Is the Remington 597 really that bad?

Kevin M. said:
In my experience, the 597 works near 100% with the factory magazine. The problems begin when you use the 30 round magazines, and malfunctions sweep in like tribbles. ;)
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The 1st and 2nd generation. 597 mags were horrible. The 3rd gen mags were better but still have problems with the spring binding when nearing full capacity. 80% of the time I can only get 7-8 in my 10 round mag.
Now my rem 30 rnd mag holds 33 and has not let me down.

My 597 was rife with issues. Improper drilling and tapping of the sights. Burss on the crown, rust in bore, poor barrel clearance due to flashing inside the barrel channel.
I have since ironed out all these problems but could see other less mechanically inclined owners becoming fed up.

I don't like the size of the 10/22 as it feels like a youth gun.
I think barrel bands are also archaic.

I don't like the higher price on the Rugger but feel Remington has let their quality slip too far.
 
Kevin M. said:
In my experience, the 597 works near 100% with the factory magazine. The problems begin when you use the 30 round magazines, and malfunctions sweep in like tribbles. ;)
Click to expand...

^ This..
I just picked up a 597 recently, the pkg deal at Cabela's of $369.00 stainless with laminate furniture. Fit and finish is great, loves federal bulk 36 grain ammo, but.. the problems with the 30 round mags are present, as in the mag fails to feed, works better when you fill it to only 25..
 
I have the 597vtr. Awesome accuracy with the red dot but will not cycle spent ammo. FTE all the time no matter what type of ammo, clean, dirty, dry, oiled. Its a super accurate single shot but ducks as a semi. Any help would be appreciated.
 
catmannew said:
I have the 597vtr. Awesome accuracy with the red dot but will not cycle spent ammo. FTE all the time no matter what type of ammo, clean, dirty, dry, oiled. Its a super accurate single shot but ducks as a semi. Any help would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

Your extractor is most likely the culprit, volquartsen makes a tougher replacement extractor but it seems impossible to find anyone stocking their parts.

Brownells has this one which is stronger than the factory piece.

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=19675/Product/REMINGTON-597-CASE-EXTRACTOR
 
Ok, I'm officially the dumbest guy on here!!! After taking the gun apart again and having a good look at the bolt i realized that the extractor, plunger and spring are actually missing!!:bangHead: That would explain alot.

Does anybody know if there is supposed to be a small hole in the bottom of the bolt? I meant to take a pic before coming to work but forgot.
 
I just bought a new 597 a couple of days ago and talking about ammo can i use some of those low noise or subsonic in it? Will it cycle the bolt?
 
Feed back . Hope it helps.

I have a 597 in .22 LR.

The good:

- Reasonable Accuracy: It can shoot 5shots and 1 inch group at 100yd, out of the box with no tweaking using included 3-9 scope. I am not a great shot... I think the gun deserves the credit.
- Affordable: Relatively cheap under $200 with scope included
- Ergos? : I find the trigger crisp and not too heavy out of the box.
- Ergos? :has a substantial heft and LOP for a larger rifle "feeling"
while other 22 LRs can feel like a youth gun (depending on your size).
- I think there are ArchAngel kits and even "bullpup-like" stocks for the 597 if you want
"tacticool" .22. Not sure if the "bullpup like stock" is legal in Canada.. as it isn't a real
bullpup.

The bad.

- Fire power: The magazines suck.. cartridge doesn't always align properly.
especially when I put 6-7 in the mag. Seems ok when I put 1-3.
30 banana mag, give me troubles sometimes..not reliable.
- Reliability: Twin guide rods sometimes bind if I don't loosen them in winter... so the bolt won't slide. Loosen it up will take care of this. Still not fun to tweak.
- I dunno if it is the gun's fault or my tendency to buy cheap ammo, but
I see a lot of big dents near the rim after click 1/25 shots..but no firing. Also I found round nosed 22's to feed better. I put the same troublesome bullets in my bolt or hinge action.. and no probs.



Summary:

For plinking I like it just because it can usually hit where I aim it to a 100 yrds without much effort. If I were to go back in time, and get a cheap semi-22, I'd probably get a marlin 795 which is said to be cheaper and lighter and more reliable... perhaps more accurate? In fact, I am thinking of doing so ...although I am holding out with the hopes for the papoose to return to Canada ( I am in the market if anyone is selling the marlin 70). In this way I'll have a plinker and back packing gun in one... at which point, I may consider selling the 597.
 
I got to shoot the 597 and had nothing but issues with specifically the action. I will say it did not appear as though the gun was cared for or maintained properly.

Shot my friends 10/22 Ruger and have never looked back. Looking at buying my 2nd 10/22 (Takedown model). It eats up any ammo I throw at it.

There is a reason why Ruger has stopped accepting orders for more guns this quarter. They make a damned decent product.

http://www.armoryblog.com/firearms/ruger-temporarily-stops-accepting-firearms-orders/
 
Sorry if I sound a bit off into left field but I for one have never understood the draw to a rifle that can't shoot a MOA no matter how many add on parts are available on the market. I was at the range the other day and a fellow was shooting his 10/22 at a paper target at 50m and was totally happy with the 1.25" group he was getting. He told me he had something arround 2k into this thing including the gun itself and it was still shooting well over 1moa. Now I'm not passing judgement because he was having a bunch of fun but when I let him shoot my old sears model 64 he asked if I would sell it to him.
My opinion is any rifle should be and must be capable of one hole groups at 50m let alone 25m and if I'm going to spend what little money I have on a new gun I'm going to pick function over form all day long.
A pig wearing a dress is still a pig no matter how expensive that dress is.
 
I had a basic 597 that I ran scoped. It was a lot of fun and I loved shooting that gun - very accurate. I only 'need' one .22 rifle so I sold it so I can buy the Marauder 10/22. I still feel dirty about it...Between stock guns I like the 597 better!
 
Even at just over $600 here in yUK it's a great little gun. We bought two for the club at a good price [really] for noobs to learn on, and have not been disappointed with them in the least.

You hafta -

1. Keep them clean [no-brainer, really]

2. Find out what they like to shoot and stick to it.

Our two like the GECO standard .22 and shoot it well enough to instil confidence when learning the principles of handlign a semi-auto after a few weeks with a bolt-action.

I don't need one, and I'm over my gun limit where I live, but if I needed a truck/quad-bike gun for field pests, I'd be happy with it.

tac
 
I found the 597 needed a bit of a break in period, somewhere between 250 and 300 rounds (using CCI blazer). But I had pretty much the same experience with the 10/22 (have owned 1 597 and 2 10/22).
 
Hey guys.. I purchased a used 597 from Epps and it has an aftermarket heatshield installed.. Is there any point of keeping it on and im guessing it prevents me from mounting a scope? (Sorry if this is a dumb question, I'm still new to the firearms world)

some images of it


 
Not at all :) the scope rail would go on the receiver not on the barrel so it would be fine. You might want to take it off anyways if you dont like it. Incidentaly I have never seen a .22lr so hot it burned my hand.
 
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