Marlin XT-22/Savage Mk II; which one???

[MarkRohfrietsch]

Which one?

I'm looking for a reasonably priced and accurate .22 bolt action repeater rifle; the Marlin gets high marks from everyone on all accounts. While I like their heavy barrel version, it has no sights, and I want to shoot iron sights.

I like the clip for target, but I like the reliability of the tube for feeding. It will likely only shoot paper, but the odd small varmint may feel it's wrath should the occasion present itself. I have a (.223 for varmints).

What are your thoughts?

 

[Servant68]

I bought the top one with the tube for my son. It has been flawless and surprisingly accurate.

 

[PRESIDIO]

I don't have the XT-22 but I have a Marlin 60 semi-auto that is great. If you get the XT-22 I would suggest the tube fed magazine simply because you will not have to buy magazines. You might also consider the Ruger American bolt action .22. The good of this option is if you currently have a Ruger 10/22 or plan to buy one in the future, the magazines are interchangeable.

 

[GeorgeJ]

I have Savage bolt action .22s and I love 'em......!

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

I don't have the XT-22 but I have a Marlin 60 semi-auto that is great. If you get the XT-22 I would suggest the tube fed magazine simply because you will not have to buy magazines. You might also consider the Ruger American bolt action .22. The good of this option is if you currently have a Ruger 10/22 or plan to buy one in the future, the magazines are interchangeable.

Thing is, up here in Canada, the XT is under $300.00; the Ruger American is about $500.00. I wish I had an older Ruger 10/22, the newer ones start at $400.00, and since someone developed a Pistol that used the 10/22 mag, we are now limited to only 10 shots; the larger capacity mags, because they fit in the pistol, which is classified as "restricted"; are now classified as "prohibited". Up here, pistols that have mags with over 10 shots must be plugged or pinned.

I have Savage bolt action .22s and I love 'em......!

I have no experience with Savage, but I have been reading a lot of comparisons, and for what ever reason, the XT-22 has been getting better reviews; I am open to all suggestions though.

In a perfect world with unlimited funds, I would get myself a CZ with a full length stock; but that is way out of my price range.

 

[PRESIDIO]

Thing is, up here in Canada, the XT is under $300.00; the Ruger American is about $500.00. I wish I had an older Ruger 10/22, the newer ones start at $400.00, and since someone developed a Pistol that used the 10/22 mag, we are now limited to only 10 shots; the larger capacity mags, because they fit in the pistol, which is classified as "restricted"; are now classified as "prohibited". Up here, pistols that have mags with over 10 shots must be plugged or pinned.



I have no experience with Savage, but I have been reading a lot of comparisons, and for what ever reason, the XT-22 has been getting better reviews; I am open to all suggestions though.

In a perfect world with unlimited funds, I would get myself a CZ with a full length stock; but that is way out of my price range.

I see. Do they require a plug in the Marlin 60? The 60 is a semi-auto rather than bolt but here in the US it has a 15 round tubular magazine

 

[PRESIDIO]

check THIS out...tubular mag holds 17 rounds ***edit*** duh...I see you already are aware of this model from your original post. I'm a little slow today...actually, I guess I'm pretty much slow every day

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

I see. Do they require a plug in the Marlin 60? The 60 is a semi-auto rather than bolt but here in the US it has a 15 round tubular magazine

No, because it is not a "Restricted" fire arm.

However,in Center-fire rifles, we must plug or pin to 5 shots only. For example, a SKS with an un-pined mag is "restricted", one with a pinned mag is non restricted. No biggie for me, as I can load five quickly with the stripper clips.

Back in the '80s before these regulations, I had a Mini-14 with a 30 shot banana clip; and we used to hunt coyote and wolf with dogs, we would just shoot until we had the right lead, and they rolled. The Mini just did not have the accuracy of an AR, so we needed the option to "spray" at longer ranges at a dead run!

My cousin's AR-15, shot like a laser; one or two shots, and they went down like a lawn dart. It was after hunting with his rifle that I realized that it was the Mini's fault, not mine. Bad rifle. Regardless of ammo, 5-8" at 100 yards from a bench-rest with a good scope.

That was a lot of fun.

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

check THIS out...tubular mag holds 17 rounds ***edit*** duh...I see you already are aware of this model from your original post. I'm a little slow today...actually, I guess I'm pretty much slow every day

Yes, it does, so does my 80 year old Winchester pump .22. The Winchester is a bit fussy about ammo; the wife's old Remington Nylon 66 eats anything when it comes to .22 long rifle.

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

I have Savage bolt action .22s and I love 'em......!

George, at your suggestion, I have broadened my scope, and am now considering the Savage Mark II as well:

I looked at both this and the Marlin (tube) yesterday, in a side by side comparison. I thought the savage fit me better, but the rear sight and the clip release seemed to be very lightly built. If anything, the Savage had a smoother bolt. The clip release on the Marlin seemed just a cheaply built. My local store has a good price on both , and they are both priced the same.

The Savage has a 21" barrel, the Marlin, 22" (slightly longer sight radius) I'm still on the fence, and open minded.

 

[marineimaging]

I have both and as well as the Savage .22 mag, an older Stevens (Savage) and a several Marlin 60's. Let me say two things first and foremost. (1) Your gun will shoot differently with different bullets. That includes brand, weight, speed in FPS, and nose shape. (2) All packages of .22 bullets will have "flyers". A flyer is a bullet that shoots wildly outside all of the other bullets from the same box. Now, as for the gun the Marlin 60 bull barrell shot nearly perfect with Remington Golden bullets. The size and weight were comfortable for an adult but I find that the Marlin XT has a bit more size for the adult and has become my go to gun. The Savage Mark II (corrected) and 93 magnum are great entry level guns but are skinny and feel less like a real gun to me. Personally I like magazine fed guns as I can carry several in my pocket for backup when hunting. My biggest complaint with the Marlin 60 is having to pull the gun from a down range condition and point it up to remove the loading rod and load the bullets. I rather like leaving the gun pointed downrange and loading a magazine. As for the bullets you might find that some shoot marginally better than another, some shoot significantly worse, and still some shoot consistently accurate. I would try different ones until I found the right bullet that is dead on and stick with it for THAT gun. Keep the others for backup and in case you get another gun and need to start your evaluation over.

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

I have both and as well as the Savage .22 mag, an older Stevens (Savage) and a several Marlin 60's. Let me say two things first and foremost. (1) Your gun will shoot differently with different bullets. That includes brand, weight, speed in FPS, and nose shape. (2) All packages of .22 bullets will have "flyers". A flyer is a bullet that shoots wildly outside all of the other bullets from the same box. Now, as for the gun the Marlin 60 bull barrell shot nearly perfect with Remington Golden bullets. The size and weight were comfortable for an adult but I find that the Marlin XT has a bit more size for the adult and has become my go to gun. The Savage Mark II (corrected) and 93 magnum are great entry level guns but are skinny and feel less like a real gun to me. Personally I like magazine fed guns as I can carry several in my pocket for backup when hunting. My biggest complaint with the Marlin 60 is having to pull the gun from a down range condition and point it up to remove the loading rod and load the bullets. I rather like leaving the gun pointed downrange and loading a magazine. As for the bullets you might find that some shoot marginally better than another, some shoot significantly worse, and still some shoot consistently accurate. I would try different ones until I found the right bullet that is dead on and stick with it for THAT gun. Keep the others for backup and in case you get another gun and need to start your evaluation over.

Thanks for the comparisons; my rifle will only be used at the range; so the front-load tube is not an issue, both repeaters that I currently have, are tube fed.

I've got other .22s, so no worries about using ammo. Federal bulk or auto-match feed the best in my 80+ year old Winchester pump. The wife's Nylon 66 likes Winchester 555; my High Standard Sport King likes both federals, but shoots tighter with CCI mini-mags. My old Winchester is just too nice to shoot; that is why I'm looking at both rifles, trying to make up my mind.

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

I have both and as well as the Savage .22 mag, an older Stevens (Savage) and a several Marlin 60's. Let me say two things first and foremost. (1) Your gun will shoot differently with different bullets. That includes brand, weight, speed in FPS, and nose shape. (2) All packages of .22 bullets will have "flyers". A flyer is a bullet that shoots wildly outside all of the other bullets from the same box. Now, as for the gun the Marlin 60 bull barrell shot nearly perfect with Remington Golden bullets. The size and weight were comfortable for an adult but I find that the Marlin XT has a bit more size for the adult and has become my go to gun. The Savage Mark II (corrected) and 93 magnum are great entry level guns but are skinny and feel less like a real gun to me. Personally I like magazine fed guns as I can carry several in my pocket for backup when hunting. My biggest complaint with the Marlin 60 is having to pull the gun from a down range condition and point it up to remove the loading rod and load the bullets. I rather like leaving the gun pointed downrange and loading a magazine. As for the bullets you might find that some shoot marginally better than another, some shoot significantly worse, and still some shoot consistently accurate. I would try different ones until I found the right bullet that is dead on and stick with it for THAT gun. Keep the others for backup and in case you get another gun and need to start your evaluation over.

Function/feeding; one better than the other?

 

[marineimaging]

I have had several Marlin 60's and found the autofeed to have a few stovepipes with some Federal ammo but I think that might have been a batch issue. As for the bolt action rifles the only issue I have is with the Savage 93F .22 mag. The first round tends to be damaged by the bolt as the magazine is a bit too stiff with a full 10 rounds. If I leave one out then they work fine. So the feed reliability has not been an major problem except with that first round out of the .22 mag.

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

I have had several Marlin 60's and found the autofeed to have a few stovepipes with some Federal ammo but I think that might have been a batch issue. As for the bolt action rifles the only issue I have is with the Savage 93F .22 mag. The first round tends to be damaged by the bolt as the magazine is a bit too stiff with a full 10 rounds. If I leave one out then they work fine. So the feed reliability has not been an major problem except with that first round out of the .22 mag.

I'm still leaning in the direction of the Marlin.

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

I'm still leaning in the direction of the Marlin.

Well, I have deviated. Now, I'm leaning towards the ruger american; best fit and best sights so far. My local dealer has sold a ship-load of these and the 10-22s over the last 10 years, and has never got one back! They really fit me, and I like the triggers. I am also considering two new contenders; Zastava M22 (I have a M-57 Tokarive, and the fit, finish and function is amazing! It is a copy of the CZ and was sold as a Remington model 5 in the US. Also Norinco has a .22 based also on the CZ with a .24" barrel, but I have heard that they are a bit rough... decisions, decisions...

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

After much shopping and consideration, I went with the Norinco; I have posted a review.

 

[TrueBornAgain]

A few years back I decided I'd like to get into sport shooting and hunting but while I grew up with firearms I am still much of a beginner, but aspire to build some decent skills.

I put a lay by deposit on two rifles a Tikka T3 Hunter with wood stock in .223 which was on special and last one, and the Marlin XT .22 WMR (magnum) tube/muzzle loader, in nice timber stock, apparently made in NY, which was packaged with a cheap sight for $659 here in Australia, and again last one on the shelf so I snapped it up before doing much research, other than recalling the talk on it being a good brand in this thread.

Even though the look and feel of the XT was lovely now I've done some more looking around and I notice Remington took over Marlin (5 years ago) and there has been various quality issues apparently, and for the money these sell for just over $200 US which is unbelievably cheap, I just wonder if its too cheap for what I want, I want something to keep for life and hand on, with accuracy and build quality.

So I've been having second thoughts and wondering if I should ask to upgrade to a better rifle, I'm a bit stuck in this decision and there are no other magnums in stock in the shop so if I do ask to upgrade it would be an order, but first point of call is to discuss my concerns with the dealer, but wondered if anyone knows anything about these apparent issues with the XT made in NY.

The dealer does stock Lithgow which make wood stock .22 WMR for around $899 no sight, and it gets a decent review. Any thoughts form any of you are much appreciated.

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

A few years back I decided I'd like to get into sport shooting and hunting but while I grew up with firearms I am still much of a beginner, but aspire to build some decent skills.

I put a lay by deposit on two rifles a Tikka T3 Hunter with wood stock in .223 which was on special and last one, and the Marlin XT .22 WMR (magnum) tube/muzzle loader, in nice timber stock, apparently made in NY, which was packaged with a cheap sight for $659 here in Australia, and again last one on the shelf so I snapped it up before doing much research, other than recalling the talk on it being a good brand in this thread.

Even though the look and feel of the XT was lovely now I've done some more looking around and I notice Remington took over Marlin (5 years ago) and there has been various quality issues apparently, and for the money these sell for just over $200 US which is unbelievably cheap, I just wonder if its too cheap for what I want, I want something to keep for life and hand on, with accuracy and build quality.

So I've been having second thoughts and wondering if I should ask to upgrade to a better rifle, I'm a bit stuck in this decision and there are no other magnums in stock in the shop so if I do ask to upgrade it would be an order, but first point of call is to discuss my concerns with the dealer, but wondered if anyone knows anything about these apparent issues with the XT made in NY.

The dealer does stock Lithgow which make wood stock .22 WMR for around $899 no sight, and it gets a decent review. Any thoughts form any of you are much appreciated.

A lot of guys at our club have them and love them. They sell for around $350.00 Canadian depending on tubular or clip magazine. Stock sights are average, but with a good scope, accuracy is good. I have heard of no reliability issues. Some of the guys have spent more than they paid for their rifles to put really good scopes and custom stocks on them. In order to justify tying up about $1000.00, they need to really like the rifle in the first place!

.22 mag is inherently accurate in and of itself; and Marlin has been making rifles a long time!

Enjoy it!

 

[Servant68]

Went shooting down at the cabin last weekend and my buddy had a 20yr old Marlin XT-22 with the clip. Got a chance to shoot it and it was very accurate and worked well. His was basically brand new as he had bought it for his ex-wife and she had no interest. It has sat in his safe untouched all that time. He finally drug it out of the safe and gave it to his new wife last week.

Here's her shooting it...