Which .22lr Would You Buy?

[Teachu2]

I want to purchase a semiauto .22 now, and the contenders are the Ruger 10/22, Marlin 60, Savage 64, and Marlin 795.
I plan on leaving the rifle stock. No scope, no aftermarket parts, etc. They are all relatively close in price, so that’s not an issue either.

Given those parameters, I'd be looking for a used Marlin 60. I own nine semi-auto .22lr rifles. Five of those are Ruger 10/22-based, two are S&W 15-22s, one is a Kidd Supergrade, and the 9th is a Marlin 60 that I bought used. All the Rugers have aftermarket parts. The Kidd has no Ruger parts except the magazine. The Marlin, a very lightly used 40+ year old LGS find, shoots better than any of the Rugers did out of the box. It's got better ergonomics, better accuracy, better trigger, better capacity, better sights, and much better value than any of the Rugers did stock.

The guys here who are touting the 10/22 cite the availability of aftermarket parts - which the OP doesn't want to mess with. Given the OP's desire to leave it stock, the Marlin 60 wins on ergonomics, accuracy, capacity, and trigger. If he decides he wants to tinker, he can get a 10/22 for that.

Obviously, I have nothing against 10/22s - I like tinkering.

[Calif Hunter]

Marlin 60 if you are going to leave it stock. More accurate out of the box, and it has been reliable for decades. I have 3 10/22s - one stock, one tacticool and one heavy barreled with a thumbhole stock. People will initially grab one of the 10/22s but end up shooting the Marlin more. I also have another model of the Marlin that looks likes like an M-1 Carbine but with a short tubular mag. Handier than the 10/22, actually.

[NOTABIKER]

1022 1022 1022 bla bla bla. Like a lot of 22s it sucks to clean. Most are prone to jam unless fed certain ammo. Cast receiver. It is popular with folks that want to make it into something it is not. About as good as a old Marlin.
Go to big 5 and buy a 150 dollar Savage in 22lr. No you cant customize it.It has a forged steel receiver. A snap to disassemble and clean.
Put a economy scope on it and go out and outshoot your buddies with 1022s.
Buy whatever ammo is on sale because the savage will eat it without complaint.
my son in law has a 1022 and he hates it, At the range he likes to shoot my savage.

[homelessdude]

Marlin 60 here also. I have owned both for many years.

[stevebla]

CZ 512 American Rifle under $500.00 you can keep a rifle for the rest of your life dig deep.

[BlackOpsArms]

I just bought a CZ 455 Tacticool .22lr bolt gun. Pretty bad ***, can wait to shoot it!

[rogerv723]

Marlin 60, great gun and easy to clean. The 14 round tube fed chamber is great too.

[Garand Hunter]

I picked up a used Nylon 66 tube in the butt stock at the gunshow in Antioch 2 months ago. This is my 4th rifle over some 50 years. Always my favorite 22lr.
And the price was great: $ 165.

Psalm 1

[67Cuda]

1022 1022 1022 bla bla bla. Like a lot of 22s it sucks to clean. Most are prone to jam unless fed certain ammo. Cast receiver. It is popular with folks that want to make it into something it is not. About as good as a old Marlin.
Go to big 5 and buy a 150 dollar Savage in 22lr. No you cant customize it.It has a forged steel receiver. A snap to disassemble and clean.
Put a economy scope on it and go out and outshoot your buddies with 1022s.
Buy whatever ammo is on sale because the savage will eat it without complaint.
my son in law has a 1022 and he hates it, At the range he likes to shoot my savage.

Bravo!!

[riftol]

Go to big 5 and buy a 150 dollar Savage in 22lr. No you cant customize it.It has a forged steel receiver. A snap to disassemble and clean.
Put a economy scope on it and go out and outshoot your buddies with 1022s.
Buy whatever ammo is on sale because the savage will eat it without complaint.
my son in law has a 1022 and he hates it, At the range he likes to shoot my savage.

I've looked at the Savage Model 64.

It is nicely made and I like its steel receiver.

How do you like the trigger?

Did you modify it?

How to do like the C-shaped clamp design that attaches the barrel to the receiver?

Is it rock solid?

[BigPimping]

I would go with the 10/22. I also have a TCR 22. It's a little more expensive but you get a lot more stuff on it that you might have to buy in the aftermarket. Can't go wrong either way.

[06er]

Browning SA22 or magnum research

[Medics197]

Love my 10/22’s worked well never any issues and even with a cheap 30$ scope at 100 yards is extending accurate with even cheap Remington gold bullets

[mwr]

although not one of your options listed, when I break out the Smith and Wesson M&P-22 it is a head turner.

I have several 22 rifles; 3x10-22's in various configs, 1xM77 (bolt action), 1xBrowning lever and the 1 M&P.

When it comes time to play shoot, I normally take 1 of the 10-22's, the Browning and the M&P.

When I'm trying to impress the paper hole punchers, I take the M77 and the one 10-22 with the aftermarket barrel, trigger and bolt.

Heck, buy one of each. The only problem here is trying to remember which type of ammunition to bring as they all have little quirks in how they cycle.

[stormvet]

Marlin 795 is the lightest out of the three if that's important for you. Loading the 795 mag is painful unless you use a Baby Lula loader ($25-$30 I think).