I've been wanting to get another .22 plinker ever since my Ruger 10/22 got stolen a while back. I was never really that happy with my 10/22, but I'm pretty big on classics and "industry standards," and the Ruger 10/22 is pretty much the "industry standard" when it comes to .22 rifles.
Truth be told, the stock Ruger 10/22 is really more of a "youth" size gun, and my own prior unit had a habit of failing to feed reliably, so I wasn't necessarily sold on the 10/22 as the ultimate .22 rifle. Nonetheless, when I went down to the store the other day, I was more or less planning on picking up a 10/22. Oddly enough, they didn't have a single 10/22 in the store.
The fellow behind the counter directed my attention to a nice-looking Remington on the rack, a scoped model 597 in .22 LR. This one:
Truth be told, the stock Ruger 10/22 is really more of a "youth" size gun, and my own prior unit had a habit of failing to feed reliably, so I wasn't necessarily sold on the 10/22 as the ultimate .22 rifle. Nonetheless, when I went down to the store the other day, I was more or less planning on picking up a 10/22. Oddly enough, they didn't have a single 10/22 in the store.
The fellow behind the counter directed my attention to a nice-looking Remington on the rack, a scoped model 597 in .22 LR. This one:
Less
I wasn't familiar with the Remington 597. Normally, I don't buy any gun without a pile of research, but in my book, the "Remington" name gets the benefit of any doubt I might otherwise have. For my part, I've never regretted buying a gun with the Remington trademark stamped on the receiver. I checked out the gun and gave it some thought...
The Remington 597 had a full adult-size synthetic stock, a conveniently-located magazine release and a bolt catch to hold the bolt open after the last round is fired from the magazine. These were all nice touches that set the gun apart from the standard Ruger 10/22.
Long story short, after lightening my wallet to the tune of $160 plus tax, I walked out with the 597. This particular unit had a tapered heavy barrel with a synthetic stock. The finish on the barrel is the same matte Parkerizing finish found on a number of Remington rifles. The receiver is finished in what appears to be black powder coat or paint.
The rifle came mounted with a 3-9 x 32 scope and with a detachable 10-round double-stack magazine.
By the time I got done with the purchase, it was too late to take it to the range that evening. Instead, I went home and jumped on the internet to do all the research I'd normally do BEFORE I made a purchase.
Did I Buy a Lemon?
Unfortunately, initial reports were not encouraging. After starting to read up on the Remington Model 597, I learned that this model had been plagued from the beginning with chronic failure-to-fire and failure-to-eject malfunctions. The forums were overflowing with descriptions using words like "awful" and "junk."
Some actual quotes from online gun forums:
The Saga of the Remington 597 Magazine
Although my initial reaction, based on quotes like the above, was far from a "warm fuzzy," I continued reading. After further research, I learned that the early 597s used a poorly-designed plastic magazine that just wasn't up to the task of feeding the 597 reliably. In order to overcome the shortcomings of the original 597 magazine, Remington's engineers came up with a second, cast metal magazine design. Unfortunately, this second magazine was also found to be deficient, necessitating a third trip to the drawing board.
I came across a write-up of the differences between the second and third generation magazines in this forum post.
Despite the chronic problems with the first two magazine designs, it appears that the third time was a charm. In contrast to the decidedly negative reviews that the early 597s received, later model 597s using the "Third Generation" magazine have been drawing raves:
NEXT: The Range Report
The Remington 597 had a full adult-size synthetic stock, a conveniently-located magazine release and a bolt catch to hold the bolt open after the last round is fired from the magazine. These were all nice touches that set the gun apart from the standard Ruger 10/22.
Long story short, after lightening my wallet to the tune of $160 plus tax, I walked out with the 597. This particular unit had a tapered heavy barrel with a synthetic stock. The finish on the barrel is the same matte Parkerizing finish found on a number of Remington rifles. The receiver is finished in what appears to be black powder coat or paint.
The rifle came mounted with a 3-9 x 32 scope and with a detachable 10-round double-stack magazine.
By the time I got done with the purchase, it was too late to take it to the range that evening. Instead, I went home and jumped on the internet to do all the research I'd normally do BEFORE I made a purchase.
Did I Buy a Lemon?
Unfortunately, initial reports were not encouraging. After starting to read up on the Remington Model 597, I learned that this model had been plagued from the beginning with chronic failure-to-fire and failure-to-eject malfunctions. The forums were overflowing with descriptions using words like "awful" and "junk."
Some actual quotes from online gun forums:
"[The 597] turned out to be the biggest piece of crap I have ever purchased!!"Like I said...not encouraging. I found myself wondering if I'd picked up my first Remington lemon...
"I had an early model 597, worst POS I ever bought. It was accurate- I'll give it that, but it jammed on ever 3 or 4th shot,"
"If you haven't already wasted your money on the Remington 597, DON'T! I just bought one about a month ago..."
"Everything said concerning the cartridge mags...is true. They are crap."
"I wouldn't get one- Two of my buddies had them and they were jammers left and right."
The Saga of the Remington 597 Magazine
Although my initial reaction, based on quotes like the above, was far from a "warm fuzzy," I continued reading. After further research, I learned that the early 597s used a poorly-designed plastic magazine that just wasn't up to the task of feeding the 597 reliably. In order to overcome the shortcomings of the original 597 magazine, Remington's engineers came up with a second, cast metal magazine design. Unfortunately, this second magazine was also found to be deficient, necessitating a third trip to the drawing board.I came across a write-up of the differences between the second and third generation magazines in this forum post.
Despite the chronic problems with the first two magazine designs, it appears that the third time was a charm. In contrast to the decidedly negative reviews that the early 597s received, later model 597s using the "Third Generation" magazine have been drawing raves:
"I had 2nd gen clips and I took care of everything by email. I mailed the bad ones in and got 3rd gen clips back, and haven't had a problem with the gun since.. That's been almost 2 years ago."After reading this sort of feedback, I was really looking forward to getting this gun out to the range.
"I have shot 1200 rounds and not a single jam, hiccup, spit, sputter and any other word you can throw at it. Remington finally corrected the magazine issue with the version 3 mag"
"The magazine itself has given me no trouble what so ever. this may come as a surprise to most as I have read often the mags have been a problem for other shooters. It has not jammed once and I have not cleaned and or lubricated it in anyway."
"I bought one a couple of weeks ago and sent a 550 rnd box through it in a couple hours at the range. Not one single jam, even with the 'lower quality' walmart ammo."
"This is an exceptional gun."
"I have 3 of them. .22 lr, .22 mag and .17 hmr I love them and they are very accurate smooth shotting guns. They feel good for a remfire and seem to be solidly constructed. The plastic mags are the only weak point I see but with the metal mags problem solved."
NEXT: The Range Report
By 2008-05-06 13:04:17
