Hi
I have a question.
I am thinking about getting a Marlin 60 (I like the wood stock) but its tube feed.
So my question is, during the Appleseed COF how is the tube feed handled during the 2/8 transisions?
Thx
The Marlin 60 is a good accurate rifle. My first rifle was a Marlin 60 that I bought so many years ago (which I still have). Mine is finicky about what brand and type of ammo it consumes, and it needs to be cleaned at the end of the day or it will jam frequently during the next shooting session.
The Marlin 60 is awkward to load while doing a timed AQT with a Spee-D-Loader (http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=685100) or with Taurus Loading Tubes (http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/32093-1.html). Really slow and awkward to load one-at-a-time by hand during a timed AQT, especially while prone. If you can examine the rifle before buying it, imagine yourself prone then remove the charging rod and simulate loading the tube magazine as safely and quickly as you can (it is a timed event) while keeping the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.
My suggestion is to look at other wood stocked .22 rimfire rifles with removable magazines.
Just relating my Marlin 60 experiences to you to help you decide.
Gary
The way we handle magazine change stages is for you to load with 11 rounds, and after 2, manually eject one round. The idea is to make the shooter break position.
We see a lot of tube feeds. They're a little bit slower than magazine fed rifles in the transition stages, which may make Stage 2 and 3 of the AQT frustrating (since those stages are so fast already). But if you must have one, it can work for you. Particularly if you set yourself up with some "speed loaders," i.e. straws or other tubes so you can dump 11 rounds in at once, and practice ahead of time.
I'm pretty spastic with one and end up throwing all of my bullets on the ground, even with a speedloader. A marlin 795 cured that. You can get a wood stock for it at Numrich.
Just to be clear...
The tube loaders do not have to speed load during timed stages. As said above, with the chamber flag inserted, they load by hand or with speed loaders, 11 rounds at the end of the prep period where the line boss will give them time to load (I usually give them advanced warning of the end of the prep so they can get a head start on it). Safeties On, Stand they stand with a locked down/prep'd tube but WITH THE CHAMBER FLAG IN. On hitting the ground after the fire command, where everyone else is loading magazines, they then strip out the chamber flag and load the first round.
After firing two, they must manually eject a round to simulate the break in position and cadence that the autoloaders are doing on the 2 to 8 mag change. They then continue to fire the rest of the COF.
You can shoot AQTs and score rifleman with a tube feed.
Appleseed makes great efforts to be rifle and sight agnostic so people can shoot what they brung.
cool, thx for the info
As a matter of fact, I shot MY rifleman score at Piru, CA
back in August 2008, with a Marlin model 60, tube fed. Scored a 228.
And that was using McDonalds straws that only hold 10 rounds, I hand loaded the 11th.
Now, I have speed loaders that I use hand out to the shooters that hold 14 rounds.
The rifle is very accurate... :~
I went with the Marlin 795. I wanted the wood stock but decided to wait