My Remington 597 Range Report.

[Tyler]

I finally had the chance to get my Rem 597 out to the range today to sight it in and test it out. For $200, this rifle was a steal. The rifle functioned flawlessly with Federal Bulks, Winchester Dynapoints, and CCI subsonics. There was no jamming issues with the rifle at all. All I did was losen the bolt rail guide bolts a bit and lubed the action well.

The factory metal mag worked well with no sanding or lube and would function with 9 rounds every time.

The only issue I ran into was with the Dynapoint ammo. In the 50 or so rounds of it I shot, I had two FTF's from bad primers. Though the 597 likes the Dynapoint ammo better than the Federal Bulks as it shot much more accurately.

The only thing I don't like about this rifle is the front sight, I had a hard time focusing on the target due to the rounded top with the white dot. A standard blade style sight would do much better, IMO. Does anyone know where replacement sights can be had?

The other thing I'm going to do with this rifle is replace some factory parts with VQ parts to improve the accuracy, as my Cooey Mod 600 can shoot circles around this thing.

 

[super7]

Check to ensure the action screws aren't a tad too long. Then crank those actions screws in real tight and try some cci blazers....in my case, the accuracy was greatly improved

 

[ontgunner]

I love my 597 as well, and have had (recent) issues with the DyanDuds... but that's another issue.
I put a scope on mine almost right away... love it.
Rimfire Sports has a set of "FireSights" for it... they may find their way on to mine as well .

 

[Tyler]

Well, I scoped this rifle out yesterday with a 4x32 scope, and the groups at the 50m mark were amazing. I was shooting ragged holes in the paper using CCI Blazers, a brand of ammo this rifle seems to like.

For $200, you can't go wrong.

 

[IM_Lugger]

I put a scope on mine almost right away... love it.

Same here; didn't like the iron sight that much so I got a Tasco 2.5-10 x42 Mildot scope, much better!

Those "FireSights" looks pretty good too btw...


Being a handgun guy I haven't shot mine in mouths I even have a 30 round mag for it...

 

[Steiner]

The only thing I don't like about this rifle is the front sight, I had a hard time focusing on the target due to the rounded top with the white dot. A standard blade style sight would do much better, IMO. Does anyone know where replacement sights can be had?

I agree with you on this point also. I did not like the post they put on this rifle. When you look through the factory sights it's like someone put a globe on the end of the barrel. Ya can't see your target very well.
I dug up a 4x32 scope I'll try. I'm still very happy with the Rem 597 - it's under $200and shoots well.

 

[lookout]

I shot one for the first time yesterday. A buddy of mine bought it...I thought for a few extra dollars you could get (what appears to me) far better quality in a ruger 10/22, cosmetically and functionally. I know there are alot of people fond of the 597 but I won't be recommending it to new shooters.
We shot about 150 rnds through it. Dynapoints (perfect in my 10/22) jammed lots - the empty casing would be trapped in the action, a FTE. Then we tried remington thunderbolts (?) and we had about 10% light primer strikes.