I had one in .17hmr, and a few in .22lr pass through. The .17 was recalled to be rebarrelled to .22wmr, but I parted ways with it before getting to test it.
I liked all of them. Heavy bolt on 2 guide rods is a smooth runner (don't over torque, and bow the guide rods). I read/heard the 597 was plagued with magazine issues early but I never experienced that. The examples that passed through here were great runners, and accurate.
Something out that I haven't tried yet is the Savage A22wmr, and don't know how it compares price-wise.