I have had a marlin 60 with the 10 shot clip for 20 years and have never had one problem.I put thousands of round through it every summer shooting gofers and the accuracy is excelent.I know rugers are good and reliable but for the price I would go with the marlin with the tube magazine,17 vs 10 shots.

I never shot the 597 but I had that viper POS that never worked.