The Marlin Glenfield Model 60 is revered by many rimfire enthusiasts as one of the most accurate and affordable semi-auto .22 rifles made. This is especially true for those made before 1983. If you can get your hands on one, don’t pass it up.
Marlin began manufacturing the Model 60 in (you guessed it) 1960. It quickly became known as an affordable, reliable, and accurate rimfire rifle enjoyed by small-game hunters and .22 plinksters alike. Over the next 60 years, well over 11 million of the rifles were produced and sold. Model 60s were sold under the Glenfield name until 1983; and were sold under private-label names for JC Penney, Montgomery Ward, Western Auto, and others. Only the legendary Ruger 10/22 eventually surpassed the Model 60 in sales.
Marlin was acquired in 2008 by Remington Arms Co. Inc., which is a subsidiary of Freedom Group Co. of Madison, N.C. Remington went bankrupt and was fully liquidated in September 2020. This halted production of the Model 60 for the first time. Later in 2020 Ruger announced the purchase of all of the Marlin Firearms assets from Remington Outdoor Company, Inc. Ruger President and CEO Chris Killoy assured that the Marlin brand and its products would live on, and word on the street is that Ruger will begin manufacturing the Model 60 again in the future.
Gun Specs
There were several features that attributed to the Model 60’s excellent accuracy. First, the Model 60 originally boasted a 22-inch barrel. Second, it included Marlin’s “Micro-Groove” rifling. Third, it was designed to only shoot .22 LR ammo. All of these factors combine to make the gun a true tack driver. Dad tells of shooting groundhogs in the head at 100 yards with the rifle, and I remember hitting crows at well over 100 yards with it.
Another popular feature in the original Model 60 is the tubular magazine that holds 18 rounds. (Author note: Marlin later reduced the magazine to 15-rounds in the late 1980s due to New Jersey state legislators.) There’s a certain nostalgia from loading the tube that evokes memories of my Daisy BB gun as a youngster. On top of that, firing 18 rounds of .22 from a semi-auto rifle will make any shooter smile with joy. It’s just plain fun to shoot.
Included are open rear and ramp front iron sights that are accurate enough for most .22 applications. With that said, I topped mine with a Bushnell 3x9x32 scope to maximize the rifle’s accuracy potential. Bushnell scopes are known as budget-friendly scopes with clarity comparable to scopes that cost double or more. This made it seem like a great match for the rifle.
The trigger is one downside of the gun. I haven’t measured the pull weight, but those who have say it clocks in at 5-7 pounds. The travel is long and gritty, and stacks as you pull it. With that being said, the trigger blade is ergonomic with a wide surface and ample curvature. With enough practice it can be learned and managed for excellent results.
If you’re looking for an affordable semi-auto .22 rifle that is a blast to shoot, the Marlin Glenfield Model 60 .22 LR rifle is an excellent choice. It’s surprisingly accurate and is a classic you’ll want to keep in your collection for a long time. For ammunition testing data, check out ShootingSavvy.com.
Factory Specifications
Caliber: .22 long rifle (will not accept .22 short or .22 long)
Barrel: 22 inches; includes Marlin’s patented “Micro-Groove” rifling
Overall Length: 40.5 inches
Weight: 5.8 pounds
Action: Semiautomatic
Sights: Open rear sight, adjustable for elevation and windage; ramp front sight. Receiver grooved for scope mount.
Finish: Blued steel barrel, black coated receiver
Capacity: 18-shot integral tubular magazine
Price: No longer in production. The Model 60 is worth an average price of $445 if you can find one new and around $250 used.
Check out Ammo To Go, the ammunition retail sponsor of TTAG gun reviews. Get your bulk and quality ammo for a bargain by visiting their site.
If memory serves they shortened the barrel. The 22 inch tube was a very accurate rifle for a budget gun. Hundred yard shots on stationary targets were a thing. Crows. Pigeons. And a couple of groundhogs.
I did hit a moving groundhog at about 80 yards with a 10/22. That was a satisfying shot.
The blew it this time by not threading the barrel…
It’s not back yet. Send Ruger a note. Enough squeaky wheels may get attention, and we may be pleasantly surprised.
And add a decent rear sight (though Ruger DOESN’T know peep sights).
It’s tube loaded. They’d have to lengthen the barrel and shorten the tube; reducing capacity. Just like Henry did with their threaded rimfire models.
Bought a scope packaged one at Kmart in 1993 for $89.99. 10/22 carbines were $119.99 at the time. No sales tax. Nice and accurate. The tiny Tasco 4x broke almost immediately. After about 8,000 rds both extractors and extractor springs needed to be replaced. Shot a lot of Columbian and Richardson ground squirrels. One note, do not disassemble the trigger sub group unless you are very experienced but, at least today there is Youtube. Great inexpensive rifle but lacks any aftermarket support and parts are now expensive and hard to find since they are out of production. The model 795 is the same design with a detachable magazine.
Very similar experience to me. Got one (sans scope) also from Kmart for my 14th B-day in the late 80’s. Don’t recall the exact price but think it was around $80. I’ve easily shot +3000 rnds through it. Took more than a few rabbits and chipmunks too. Sitting in my safe right now.
I’ve had a couple of these.
I like the longer barrel.
I do not love the tubular magazine, but you get used to it.
Pro tip: Get some junk aluminum arrows. A .22lr cartridge will fit inside . Cut it down & you have a speed loader. I used a cotter pin on one end, tied to a string at the other end. Pull the magazine tube all the way out, and cover the loading hole with your hand as you pull out the cotter pin & dump in the rounds.
I don’t want to disagree with the author and many others,
but I do not like a Marlin Model 60. Never have. Since I fired my first one around age twelve. I never owned one because a couple of my friends owned them first. None of us could hit a damn thing with them. Rough trigger and poor sights. We went back to the Winchester and Remington bolt action single shots (you occasionally saw a tubular magazine) we were given to us by fathers, grandfthers and uncles. Still have my grandfather’s Remington by way father. Squirrels shivered when we entered the woods with those.
I actually love my (actually my wife’s) Model 60. It is an early model with the 18 round magazine and an absolute tack driver. DIP trigger gets rid of most of the slack, Mcarbo spring lights lightens the pull to about 3.5# and a set of Tech Sights on top. Only downside for me is lack of threaded barrel.
I have one of these, bought as kind of a beater gun, but did a full overhaul/refinishing project on it – very fun! The action is complex for what it is – lots of little springs and “do not service at home” bits built to a price point with cheap metal and plastic. I didn’t mess with that much and stuck to deep cleaning and refinishing the wood and metal instead. Came out pretty nice, and it’s a fun shooter for sure. The 18 rd. tube magazine was a Godsend behind the iron curtain in upstate NY. Matters less now that I’ve moved away.
My younger brother had one and he liked it. I went with a Nylon 66 and a Nylon 12
Kevin, you were better off with that Nylon 66. I’m always on the scout for one at a decent price.
consider the ithaca x5.
My more modern one won’t feed hollow points, not that it really matters. I’m happy with it. I paid $120 for it new.
I might have got lucky with one that I bought new about 10 years ago. It feeds anything except, strangely enough CCI. It is a very accurate rifle and a lot of fun. I have a 10/22 that is the opposite in that it only fed CCI for the first few years I had it. I like them all…
The worst trigger I’ve ever ‘pulled’ on a .22 rifle was on the Savage model 87 (and it’s various names/iterations [‘Gill Gun’]). There is no way to describe it outside it being heavy and only heavier as one increases pressure. After 50 rounds my finger was tired. I started to use my middle finger to pull the trigger when shooting the next 50 rounds.
That said, I’ve found that, with .22 rifles, pulling the gun out of the stock and spraying down the trigger group/parts/pieces with a cleaning agent & lubing it back up can help some with the trigger pull. I like Shooter’s Choice Quick Scrub but something similar would work. As the internet denizens say, “YMMV”.
Bought one second hand over 45 years ago, the first gun I ever purchased. It’s gotten a lot of use over the years. It got to where there was a lot of jamming upon extraction. Replaced some of the parts and it hasn’t jammed since. It was starting to get some spot rust, so several years ago I had it cerakoted and it looks lovely on the gun rack. Having a magazine like the 10/22 would probably be better than the tubular one, but it’s fun nonetheless.
The one I had had aluminum feed lips which wore away causing jams and it had a nylon recoil block that disintegrated and fell apart.
What does this make now? A thousand different guns that a loudly anti gun person has claimed to own?
A person with a valid cause has no reason to lie. So what does that make your cause?
It was a video game playing in his mommy’s basement.
Someone’s been scouring message boards and plagarizing other’s posts in order to look like he knows what he is talking about. Typical Dacian I mean “Democrat”, did you go to Ha-Ha-Ha-Haaar-Vaaard too?
…. and it had a nylon recoil block that disintegrated and fell apart.”?
Any real gun owner would know the plastic buffer doesn’t last forever (though it’s good for years & thousands of rounds) and real Marlin/Glenfield Model 60 gun owners wouldn’t complain they would.just replace the worn part.
mine is a tack driver, circa about 1970. I did have lots of trouble getting the bolt spring back in place as as a curious teenager. haven’t shot it in years but as I recall it didn’t like being too dirty.
I’ve had a bunch of these and still have a couple. Better than the 10/22 in my opinion. I preferred the model 70 with its detachable mag.
I found a Winchester model 190 my wife had buried in the closet and thinking it was junk I found a fix on yootoobe. Just needed the barrel nut tightened and after getting a BSA cheepo scope (and mounts I found thanks to Possum and others) it’s a lot of fun! Zeroed in quickly and thanks to one of those speed loader thingies I got a cheep range toy. Old rimfires never die they just get lost in the closet!
I shot a Marlin Model 60 in my teens and early 20s. I recall being able to put bullets into a 2.5-inch circle at 70 yards (using the factory iron sights) with boring regularity.
My old man bought one of these new in 1967 or so. I have it now, unfortunately. About 10′ away from me right now. I’ve shot it once, about a decade ago. It hadn’t been fired or handled since the early 80’s and we were at our first range trip together. He told me he had recently pulled it out and deep cleaned it for the first time (!) since he bought it. Might be a good day to take my son to the range and shoot it again.
They are great rifles but due to your Model 60’s age buy a buffer from Numrich or somewhere else as they get brittle after time and crack, the debris will jam up the action. There are videos on Youtube on how to replace the buffer (watch a number of them) just don’t misplace the tiny “E” clips (maybe order some of those too) as they are easily lost, they stick to everything including skin.
Thanks for the heads up. I actually did take my son to the range that day and shot the little Marlin, the old man’s SKS and my WWII vintage 03/A3 plus a couple pistols. Put maybe 250 rounds through the Marlin with just a couple feed/ejection failures. Good times.
You’re welcome. I’ve found that my Model 60 (stainless barrel) absolutely HATES Federal Auto Match ammo, had nothing but jams, it LOVES the Armscor nickel plated stuff. As for the buffer in the fire control group, it’s a tricky fix, if doing it yourself make sure all the spring are released before final disassembly or it will fly apart when you pull the side plate off. After ordering the parts I sent mine off to the local gunsmith though there may be better Youtube videos on that repair now.
Replying to my own post because there was no reply option to yours.
“Federal Auto Match ammo”
Funny because that’s exactly what I was using. I had some CCI Stingers in the truck, but didn’t go looking for them. I think 3 failures in 250 or whatever I said is ok for a 22 shooting ammo I bought for .04 a pop. As for the rifle, the old man was a fix it himself kinda guy. If when he finally cleaned it the parts you mentioned were ok, he woulda put em right back in. So, again…thanks for the heads up.
I bought one when I turned 16 in 1982 so I have a good one—22″ barrel and 18 round mag.It did not come with a scope but I immediately added a Bushnell—I forget the specs.
I too shot 1000s of rounds through it and many small game animals.
It got put away and nearly forgotten about for decades until a few years ago when I took it out. It had some surface rust (shortage in a moist basement is bad) which cleaned up pretty easily but somehow the stock and trigger guard had cracked; the stock was in 2 pieces at the trigger.
The trigger unit was easy and relatively cheap to replace but stocks were very expensive so I bought a Boyd’s Evolution stock to replace it.
Added a Busnell Banner 6×18 (overkill is fun) and its shooting glory days have returned. It’s just as accurate as ever, more even Id bet given the scope but I haven’t had it in the field to test it out. Just fired it off the bench a few times since the resurrection; at an indoor range at 25 yards the hole is just a matter of the quality of the ammo. Outside at a 100 yard range it is close to 1 moa.
Bought one at Western Auto (and branded W.A.) in 1973, for $19.95. still shoot it on occasion. It is still a tack driver.
First gun i ever owned. paid 100 dolars for it at a pawn shop in 1987. 18 rounds of plinking joy. Sold it a year later to the same pawn shop for 75 dollars.
Young men make bad choices all the time.
I bought the model 99 Marlin which was basically the same as the Model 60 that came after it. Mine has a nice walnut stock and 18 round magazine. What a terrific shooter and extremely accurate. I had not shot it in 50 years and then stared again a few years ago but was jamming a lot with extraction problems that I don’t remember before. Ended up spending about $150 on used parts from ebay, including action assembly with new style feed throat, hammer spring, and new style bolt, and some new parts from Mcarbo including recoil spring and ejector spring. Not the easiest to work on action but plenty of good videos available including how to adjust ejector spring leg. Important to go light on lube and clean out indents in the barrel on either side of the chamber where the extractors fit into when a round is chambered. My 99 works like a champ again. Too bad new “feed throat kit upgrade” kit is not longer available.
Probably the real beauty of the Model 60 is that it was reasonably priced and could be bought at kmart. We will never know how many new shooters were introduced to sport/hobby with this rifle. With its good looks, reliable function, and perhaps better than average accuracy, this was a perfect beginners rifle IMHO. Like other commenters, I have put thousands of rounds through the two of these I own. All in all, the shooting sports industry has been very well served by these nice rifles!
I have one with the 19″ barrel and 15 round tube that has a stainless barrel and the only shot through it was at the factory. I just took it apart today to put some lube in it and everything was new inside. I have so many 22’s I’m thinking of selling it. Any of you boys interested? Its a model 60SB made at the old plant in North Haven before they moved to Kentucky. I’m in Central Florida.
I am sure the Marlin Model 60 is a great gun, but I am still happy with the Winchester Model 190 semiautomatic .22 rifle my dad purchased back in the 60s. It takes .22 short, long and long rifle and was still quite accurate. Great for squirrel hunting, plinking tin cans and target shooting. Nailed crows at 75 yards with long rifle ammo. Made the luckiest wingshot of my life with it. I was trying to sneak up on a starling occupying our Martin birdhouse. I had .22 shot ammo and wanted to make a still shot on it. Everyone knows how poor .22 birdshot is. Well, the starling flushed and, in frustration, shot at it, not expecting anything to happen. Well, I nailed the starling. Dropped as dead as a stone. Perhaps St. Hubert, the patron saint of hunters, was watching out for me. Would nearly qualify as a miracle.
I am a firearms instructor at the police department I work for (teaching firearms is a part time gig there except for the range master)
One day during lunch several of the instructors had brought their expensive competition setup guns and I had brought my 1960s Glenfield 60 my grandfather gave me before he moved to Florida.
The competition guns ended up sitting in the table as everyone had a blast with the little .22. It’s an absolute tack driver and you can rip rounds in quick succession with no problem.
Comments are closed.