Remington 597. Yea or nay?

[ftierson]

There have been a number of threads here on the Remington M597.

In general, the comments in them mirror the comments here.

I have two M597 synthetic stocked rifles in .22LR and one in .22WMR.

All three of mine have been completely reliable, even with the original plastic magazines (although I purchased some of the newer metal magazines just in case because of all the comments that I've read on the internet about problems with the plastic ones).

They are very accurate rifles and, while the triggers can certainly use a little tweaking, the triggers are still dramatically better than the crappy triggers on the Ruger 10/22s .

Some of the Remington M597 rifles a few years ago got past Remington QC with pretty crappy bores, so you might want to take a quick look down the tube before you plunk your hard earned money down for one.

I have been very happy with the rifles that I have...

Forrest

 

[cracked butt]

There must have been a whole lot of inconsistancy from one rifle to another until they got some of the problems ironed out. I remembered mine having a nice crisp trigger but a little on the heavy side. Accuracy was very good (much better than I would have expected with the ruger 10/22 being my only point of reference with my experience with semi-auto .22s)with most ammo that I shot through it.....

 

[Schleprok62]

+1 to what LiquidTension said... I didn't want to go into my experiences with Model 60's. But since we're on the subject, I've had 2 of them, an older one and a more recent one. They were both jamomatics... the newer one it was just about every shot. The older one, it was a Glenfield variant, was pretty ok, but nothing to write home about, but would still choke at least once every mag worth. Regardless of what we fed it. My dads old Rem Nylon 66 shot circles around either of them in the group dept.

Now, for the record, I do like Marlin rifles, you can't tell me there's a better bolt (for the money) than the old Model 25. I've made shots with those that have amazed even myself... I just bought a second one to replace the one I lost in a house fire a few years ago...

I've had a ruger 10/22 also... boy the issues with it were, well... let's just say it's at the bottom of the Ohio river...

I now have a Rem 597 and, (knock on wood) haven't seen most of these issues with mine, except when I tried to feed it Remmy Goldens.... it hic-up'd on those... That seems to be a truth... As for the statement about "fix your brand new gun" Uhmm don't you bring a new gun home and give it thorough cleaning and general once over anyway? Tweaking two hex screws (backing them out, and readjusting them) isn't exactly brain surgery.

 

[SG1]

"I now have a Rem 597 and, (knock on wood) haven't seen most of these issues with mine, except when I tried to feed it Remmy Goldens.... it hic-up'd on those... That seems to be a truth... As for the statement about "fix your brand new gun" Uhmm don't you bring a new gun home and give it thorough cleaning and general once over anyway?"

+1 Quoted for truth. My 597 has been accurate and reliable straight out of the box. I can't shoot Remmy gold dots either. They stove pipe every round, but I've put at least 1000 Federal bulk rounds through it without a single jam.

I've also owned a Marlin Model 60 and liked it well too, but I'm not crazy about the tube magazine. My 597 has an aftermarket 30 round mag and less reloading means more shooting

I know you wanted a detachable mag .22, but those lever action .22's seem fun

 

[s2brutus]

I've had a 597 for 6 or 7 years now and all in all I'd have to say it's average or a little better compared to other .22s I've shot over the years. (My first rimfire was a Marlin 25M, so I guess maybe I was spoiled a bit. )

I've not had tons of reliablility issues with mine. Just a failure to feed every once in awhile. Don't recall ever having had a FTEx or FTEj. Never even really had any probs with the original plastic mags for the most part.

Accuracy-wise it's nowhere near what my Marlin 25M was or my Dad's old Nylon 66. Mine seems to be really sensitive to different ammo regarding accuracy. It won't shoot CCI Stingers worth a sh*t, but does fine with CCI Mini-mags and does great with CCI Green Tag. With Mini-mags it'll put ten just inside an inch at 50 yds. With GT it'll put ten WELL inside an inch at 50, though the ten shot, half inch group at 50 continues to elude me. Shooting Stingers it's doing good to put ten inside 2 inches at 50.

All in all I'd say shoot middle of the road ammo in it - not el cheapo like old Federal Lightning and not hyper-velocity like CCI Stingers.

Oh yeah, the trigger in mine is heavy but breaks fairly crisply.

Someone was mentioning a peep sight for it? Williams makes one that clamps onto the scope ring grooves. I've got one and it works well.

 

[made2cut]

I was really hot to get one in 17hmr but decided to pass because of all the conflicting reports I read. There were also a bunch of kabooms I ran across on rimfire central which really scared me. If I was looking to get one in 22lr it might be a different story but my 10/22 runs so well I can't justify the crap shoot just because it looks better.

 

[Tom609]

I have one and would buy another. Rarely a problem, with new ones. Seems the old ones - several years ago - had the magazine problems. They can be finicky about ammo; mine prefers CCI MiniMags.

 

[shoen1200]

I purchased a 597 TVP a week ago.

I cleaned and setup the bolt guide rods as suggested by posts in:

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68079

I have not experienced any problems with either the rifle or the two remington mags I have. I have about 500 rounds through it now.

The weak point is the heavy trigger that can be fixed for @ $37 dollars.

I have ordered the part (hammer) to correct the trigger.

If I am careful with the trigger the 597 seems to be every bit as accurate as my cz452 is - which is saying a lot.

 

[Schleprok62]

 

[Dollar An Hour]

Having owned a 10/22 and a 597, my impression is the 597 feels more like an adults rifle, while the 10/22 felt more like a kids rifle.

That said, if the ergonomics of the Ruger work for you, they're super reliable and feel maybe a bit nicer finished. Endless aftermarket available too.

Can't go wrong with either, just go with your gut.

 

[MCgunner]

I like the 10/22 for a knock around rifle. It's 100 percent with CCI and accurate enough, light and portable. The 597, like everyone has said, fits like a centerfire, an adult rifle's heft and more accurate.

If you don't like the trigger on the 597, and I didn't, get the Varquartsen hammer, amazing transformation from heavy as hell to awesome light and crisp. I haven't put a trigger gauge on it, but I'm thinking it went from maybe 8-10 lbs or even more to about 3. It was really stiff with the stock hammer in it. Set me back about 35 bucks from midwayusa.com. I don't find my 10/22 all that bad as plinkers go, but it, too, can be improved via the aftermarket.

Sheesh, bottom of the Ohio river, eh? I don't know, maybe I'm lucky, but I read all these bash woes about 10/22s, 597s, M60s, Taurus revolvers, Kel Tecs. I never seem to have these problems people speak of. Guess I'd better knock on wood.

 

[JohnMc]

A bit off topic, but

Western Auto version (Revelation?)

Yep, that's what the Western Auto versions were called.

 

[Kilgor]

Nay. You want to buy mine? Jamomatic with even the latest magazine from Remington,

Those suggesting a Marlin 60 are spot on.

 

[MAURICE]

I used to have the higher end model with the laminated stock and target barrel. I slapped a variable powered scope on it- BSA, IIRC. Shot like a champ and was for more accurate than I was. I only had problems with one mag that I bought for it. The rest worked fine. I did notice that it liked the better quality ammo more than the bulk stuff, but it all shot fine.

I used it for silhouette shooting out to 100 yards and as long as I did my part it would slay the rams out at the berm. At 25 yards off of a sandbag it was boringly accurate. I sold it off (needed money) and have regretted it ever since.

The model 60 is a great gun as well. I've got one in the closet now that I paid 65 bucks for and it just won't stop.

 

[orienteeer]

i like my 597........

bought it about 2 months ago used fer $135, added a BSA scope & a sling. It came w/1 old mag, so i bought 2 new mags, the circle 10s. it's got the laminated stock, which i like a lot better than the synthetic. i should stress here that i'm a relative newbie. haven't done much shooting since my teen years, & i'm 57 now. it's a fun gun to shoot, & i haven't had many problems with any of my mags, just an occasional failure-to-eject, when the casing got sideways in the breech (is that what "stovepiping" is?). since it's still new to me, i haven't tried different types of ammo, just have been using winchester dynapoints 22lr.
i do remember having a marlin back in the 60's. can't remember if i liked it or not!

now i'm thinking about a handgun.........

 

[gator378]

597

I have a 22 Clasic Thompson/Center. Extremely happy with it. Fiftly yards dime size groups with a 1.5 power scope. Trigger excellent right of the box.

Of course Smith and Wesson bought out TC and I am not sure of S&W current quality control.

 

[kennyboy]

No. I do not know from personal experience. However, I have heard almost nothing but negative reviews of the Remington.

 

[bannockburn]

elmerfudd

Definitely a no vote. I bought one for my son a few years ago; it was his choice so I abided by it. This gun is the worst semi-auto I've ever encountered. I have done all the fixes, both to the action and the magazines; nothing has worked and you are extremely lucky if you can string together more than two shots before a jam. I can't really comment about accuracy because we've never been able to get it to function long enough to get any sort of 5 shot group together at the range. Have also tried the newer magazines; still unreliable. And the most strangest thing of all; it's least favorite ammo (when it does manage to work), is anything made by....Remington.

 

[elmerfudd]

Well, I put a TC R55 Benchmark on layaway today. At $400 and some change it'll cost me considerably more than the Remington would, but I figure that you almost never regret having paid more for higher quality.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Well, I put a TC R55 Benchmark on layaway today. At $400 and some change it'll cost me considerably more than the Remington would, but I figure that you almost never regret having paid more for higher quality.

No, you won't. The Thompson is a nice rifle.

 

[mr.trooper]

I had one, and I didn't like it.

 

[Grantman]

I own a Remington 597 .22lr and have to say it is a fine rifle. First thing I did is follow the instructions and clean the thing, only lightly tightening the bolt guide rods as recommended on rimfirecentral. I've put through 500 rounds of federal bulk and approx 150 rounds of cci minimags and the rifle has functioned superbly as I fully expected it to. After the months of research I did waiting for my firearms license, I notice people who had problems were ones that didn't clean the thing, had obsolete mags, and didn't loosen the guide rods. After going through all that ammo I've had negligible hitches with a couple of failure to feeds and a couple of rare cases of weak federal bullets causing stove pipes. If something happened to my 597 I'd go straight out and buy another 597 in a heartbeat. I've mounted it with a leapers 3-9x50 scope and use the leapers integral high mount with stop screw which just so happens to fit nicely down into one of the receiver weaver base screw holes. Just a few days ago I put 3 shots virtually through the same hole at 35 meters so that's good enough for me.