Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Marlin or Savage bull barreled .22?

I haven't shot either but both are in my price range; this rifle will be scoped and used for plinking and sage rat termination. Is one clearly better than the other or go for the best price?

Thanks.

I have and shoot both Marlin and Savage Bolt .22's, .22 mag & .17 HMR. The Marlins seem to have better out of the box triggers and shoot better for me. YMMV

Don't know the price difference, but do yourself a favor and check out the CZ before you buy.
I just picked one up in 17 MK11 and am tickled sheetless with it. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />
Virgil B.

Virgil - Is your CZ the American or Varmint model? I've seen the Varmints advertised but have been unable to find an American. I think I'd like the lighter, longer barrel.

I haven't shot a recent production Savage 22, but my Savage 93s in 17 HRM and 22 Mag are shooters. The only thing that I don't like about the Marlins is that the magazine hangs quite a ways below the stock and feels "unhandy" to me. I bought a laminated stock for my stainless heavy barrel 22 Mag to match my stainless heavy barrel 17 HRM. With that stock and the heavy barrel, they weight about as much as a typical CF hunting rifle.

Jeff

The accuracy between similar models of Savage and Marlin 22s has always seemed about the same to me. The main difference to me is the trigger. The Marlin's isn't very good, but the Savage's trigger is horrible out of the box. Both can be improved quite a bit with a little work, but the Marlin's is easier to fix.

As mentioned above, don't overlook the CZs either, as they generally shoot better and have better triggers than either the Savage or Marlin.