Remington 597

Rick65Cat

Rick65Cat

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Ok, I know this is an old subject, but I will be buying a 597 for my son for xmas as his first gun. (He's shot lots of other peoples guns)

Any quirks about it I should be worried about? I'm guessing like any .22 semi it will be ammo sensitive?
What about after market stuff? I see Rimfire Sports offers a Volquartzen hammer....
:popCorn:
 
I can't speak for anyone else, but here's my thoughts. The Rem 597 is quite a good value in my opinion, reliability and accuracy wise.

I found mine to be a bit more fussy until it was broke in, however many shots that was. Taking it apart can be a pain in the rear the first 10 times....or always.(Its not that bad once you figure out the magical spring holding trick)

The factory trigger sucks, breaks like glass at what seems to be 7-9 lbs...
The stock is a bit flimsy...

To make this rifle better, loosen the 2 screws at the back of the receiver(behind the guide rods)about 1/4-1/2 turn. Then the guide rods won't flex, and you will notice the rifle get less fussy.

Install the Volquartzen hammer, it makes a world of difference, and the trigger pull drops by 1/2, around 4 lbs.

Check the rifle for freefloating, as this was causing flyers in my groups, the stock touching on one side of the barrel.

It can be sensitive to different ammo. After freefloating, mine shot its previously worst performing ammo better than anything...barrel harmonics or???something like that.

Oh yeah, the mags can be fussy, mine doesnt like the 30 rounders, but I think there are a few things you can tinker with to make them better.

YMMV, this is just one guys experience.:)
 
I've got one. I use CCI Mini-mags in it. The only problem I've noticed with the gun is that the last shot bolt hold open feature has stopped functioning 100% now, and I've only got about 400 rounds through it. Sometimes the feature works, sometimes it doesn't. Not a huge gripe...

Good for the money I would say.
 
i have the 597 SS it shoots good groups all day long and since i loosened the guide rods slightly it shoots any ammo i have fed through it so far i find the remington a lot more comfortable to hold than the 10/22, the trigger isnt as nice as it could be but it works the (now) metal 10 round mag works perfectly (after you break it in enough to be able to get all 10 in the mag) the 30 round mags are loads of fun as well but they do have some reliablility issues such as the rounds somtimes staying a bit low in the mag and not chambering but you wont be hunting with a 30 rnd clip anyway so the occasional fail to feed is no biggie on the range.... the last shot hold open doesnt always work with the 30 rnders ethier.

cleaning of this rifle is not as simple as id like but is easily accomplised after a bit of pratise i run a bore snake thorugh the barrel a few times after each use and then pass a lightly oiled patch through the bore. i find that a teardown cleaning is only nessasary after 500-1000 rnds depending on how clean your ammo is. when torn down the guide rail springs are a PITA! and id reccomend not totally removing them jsut clean from the top and bottom.


all in all its a great gun and a good alternative to the old 10/22, i put around 300 rnds thorugh mine just yesterday.:)
 
Forget the semi's altogether and buy him a Savage MKII. It's the same rifle many of our Fathers, Uncles, Mothers and Brothers grew up with. It is well made, will teach your Son to place his shots carefully, is a better rifle than the 597 and will be somthing he will pass down to his Son. :)
 
At the moment I like my 597 more than my 10/22. The 597 did need a slight tweeking but nothing major (new hammer and extractor). I like the bolt hold open feature and magazine on the 597. And I do find my 597 accurate. I found that the stock on the base model of the 10/22 is not comfortable and bulky at the front grip. The only advantage the 10/22 has for me is the many customizing options that the 597 does not have. I think the 597 is a good choice.
 
597 "yellow jacket" or Savage MkII - both are keepers. Although I am a bit spoiled by "VOSTOK", I still remember how great those two rifles were when I didn't know any better.
 
pharaoh2 Forget the semi's altogether and buy him a Savage MKII. It's the same rifle many of our Fathers, Uncles, Mothers and Brothers grew up with. It is well made, will teach your Son to place his shots carefully, is a better rifle than the 597 and will be somthing he will pass down to his Son.
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Ok, I do have a Winchester 69A bolt, and well frankly, he doesn't like it as he has to reload the one 6 shot mag that comes with the rifle wayyy more often then the hi-cap mags for my semi. Its not that hes a bad shot, theres just lots of gophers where I take him.

#1bcshooter Forget the 597 & get him a 1022 . he will pass it on to his son one day .
I have both and like to shoot both but the 1022 wins hands down in my book .
10-05-2008 10:18 AM
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Umm....I'm giving my 10/22 to my daughter. I'm jaded as I haven't have confidence in the gun from day 1...She has no problem getting it to cycle ok...don't ask me...it misfired lots for me, but she hasn't complained about it. And she got kills out to 80 yrds on her first gopher hunt.
I guess Im saying I wouldn't buy another 10/22.

I'm pretty sure I'll get the 597 and I'll keep the guide rod tips in mind.
Thnx again.
 
The 597 is a good rifle. It's more accurate than the 10/22 and you can tune it up with a VQ hammer. As with other .22 semis, you'll need to test it for the best ammo.
If you like the look, you can replace the stock with a Boyds Evolution and can save money (same as Yellow Jacket but not as expensive). I certainly like the look and the feel of the Boyds.
To get the same comfort and accuracy level, you would have to spend a lot more money on a 10/22. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against the 10/22 (we also have one in the family) but the original question was about the 597.
IMO, go for it.
 
It's a good gun, I have had problems with mine. Took me a while to find a sweet spot with the guide rails, still malfunctions though. If you plan on upgrading with VQ parts it's a solid decision.

BTW I wrecked my springs the first time I did a complete teardown, understand that it truly is a PITA until you develop the "technique". I also just ripped the bolt hold open bar out, I had managed to wreck the ridiculous little spring it operates with without even having taken the gun apart.
 
Put 3000 + rounds through mine from May to July with my base model 597 and could outshoot or equal any other semi auto .22 with it. Bought it on sale for $140 from Crappy Tire and that's the only problem.
After that many rounds I started to get stovepipes every 3 shots or sometimes every 2 shots. Since I hadn't actually torn it down completely to clean before that I took this as a hint to do it. Yes it really sux to put those guide rail springs back in, but you'll figure it out. After cleaning properly I found that I still would get stovepipes just about once every 10 shots, so I brought it in to Crappy Tire for warranty work... that was in late JULY!
Finally just TODAY (OCTOBER!) after repeated phone calls I told the manager there I wanted a new rifle or credit for the value. He said what happened was a piece of the firing pin broke off and stuck near the extractor and that was the problem. Remington was taking forever to ship a new one and he didn't know when it would get there, so he finally agreed to take the part out of another rifle in stock to fix mine!
I still really love that rifle, but it does need a trigger job to be sure-- otherwise, you'll be hard pressed to get me to give it up for a Ruger which costs $100 more.
End Rant now.
 
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Mine's a great shooter and have no problems unless I start playing with the 30 round mags. Even that's getting better as she is getting broken in.

Probably have put 1200 rounds through it and I can't get enough of it.

This set up is great rite out of the box.

MIke
 
It needs a trigger job if you don't want to develop blisters on your trigger finger.
The disadvantage of a trigger job that if you mess it up a little bit, the rifle can fire with open action and then you blow up your trigger group. (happened to me last weekend)

Otherwise I liked it. It is cheap, quite accurate, and there are not many aftermarket parts so I doesn't become a money pit. (put in a volquartsen hammer instead of honing the sear youself)
 
I love my 597, great value for the price. I have the plain model with the grey stock and factory 3x9 scope. The only parts I bought for it was 1x30rd mag and a bipod.

Once you find the right ammo its a real joy to shoot. The only complaint I have is when you reassemble it. I hate fighting to get those damn springs back on the 2 guide rods.
 
I was sent some aftermarket springs by a CGNer. Came from Brownell's and much beefier than the stock springs, made reassembly much easier as well.
 
My friend has one. He loved it for years. I never could get it to fire. It would misfire or jam the second I took it. Finally he has conceded it's junk. He now shoots a bolt and has semi-inherited a model 39 Marlin. I don't think it will see the fields much anymore. :wave:
 
pharaoh2 said:
My friend has one. He loved it for years. I never could get it to fire. It would misfire or jam the second I took it. Finally he has conceded it's junk. He now shoots a bolt and has semi-inherited a model 39 Marlin. I don't think it will see the fields much anymore. :wave:
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By the sound of it, its not the gun that is the problem, it you. :D
 
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