It all starts with a light alloy receiver that is completely open on the bottom. The bolt is heavy steel and contains the firing pin and two extractors. Always nice to have two. The recoil spring fits into a slot in the bolt and over a guide rod that fits into a slot in the receiver. This is my only complaint about the gun. Getting the bolt into the receiver without either bending the spring or shooting the guide rod across the room takes practice. Other than that, take down for cleaning is a cinch.
The barrel is a fat, nearly bull, barrel with a tapper near the end. No skinny, pencil barrel crap here.
A really great feature is the last shot hold open. This guarantees you won't inadvertently dry fire the rifle, something that should be avoided with rimfires. There is a difference in recoil on the last shot, just like an auto pistol. Simply swap out the magazine, hit the bolt release, and fire away. Why aren't they all like that? Everywhere I look, I see neat features that I did not expect.
I had dismissed the 795 as just another cheep .22. That was my mistake. Quality wise, the 795 is above the crowd. Fit and finish is great, considering the $159.00 price tag. It is well engineered and well built. I would put it on par with the 10-22 for much less cost. All plastic parts are well made and do not give me the impression that they will snap anytime soon.
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| Simple and robust |
One interesting thing is that the 795 is not available with a wood stock. That's a shame, but the synthetic stock is quite well made. It is glass reinforced and fits the rifle like a glove. It sure beats the hell out of the plastic stock on my Savage 62.
Micro groove rifling is another feature that sets the 795 apart. Marlin has long touted it micro groove barrels as superior in accuracy. By most accounts, the 795 is very accurate. Basically micro groove uses more grooves, but cut shallower. Theory is that there is less drag on the bullet. I don't know how much better it works. All I know is the rifle hits what I aim it at.
One addition that I will be putting on it is the tech sights. I've fallen in love with the sight picture on service rifles. Since I cannot afford an M1 Garand, carbine, or an AR, this will become my little carbine.
My initial shooting impression was very impressive. I first ran American Eagle copper plated hollow points, which ran flawlessly. Next, I tried some Remington Thunderbolts. No issues. Ok, so I really wanted this thing to jam. On to the golden bullets by Remington. Again, pop pop pop, no problems. The only thing that would cause a failure to feed were Federal automatch, ironically. For a new 22 to perform that well is impressive to me. My Brother said that his 795 had a very rough feed ramp that he had to smooth out. Mine was quite smooth, so I left it alone. Again, attention to detail that I never expected from an under $200 gun. Kudos to Remington for keeping this gun in production and keeping quality standards high. Yes, Marlin is now part of freedom group. I can't say that I am in favor of all these gun makers being absorbed by one big conglomerate, but I guess that is the way of the world.
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| Boyds Evolution SS Stock |
Do I recommend the 795? You bet. It is way more than some cheap .22. It is well engineered and well built. With all the features on this little rifle they could charge more. I'm glad they don't.
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