Buying a new .22 rifle in preparation for squirrel hunting

Jason_W · Post by **Jason_W** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 10:25 am

The one I have is an old Jam 'O matic marlin semi-auto (how do you get rid of an unsellable gun?)

I'm thinking of going with a bolt action and I've read good things about the Winchester Wildcat. Any other ideas?

Rusty · Post by **Rusty** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 10:36 am

Does the Marlin shoot well enough for you to make it worth keeping if it were functioning properly?
Most rimfires become unreliable when they get dirty. The most common culprit is people who spray everything down with WD-40 and consider it clean.
If you just want a new rifle there no problem with just wanting it.

Rusty <><

Pete44ru · Post by **Pete44ru** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 10:41 am

[how do you get rid of an unsellable gun?]

Exchange it for a gift certificate or cash, whatever, at the next anti-gun, do-gooder's gun buyback.

J Miller · Post by **J Miller** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 10:44 am

jason,

If this is a older Model 60 or one of the variants it can be returned to functioning condition for a bit of work and funds. Marlin has improved the feed and ejection system on those and they work very well now.
This model was and probably is prone to problems when the actions get really dirty.

Joe

PaperPatch · Post by **PaperPatch** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 10:52 am

Enjoy the chow you fetch with that shooter!

http://www.gutpilestyle.com/ForumSMF/in ... opic=794.0

Or this one:

http://www.fieldandstream.com/fieldstre ... 05,00.html

C. Cash · Post by **C. Cash** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 11:01 am

Marlin 39A

Jason_W · Post by **Jason_W** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 11:03 am

J Miller wrote:jason,

If this is a older Model 60 or one of the variants it can be returned to functioning condition for a bit of work and funds. Marlin has improved the feed and ejection system on those and they work very well now.
This model was and probably is prone to problems when the actions get really dirty.

Joe

It is an older model 60, and yes its functioning does degrade as it gets dirty. Trouble is, it gets dirty fast.

I got it at a gun show for about $70 and got what I paid for. I'm guessing it would cost more than what I paid to improve the functioning of the rifle.

gamekeeper · Post by **gamekeeper** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 11:03 am

Jason_W I have heard reports that the Winchester Wildcat is quite a tack driver like the TOZ 78 its based on. However if you want a good reliable .22 find a Winchester 9422 made in the USA and a "good lookin'" rifle too!!

meanc · Post by **meanc** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 11:17 am

Jason,

Have you cleaned it really good then try different ammo for function.

How many shots can you fire before it gets dirty and starts to jam and which ammo?

I've had nothing but very good accuracy out of the one's I've shot. And with the right ammo, they can shoot all day long and then some. The thing is, you have to find ammo it likes that doesn't foul it so bad.

And if it gives 20 or 30 good shots before it starts to jam, I'd think that's plenty for a day of squirrel hunting. I know I've gone out with 15rds and come back with 10rds and 5 squirrels.

Post by **AmBraCol** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 11:18 am

I like to roam the squirrel woods with a classic shootin' iron. The Winchester 67 is a grand ol' single shot and does good work on squirrels. Last year I took most of my squirrels with the Ruger Old Model Single Six. It takes some practice, but hunting bushy tails with a handgun is a real challenge and a real blast. A lot of it depends on how much you want to invest and what kind of sighting system you want. Open sights gives you more options. If you want to scope it then you're looking at a narrower array of choices. CZ makes a dandy bolt gun, if you can find one. The 452 I BELIEVE is the model number on it. There were some Romanian trainer rifles on the market a while back that got good reviews if you like the surplus market. The Ruger 10-22 will give you a reliable, accurate semiauto and you can scope them too. Still, an old, used singleshot is hard to beat. If you can find one, the Marlin 39 is a great way to go as well.

Rusty · Post by **Rusty** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 11:35 am

Jason,
You might go over to www.rimfirecentral.com and look over the posts there. I visit that forum as well and there are some very knowledgeable people there. they'll be able to either help you fix your present rifle or upgrade to a new one. I'd be willing to bet that someone over there has made it a personal challenge to make a tack driver out of a M60.
A lot of the talk there is about getting the most out of 10/22's but all other brands are talked about.

Rusty <><

JReed · Post by **JReed** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 11:43 am

(how do you get rid of an unsellable gun?)

Send it to me of course

.

My wifes step dad has an old Mod 60 it took us awhile to find what it shoots best with the least amount of trouble. They are good little guns they just need love and a good diet.

handirifle · Post by **handirifle** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 12:35 pm

I have an old Glenfield that's probably older than most of the posters here. I got it when I was 10. A couple years ago it started jamming a lot and it got sidelined. couple trips to a 'smith and a much lighter wallet, still no improvement.

Well, one day I was goofing off with it and a Henry 22 and tried some CCI stingers and other hot ammo. Voila! That sucker actually cycled regurlarly. It wasn't real accurate with them, but I also found a couple other brands it worked with.

It got a new lease on life. Pretty much the same action as the Model 60.

J Miller · Post by **J Miller** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 1:57 pm

Jason,

The old feedthroat / ejector was a two piece affair rivited together. It was soft and prone to wear on the inside where the cartridges fed from the magazine to the chamber. It also had the bad habit of pounding the ejector stub into pulp.

Marlin came up with a replacement part that consisted of a slightly redesigned feedthroat part with a spring loaded ejector. It was a simple R&R job and that cured my rifles problems.

It would then run about 300-500 rounds before I had to pull the action out of the stock and hose it out with break cleaner.

These parts did not cost much and replacement was easy. No need for a gunsmith to raid your wallet.

Contact Marlin and discuss it with them. Or go to their web site and check the parts diagrams, the Mdl 60 is a current production gun.
http://www.marlinfirearms.com/default.aspx
http://www.marlinfirearms.com/Firearms/ ... ng/60.aspx
http://www.marlinfirearms.com/pdfs/manu ... F_Tube.pdf

Check out parts # 24 and 16 on the above .pdf parts list. These are the two parts that would be needed to upgrade your old Mdl 60. They may be different because the older rifles did not lock back on the last round, but a phone call to Marlin will answer that question.

Or I have an FFL I do business with, if you want to get rid of it for cheep let me know. I could use another .22 rifle.

Joe

Jason_W · Post by **Jason_W** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 2:21 pm

Ok, you guys got me. I don't need another .22, but I want one, and oddly, I can afford one this month. Wonder how that happened

as for the model 60 I have now, I just don't care for it much. every now and then I'll come across a rifle that I just don't get along with (Savage 110e, Ruger .44 lever).

J Miller · Post by **J Miller** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 2:55 pm

Jason,

What's "need" got to do with guns and shooting?

I want it, I got the money, I bought it. That's it, that's all.

Joe

Jason_W · Post by **Jason_W** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 2:57 pm

J Miller wrote:Jason,

What's "need" got to do with guns and shooting?

I want it, I got the money, I bought it. That's it, that's all.

Joe

I like your way of thinking.

Post by **Hobie** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 3:14 pm

Joe speaks for me, too.

Post by **AmBraCol** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 4:25 pm

Jason_W wrote:Ok, you guys got me. I don't need another .22, but I want one, and oddly, I can afford one this month. Wonder how that happened

as for the model 60 I have now, I just don't care for it much. every now and then I'll come across a rifle that I just don't get along with (Savage 110e, Ruger .44 lever).

And to answer your earlier question, about unloved rifles and how to get rid of them, you can always send it to the Paul Moreland Shelter For Unwanted Weapons in SW MO. It will get good care and even some appreciation as well as providing a tinkering project.

Shucks, I'd even pay shipping!

TNBigBore · Post by **TNBigBore** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 6:12 pm

I have an old Marlin 995 (same action as the model 60) that is a tack driver, but does jam when it gets dirty. As long as I keep it reasonably clean, it is all I could want in a squirrel gun. Light, fast and accurate.

jdad · Post by **jdad** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 6:19 pm

If you want a bolt gun that's a whole lot more bang for the buck, than the Winchester, Savage, or Marlin...get a CZ452 American. Go to www.rimfirecentral.com, search the Winchester, Savage, and Marlin forums, then go to the CZ forum. You'll be hard pressed to find any unhappy owners or complaints except for the stamped trigger guard.

BlaineCGarverakaTubbyTuba · Thu Sep 20, 2007 6:22 pm

Poke around the used shops and find a Winnie Model 72 Bolt .22......These are very fine .22 bolts......the quality is in the area of a Mod. 52....Expect to pay in the area of 275$$ and they are worth every cent!....If you want a scope, you'll prolly have to D&T. More rare is the 72s that came from the factory with peeps....

Andrew · Post by **Andrew** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 8:20 pm

I can put a box of 550 thru Dad's 9422 w/out a hiccup, and it is beautiful.

That's my vote.

71fan · Post by **71fan** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 8:37 pm

I got my uncles Remington 582 a few years back, scoped it, and voila - tackdriver. They sell on GB for under $200, maybe even under $150. There are a ton of cheapish Remington bolt 22 models that are good shooters.

Post by **Chuck 100 yd** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 8:47 pm

C.Cash said 39A... I second that emotion!

Rimfire McNutjob · Post by **Rimfire McNutjob** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 9:06 pm

I saw a CZ rimfire at the range recently and it appeared to be of above average quality. I was surprised ... I wasn't really expecting that much rifle for the price.

However, I must admit that I've only hunted squirrel with my father's old but accurate and reliable Remingon 511 ... which was his sqirrel gun when he was a boy. The stocks on these are very plain and the finish was usually matte as there wasn't a lot of polishing effort applied. But ... this rifle has it where it counts. It feeds and ejects everything well for me ... even the shorts.

My father introduced me to shooting with his 511 and I introduced my son last year to shooting with that same 511. Today, you can probably find them online for less than $200.

reddnek · Post by **reddnek** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 3:46 pm

I use either a model 39A or a 22mag bolt action with a 4 x scope (Marlin of course)

RKrodle · Post by **RKrodle** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 6:37 pm

I have a CZ 452 FS and boy does it shoot, I highly recommed them.

Ricky

ceb · Post by **ceb** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 5:53 am

Seeing as this is a levergun forum, I gotta go with a 39A. Its my all time favorite .22. My Winchester 9422 is pretty nice too!!

horsesoldier03 · Post by **horsesoldier03** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 6:56 am

I have 2 Marlin M-60 Glenfields. 1- rifle and 1- short barreled carbine. The rifle length barrel is excellent and has never misfed. The carbine IMO is no good. I clean both of them the same, however the carbine is much more tempermental. The one thing that I have found with it is make sure you shoot GOOD AMMO. The CCI Stingers are what I have found best for feeding and have sufficient blowback to cycle the action reliably.

Junior · Post by **Junior** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 7:24 am

Buying whatever's the cheapest 22 ammo at Wal-Mart won't work in a semi-auto rifle. Several years back I bought a brick of Winchester "Wildcat" for my Marlin M60. About every 10th round jammed. I cussed but put up with the jams. Then I started using the M60 22 to test screen function before I ran centerfire rounds over my Chrony. The Wildcat rounds averaged 1125 fps, but lo and behold about every 10th round zipped over the screens at 800 fps or so. And jammed.

Mokwaw · Post by **Mokwaw** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 3:25 pm

New guns are always a good idea, I like Marlin 39's. That said, don't junk your M60. A friend of mine has one that wouldn't fire more than 2 rounds without jamming. I took it home and broke it down to all it's parts, gave it a really good cleaning, check the chamber for burs, then lubed it with light machine oil (3 n 1). Ran 3 boxes (150 rnds) through it without a hitch. They are good guns just need to be cleaned throughly once in a while.

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 3:42 pm

I guess I'll just have to post a pic of my 96-22 with the 100rd magazine attached...

My Assault/Lever/.22

Bring on the Squirrel Hordes!

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 7:38 pm

You can not go wrong with the CZ 452 rifles. I have not seen one so far that would not shoot 1/2" at 50 yards and most do better and this is with cheap ammo.
One of my goals is to get a CZ American 452 with single set trigger and top it off with a Nikon 4 power ProStaff Rimfire scope.
I am getting excited just thinking about it! Of course I still use the old 39A with a Foolproof, but I could get more squirrels with the CZ for sure.

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 9:31 pm

Sad thing is 96/22s are hard to find.

The Mag versions are available, but the .22LRs haven't been available for a few years.

(OTOH, if the 96/22M had hi-cap mags available it would be almost as good as a lever action .223.

)

salvo · Post by **salvo** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 11:48 pm

BlaineCGarverakaTubbyTuba wrote:Poke around the used shops and find a Winnie Model 72 Bolt .22......These are very fine .22 bolts......the quality is in the area of a Mod. 52....Expect to pay in the area of 275$$ and they are worth every cent!....If you want a scope, you'll prolly have to D&T. More rare is the 72s that came from the factory with peeps....

TT, I agree, fantastic little bolt gun and very accurate too. I bought this one from a good friend, it was his Grandfathers and he just did not want it.
There is also a 72A with a grooved receiver for scope mounting.
The peep is perfect for me though.