My marlin 60 is a jamomatic: How to fix it?

[Dafapa]

I picked up a used marlin 60 back in November. Finally go it to the range a couple of times and it is a jamomatic. So far it has actually mangled a number of rounds. They are seriously scraped and bent. It also likes to stick one in the pipe, close on it, and not fire, and then not extract. It appears that it didn't get situated properly with the extractor.

Right now I'm thinking:

1. Clean the thing really good, hope for the best.

2. Try polishing the mouth of the chamber/feed ramp area.

Anyone ever tackle this problem on a marlin 60 before?

[Steven Mace]

Dafapa, I believe the Marlin Model 60 has two extractors, right & left. You might want to make sure niether is damaged.

Steve Mace

[COYOTE3]

Give it a good cleaning, especially the chamber, and don't use Remington ammo. Test it with some CCI Mini-Mags.

[okie shooter]

Some of the problems might be related to truncated ammo, many 22 autos like round nose bullets rather than truncated ones. Cleaning the thing might be really good too, watch the parts and assembly order, or just pull the action out and use some gun scrubber. Brush with old toothbrush and clean again.

[Dafapa]

Give it a good cleaning, especially the chamber, and don't use Remington ammo. Test it with some CCI Mini-Mags.

What's wrong with remington? That's what I have, but could switching brands make that much difference?

The extractors both look alright. I'll try blasting it with some gun scrubber in the chamber area, then swab the barrel with an oily patch. Looks like the barrel is pinned in. Could I drive out that pin and just take the barrel out? That'd make cleaning a lot easier.

[imanaknut]

Believe it or not, the Marlin 60 manual says to never clean the rifle unless the accuracy goes away. I have this thing about putting away a dirty firearm, so I clean mine, although not as far as others.

As to how could switching ammo brands make a difference? Not all ammo is created alike. Just because it is a .22, or .38, or fill in your favorite only means that if you stick with one brand, and one lot number, it should be consistant. All ammo makers have their little "secret" formulas. All firearms are also not created alike. As long as humans make a firearm or ammo for it, there will be tolerances. Some rifles of a type can function fine on any ammo, some are very ammo sensitive. I have a Ruger 10/22 that hates Remington, but will shoot the cheapest CCI Blazer with tackdriving accuracy and no problems. Then I have a Marlin 60 that I use as my garbage disposal, that will fire ammo that other rifles won't ignite.

Try a careful cleaning of your Marlin, then try a different brand of ammo. As hard is it might be for you to believe, some firearms will not function at all with some ammo, and might be 100% reliable with another brand.

[COYOTE3]

What's wrong with remington? That's what I have, but could switching brands make that much difference?

The extractors both look alright. I'll try blasting it with some gun scrubber in the chamber area, then swab the barrel with an oily patch. Looks like the barrel is pinned in. Could I drive out that pin and just take the barrel out? That'd make cleaning a lot easier.
A lot of people have been having problems with Remington rimfire ammo lately. I used to shoot it a bunch of it years ago, but recently, it's been pretty dirty and inconsistent. Try some other brands and see what your rifle likes. I've been having good results from Wal-Mart's Federal 550 round 38gr bulk ammo.

As far as the barrel goes, go easy with the bore. Unless it's leaded, don't use a brush, just swab it. Do the best you can cleaning the chamber, but I wouldn't suggest removing the barrel. As long as the action is kept clean and lightly lubed, you should be good to go.

Like imanaknut said, only clean the bore afterwards when you notice accuracy is going away. Sometimes it may take 50 or so rounds for the barrel to become 'seasoned' and accuracy to stabilize after the barrel has been really cleaned.

Let us know how it goes.

[Dafapa]

I blasted the action with some gun scrubber. Then I blasted it with oil. Afterwards the action felt super gritty. Took it to the range, and it now gives me a problem atleast every other round (before it wasn't nearly that bad). I broke down and shelled out 6.00 for 50 rnds of cci stinger...not much better but it finally started shooting more than 1 shot in a string, though 5 out of the box were mangled horrifically. Since it seemed to be improving I started dumping the bulk remmington I had through it.

Before I left I got I think one 14 rnd string with no problems. Now it mostly just has trouble clearing the spent case out of the chamber before the next round goes in. I'm thinking a slightly hotter cartridge might fix it.

I also determined the trigger has trouble in that sometimes it doesn't trip even though you pull it. Sometimes you have to jerk it a few times.

I think the gun can be salvaged, but I'm probably going to have to tear it down a ways to get the grit out of the action. Anyone know where to find the take down directions online?

[COYOTE3]

Anyone know where to find the take down directions online?

Marlin Model 60 Disassembly/Takedown (http://www.castbullet.com/misc/m60.htm)

[Dafapa]

Thanks.

[Dafapa]

I just got down taking it down and cleaning it. To think the previous owner could still be on the streets doing this to another gun. Looked like metal shavings, moving parts were so gritty they practically crunched when moved, everything was just nasty. If I'd known how I would have taken apart the whole hammer assembly, the bolt, extractors, and trigger. I did what I could and almost all of the grit out of the moving parts. Cleaned up the feeding area quite a bit. I'm planning to take this thing out later today and see how it runs. I won't be surprised if its flawless this time. Considering how well it ran with all that junk in the works, I can't help but expect an amazing improvement.

[Dafapa]

Started out about where it left off last night. Seemed to get better with more rounds. I plan to try again tomorrow with more and better ammunition.

[blobman]

really clean it out,with a compessor and some good cleaner,(i use carb cleaner on mine) i swear by the 60 i sold my 10/22 years ago