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597 Remington .22 LR

12K views 11 replies 10 participants last post by  Jeffrey 
#1 ·
Forgive me if I couldn't find this in the search feature.

I plan on buying a .22 rifle soon, like tonight, or the next night.

Anyone have anything against the Remington 597?

Am I correct in assuming this gun also uses .22 shorts?
 
#2 · (Edited)
Remington 597 is a semi-auto .22LR, so I doubt that it would function
properly with .22 shorts. I don't believe it would feed .22 shorts, and
I don't think the .22 short would provide the necessary recoil energy
to cycle the action. (You could manually feed .22 shorts one at a
time, effectively turning the gun into a single shot, but that's probably
not the point of your question.)

That said, I've never shot a 597. Just basing my response on every
other semi-auto .22 that I've used.


I've read oddly mixed reviews about the 597. Some have described it
as a problem-prone jam-o-matic. Other reviews have raved about
the quality/craftmanship of the gun, calling it the best deal going.

Please post a review if you buy one.

And just to jump in ahead of everyone else, :rolleyes: Why did you
choose the 597 over the Ruger 10/22? (I like my 10/22, but I'm open
to considering other options. Just curious as to what sold you on
the 597 instead.)

Oh -- you might also do some further research before running .22 shorts
through whatever .22 LR gun you buy. I've read recently that this can
cause a number of problems. First is that the shorter .22 short will leave
residue in the chamber. When you switch back to shooting full length
.22 LR shells, that residue can cause failure to feed and failure to extract
issues. No big deal since it can be resolved with a good cleaning, but
still an annoyance factor. Also read that repeatedly firing .22 shorts in
a .22 LR chamber can cause the chamber to erode. This would cause
me more concern. Don't know why the chamber would erode but the
barrel is fine, so I don't know if that chamber erosion info is B.S. or not.
Anyone had any experience with that?
 
#3 ·
I got 597 about 6 years ago.
The gun is accurate--however
Lots of jams. I was told that it was a mag problem. Rem sent me some of the new mags. Still jammed at least a couple times with any mag used. I dis assembled it several times to clean it real good but it still jammed.
Finally got tired of dealing with it. Took the scope off and stuck it on a new 10/22. The 10/22 is great.
Now-- there may be some 597's that function great but mine is not one of them. I know I would never buy another one.
My advice FWIW--is get the Ruger 10/22--getting the 597 is a crap shoot
 
#4 ·
Got curious and did a little research on the 597. Some good info here:
http://www.gunandgame.com/forums/22-rimfire/21662-remington-597-what-do-you-think.html

Seems like most of the reviews/opinions can be boiled down to:

1. The 597 is well built.

2. The 597 is more accurate out of the box than a 10/22.

3. The 597 magazines suck, and seem to be the cause of a lot of
frustration with the gun. But they are allegedly getting better.
Apparently the first generation of 597 mags were miserable failures.
Gen 2 mags were hit and miss. Third generation mags are a major
improvement. Made of steel, not plastic, and are a total redesign.
(I wonder if Ruger went through this sort of a learning curve with
their rotary .22LR mags before they reached the bullet-proof
design they have now.)

4. The 597 in .22 magnum or .17 HMR is nothing short of dangerous.
(OK, somewhat off-topic, but still worth mentioning). Numerous
reports of them firing without the bolt fully locked, resulting in the gun
"blowing up" as a result. .22 magnums are notoriously difficult to
get right. Ruger had similar problems with their 10/22 magnum, and
discontinued it.

==> Vgun: Given that you bought your 597 6 years ago, you probably have
the older style mags. (There's info in the discussion board link I posted
above on how to tell which magazine you have.) Maybe buying a couple
of newer mags will salvage that gun for you.

And yeah -- almost hate to jump on the bandwagon, but you really
can't go wrong with the Ruger 10/22. I'm familiar with a fleet of about
10 of them (either personally own, or owned by friends). Each and every
one of them is a keeper. They span a pretty good range too. Seen a
variety of older ones and new ones, and they all run great. (One of mine
is 1983 vintage -- runs great and just about always a favorite "must-have"
at the range.) Just find the ammo that they like (most .22 semi's are a
little finicky), and they'll treat you right.

My latest upgrade to the old 10/22 is a set of tech sights.
http://www.tech-sights.com/
Wow, lose the scope or the red dot and try a set of these.
You'll never go back. (Another benefit of the 10/22 is that everyone
and their dog makes aftermarket parts for them. Not so much with the 597.)
 
#5 ·
Mine came with the gen 2 mags. Rem sent me a couple of the 3rd gen ones--no improvement.
Your research is about the same that I came up with. It's mainly a mag problem but it's a big problem. I still have it and just keep it as a backup but haven't shot in in 5 years.
IMO--the 597 is just a hassle to deal with so why bother.
My 10/22 is the stainless model and it is very accurate and the few failures it's had were related to ammo failures from those bulk packs. The 10 rd ruger mags all work great. I've had a couple jams with the Butler Creek 25 rounders but nothing to get upset about.
It's really a bummer--the 597 is a nice gun and it just amazes me that Rem just can't get the mags right
 
#6 · (Edited)
I did quite a bit of reseach before buying mine a few months ago, it feeds and fires perfectly, with both the original 10 rounder and the 30 round plastic mags but I did have to sand the lip on one of the 30's to get her goin properly. The thing is very accurate, feels fairly solid, the contour of the stock is nice and comfortable to hold... I like just about everything except the bolt handle which is held in place by a small leaf spring, it might come loose after a few years but thats an easy fix. I tried shooting a few shorts from it, it's finiky, if you hold it at the right angle, align it with the sun and the moon and pray it feeds... hehe, I can feed about 6/10 shorts by cycling the bolt by hand, the rest jam up.

I'm curently performing a torture test, i'm at 1100 rounds so far, no jams, no f2f or stovepipes but I did get a few bad primers...she's getting dirty but she is still goin strong! I had to stop when I ran out of ammo:D:

It's a decent rifle sold for cheap, chances are you might have to mod it a little to get her working 100%. I had to screw the bolt rails inwards and add a washer behind the bolt catch, these are common problems but easy fixes.

I find it funny but i'm not surprised that you guys have to mention that rifle when he asked about the 597, i'm sure he has read one of the hundreds of 10/22 vs 597 threads out there.
 
#7 ·
I was recently talking to one of the rangemasters where I shoot about which simi auto to pick up to go with my buckmark so I can compete in take 5 competition. He shoots a heavily modified 1022 and I expected him suggest the rugger. he surprised me by sugesting a 597 and said that out of the box it is more acurate and has a better trigger than a 1022, and is less expensive to boot. He did mention the mag problems but said a guy he shoots with just got one and it has not had one problem.
 
#8 ·
If you're interested in shooting shorts...........find a good used Remington Fieldmaster or Speedmaster that will shoot shorts, longs, or LR interchangably. Good advise on those is to STILL minimize the use of shorts for specific puposes as they will still cause excess chamber wear. And dam they handle well! Being tube fed is not an issue for me.
 
#10 ·
I have had the rem 597 for about a year now and I love it. The only jams i have ever had out of mine is due to me not cleaning it enough. I will say this this gun is VERY accurate. I think its a good choice if your looking for a semi .22.
I got mine at wally world on clearance for $160 with the camo stock, well worth it. I also got one of the 30round mags Remington makes for it and I have to say its better than i thought. all in all its a good gun and I think its would be a great choice.
 
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