Remington 597 - any reviews?

[campergeek]

I'm looking to get a .22 rifle to have something my wife will shoot (and besides - everybody's gotta have one...), and saw that Bass Pro currently has the Remington 597 on sale. I was strongly considering a 10/22, but if the 597 is a decent rifle I may get it at the discounted price ($129, if I remember correctly). Does anybody have any feedback - good or bad - on this model of rifle?

 

[Kharn]

Mine's more accurate than I am (but I cant hit anything to begin with), the target crown and synthetic stock are very nice on an inexpensive plinker.

Definitely stick with the metal magazines, the plastic ones will break with use.

Kharn

 

[MrAcheson]

I shot one at my range. I thought it was pretty mediocre in every way. Accuracy was bad, ergonomics were ok, and it had frequent feed/ extraction problems. My range doesn't show the rentals much love though so it may have just needed a good cleaning.

 

[PBIR]

I had one for about a year. It was good rifle. Accurate, but a little picky when it came to ammo that would cycle the action. I found that Stingers worked in it flawlessly. I'd buy another one if the right deal came along.

 

[FullClip]

Have one in .22 Mag. Jams up more often than not no matter how careful you load the magazine. Have heard for a couple years now that Remington is working on an imporved magazine, but haven't seen it yet. Not sure if they have the same problem with the .22LR version and sounds like Kharn likes his.
Either way, I'd opt for the Ruger. You can't beat it for reliabliity and if you get bored with it there's a zillion after market options. Have had my 10/22 for 30 years and it's still going strong.

 

[Bridger]

I got one for my girlfriend.

I like the last-shot bolt hold open over the ruger.

Been accurate, reliable with good ammo. I think ammo choice makes a big difference. CCI Minimags have been flawless, and I think Winchester Dynapoints from wal-mart have been just as.

Even the plastic magazine we got with it has been fine. The rest of the mags she has are metal.

It gets cleaned after each use, and the only problems have come from ammo as far as I can tell. American Eagle and Blazer it did not like.

 

[AZ Jeff]

I have owned both the 10/22 and the 597, so here is my assessment:

The 597 is better than the 10/22 in almost every way except aftermarket accessories. I find my 597 to be VERY accurate, almost to the levels of a bolt action target rifle, firing comparable ammo.

The trigger is a bit heavy for my tastes, but then again, in this current litigous society, that's not a surprise. It's certainly no worse than your average 10/22.

The rifle disassembles easier for thorough cleaning than does the 10/22.

The stock is slightly larger on the 597 also, giving it more of a "adult size rifle" feel to it.

The Ruger 10/22 is a decent rifle, but the Remington is just a little bit better in the areas that count for me.

 

[Trempel]

I had a 597 for a couple of years. It was fairly accurate, although the trigger sucked. Jamming was always a problem. After a while, the little spring mechanism in the trigger group that locks the magazines in the receiver fell apart. Took it to a smith who looked at it and said that the plastic parts got worn out and after he put it back together, it would continue to fall apart after a couple of hundred rounds. Sold the POS, pronto. Got a 10/22 and never looked back. My 10/22 jammed about 3-4 times diring the first 500 rounds and never after that. The action and the trigger group is more rugged than the 597, having less plastic parts. Changing parts on the Ruger for the aftermarket stuff in order to customize the rifle to your needs is very easy. Parts are abundant, and you can literally change ANYTHING on the 10/22 yourself with miniman tools. I've had my 10/22 for less than a year, but the round count is already higher than on the 597, because I spend more time shooting it, rather than making it work.

 

[Selfdfenz]

A fluff and buff on the metal mags (or placsic) may fix many of the jamming problems. Some people have great success just loading 8 or 9 rounds instead of 10 after the fluff and buff.

Regarding Jamming >>>>Big question #2:
Is the rifle old or new production?

If it's old you may need a new extractor to cure the problems plus a mag fluff and buff. Rem installs a new type of extractor on the new models and will replace the old style on your rifle under warrenty IIRC. Also you can just get an exact edge extractor from volquartsen and forget about jamming for the most part.

I have heard the ejector is a different angle on new models but can't prove it by me.

As far as the trigger goes....many get the volquartsen hammer and find it reduces trigger pull and increases smoothness. Unfortunately not everyone get a 2# trigger, sometimes it reduces the pull by 1/2 but you still get 4-5# pulls. Yep...they can be that bad from the factory.

The597s are accurate with the factory barrels and aftermarkets are availiable but there are only 2 makers (Volquartsen and Jarvis) and for what you get for 200-200+ $ they are much more expensive than some of the 10/22 aftermarkets.

My opinion...the people with new model rifles like them and they are accurate. It's possible to work around the issues the 597 has if you decide you really like the unit. For a trouble free rifle a 10/22 with endless mod options is hard to beat.
For a decent rifle with a bull barrel already in place but virtually no aftermarket options I like my Marlin 7000.

S-

 

[repsychler]

I have an early 597 and I love it. It was a jam-o-matic for the first 200 rounds, but I gave it a good clean/lube and it hasn't have one single malf since. Nice and accurate too. I'm an OK shooter, decent but nothing special, and my 597 makes me look good.

 

[Jason Demond]

I bought a 597 LSS when they first came out, and it turned out to be the biggest piece of crap I have ever purchased!! The gun set me back 269.00 new, which I though was a good deal at the time for a stainless rifle with a laminated stock.

I bought a Marlin 25N at that same time as the 597, and I still own the Marlin. That should tell you what I think of the 597!

Why couldn't they make the 597 a quality gun like the Fieldmaster/Speedmaster.

 

[GunGoBoom]

Semi .22s

Why not get a Marlin 60 (on sale for $99 at Academy; regular price is only $110) - better than either the Rem or Ruger, IMO. Cheaper too.

Or, if you stuck on a detachable mag, get the Marlin 7000, 795, or Papoose.


http://www.marlinfirearms.com/firearms/index.php

 

[Matt Sutton]

I've had a good experience with my standard blue/plastic 22lr model. I sanded the followers as recommended on rimfirecentral's Remington forum, and it's been 100% reliable ever since. The magazines are the weak spot in the design, but the sanding takes care of that. I love the standard stock and magazine release. Weaver bases are available for optics.
The Volquartsen trigger takes the pull weight down considerably. I'm hoping that someone comes out with a nice 20 or 30 round magazine for them after September 13.

 

[cracked butt]

I had an early model 597, worst POS I ever bought. It was accurate- I'll give it that, but it jammed on ever 3 or 4th shot, so for all practical purposes, my bolt action .22 was more worth my time to shoot.

Oh, and the 597 was the only gun I've ever had rust on me.

To be fair, the 597s made today might be better than the early ones, but my experience with it has put Remington way at the bottom of the heap of gun manufacturers that I'll buy from again.

 

[Snowdog]

Though having a heavy trigger, my .22WMR 597 is quite accurate and hasn't failed to feed or eject yet (but only around 200-300 rounds so far).

As for ergonomics, I feels that's where the 597 has a glaring edge over the 10/22. The 597's full-size stock offers a far better feel, IMO.

 

[MAURICE]

I had one-the LS HB version, IIRC.
Very accurate rifle, but was picky with what it eats. Any of the hotter loads it fed really well with no problems, but when I would shoot bulk pack or some of the different match loads (I used it for .22 siloutte matches) it would start to jam.

Use warmer loads and you will be fine.