597: To scope or not to scope?

I'm looking into a 597 to start shooting with, and I was initially going to over-do the Scope with a mind to not needing to replace it when I got a centrefire rifle later. However, I did note on the wiki page

The receiver has integral 11 mm dovetail mounts (sometimes called tip-off mounts). An optional weaver style scope base mounts to pre-drilled and tapped mount points.

The tip-off mounts are suitable only for small, light scopes for air rifle or rimfire use. Heavier scopes will tend to move on their mounts and thus loose zero. For these types of scope the weaver mounting system provides a more secure mount.

Course, that's the Encyclopedia Anyone Can Edit talking, but it seems like one would want to use that weaver option if one were mounting a scope made for centrefire rifles.
 
Jdop said:
"...I'm looking into a 597 to start shooting with, and I was initially going to over-do the Scope with a mind to not needing to replace it when I got a centrefire rifle later..."
Good plan. Rifles may come and go, but you'll never regret the money that you invest in a good scope.

Jdop said:
"...it seems like one would want to use that weaver option if one were mounting a scope made for centrefire rifles..."
I installed VQ's 597 scope rail on my rifle. Fits like a glove and lets you mount all of the nice 'grown up' scopes.

:cool:
 
To make a long story short, I took the RPAL course and exam this past weekend and passed with no problems, and hope to have my licence sometime between my birthday (early December) and Christmas. Naturally, this means I need to reward myself with a new gun. :D

I've narrowed down my list to a Remington 597, for a few reasons. 1) .22 is really damn cheap to shoot. 2) Wanted to start with something "small" before working my way up (I've never fired a firearm before in my life, and until last weekend I hadn't even handled one). 3) I really like the look of the 597 compared to other .22s.

My problem is this: I'm right handed, but left eye dominant. During the CFSC/CRFSC course I noticed I had some difficulty quickly establishing a proper sight picture without having to squint, especially on the shotties where there was only the front bead and no rear sight to work with. For that reason, I am contemplating getting the scoped version of the 597. Is it justified? I know some people advocating learning on iron sights before going with optics, and if I were right eye dominant I'd probably agree, but squinting just isn't working. I suppose I could also try shooting left handed, but I wanted to get some opinions on using scopes on a .22 for target shooting purposes.

i just picked up a 597 LSS, it came with a silver simmons 3-9 on it, looks sweet. go with the scope, you wont regret it later.
 
Back
Top Bottom