Remington 597 ?

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XERXIES_333

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Hi everyone, I was at my LGS looking at Ruger 10/22 the other day and found that they were a little on the flimsy side of a firearm that has all the great reviews and everyone and there brother seems to own one. There were a few models I was looking at of the 10/22 and without spending extra cash on it just to bring it up to standard of what i think a $300-$400 gun should be ie replacing the hollow stock, putting a barrel on it that doesn't seem like I could bend it with minimal effort etc. etc. the list goes on, but I will give it it had nice set of glow sights on it already, so I commented that it felt cheap to the owner of the store and his response was to show me a Remington 597 with a heavy barrel and scope with a solid synthetic stock already on it for less $ then the base 10/22 and now i am leaning towards the purchase of the 597. Anyone out there with experience with either or both would like to post some pluses and minuses for both that would be great.

Thanks
 
Can of worms you open...

I bought a 10/22 for two reasons:

1: I used to shoot one (my Grandpa's) back in the 80's when I was a kid. (sentimentality)
2: The entire internet claims it's the greatest .22 ever

Shockingly, I found out a couple of things after I got it:

1: It reminded me that I was more concerned with "semi-auto" and watching spent brass fly as kid than I was with actually hitting what I was pointing at. The 10/22 is mostly good at fulfilling those desires - it makes the spent brass fly fast and reliably, although it will hit what you're pointing at from time to time.
2: The internet lies.

I'm going to get trashed a lot for saying it, but I don't care. The current 10/22's are way over-priced, and under-quality. I still have mine, but it rarely makes it out of the safe. I've moved over to the Marlin 795 with a Marlin Papoose for a breakdown that takes the same mags. The Papoose, even though it's a breakdown, is more accurate than my 10/22 carbine. The 795, more-so.

I don't have any experience with the 597, but on the whole, it would be hard for it to be less accurate than a factory 10/22. I've shot several of the modern 10/22s (seems like everyone I know has at least 1), and they're just not particularly accurate.

I'd say between a Marlin 795, Remington 597, and a 10/22 - go with whatever on feels right to you. Either the 795 or the 597 will probably win for accuracy. The 10/22 wins on the ridiculous level of aftermarket accessories.

Now give me a minute to go get my asbestos coveralls to protect myself from the epic flaming I'm about to receive for daring to dis the beloved piece of crap known as the 10/22.
 
A popular topic, and I'm working on hard on personal growth, so no 10/22 bashing.(this time)

The 10/22 is a hugely popular semi. Many folks love their's as-is, and many folks love the world of aftermarket stuff for them. I haven't had any luck with them, but simply can't deny the vast number of folks who do love 'em. I no longer tolerate 'em on the premises.

597 is a much newer offering from Remington. I like the full sized feel, dual guide rods, and heavy but silky cyclin' bolt. I've owned a few of these gems, and do quite like 'em. Not everyone has had my luck though. There were issues with the first 2 generations of magazines, and some folks have found that over-torquing the dual guide-rods makes them bow, and cause cycling mayhem. I have never experienced any issues with one.

Kinda like picking shoes you're the one using it, so you'll have to please yourself.

If shooter out vs. budget in is a concern, don't overlook the Marlin offerings. If you have any desire to alter your rifle (performance, or aesthetic) there is no shortage of stuff for a 10/22. I far prefer my 597 experience over my 10/22 experience, but not everyone does.
 
I own both and my 597 has waaaay more rounds through it and is more accurate than my 10/22. 10/22 is great if you want a big aftermarket for your plinker, but if you plan to keep them stock, go with the 597. Dead nuts accurate and relatively reliable. Just stay away from the 25 round remington magazines, they suck.
 
Ive had positive experience with my 597VTR and negative experience with my 10-22. The 10-22 is long gone now. My buddy bought a 10-22 and a 597 and his experience was exactly the opposite, his 597 required some tweaking but is still used and his 10-22 was flawless in operation. In both cases the 597 was more accurate than the 10-22.
 
Only experience I've had with the 597 was with my friends hvy barrel model he had. It was not a true heavy barrel. It had a liner within the barrel. It wasnt very accurate and was ammo picky.
I had a 10/22 with the hammer forged barrel at the time. MMy ruger shot much better, wasnt ammo picky, and was a true hvy barrel. His 597 was still more then accurate for taking out skunks and other pest no problem. Just wasnt as accurate as the 10/22, but cost my less then mine did.
Positive and negative with both.

I now have a 795. Very inexpensive, solid rifle, just havent shot it enough to fully comment on accuracy. But good so far
 
I have the 597 tvp which is a heavy barrel And boydes evolution stock. Groupings are under an inch at 50 and has been reliable. With that said I'm considering a 10/22 takedown for the pack size and my hate of constantly loading mags with sore thumbs. As they don't makea speed loader for the 597. And yes... 30 round mags are problematic
 
I have both rifles in synthetic stocks, and they are both equally good for what they are. I seem to like the 1022 more and seem to use it more often.
 
I own both and only bought the 10/22 because it is the takedown version. I would not have bought one otherwise as I absolutely love that 597. It is without a doubt the most accurate .22 i have ever shot and have had no issues with it whatsoever. Once at the range at 25 yards a fly kept coming back to land on my target so the next time he came back I put the cross hairs on him and splat. Looked neat to see a tiny mist of red through the scope. True story. I do enjoy the ruger as well but as I stated it is only because it is a takedown that I bought it but it also has caused me no issues so what more can I ask.

jetdoctr said:
I have the 597 tvp which is a heavy barrel And boydes evolution stock. Groupings are under an inch at 50 and has been reliable. With that said I'm considering a 10/22 takedown for the pack size and my hate of constantly loading mags with sore thumbs. As they don't makea speed loader for the 597. And yes... 30 round mags are problematic
Click to expand...

I agree that loading the mag can be a pain when shooting a lot but I modified the 30 rounder to make it easier. I drilled a hole in the bottom of the magazine and the follower and tied fishing line to it and extended it out the bottom. Tied a loop in the line and then you can hook it on something and pull the follower as you load shells without pressing them in with your thumb. Works like a charm.
 
I have a 597 with mossy oak blaze orange synthetic and fiber optic sites. It finally shoots not bad. But I had to;

Polish a patch of rust out of the bore right from factory
Take a factory burr off of the crown
File excess plastic from inside the barrel channel
Replaced the extractor to prevent stove pipes and jammed action during firing (every 5(h or 6th round)
Tap and thread a 5-40 screw into the bottom of the mag to keep the plastic base attached to the aluminum body
Remove the rear sight to install a 3-9x32 scope as the sights were not installed in-line with one another at factory
Install a weaver rail for the scope to be mounted on as the tip off rails are insufficient
Replace the push pin on the last shot hold open catch with a large head diameter 6-32 machine screw
Tighten up the crimped on trigger pin retaining bushing
Make a new crimped on trigger pin retaining pushing
Polish the sears
Polish the feed ramp
De burr and radius the edge of the chamber
Polish the guide bushing on the bolt
Polish the cocking ramp on bottom of the bolt
Install sling swivels
Fill forend voids with epoxy while stock was clamped in vise between 2 pieces of angle iron to prevent stock warpage and correct factory warp
Shim action to improve action fit within stock

Some of those fixes were necessary right from factory, some things were from wear over time, some were just because.

Its OK as a gun goes. Good as any other semi auto 22 I've shot anyhow.....but I'd rather have a bolt action savage.
 
Ive got a 10/22 Sporter and I dont consider it flimsy at all. its actually quite robust as semi auto 22s go, IMO. Maybe the Sporter is that much better then the typical carbine? I dont know.

I must have got a gem, because although ive owned it less then a year, ive absolutely zero issues with that werent caused by me. It feeds flawlessly, its as accurate as I can expect it to be, and is just plain fun.
 
I have a 597 that came with the scope and the only thing I have do to it was install the see through scope mount so I could use the iron sites as well. It has 1000's of rounds in it and not one problem. I love it and would definitely buy another one.

Steve
 
Oh ..., if only they'd come up with a hi-cap .22mag magazine...
597mag HB
This has been my go-to rifle as of late.
Other than a flimsy magazine , the rifle has preformed flawlessly

 
I have a VTR (it's got the heavy barrel). Runs like a Swiss watch and it's deadly accurate. Only problem I had was with the 30rd mag. The 10rd ones work fantastic.
 
The 597 in both 22LR and 22 Mag are decent shooters. There are a few tweaks that make the rifle more reliable. Everything that can be done has been mentioned in a previous post in this thread. The stocks are larger and longer then the Ruger 10-22 rimfire rifles. People bash them but everyone who delves into guns should learn some basic up-keep skills, It pays to learn the basics, and there are videos available on youtube. They are fine and reliable enough - and a fun to shoot.
 
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