Marlin Model 60

The Marlin Model 60, also known as the Marlin Glenfield Model 60, is a semi-automatic rifle that fires the .22 LR rimfire cartridge. Produced by Remington Arms in Huntsville, Alabama formerly in Mayfield, Kentucky, formerly by Marlin Firearms Company of North Haven, Connecticut, it was in continuous production from 1960 to 2020 and the company says it is the most popular rifle of its kind in the world. Major features include a micro-groove barrel, a cross-bolt safety, hardwood stock with Monte Carlo comb, and brass or blued steel inner magazine tube. The Marlin Model 795 is a very similar rifle and based on the Marlin Model 60, changed only to accept a detachable box magazine. History The Marlin Model 99 was developed in 1959 by Ewald Nichol. Internally, it was essentially what would become the Model 60 in 1960. However, major differences were visible from the exterior. The Model 99 featured a walnut stock, and the receiver, instead of being grooved for tip-off scope mounts like the Model 60 would be, was factory-tapped to accept screw-on scope mounts. The Model 99 was offered from 1959 through 1961, and a lower priced version, Model 99G, was offered under Marlin's Glenfield line. The Marlin Model 60 was developed in 1960 from the Model 99 design. The primary difference was that the stock was made of birch instead of walnut to reduce the recurring production costs for the more expensive wood. Marlin also moved away from their practice of using steel inner tubes with their tubular magazine. They moved back to brass inner tubes as other companies had done. This, instead of the steel tubes often seen on earlier Marlin .22 rifles, eliminated the rust problems that the all-steel tubular magazines had experienced which helped make the inexpensive Marlin rifle as durable as more expensive .22 caliber rifles. The Model 60 additionally featured a 16-groove rifled barrel, utilizing Marlin's trademarked Micro-Groove rifling technology, which had been developed in 1953. This rifling, with its precision-crowned muzzle, gave the Model 60 an inherent, enhanced accuracy over competing rifles, which used traditional deep grooved rifling, because the bullet was not as severely deformed while traveling down the barrel, and downrange.