Once I had the three main guns I was going to compare, I started with price (because that would be the biggest decision in what I buy). I didn't want to cheap out and get something because it was the cheapest, I wanted to get something that would be worth the money and then some. I wanted something I wasn't going to have to buy and then drop a lot of upgrades into it to make it shoot the way it should have out of the box (adding on cost to the initial purchase). Starting with the Ruger 10/22. Out of the box, it has a fairly good trigger, good accuracy, reliable magazines as well as a bolt hold open feature. I did quite a bit on this gun alone finding out the good and bad of it. Out of the box, I was pretty much going to have to do some trigger modifications as well as drill in an over-travel screw (optional). Then I found out that the accuracy isn't the best in the world and that I would want to upgrade the barrel out of the box if I was aiming for accuracy (which I was). At this point, the Ruger 10/22 was just screaming project gun in the making and at a ballpark price of $250, it wasn't looking like this would be my gun of choice. I will however say that the Ruger factory 10 round magazines are very good and everyone swears buy them. On top of that, Ruger also has 25 round high capacity magazines that are just as good as the rounders'. Once again, I will probably have someone tell me that I can pick up an old 10/22 for around $100 from a pawn shop and use that as my base for the project gun. This idea did cross my mind but you have to be there at the right place, at the right time or you'll never get one. Once they come in the door, the owner is already calling someone they know to come pick it up or it's already walking out the door. Another reason why I thought about this was that the old Ruger 10/22's had a metal trigger guard instead of the polymer one that everyone complains about that is on there now. In the end, owning a gun is all based on how it holds in your hand and if you like it. I went to my local sporting goods store and held the gun in person and I just couldn't stand it. The stock was nice and comfortable around the butt but once it got around the magwell, it was a little too fat for what I liked. It felt a little bulky to me and I really just didn't like that feeling at all. Others may like the look and feel of the Ruger 10/22 and if that's your cup of tea, then stick to it. I personally just didn't like the look and feel of the gun as well as having to upgrade it out of the box just to have it shoot what it needs to for that price.
On to the Remington 597. This gun really impressed me as far as aesthetics. It was a full sized rifle and quite a bit bigger than most other .22's. I never got to hold the gun in person because of one reason. One of the biggest complains of most Remington owners was that the magazines weren't reliable and there weren't that many aftermarket magazines that were any better. Since this is the thing that will be feeding bullets into the gun, you really don't want to have something unreliable whether that be competition shooting or a life and death situation. This just about ruled out the gun for me off the bat which was the main reason why I never pursued it any further to the point of wanting ti hold it in person. Things may have changed since I last looked at the Remington 597 so if they have, feel free to let me know so I can better refer people to the gun. If there hasn't been any improvements, it'll stay on the DON'T BUY list. From what I know, there aren't that many aftermarket parts for it so you pretty much are stuck with what you get out of the box. That was another reason what I wasn't drawn to the gun, there was nothing to improve the problems that it did have so you were pretty much stuff if you did buy it. If the mags were fixed, I think the gun would be a good buy for a larger sized .22 at a ballpark prize of $175.
Now for the last gun I looked at, the Marlin 795. Overall, this was the gun I ended up choosing because it filled in just about every gap that the others left open. The Marlin is accurate right out of the box with an 18in blued barrel, has a good trigger, has a last shot hold open (like a bolt catch for an AR) as well as very reliable magazines for a ballpark price of $150 (In 2011 however, Marlin had a $20 rebate for the blued barrel 795 and they were just about ALWAYS on sale, sadly though, I only started researching .22's at the last few months of 2011). The gun does have a Polymer trigger guard like the newer Ruger 10/22's though. Marlin made the switch along with many other companies a few years back (most likely to cut production cost and not to "improve performance" like many companies have said). Out of the box, the gun has a thick 18in blued barrel. The barrel is plenty thick for a .22. If you were to compare, it would probably be between a regular barrel and a bull barrel. On top of that, it has a fairly good trigger. With a little bit of polishing the sears, you can bring the trigger pull down some as well as cut out the mushiness of the trigger. With that said however, there aren't that many aftermarket parts compared to the Ruger 10/22. There are stocks available as well as peep sights and a few others odds and ends. There is a website called DIP that makes a lot of aftermarket parts for the Marlin series of rifles. Everything from trigger kits to golden charging handles. With the extra money I saved buy buying the Marlin, I can drop in an upgraded trigger and have one very accurate rifle and still end up under the base price of the Ruger. If I decided to go the DIY route, I can do all the modifications in the book and still come out with a really nice trigger pull. Last shot hold open is a really nice feature that I have come to appreciate. One of the biggest problems with rim fire rifles in general is having the bolt slam into the chamber while dry firing and slowly eat away at the chamber which will cause the rifle to not be able to eject the shells properly (or for that matter, at all). The last shot hold open allows me to visually see that I am out of rounds and that I have to reload. It also keep me from continuing to fire and slowly eat away at the chamber (like I explained before). Also, There's nothing more satisfying than chambering a round and hearing the bolt slam forward once you hit the lever. The only real downside I found is that the stock is a little small for me and it feels like a BB gun but I have slowly started to like the small and light weight feeling of the stock. I will however in the future switch it out for a Boyd's Stock because you just can't beat a nice wood laminate stock (it will also bulk up the gun just a bit to make it feel more like a rifle and not a BB gun). Only other complaint I have (which is more opinion than anything) is that there are only 7 round and 10 round magazines. EVERY aftermarket high capacity magazine to date is just pure garbage so it would be nice if Marlin would come out with a high capacity magazine for those of use that get a little trigger happy from time to time. The 10 round magazines feed flawless though so I'll pick a few up here soon and just run those until a good high capacity magazine comes out.
Here's a quick picture after I threw a scope on the gun. A little over kill if you ask me but I got it for a good deal so it'll have to do for now...
Another reason I ended up going with Marlin was that I received an old Marlin Lever Action from the 1800's that was a family heirloom as well as my grandfather having a Marlin Model 81 Bolt Action that has been through hell and back and is still firing accurately with only a sticky bolt. I guess I'm keeping the Marlin tradition going!
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-Fluffy
