Are all remington model 597s junk?

[threejones]

I recently picked up a used Rem 597 for my wife. I'd never even shot a remmy rimfire but I figured that it couldn't be that bad. Boy, was I ever wrong. The gun has almost no signs of wear (the interals of the action were even pretty clean) it almost looked unfired. I put a Nikon Prostaff 3x9BDC on it. I figured this would be a good little gopher gun for her (and hoped that I'd finally get my CZ back from her!)... until I tried to sight it in.
So far I haven't been able to get more than 4 rounds out of it without it jamming. I tried cleaning and lubing the action and the mag, and did a super deep cleaning on the barrel, but it didn't help at all. I also tried a bunch of different ammo, thinking that most 22s are just a bit picky about ammo(Wolf, CCI, remington, Am. Eagle, a couple different types of the Wolf and CCI) Still, none would fire more than 4 rounds cleanly.

The other thing that sucks about this gun are the groups. It shoots so bad that zeroing the scope is tough. The best I could muster was 3-4 inches @ 50yrds with no wind (I've got an old pellet gun that'll do better). I even took the scope off my CZ (right after printing a couple 1 inch 100yrd groups) to see if I'd just gotten a bad scope. That wasn't the problem either.

I'm wondering if this thing is even worth trying to fix? I know I can get a new mag and hammer/trigger set for it, but that'll run me almost as much as the gun itself. If anyone has any experience with these guns please let me know.

 

[airstream]

Any company that will not stand up and admit they have a design flaw after the dozens of deaths and hundreds of accidental discharges asociated with the m700, wounding people for life, is no company for me. I have never owned a 597 but I have owned other Remington products two of which had serious malfunctions. 597 is not junk the remington brand is mass produced junk. Beautiful,straight shooting,junk. I think they sold out also.

 

[JUDD]

and Airplanes are junk cause they crash and kill people...Cars are junk cause people die in them...unblievable how some people think

Remington is not Junk however he gun you have is not a real great gun...I wouldn't waste you time with it splurge and buy her her own CZ!

 

[threejones]

and Airplanes are junk cause they crash and kill people...Cars are junk cause people die in them...unblievable how some people think

Remington is not Junk however he gun you have is not a real great gun...I wouldn't waste you time with it splurge and buy her her own CZ!

Agreed, none of my Remingtons have ever "accidently" fired a single round. If anyone was ever "accidently" hurt by one, improper handling of a fire arm was certianly more to blame than the Company. My wife definately agrees on the CZ. She just told me that I should just get rid of "my" Remington and borrow "her" CZ until I buy my own. (Funny, I remember a long discussion about how silly I was to spend that much $$ on a "plinking gun"). I have been looking for a good excuse to buy another CZ, and I guess I do have a brand new scope with nothing to put it on...

 

[cowboy717]

I once had a 597 target. Shot great. But was real picky with ammo type.

 

[threejones]

I once had a 597 target. Shot great. But was real picky with ammo type.

Do you happen to remember what it liked? I still haven't even found anything that will feed through the cheezy plastic magazine without jamming every two or three rounds.

 

[ROBSTER]

I have the mag version and went with the aluminum clips and CCI ammo it shoots like a dream.I have twelve other remmy`s and no miss fire`s or problems at all.
robster

 

[whitely]

My 597 has been great. I've never had any feeding issues, and its fairly accurate. I have installed the Volquartsen hammer, and that helped a lot.

Remington went through three iterations for the magazines on the 597. The 3rd generation ones work well. The plastic ones suck, so toss them.

This site (Model 597 - RimfireCentral.com Forums) has lots of good information about getting them to shoot well.

Things I would check (aside from the magazine), are the guide rods (they should only be snugged up, not tightened), and the barrel screw (make sure its not pushing against the barrel). After that I would make sure you clean the barrel really well.

Mine likes the Wolf MT, and CCI minimags.

 

[whitely]

Do you happen to remember what it liked? I still haven't even found anything that will feed through the cheezy plastic magazine without jamming every two or three rounds.

Ah, that's the problem, get rid of those plastic magazines. Here is a comparison of the two metal types. The 3rd generation will work, just make sure they are the old 2nd generation:

597 magazine comparison - RimfireCentral.com Forums

 

[gp816]

I had a 597 in 17 hmr for a few years ,until the recall, and i have nothing but good things to say about it other than the obvious problems w/ not being able tolerate hmr pressures. It shot right around 1 in groups at 100 yrds and i rarely had feeding problems and when i did they were with remington ammo

 

[threejones]

Ah, that's the problem, get rid of those plastic magazines. Here is a comparison of the two metal types. The 3rd generation will work, just make sure they are the old 2nd generation:

597 magazine comparison - RimfireCentral.com Forums

Thank's for the link. I just tore it apart again, and the rods may have been part of the problem. The plastic junk magazine seems to be the biggest problem now. I'll do some work on the hammer and trigger and see what happens. I hope that I can get the trigger pull down to a reasonable level without having to buy a new one (I think I'll try pulling the extra return spring out of the trigger). The barrel nut seems to be ok, so hopefully once the new mag shows up, I'll be back in business. I just hope it warms up enough around here by then to go out and test drive it. We've got 4 degrees with a 15-25mph wind and dumping snow right now(kinda takes the fun outta plinking )
Thanks again
Cody

 

[cowboy717]

Do you happen to remember what it liked? I still haven't even found anything that will feed through the cheezy plastic magazine without jamming every two or three rounds.

Well. It actually was pretty hard to find what it liked. It actually for some reason liked the cheapest I could even find, Federal Lightnings. And like you I tried CCI, Wolf, FGMM, Fiocchi, Eley, but would hold 1 1/2 inch groups at 50 yds. Weirdest 22 I ever owned.

 

[threejones]

Ok, I got a new 3rd gen mag, and the feeding problem is solved, mostly. Losened the guide rods to just barely snug, polished the hammer, pulled out the extra spring, and cleaned the whole works to within an inch of it's life. It helped a bit, but not much. I can still put 5 rounds from my CZ inside of the closest two out of five with the Remmy. I think it might just be a lemon, a very annoying, time sucking lemon. On the Upside, I recon it'll make a really nice tomato stake. Thanks for all the input from everyone.

 

[Trental]

I know this is a couple month old thread, but I thought I might offer a suggestion. The Remmy 597 is generally regarded as a pretty accurate rifle. If you are still getting groups as big as you were before I would suggest pulling your scope rings off and checking the Weaver rail that is screwed to the top of your receiver. If you are not using the weaver rail then disregard this.

The factory supplied weaver rail is screw to the top of the receiver and it isn't uncommon for it to be loose. Attaching a scope to loose scope mounts will do nothing to help your accuracy. Keep in mind that the receiver is aluminum and will strip out if too much force is applied.

My 597 is WAY more accurate than it should be. I have shot many sub .100" groups with it at 25 yards with SK/Wolf ammo.

Glad you got rid of those plastic mags. The good mags are referred to as "circle-10" mags. There is a little 10 with a circle around it on the metal part of the mag.

Also, when Visigoth mentioned the barrel screw hitting the barrel it is actually the front action screw that can be the problem. In a very few cases it has been reported that the front action screw was too long and was screwing too far in and butting up against the barrel mounting screw. This was causing whacky accuracy issues.

Cheers!