Marlin 60 vs. Remington 597

[cobber]

Any pros/cons on these two guns?

Looking for a plinker for my daughter. Pink camo not required.

Or any other suggestions? She's 11 and about as tall as Dad, so we don't need a junior-sized rifle.

Thanks!

 

[longbarrel]

My experience 597 has occasional stove pipe/jam 60 will eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and eat. Both are good rifles.

 

[Txlur]

I like my model 60, but 795's are very inexpensive, have a nice trigger, and take 10rd mags. My sister loves the one I gave her. Honestly, I don't think you can go wrong with a Marking. That being said, 10-22 mags are easier for young shooters to load, and are easier to modify IMO.

 

[indykid]

The Marlin is a much better rifle than the Remington. I have both, and found that the Remington stays in my safe much more than the Marlin.

As stated above, the Marlin does not seem to prefer one ammo over another. Mine is sometimes used as a garbage disposal to fire ammo that my other 22s won't fire.

About the only thing some people don't like about the tube fed versus mag fed is that you can't change tube length while there are several more than 10 round mags available for the 597.

 

[thompal]

Any pros/cons on these two guns?

Looking for a plinker for my daughter. Pink camo not required.

Or any other suggestions? She's 11 and about as tall as Dad, so we don't need a junior-sized rifle.

Thanks!

I've had both. I owned a Marlin 60 for over 30 years, and have had a 597 for a few years, Both are excellent. The Marlin would stovepipe occasionally (once every 200-300 rounds if it was dirty), the 597 seems to be more reliable.

I would say that, ultimately, between those two, it comes down to whether you prefer a tube magazine, or a removable magazine (don't even bother with the 30 round magazine for the 597 though, it's unreliable junk).

Both are very accurate, both are comfortable to shoot.

My Marlin 60 had the "microgrove" rifling. I don't know if they still have that. The only reason I mention it is that it seems that it was harder to clean, especially if I had been shooting non-jacketed lead ammo.

 

[cobber]

Thanks for the feedback. Is there any one type that young ladies seem to enjoy shooting most?

My daughter's not quite a tomboy, but I know heavy recoil would discourage her at the beginning. Also an action that is too complex.

Heck, that even bothers dad sometimes...

 

[rugertoter]

I have a model 60, a Ruger 10/22, and a Mossberg M702 "Plinkster". I would say that the Marlin is a good shooter and reliable, but the tube magazine could be tough to load for a younster. Don't laugh, but the Mossberg is dead accurate and has great iron sights, but can be a little finicky with what ammo it will digest. The Ruger, well, it is awsome. I have three standard 10 round magazines for it and two 25 round BX-25 magazines for it. It fires anything that I put in it and is easier to clean than the other two are. On the plus side, there are tons of aftermarket parts and pieces for that little rifle too. I am going to be buying another 10/22 soon - thats how much I like that .22. JMHO.

 

[rugertoter]

Thanks for the feedback. Is there any one type that young ladies seem to enjoy shooting most?

My daughter's not quite a tomboy, but I know heavy recoil would discourage her at the beginning. Also an action that is too complex.

Heck, that even bothers dad sometimes...

LOL! I know what you mean!

 

[paperboy]

I have had a Marlin 60 for 30 yrs and will never part with it. My Dad got it for Christmas for me on my 13th Christmas. The only thing I've replaced on it was the recoil spring. It is definitely minute of squirrel accurate. My Dad has the Remington and I find it to be quite accurate as well and have only had the occasional jam. I think both are great rifles but I am just partial to my Marlin.

 

[ridetoslide]

Not to confuse you more since you asked about 2 specific rifles but, I would recommend a new Winchester Wildcat bolt action or a Henry blued lever action. The Wildcat should be around $200 bucks and the Henry a little more. I bought my daughter a Henry and she absolutley loves it. That was after she shot my Marlin 39A and 10/22 Ruger, and a couple others. The Winchester is really nice, made at the Tula Armory for Winchester, or whover owns them now. I know this didn't help your decision between the 2 you listed, and not taking anything away from those 2, but these I mention are keepers for sure. Good luck and let us know what she gets!

 

[concrete dog]

Just my but go with the Marlin! I will never give mine up. 597 is not for me.

 

[cobber]

Not to confuse you more since you asked about 2 specific rifles but, I would recommend a new Winchester Wildcat bolt action or a Henry blued lever action. The Wildcat should be around $200 bucks and the Henry a little more.

The Wildcat looks pretty nice, but is it still in production?

 

[tmccorkel]

I say go with the 795. I own a model 60 and a 795 and the 795 is a lot shorter and lighter (magazine fed, hollow synthetic stock) than the 60. The model 60 actually feels more like a full-sized rifle. Also, in another post, I mentioned some issues with Remington's CS, which is something to consider. Marlin .22's have a very good reputation and there's a reason for that- they're dirt cheap and they are very accurate out of the box.

 

[ridetoslide]

I believe the Winchester Wildcat is still available and being made. CDNN emails me specials all the time and if I remember correctly about a year ago they werre selling them for $169. Of course need to pay for the FFL transfer and CDNN said $17 bucks for shipping and that would cover up to 4 rifles. You could call them and see if they still have some. They have nice sights, drilled/tapped if you want a scopa and come with 4 or 5 clips to boot.

 

[cobber]

Wildcat seems to be unavailable now. The Savage Mk. II looks nice.

I guess it boils down to bolt action v. semi-auto.

 

[XDinmyXJ]

No experience with the Remington but I bought a Marlin Model 60 a few years ago and I love it. It'll eat any ammo you put in it and seems to jam up a little bit when it gets dirty but thats with bulk pack ammo. I added a 10/22 to the gun cabinet right beside it!

 

[jb28]

I myself have a 597, it's a fun shooting little rifle. I bought mine at Bass Pro in Clarkville for $200. Me and my son love to go get a 550 box of Golden Bullets and we'll run through them like nothin'. I later added an Archangel stock to it for 80 or 90 bucks, bought a few 30 rd mags for it so we don't need to load as much.
Here is the after pic. I've only got about $300 in it. Nice plinker.

 

[rockhopper46038]

Go Marlin, and consider the 795 magazine fed. It's just more fun for a young shooter, but still has all the nice accuracy of the Model 60.

 

[VERT]

My only critisim of the model 60 is that it is fed from a tubular magazine. Kids have a tendency to see the business end of the barrel when loading. I would recommend the Marlin 795 if you are considering an entry level semiautomatic. You sometimes see these on sale new for just a little over $100. Been very tempted to get one just to have.

 

[MarlinMan68]

My only critisim of the model 60 is that it is fed from a tubular magazine. Kids have a tendency to see the business end of the barrel when loading. I would recommend the Marlin 795 if you are considering an entry level semiautomatic. You sometimes see these on sale new for just a little over $100. Been very tempted to get one just to have.

I was reading through this thread and was ready to suggest the model 60.After reading VERT's post I also think the 795 is the way to go.Being only 11 years old the clip fed option does seem safer for her.VERT has a very point.