i have been eyeing a marlin model 60 at a pawn shop.  it has optics on it but i don't much care about that part.  the issue that concerns me is that it was obviously a beater rifle.  and the rifling is not sharp and distinct like other firearms i am more familiar with.  is that normal or is the barrel shot out?  

Marlins have a different kind of rifling system called "Micro Groove." What you are looking at might be perfectly normal for a Marlin--hard to say without seeing it.

Last year I bought a Marlin .22 CHEAP at a yard sale. It had been rained on and the last inch of bore near the muzzle was SEVERE rust and pitting. I cleaned it out as best I could with a bore brush and guess what, the thing is still more accurate than a box-stock 10/22!

If you like the gun and the price is right, I'd say it's prolly worth taking a chance on.

as to the "micro-groove" rifling, this particular model looks to be at least 10-15 years old and probably older than that.  has marlin been using this system for that long?

I think I remember seeing Marlin ads talking about Micro-Groove back in the '60s, so they've been doing it for a good while. I'm sure they have a website, why not see if that has anything to say about when they started it?

I have a model 60 that I bought new 30 years ago.  I have run thousands of rounds through it over the years.  Just last week, I put a new 3X9 scope on it and took it to the range.  Locked it in vise and she delivered a 5 shot clover leaf at 50 yards.  My buddy who just dumped close to $400.00 om a TC Classsic 22 rifle was stunned by the old Marlins accuracy.  I wanted to check the new TC with the vise and he declined, he advised that he needed to break the barrel in on TC.  It would be hard pressed to shoot the rifling out on a Marlin with the Micro groove barreling.  My 2 cents.  

You'd be hard pressed to shoot the rifling out of ANY .22 rifle. Wiping out the rifling would almost certainly require some type of serious abuse.

thanks for the info guys.  yeah micro-groove has been used since 1953 i think the website said.  so i will take a closer look at the rifle and see how it looks--rust, wear, etc.  but i figure that if i can get it down to less than $50 it is an ok deal.

Quoted: thanks for the info guys.  yeah micro-groove has been used since 1953 i think the website said.  so i will take a closer look at the rifle and see how it looks--rust, wear, etc.  but i figure that if i can get it down to less than $50 it is an ok deal.

I think blue book is about $60, so if it's a beater, then $50 is probably good.

I went thru a few in the the '70s.I used to shoot at least 500 a week,and eventually,they'd stop running.Took one to a gunsmith,and he said I needed a feed throat kit,or some such.Would cost $39,and at the time,you could get a new Model 60 with a POS tasco 4X15 for $59.I've still got a few laying around somewhere.
They were WAY more accurate than they had any right to be,for the cost.

I have had a model 75 - short barrel version for 10+ years - hardly clean it and it always works.  More accurate than I am.

Jeff