Rework a Marlin 795, or succumb to the 10/22?

datoews

datoews

Regular
Rating - 100%
46   0   0
Location
Stonewall
Hey all,

I don't normally post questions like this, but it's late, I'm bored and I can't make a decision.

I don't do a ton of rimfire shooting, but for when I want to I now have a fairly new Marlin 795. But I detest plastic stocks, and have been thinking of putting a Boyd's stock on it, which after duty, exchange shipping etc will be north of $250.

But I've never played with a 10/22, so I could save myself a bit of hassle and just get a wood stocked one (lots of models to choose from) and sell off the Marlin. But the Marlins I've owned (this is my third) have always worked well, so I can't complain about performance. Money isn't the point here - I can get what I want - but I'm well aware this will only be an occasional plinker. I could buy a Cooper, but you can get a nice bottle of scotch for the difference in price between a 10/22 and a Cooper :d

Thoughts?

(For the record, I would be using sights only - no scope - and have no interest in accessorizing or modifying anything, so the 10/22 accessory argument doesn't matter to me).
 
never had a marlin .22 but i can tell you my 10/22 will shoot anything at anytime without issues... and is accurate to boot
 
Go ahead, put a Boyd's stock on it , and while you're at it put in a DIP or Macarbo trigger and you'll have a rifle that the 10/22 will never be. It's already got a thicker and more accurate barrel.
Oh yeah, you can also run 25 round mags in the Marlin, if you're into that.
 
If you are shooting paper and your Marlin shoots good then stick with it. If you are shooting Ruffed Grouse during hunting season then go with a ruger target model and when you see six of them sitting in a tree start with the ones on the lower branches and work your way up so that you do not scare off the others.
 
I'm a fan of the Marlin myself. I have the DIP trigger/guard and plan on doing the springs soon as well. I've also been eyeballing the nutmeg boyd's stock but have decided to find another 795 stainless and do a boyd's stock on that one. These are great shooters and like someone above said there's no mag cap on these guys. I find the promag 25's to feed flawless but the last round bolt hold (another feature the 10/22 doesn't have) to be hit and miss. I've come up with a solution to that problem by bending the bottom of the spring at a 45 degree angle to put more pressure on the mag follower, it limits you to about 22-23 rounds but in return functions flawless.
2qtuA6ml.jpg

zCBa6Mjl.jpg
 
i have no qualms about spending money on guns and i have a fair number of guns to prove that.
22's are my weakness and i easily outpace purchases with them than i do with any other caliber or type.

for me personally i prefer the 10/22.
i have probably over a dozen of them in all types and manner of configurations.

for me its just a personal issue and after shooting the 10/22 i just cant bring myself to stray to other brands.
i dont wanna say "once youve had the best you can never go back" because rugers are mass produced guns just like all the others.

for me i just like everything about them.
i like how they are made and agree with everything they do to get them to work.

other brands, like in this case the Marlin, always have stuff on them that i just cant stand.
be it either the safety or a mag release or a 'must have a magazine to be able to fire' safety - something on them always detracts from them and puts me off of them.

the biggest argument people put forward today is the magazine cap and all i can say to that is do we know that it will be permanent?
do we really expect them to hunt down the millions of magazines that have been sold for the last 50 years that are everywhere in Canada?
at the end of the day i had pretty much converted over to using the stock 10rd magazines anyways before the ban so it really does not effect my play style other than when i go down south gopher shooting.
but running a couple 3x10 mag couplers solves that problem fast.

find a platform of gun you enjoy and you shoot good and run with it.
at the end of the day its all a personal decision as to comfort and feel.

you talked of shooting bone stock with open sights - my 1984 Ruger 10/22 that i got when i was like 10 is still bone stock with open sights and i shoot it just as much as my new fully tricked out 10/22's and its just about as accurate.

probably well over 100k rounds through this gun.

010_zpsgxgljqow.jpg


one final thing, people always say the accuracy of the marlin is better than the ruger - or at least the odd person mentions it from time to time.
personal experience recently when comparing the take down versions of the ruger 10/22 to the marlin papoose for me did not show that and the ruger out shot the marlin that i had by a massive margin.
i can only speak of what i have and have tried.
 
Last edited:
I had an older marlin model 70 semi auto and found it to be very so-so in accuracy. Tin Can accurate, not much more after 30 yards. The 10/22's I've shot were all more accurate. As was the Mossberg 151 and Norinco JW-20.
I had great expectations for that Marlin, but after trying a bunch of ammo, it was sold as tin can accurate only.
Get an older 10/22 and I think you'll be happier, I can't vouch for the newer plastic ones.
 
I can't say anything good or bad about the Ruger because I have honestly never shot one, but I have a marlin 60 with Boyd's stock and mcarbo trigger and it is very accurate for a budget priced rifle. I'm sure the 795s would be too and ive thought about buying one and doing the upgrades on it.Fortunatly for me our dollar was alot better when I bought this Boyd's stock and didn't cost me much over $100. (60 is actually my grandson's if he ever gets his license)
IMG_20170211_140030.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]
IMG_20170324_054651_1.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]
 
Last edited:
Marlin 795 all the way. The Marlin Semi also has another feature that most don't. Last shot bolt hold open. That alone is worth the price of admission. Not to mention more accurate than 1022s in general. Get the Marlin for $200. and spend another $100. on the DIP trigger and trigger guard and Bobs you uncle.
 
What do I think? I think the OP has expensive tastes when it comes to scotch! :)

Ruger/Marlin~would be a very easy decision for me. I'm pro-Marlin but will admit both guns have features about them I don't like. At the end of the day, it's been my experience that Marlins are more accurate, have last-shot bolt hold-open, a bolt release, are lighter, cost less, etc. etc. Fit/finish looks a bit better on the Rugers at face value, but the one I had couldn't reliably hit a pop can at 50 yards off a rest no matter what ammo you fed it. Rugers have a WAY better mag release, better factory sights that are more likely to be straight...but since they haven't proven to be very accurate for me, that hardly matters. What would I do?

Get a Marlin 795, inquire with Boyd's about getting a walnut stock made for it (likely lighter than laminate) if you don't care for the plastic one, DIP metal trigger guard...put and MCARBO spring kit in and some Tech Sights~and away you go! I never cared much for high capacity mags no matter what gun I'm shooting, so that would never be a deciding factor.

For the record, my 795 is bone stock save for a reworked trigger and some polished internals (by someone way more capable than myself)....and the gun wears a used, Chinese scope I bought for $50. I've thought about upgrading the stock but the gun doesn't need it to shoot well.
 
Thank you everyone for your feedback. It has been very constructive - I was afraid of starting another brand war here!

If I shot rimfire anymore than I do, I'd just get both and see which one I preferred, but between family and business I don't get a ton of range time, and most of that is for my other rifles. I'm leaning towards sticking to my Marlin and making the necessary changes to it, but at some point I think I'll still want to give the 10/22 a try.

I'm still happy to hear more opinions if you have them!

(And yes, my scotch cabinet rivals my gun cabinet in many ways, expense not the least of them!)
 
I have owned 3 10/22's and still have 2 of them. They are safe queens now.
I have played around with a couple of 795's and they have been great. They feel like a rimfire but shoot great.
Another option for you is the Remington 597. My sold his 10/22 to buy one. We both have the heavy barrel versions but there are no sights on that one. It is still the plastic stocks but they feel more like a big rifle than the others.

Out of any of them, there isn't a bad choice. Which one has the features and the feel that you want?
 
datoews said:
Thank you everyone for your feedback. It has been very constructive - I was afraid of starting another brand war here!

If I shot rimfire anymore than I do, I'd just get both and see which one I preferred, but between family and business I don't get a ton of range time, and most of that is for my other rifles. I'm leaning towards sticking to my Marlin and making the necessary changes to it, but at some point I think I'll still want to give the 10/22 a try.

I'm still happy to hear more opinions if you have them!

(And yes, my scotch cabinet rivals my gun cabinet in many ways, expense not the least of them!)
Click to expand...

That comment jumps out at me because with time...I don't find that all rimfires are equally enjoyable to shoot. You seem like an experienced guy so I won't suggest "forget the semi, get a bolt gun" but my own small collection of stuff reflects that sensibility. The 795 I have I'll keep, but it only gets dusted-off when I'm taking new shooters out, kids, that sort of thing. I take no pleasure in flying brass, but love trying to achieve tight groups...bowling over gophers whenever possible..that sort of thing. The bolt guns (for me) shine in that role, with my CZ452 Varmint and BRNO 2E probably being my favorite rimfires. I have a couple of nice, older Marlins that are heavy-barrel lasers (17HMR and 17M2) and while I'm very fond of them...the experience of shooting them just isn't quite the same.
 
what i always find funny threads comparing brands of rifles people come and and are so steadfast that one brand shoots better than another and then another person will come in and say the opposite brand shoots better.

we are talking mass produced items!

of course there is gonna be a massive difference between each gun for accuracy and fit and finish and even the ammo plays a big roll in it!

talking accuracy in semi's specifically between brands in one of the silliest wastes of time the internet ever spawned, yet i dive into them every opportunity i have, haha!
 
.22LRGUY said:
That comment jumps out at me because with time...I don't find that all rimfires are equally enjoyable to shoot. You seem like an experienced guy so I won't suggest "forget the semi, get a bolt gun" but my own small collection of stuff reflects that sensibility. The 795 I have I'll keep, but it only gets dusted-off when I'm taking new shooters out, kids, that sort of thing. I take no pleasure in flying brass, but love trying to achieve tight groups...bowling over gophers whenever possible..that sort of thing. The bolt guns (for me) shine in that role, with my CZ452 Varmint and BRNO 2E probably being my favorite rimfires. I have a couple of nice, older Marlins that are heavy-barrel lasers (17HMR and 17M2) and while I'm very fond of them...the experience of shooting them just isn't quite the same.
Click to expand...

I appreciate your comments, .22LRGUY. The majority of my shooting is done with relatively high-end bolt action and single shot rifles - Coopers, Montanas, Ruger #1's, Weatherbys, etc. I used to have some bolt action rimfire, but I just didn't find any appeal in them. Maybe once my son is old enough to shoot, if he takes interest, I'll go back that way. But for now, I just take the .22 for end of day shooting when I don't want more recoil but don't want to leave the range, or for when I'm out on my land and want to plink a little. For that kind of thing, I find semi-auto is just more fun. If I had more time, I would take more for rimfire shooting. I've only owned one .17 HMR in my life, and I sold it without firing a shot. I just prefer bigger calibers for range work, so that's where my money and time go.
 
I have a 10/22, and shot a lot of them over the years. It's a gun I really want to love (it was a special treat when Grampa would let me shoot his in the late 70's, instead of one of the handful of beater Cooey's that were always lying around).

But I just don't love it. Takes too much effort to get them halfway decently accurate.

The 795 on the other hand... Accurate out of the box. I have one in original plastic to use as a beater. And one that I've put the Boyd's stock and Dip Trigger and McCarbo springs on. And I shoot it. A LOT. It and my CZ 452 are my go to guns for the gopher patch. Those two guns will drop over a thousand gophers a year.

Because unlike the Ruger, they actually hit what you point them at ;) .

may_29_2016_gopher.jpg


Now, having said that, spent some time cleaning up (more) of the issues with my 10/22 over the winter, and it's going out to the gopher patch with me today. Not taking a backup - going to force myself to squeeze what I can out of it.

wayupnorth: I know you love your Rugers, and I get it. I really do. But you seem to have the luck of the Irish in getting the ones that came half decent from the factory.
 
grelmar said:
I have a 10/22, and shot a lot of them over the years. It's a gun I really want to love (it was a special treat when Grampa would let me shoot his in the late 70's, instead of one of the handful of beater Cooey's that were always lying around).

But I just don't love it. Takes too much effort to get them halfway decently accurate.

The 795 on the other hand... Accurate out of the box. I have one in original plastic to use as a beater. And one that I've put the Boyd's stock and Dip Trigger and McCarbo springs on. And I shoot it. A LOT. It and my CZ 452 are my go to guns for the gopher patch. Those two guns will drop over a thousand gophers a year.

Because unlike the Ruger, they actually hit what you point them at ;) .

may_29_2016_gopher.jpg


Now, having said that, spent some time cleaning up (more) of the issues with my 10/22 over the winter, and it's going out to the gopher patch with me today. Not taking a backup - going to force myself to squeeze what I can out of it.

wayupnorth: I know you love your Rugers, and I get it. I really do. But you seem to have the luck of the Irish in getting the ones that came half decent from the factory.
Click to expand...

dont jinx me man!!!!
 
.22LRGUY said:
For the record, my 795 is bone stock save for a reworked trigger and some polished internals (by someone way more capable than myself)....and the gun wears a used, Chinese scope I bought for $50. I've thought about upgrading the stock but the gun doesn't need it to shoot well.
Click to expand...

Im flattered... :) I was just scrolling through my photobucket account the other day and came across a few pics of that job I did for you, glad to hear you still have it.

My vote would also Be to upgrade the marlin.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom