Questions about a Remington 597 magnum

[Grey Morel]

I had the standard .22LR version of the 597 at one point, and it was a complete piece of trash; constant feed and ejection problems.

I have been told that Remington has since solved those issues, and that the 597 is now a reliable and dependable little rifle. Is this true for the magnum version as well?

I want a .22 magnum semi-auto, but it looks like all my other options (10/22 magnum, HK300, and Marlin 922) are all out of production.

 

[VA27]

I had one of the plastic-stock 597Ms for a while. It was accurate, reliable (with the metal mags) and ugly as a mud fence.

 

[rangerruck]

yes, just get metal mags, make sure the bottom has a 10 number, inside a circle.
then take apart receiver/action assy., pull of the back plate, unscrew guide rods for bolt assy. Then put back together, and screw in guide rods, just enough with your fingers only, to put the whole thing back together; in other words, the guide rods are in there loosey goosey. they are screwed in too tight, from the factory, so that when the bolt assy. recoils, it binds up on the tight rods, and you get your feed/ejection probs.

 

[FROGO207]

I have a 597 magnum and love it. They are a bit ugly but I have had NO reliability problems with mine. It shoots well also. I would reccomend it highly. The advice of above post is good also. As a bang around rifle I abuse it some and it has always worked well. I also use the Iron sights as a scope would get ruined in about a week.

 

[punkndisorderly]

I haven't had experience with the Magnum version but have been less than happy with my standard 597.

Had a lot of issues with jams at first as well as "machine gunning" where the rifle would fire a couple of rounds with one pull of the trigger and then jam. I had the new style magazines. A call to Remmington, who were very nice on the phone, resulted in them sending two new magazines that looked exactly like the old ones but worked for whatever reason. Now it works 99% with all 4 magazines. Odd.

Accuracy is very odd with it. Sometimes I'm amazed at how accurate it is, sometimes it won't group for crap. I've yet to figure out why.

The trigger is the worst I've ever felt on a .22. Very heavy, gritty, creepy.

The finish is terrible. It's the only gun I've ever owned that had a problem with rust. The "chrome" finish on the bolt assembly is flaking off badly.

The only reason I still have it is that I wouldn't get anything for it. I'm just keeping it around until I have a friend with a son or daughter that needs a .22 of their own. At that point, I'll give them the 597 in exchange for a couple of beers.

 

[Grey Morel]

DO they make a magnum with irons? The website only shows a model with no sights...

 

[FROGO207]

Mine is with plastic stock and iron sights, got it 2 yrs ago on Jan 1. With the plastic stock you can remove the snap on buttplate. I then took a piece of thin foam from a computer motherboard packaging and cut it to fit inside. Next I cut slots in it like an ammo belt to hold 50 rd ammo, small compass, flat throwing knife, and fire starting magnesium. No rattles-works good added sling and it is an instant survival kit.