I made the rounds of the LGSs today in search of a .45 Colt or .44 Magnum trail gun. Short barreled, big-bore DA revolvers seem to be pretty much non-existant right now, unless you want a Judge (which I certainly don't). Of course I had to see what else was on the shelf, and I stumbled across this little guy.

It's a Glenfield Model 70 in .22LR. Basically a Marlin Model 60 carbine, but with a box mag instead of a tube. It's a little beat...the stock is cracked all the way through at the wrist but has been repaired, and there was some surface rust, which I was able to scrub away. It's missing a trigger guard screw and the buffer is chewed up, but I was able to order both of these on Numrich, and they're on the way.

My oldest and I took it to the range and it's a good little shooter. I shot a 1" group at 25 yards while beaing eaten alive by mosquitos, and we were knocking down 4" plates easily at 40 yards offhand. It had a couple of light strikes, but there was a lot of cruddy buildup between the breech face and the barrel, so I imagine it'll do better next time (plus I ordered a new hammer spring). Feeding was consistent and reliable.

I like the M1 Carbine-ish looks and handling, and it weighs in at just over 4.5lbs, so it's definitely easy to carry around. For $169, I just couldn't leave it there. It ought to be a hit with the kids, so long as they can resist the temptation to turn it into a bullet hose. My wife just shook her head...she is well aware of my Marlin problem .

Good eye! Nice to see you giving it some attention with new parts. I too am a sucker for old .22s. Enjoy your new find!

Not a bad deal, my 60 has had many thousands of rounds through it & it doesn't skip a beat.
A box mag model sounds interesting.

Once upon a time (about 15 years ago) I had a Model 60 that I bought at Walmart. It was longer and heavier than this thing, and it was a jammomatic. It couldn't get through a full magazine without a stoppage. I know they've always had a reputation for reliability, but that one just wouldn't run. I ended up selling it to a buddy who wanted a .22 to run his trap line, and didn't care if he had to manually cycle the bolt now and then. It's the only Marlin I've ever gotten rid of.

The box mag makes for a simpler action...easier to service and easier to clean...and importantly, a simpler feed process. It also negates placing the hand near the muzzle to reload, which I appreciate since my kids will be shooting this. It also shares mags with my son's Model 25, which is kinda cool.

Look for a Marlin 795. They have a box magazine, open sights, synthetic stock and weigh nearly nothing.

That 795 looks like the new version of this. The only real difference I see (apart from the synthetic stock) is the last round bolt hold open. The weight is even the same if the website specs on the 795 are correct. All things considered, I'm happy with the older one...I like the wood.

I am a Glenfield addict. A Glenfield was my first gun.
If I am in a shop or at a show and there is a Glenfield with the squirrel on the stock I buy it. I have quite a few.

Still waiting to see a .30-30 granted they have a deer on the stock but I’ll still buy it.

Nice find. I have a few model 60s, a 70 (papoose), a 981T, and this 925. Hard to resist an old Marlin when I see one.

quote:

Hard to resist an old Marlin when I see one.

I know the feeling, lol. Nice 925!

New springs and buffer came today. I installed them and a buddy and I ran about 50 rounds through it with no light strikes....I'd say it's fixed!

Well, back to the drawing board on this one. I've had it out a few times, and the light strikes are back, as well as an annoying tendency to fail to eject, where it dumps the spent case inside the chamber while simultaneously chambering the next round, resulting in some really nasty jams and crushed cases. And it was doing this with annoying regularity...once or twice per mag.

There's not so much info out there on the model 70, but I did some reading and discovered the "nickel trick" for the model 60. Basically, the ejector on these things is very finicky, and needs to be adjusted just right or it won't work. You can use a penny and a nickel as gauges to determine how far the ejector spring needs to be bent away from the feed ramp (more than the width of the penny, less than the width of the nickel). They recommend you always re-attach the lower unit of the Model 60 to the upper with the bolt locked back to prevent accidentally bending the spring out of place. My 70 doesn't lock back, so I either have to hold it back or just be really careful when re-assembling.

The ejector on the 70 is different than the one on the 60, but the concept is the same. I tweaked it and took it to the range. It helped a little, but not enough to make me content. Looking at it, I discovered the problem. There is slop between the mag and the mag catch, which allows the mag to move up and down in the magwell, which puts the ejector out of spec in relation to the feed lips.

I added a dab of JB weld to the area above the stud on the magazine that engages the mag catch, then filed it down to just the right height to ensure tight engagement against the magwell with no slop. My son and I had it out to the range today, and only had 4 FTEs out of about 150 rounds fired, so it's almost fixed. I tweaked it a little more and will take it out sometime soon to re-test.



The light strikes are driving me bonkers. A couple of them I believe were truly bad ammo, but many of them were not. They seem to come and go...you'll get through 2 or 3 mags without one, then you'll have 4 or 5 in a row. I tried a few different brands of ammo with similar results.

It's got a new hammer and recoil spring, so that's not the problem. I checked the chamber to make sure rounds weren't hanging up and failing to fully chamber, but it's clean and they drop right in. The extractor recesses in the barrel face are clean, and the bolt goes fully into battery. I got out the calipers and the firing pin protrusion is within spec. I took apart the bolt and polished the sides of the firing pin and the inside of the firing pin channel to a mirror finish. It was pretty rough and dragging before...hopefully this allows it to travel smoothly and results in more positive ignition. I also ordered another bolt assembly on E-bay...figured I'd give that a try, and for $25 it's worth having a spare.

If I can get it running reliably, I'd also like to put some new sights on it. The ones that are on it now are pretty dismal, and at 25 yards it's hitting high even with the rear adjusted all the way down. It has potential to be a fun little plinker, but it needs to be reliable before I start thinking about upgrades.

You have an inflammation of the Marlin? Sounds bad.

It was an AutoCorrect malfunction.

He was trying to type "Marlinosis", the disease of excessive Marlinophilia.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
If I can get it running reliably, I'd also like to put some new sights on it. The ones that are on it now are pretty dismal

I highly recommend the Tech Sights. I installed a set on my Glenfield 60, and it's a big improvement.

https://www.tech-sights.com/pr...ble-aperture-sights/

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:
It was an AutoCorrect malfunction.

He was trying to type "Marlinosis", the disease of excessive Marlinophilia.

Yeah Rogue, those are the ones I'm looking at. Just don't want to drop the coin until I know for sure that it's going to run. When it works, it sure is a fun little gun!

Took it out again about put about 100 rounds through it. It ejected 100%, but the light-strikes are still there in force (almost 50% with some brands of ammo). All of the ammo that it wouldn't fire shot just fine out of my model 63. I guess I'll wait on that new bolt to get here and see how that goes.

I can attest to the sickness. Just received my new 1895S Stainless Guide Gun in .45/70 wood stock. Man I’ve wanted this one for a long time.

quote:

Originally posted by NikonUser:
You have an inflammation of the Marlin? Sounds bad.

It’s like a swollen porpoise, but different.

The one I owned made me want to get another. Didn’t happen at the time, but it will.

I have two, maybe three? Marlin model 60 rifles. I’ve always liked them. Never could get “into” the 10/22 (but I do have one).

I like Marlin rifles. I have a bolt action 22 mag that was my father’s. Model 930, I think?
And of course a couple 1894s in 357magnum. One is JM stamped, the other is one of the later Remlins, a CST model (357 is quite enjoyable, suppressed).

I firmly believe the Model 60 Marlin, and possibly the H&R shotgun line are the basis used by safe manufacturers to establish their usually VERY optimistic capacities on gun safes.

Congrats on your find. And especially the memories generated by shooting it with your offspring. That’s the best part.