Marlin Model 60: 2-MOA Forever?

[Buck Wilde]

I have a Marlin Model 60 I got in 2018. I made the mistake of listening to people who recommended this gun, and I have been trying to make it work. I put an Mcarbo trigger in it, which is not great but considerably better than OEM. I rigged it up so I could install sling studs without anything touching the barrel.

Today I took it out and shot it with 36-grain Mini-mags at exactly 50 yards, confirmed by my nifty new rangefinder. I shot from a bench with a rear bag and a Caldwell Rock, Jr., and I pretended it was an AR-15. By that, I applied the stuff I learned here about shooting gas guns. I figured it would not hurt the Marlin's accuracy, and it would be good practice. I used a Bugbuster scope, which is a fairly nice Chinese 3-9x.

Once I got the scope working, I shot 4 5-round groups I was able to measure. I could not use my 5th group, because it contained a 6th shot which I fired while just making sure the gun was empty, and I have no idea which hole came from that shot.

Anyway, I got an average of about 1.97 MOA. I guess I should be happy, but I'm pretty sure my Savage A22 shoots better.

Is there any hope of doing better with this cheap gun and ammo? Are there any well-known fixes to make these guns shoot?

I feel like it's unethical to shoot squirrels with a 2-MOA gun outside of maybe 50 feet.

 

[sparky702]

try some different ammo mini-mags aren't exactly target ammo . I have a model 60 that I got 30 years ago and it still shoots under an inch at 50 yds .

 

[Buck Wilde]

Maybe when ammo isn't a quarter a round!

I was thinking maybe the gun itself could be improved. I kind of wonder if the Model 795 is better because it doesn't have a tube magazine pinching the barrel.

 

[Trigger Monkey]

1.97 MOA is about an inch at 50 yards, that sounds pretty reasonable for that rifle and ammunition combination at that distance. I would think that 1" at 50 yards should be more than enough to take a squirrel.

 

[ma smith]

1 inch at 50m is minute of squirrel, all that rifle was designed for.
Also, I agree that ammo plays a big role in any .22,
nothing you can do about that

edit: above poster beat me to it

 

[Buck Wilde]

On my property, most squirrels are 20 yards or more off, and a 2 MOA gun at the bench is less accurate in the woods with no rest. I think it's time to dust off the Sweet Sixteen and forget about rifles for squirrels. I feel like I'm maiming animals for no good reason when I could have more shot opportunities and kill them quicker with a shotgun.

 

[Trigger Monkey]

Well, sounds like you have it figured out. Woe betide the squirrels.

 

[~JM~]

Find some 40 gr. lead standard velocity or sub-sonic ammo & try it again. Think you will be surprised.

 

[Charger442]

Only thing you really need to do is replace the barrel and the action. It's going to tighten those groups up

 

[Will-Dub]

My first rifle was a stainless with pepper stock model 60, I have some very fond memories of that thing. Probably never stop kicking myself in the ass for selling my first rifle. They aren't known for being tack drivers but that's not really what that type of rifle is about.

 

[Buck Wilde]

I really need bigger squirrels. They're tiny in Florida. If they were bigger, 2 MOA wouldn't be that big a problem!

 

[Hi-Wall]

I really need bigger squirrels. They're tiny in Florida. If they were bigger, 2 MOA wouldn't be that big a problem!

Are we in agreement, that 2 moa equals a 1" group at 50 yards? So therefore, out to 50 yards, (which is a darned long in the woods tree squirrel shot), your bullet should hit within 1/2" of where the cross hairs are when the trigger is pulled. How many squirrel heads can be missed with accuracy like that? At 25 yards, (not an atypical shot at a squirrel in the woods), your bullet will be within 1/4" of where the crosshairs are at the shot. I'll take those odds any day.

 

[ma smith]

stalkk those squirrels to 25 and hit the prone

 

[Buck Wilde]

Shooting a fidgety squirrel isn't like shooting under ideal circumstances from the bench.

 

[Simonsza1]

I’m blown away we went through a rimfire rifle not shooting well thread and no one said buy a vuduu

 

[Doctorwho1138]

I had a marlin model 60 as kid. Iron sites and all. I killed a ton of squirrels back in the day with that gun. It’s been sitting in my safe unmolested for 20 something years. I need to pull it back out and shoot it. I have no idea how tight a group it shoots but I use to shoot golf balls off of fence posts on my dads farm as a young lad. Never even hit the post.

 

[Simonsza1]

I had a marlin model 60 as kid. Iron sites and all. I killed a ton of squirrels back in the day with that gun. It’s been sitting in my safe unmolested for 20 something years. I need to pull it back out and shoot it. I have no idea how tight a group it shoots but I use to shoot golf balls off of fence posts on my dads farm as a young lad. Never even hit the post.

It was my first rifle, sent a massive amount of bricks through that thing

 

[Trigger Monkey]

The Model 60 I have was my first rifle too. The only thing I've done is replace the irons with Williams Fire Sights and they were a vast improvement over the original irons. I've got a set of dovetail rings and I've toyed with putting a scope on this one but it's just so much fun with the open sights.

@LaraCroft on our last range day

 

[justin amateur]

I have 2 of them.
A mid 70's model, 17 round capacity, 3x9 AO scope
I do play with it out to 200 yards.
My personal small game brush rifle

10 inches of spread at 200 yards
3.3 inches at 100 yards
1.1 inch at 50 yards
0.4 inch at 25 yards, good enough for head shots on a bushy tailed branch manager.

and the wife's stainless, 15 round capacity
She prefers a cheap CenterPoint 1x red dot,
Quick acquisition and squeeze, my job is to recover, carry and clean.

At 20 yards the last time she adjusted the red dot.
The woman has no problem filling the game bag.

There's no one making 50 yard shots where we wander the woods.
All new growth pine and oaks with vines and palmettos.
Typical North Florida undergrowth means walking quiet and moving slow.
Waiting on targets of opportunity.

 

[LaraCroft]

Ok...
First off, just how small are these alleged squirrels? Florida has grey, fox, and flying squirrels, just like Virginia, and my family and so many others around here grew up hitting them with a .22 no problems. A grey squirrel is 17 to 20 inches long. Fox squirrels are larger. Flying squirrels are smaller, and also nocturnal. Are you trying to get flying squirrels?

I've raised grey squirrels. While light weight, they have a good sized chest cavity, even during skinny summers. No need to shoot them in the neck, as a shot to the body is pretty much a guarantee to hit a vital organ.

 

[LaraCroft]

But I mean, if a rifle isn't working for you, then maybe it is not the one for you.

 

[Buck Wilde]

Pet store rats are a lot bigger than the squirrels I've shot here. I actually know that, because many years ago, I owned some pythons. A medium-sized chicken breast has maybe twice as much meat. Maybe I'll pop one tomorrow and measure it.

Yesterday I read about someone shooting squirrels with a .204 Ruger. That really interested me. Better optics, extreme accuracy, and if it hits the skull at all, it ought to be instant death. It would be a nice chance to use the gun, and think of the fun of telling people you hunt squirrels with a coyote rifle.

 

[Hi-Wall]

I picked up my late Grandpa's late 70's M60.View attachment 7527109 Gave it quick scrub...lots of dust.

Can't say it impressed me. Will be going down the road.

What would your definition of being impressed be? Asking seriously, nothing implied.

 

[Buck Wilde]

I took the Savage A22 out today and tried CCI 36-grain Mini-mags, CCI standard velocity RN, and Remington Golden Bullets at 25 yards.

I'm kind of surprised how badly the Remingtons shot. I rotated among targets, so it's not like I shot all the Remingtons before I was warmed up or after I was tired. Anyway, the others seem to be fine in this gun at this distance.

Mini-mags:

Standard velocity:

Remington:

 

[Hi-Wall]

A good trigger, reliable feeding, average to great accuracy would impress me.

For a lightly used super clean and functional scoped gun...it sucked.

The entire gun..except the fact its tube fed....is disappointing. Sold it this morning. Not my problem anymore.

If your implying it had anything redeeming about it. It was a narrow thin firearm. If that is important to anyone.

Not being snarky either. Won't miss that gun at all.

Fair enough. I never thought of a Marlin Model 60 as anything other than an inexpensive, common, .22 semi auto for general .22 field work. I keep one around for just such occasions. For some goofy reason it shoots CCI Stingers and Agulia Super Maximums with suitable accuracy for yard varmints.

 

[Buck Wilde]

They're not inexpensive. Not now. My buddy just sold his unfired Model 60 on Gunbroker for $375! I wish I had a room full of them.

 

[Hi-Wall]

They're not inexpensive. Not now. My buddy just sold his unfired Model 60 on Gunbroker for $375! I wish I had a room full of them.

Let's hope DFOOSKING got a pretty penny for his then.

 

[Fasteddie01]

Buck - The others above that suggest you try better ammo are right. I have a 2014 Mayfield 60 with only a few hundred rounds thru it and I've found that SV bullets can stay under 2MOA @ 50y. CCI-SV, S&B, Eley, SK+ - even Fed Champion SV all do that. That's plenty for a head shot - under 1" at 50y. And I have a B-22 that does better - under 3/4" - but I've only had it a short while, under 500 rnds. Both guns are over 1.5- 2" @ 50y with any (Herters, CCI-MM, Rem G, Fed BP & Automatch so far) HV ammo I try- that's 3+MOA !! The Marlin has a Tasco 4-16x50 SF (new last Spring) and the B-22 has a Bushnell Engage Deploy MOA 6-18x50. I just started working on accuracy when I got the B22 in Sept. and both rifles are Zeroed with Fed Champion.

Savage B-22 - SV @ 50yds & HV - Fed Black Pak, Rem Golden

Marin 60 w/HV - Herters, Fed AM & SV - Fed Champion, Aguila Blue bx, S&B Standard

 

[Twobits]

I have a Marlin Model 60 I got in 2018. I made the mistake of listening to people who recommended this gun, and I have been trying to make it work. I put an Mcarbo trigger in it, which is not great but considerably better than OEM. I rigged it up so I could install sling studs without anything touching the barrel.

Today I took it out and shot it with 36-grain Mini-mags at exactly 50 yards, confirmed by my nifty new rangefinder. I shot from a bench with a rear bag and a Caldwell Rock, Jr., and I pretended it was an AR-15. By that, I applied the stuff I learned here about shooting gas guns. I figured it would not hurt the Marlin's accuracy, and it would be good practice. I used a Bugbuster scope, which is a fairly nice Chinese 3-9x.

Once I got the scope working, I shot 4 5-round groups I was able to measure. I could not use my 5th group, because it contained a 6th shot which I fired while just making sure the gun was empty, and I have no idea which hole came from that shot.

Anyway, I got an average of about 1.97 MOA. I guess I should be happy, but I'm pretty sure my Savage A22 shoots better.

Is there any hope of doing better with this cheap gun and ammo? Are there any well-known fixes to make these guns shoot?

I feel like it's unethical to shoot squirrels with a 2-MOA gun outside of maybe 50 feet.

I just bought a 1979 Glenfield that needed some minor work. After getting the bugs out of it, wouldn't eject, I shot it and was surprised to get really decent accuracy out of it. Rapid fire from bench at 50 yds was under an inch with open sights.