack driver.

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686, 629, 15-22 MOE FDE

got [2] model 60's that I bought new in 1961 for $38 & have put many thousands of rds through & they both will still shoot one ragged hole at 50yds with $9.95 weaver scopes ..also have [4] 10/22 that shoot good but they can't touch the Marlins...also tried a couple of 15/22 it's a good kids gun but thats all it's good for ...just bought a ded. CMMG upper for my AR & after about 10K rounds through it I think I'm gonna enjoy it ...take care

So, Jowisc... What you gonna do with all this cursed information???
Theres tiny woodland critters out there gettin' away with, well, whatever it is that rabbits and woodchucks get away with.

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Halfway and one more step

MY first rifle I bought was a Marlin /Genfield model 60 back in 1973 .I got it with a scope at K mart for the price of $49.00.I used to shoot a 500 rnd brick of what ever cheap ammo that was on sale every saturday in the sand pit behind my house and never had trouble till my brother bent the magazine tube.I did pick up another one 2 years ago from a cousin that her husband died . It's sitting in the safe with a few other
.22's that rarely get shot The one I do love to shoot is my Charles Daly by Zastava .22 lr.Bolt action with a 3x9 Bushnell scope on it.Its a tack driver The funny thing is that it shoots to the same POA with cheap Remington ammo or CCI cb longs that sounds like a pellet rifle and works great on tree rats..

The stock was not very pretty and hard to deal with--but with $60 in it I did this.
Blessings

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TEXAS, by GOD

Marlin quality control virtually ceased to exist after Cerberus bought them. They closed the plant and moved operations into the Remington plant and I have not heard anything good from buyers since then. Poorly fitted, won't feed, won't fire nothing but problems.

Sadly Marlin once made some of the best rifles you could buy for the money. I still have an old Model 39 that is a wonderful rifle and have owned quite a few of their other rifles both centerfire and rimfire. Good accurate rifles and priced reasonably.

The model 60 the OP looked at is a sound design or they would not have lasted and sold so many over the years. There are a few things that wear out on well used examples that I learned to look for when they came into the store for sell or trade but overall they hold up well. Current production must be way out of spec and poorly assembled as well to account for the problems I've seen and heard about from others.

I bought a Marlin 60 for my nephew brand new in 2005 or so and it shot every .22 that was stuffed in it. He didn't like it and traded it off which was his decision but I rather liked that little gun. One of the guns I am caretaking for is an early Model 60 with a scope on it that I would like to take out come this fall.

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Vaya con Dios

Had to vent, Tex. Other than that, just a learnin experience.

I've this one's twin in my safe!

Out
West

I bought a Marlin 60 many moons ago. I had it for decades, shot thousands of rounds through it, then sold it for about what I paid for it.

Don't miss it though. But it was ok.

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But then, what do I know?

Believe It or Not
The Marlin 60 with a magazine that holds more than 15 rounds gets you a felony conviction in New Jersey:

The Smallest Minority

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Buy American
Vote Responsibly

Purchased my 60SB in 2009 "NEW" and it has been totally reliable, but of course proper maintenance helps out a whole bunch.

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Doesn't hasta call me Johnson