I got both... I like both... Person I bought the 597 from did a hammer and extractor job, so the trigger feels nicer on it then the 10-22... but I have never had a fte on it I have had some on the 10-22... both eat any ammo I have put to them and are both shoot pretty much same groups for me...
Is the Remington 597 really that bad?
- Thread starter Onewarmguy
- Start date
My 597 was cheap, reliable, accurate and fun. What more could I ask?
I did however swap out the extractor with a Volquartsen Exact Edge Extractor as soon as I bought it. That may be why I avoided any potential problems with FTE that others had had in the past.
I did however swap out the extractor with a Volquartsen Exact Edge Extractor as soon as I bought it. That may be why I avoided any potential problems with FTE that others had had in the past.
Had a 597 vtr and maybe didn't give it fair enough chance. It was quite accurate when it actually shot but it spent more time in the warranty shop than in my hands. She's gone now and I havent missed it for a second. My replacement, a 10/22 vleh has been flawless. Ruger for the win
this seems to be like a 6.0l ford diesel discussion, many were great but some were awful. I got a awful one. My 597 is picky as heck on ammo(likes wildcat hy velocity) while accuraccy was good and the factory sights are better then my ruger 10-22 it jams,ftf, and partially ejects(closes on the empty casing) far to often, as referred to earlier I bet 15-25 rounds out of 100 with the worst performing ammo would cause problems. I tried about 1 dozen brands to settle on the wildcat and it still jams on occassion.
my 10-22 is very low round count >50 however it hasn't not shot anything yet even the worst ammo for the 597. before I get heat for the low round count this purchase was decided on the 3 10-22's I have first hand experience with (friends family) that are thousands and thousands of rounds and probably haven't jammed as much as my 597 with a 400-600 round count.
how i feel each gun goes in each category, both are stainless sythetic guns
fit finish 10-22 just has a little nicer machining/polish although I may perfer the stock on the 597
accuracy unkown the remington shoots pretty darn good, more then what i need out of a 22 i use for varmint(read barn and barnyard) and livestock duty 99.9% under 25 yards anything beyond that I grab a rifle)
the 10-22 ive yet to really get a feel for as I haven't shot it enough and the sights suck. from what i have shot i think i could do a lot better with better sights.
mags 10-22 hands down the ruger mags as well known as the gun its self. the 597mags felt cheap and showed a little wear already from what i would call pretty low numbers. I also believe they may be partially responsible for the guns poor performance, i found both much more reliable when only loaded to 8 rounds.
mag realize old 10-22 vs 597 goes to the 597 I find the old 10-22's cumbersom to unload and insert. new 10-22 vs 597 goes 10-22 push your index finger forward and it drops free perfect.
sights remington wins here for factory sights. My remington needed very little adjustment when i bought it for windage but its available. my 10-22 shot 2" to the left at 20 yards. hitting a brand new gun with a drift is not adjusting, boo on ruger. i moved the rear sight far enough you can see its off centre a bit by eye.
in my case as i use it to put down animals I couldn't trust the remington due to its tendency to jam, and used my dads bolt cooey whenever that duty came up. come up with whatever conclusion you like I was as honest as i could be about eachs +/-
for punching paper the remingtons great, for my use its unreliability is not acceptable. I may give it to a young guy starting out or keep it or sell it for $100 I dunno
my 10-22 is very low round count >50 however it hasn't not shot anything yet even the worst ammo for the 597. before I get heat for the low round count this purchase was decided on the 3 10-22's I have first hand experience with (friends family) that are thousands and thousands of rounds and probably haven't jammed as much as my 597 with a 400-600 round count.
how i feel each gun goes in each category, both are stainless sythetic guns
fit finish 10-22 just has a little nicer machining/polish although I may perfer the stock on the 597
accuracy unkown the remington shoots pretty darn good, more then what i need out of a 22 i use for varmint(read barn and barnyard) and livestock duty 99.9% under 25 yards anything beyond that I grab a rifle)
the 10-22 ive yet to really get a feel for as I haven't shot it enough and the sights suck. from what i have shot i think i could do a lot better with better sights.
mags 10-22 hands down the ruger mags as well known as the gun its self. the 597mags felt cheap and showed a little wear already from what i would call pretty low numbers. I also believe they may be partially responsible for the guns poor performance, i found both much more reliable when only loaded to 8 rounds.
mag realize old 10-22 vs 597 goes to the 597 I find the old 10-22's cumbersom to unload and insert. new 10-22 vs 597 goes 10-22 push your index finger forward and it drops free perfect.
sights remington wins here for factory sights. My remington needed very little adjustment when i bought it for windage but its available. my 10-22 shot 2" to the left at 20 yards. hitting a brand new gun with a drift is not adjusting, boo on ruger. i moved the rear sight far enough you can see its off centre a bit by eye.
in my case as i use it to put down animals I couldn't trust the remington due to its tendency to jam, and used my dads bolt cooey whenever that duty came up. come up with whatever conclusion you like I was as honest as i could be about eachs +/-
for punching paper the remingtons great, for my use its unreliability is not acceptable. I may give it to a young guy starting out or keep it or sell it for $100 I dunno
I have a stainless 10/22 and an SR22. I have fired the 597 on a few occasions. Numerous FTFs, stovepipes, poor fit & finish, a real rattler. I wouldnt touch one with a 10 foot pole. Besides, the range of accessories for 10/22s is unlimited, the 597, not so much.
I could be totally talking out of left field here 
, but from what I've shot (as oppose to owned ! 
) I think that Kevin M. identified a kind of maxim there....
- generally, the 597 is more accurate "out of the box, with the parts from the box" than the 10/22....but when it comes to adding things aftermarket (including "even" basic hi-cap magazines), the 10/22 generally tends to outshine the 597....
, but from what I've shot (as oppose to owned ! ) I think that Kevin M. identified a kind of maxim there.... - generally, the 597 is more accurate "out of the box, with the parts from the box" than the 10/22....but when it comes to adding things aftermarket (including "even" basic hi-cap magazines), the 10/22 generally tends to outshine the 597....
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i've got a 597 and i don't have any problems with it. i dont feel the need to accessorize my gun... so i could not care less if one has more after market stuff than the other. i was at the range the other day and the guy next to me was shooting a 10/22, he was stopping every 4 to 5 shots... i dont know what he was doing wrong and quite frankly i dont care... my gun was chugging along just fine
I have had my 597VTR for 3 years now. I absolutely love it, bolt stays open after the last shot, single movement to remove the magazine and also to release the bolt. Accurate, eats all the bulk ammo I have thrown at it (more than 5,000 rounds). I have not owned a 10/22, but have shot a few, not my cuppa tea!!
- Location
- Keswick ON
Update
Whoa, think I started something here, 3 days and around 30 replies. Just for a general update on opinions there's been 14 +'s & 11 -'s and a few neutrals.
Tells me two things:
One - Remingtons got a very good product here but they really do need to work out the bugs. It's been out since what, about 95? Due for some improvements.
Two- Most folks here seem to have some pretty strong opinions about their rimfires, I like that.
Whoa, think I started something here, 3 days and around 30 replies. Just for a general update on opinions there's been 14 +'s & 11 -'s and a few neutrals.
Tells me two things:
One - Remingtons got a very good product here but they really do need to work out the bugs. It's been out since what, about 95? Due for some improvements.
Two- Most folks here seem to have some pretty strong opinions about their rimfires, I like that.
Superglide
Regular
- Location
- somewhere with a lot of standoff
Of all the 22lr's I've had, including the 597 and 10/22, (10/22 was an excellent rifle), My favorite is still my Marlin Model 60. Great 22, I would even go as far to say one of the best unless you want to customize, and the price tag these days is hard to beat.
X 2 on that I have 2 of them 0 issues! The only advantage that I can see with the 10/22 is that if you want to customize the gun there are some incredible things that you can do with them and there are many+++ after market companies that make performance parts 597 forget about that unless you have a machine shop. I know of many people who have had 10/22 that were carp out of the box lets face it a majority of 10/22 owners change parts in there guns to make them more reliable and that pushes up the price!. If you change out the extractor and put in a VQ hammer the 597 is still cheaper and will out perform a stock 10/22 any day. To me it just amounts to snobbery to bash the 597.
I picked up a 597 VTR used on the EE here to dress up like a "mini" AR for the kids (free float quad rail, collapsable stock) - it has nice features (bolt locks back on last shot, AR grip & stock, mag release similar to AR) - and guess what, I have been using it as a cheap training rifle as well - very accurate!
We have put 1500 rounds through it - no problems. Now, I did take care to make all the adjustments & clean it & I only use 10 round factory mags - so....what does it mean?
Not much - questions like these will inevitably end with about a 50/50 split - would I recommend a 597 - sure, its a nice gun!
But I suspect you would be just as happy with a 10/22.....for me the bolt lock & similar ergos to an AR made it a better choice - but its entirely personal.
We have put 1500 rounds through it - no problems. Now, I did take care to make all the adjustments & clean it & I only use 10 round factory mags - so....what does it mean?
Not much - questions like these will inevitably end with about a 50/50 split - would I recommend a 597 - sure, its a nice gun!
But I suspect you would be just as happy with a 10/22.....for me the bolt lock & similar ergos to an AR made it a better choice - but its entirely personal.
Remington 597
.
The Remington 597 gained a bad reputation early when it was supplied with plastic magazines. Remington seems to make a good rifle, but they need to do an overhaul on the department that designs magazines. (Witness the 581, Nylon 77, etc magazines.
Remington did a design change on the magazines to a moulded metal one, then are now on a slight modification of that magazine with their Generation III magazine for the 597. Not sure if they are still doing it, but Remington used to exchange old design magazines for new ones on a one-for-one basis.
Remington lately changed the ends of the recoil springs to a bit larger area because people managed to get them jammed a bit when reassembling the rifle, thus causing friction that slowed down the operation of the bolt and caused FTF and FTE problems. This is not a fault of the rifle, but Operator error.
The biggest problem with the 597 today is the Nut behind the Buttplate. This error prone part does not read the Manual or does not comprehend what the Manual says, particularly when replacing the bolt guide rods. These two rods are held in by two set screws that the Manual says should be 10 INCH-POUNDS. 10 Inch-Pounds is about 8/10 of a FOOT-POUND. Over tightening these screws will bow the guide rods, which then rub on the bolt when it recoils, thus creating friction, slowing down the bolt, and resulting in all kinds of feeding problems. The simple solution is to tighten these screws in finger tight until they just contact the guide rod, then back off 1/4 turn.
Due to manufacturing tolerances, you sometimes get a tight one. About 200 rounds of mini-mags through it will smooth out the operation.
Being a person who has shot a lot of targets, I believe in a good trigger system. A semi-automatic rifle generally has a bit more tolerance in their trigger systems and are not as good as bolt action rifles. The addition of a Volquartsen hammer to the 597 will work wonders.
I'll take the 597 Remington.
.
The Remington 597 gained a bad reputation early when it was supplied with plastic magazines. Remington seems to make a good rifle, but they need to do an overhaul on the department that designs magazines. (Witness the 581, Nylon 77, etc magazines.
Remington did a design change on the magazines to a moulded metal one, then are now on a slight modification of that magazine with their Generation III magazine for the 597. Not sure if they are still doing it, but Remington used to exchange old design magazines for new ones on a one-for-one basis.
Remington lately changed the ends of the recoil springs to a bit larger area because people managed to get them jammed a bit when reassembling the rifle, thus causing friction that slowed down the operation of the bolt and caused FTF and FTE problems. This is not a fault of the rifle, but Operator error.
The biggest problem with the 597 today is the Nut behind the Buttplate. This error prone part does not read the Manual or does not comprehend what the Manual says, particularly when replacing the bolt guide rods. These two rods are held in by two set screws that the Manual says should be 10 INCH-POUNDS. 10 Inch-Pounds is about 8/10 of a FOOT-POUND. Over tightening these screws will bow the guide rods, which then rub on the bolt when it recoils, thus creating friction, slowing down the bolt, and resulting in all kinds of feeding problems. The simple solution is to tighten these screws in finger tight until they just contact the guide rod, then back off 1/4 turn.
Due to manufacturing tolerances, you sometimes get a tight one. About 200 rounds of mini-mags through it will smooth out the operation.
Being a person who has shot a lot of targets, I believe in a good trigger system. A semi-automatic rifle generally has a bit more tolerance in their trigger systems and are not as good as bolt action rifles. The addition of a Volquartsen hammer to the 597 will work wonders.
I'll take the 597 Remington.
