I KNOW that these two rifles are compared and beat to death like Chevy vs. Ford...but I wanted to give my impressions and see what the concensus was here.
I have owned a couple of 10/22's over the years...and have been very pleased with them. I've had super accuracy (which doesn't seem to be all that common...or I just have low standards .) I really like the ability to slap in a higher capacity magazine if the situation calls for it, but most of the time I use a factory 10 round mag. I've been impressed with the fit and finish, even if they seem somewhat bulky.
We decided to get a new .22 for our son for X-mas this past year, and landed on a Marlin Model 60. My thoughts were that it was inexpensive, reliable, accurate, and there was no magazine for a young guy (almost 11)to lose. In looking over the rifle, my impressions were that it was definitely not a showpiece. The Rugers aren't real showpieces either, but they seem to be considerably better looking, in my opinion. The Marlin shoots very well, but definitely NOT any better than the Rugers I have handled. The Marlin seems to me to be made of cheaper materials (stock in particular.)
I have no doubt that my boy will use his 60 for many many moons to come, and he'll look at it in 20 years with fond memories of learning to shoot with it, and various game that he took with it. I know it will give him the same type of service I've gotten from my 10/22's. I do think, however, that if I could go back and do it all over again, I'd have opted for the Ruger for him...if for no other reason than feeling like my Rugers have been "nicer" rifles. FWIW, I have an 8 week old daughter who will no doubt be the recipient of a .22 down the road a few years here. Point is, this discussion will remain alive for me for some time...and I'll be making a similar decision at that point (hopefully by that time I'm discussing the merits of 39a vs 452...)
Anybody else have both? Which do you like better and why? Or does anyone have one after owning both at some previous point in time?
I have owned a couple of 10/22's over the years...and have been very pleased with them. I've had super accuracy (which doesn't seem to be all that common...or I just have low standards .) I really like the ability to slap in a higher capacity magazine if the situation calls for it, but most of the time I use a factory 10 round mag. I've been impressed with the fit and finish, even if they seem somewhat bulky.
We decided to get a new .22 for our son for X-mas this past year, and landed on a Marlin Model 60. My thoughts were that it was inexpensive, reliable, accurate, and there was no magazine for a young guy (almost 11)to lose. In looking over the rifle, my impressions were that it was definitely not a showpiece. The Rugers aren't real showpieces either, but they seem to be considerably better looking, in my opinion. The Marlin shoots very well, but definitely NOT any better than the Rugers I have handled. The Marlin seems to me to be made of cheaper materials (stock in particular.)
I have no doubt that my boy will use his 60 for many many moons to come, and he'll look at it in 20 years with fond memories of learning to shoot with it, and various game that he took with it. I know it will give him the same type of service I've gotten from my 10/22's. I do think, however, that if I could go back and do it all over again, I'd have opted for the Ruger for him...if for no other reason than feeling like my Rugers have been "nicer" rifles. FWIW, I have an 8 week old daughter who will no doubt be the recipient of a .22 down the road a few years here. Point is, this discussion will remain alive for me for some time...and I'll be making a similar decision at that point (hopefully by that time I'm discussing the merits of 39a vs 452...)
Anybody else have both? Which do you like better and why? Or does anyone have one after owning both at some previous point in time?