Remington 597 Range Report

[kenw 293]

Jordan and I went out to Cherry Ridge to wring out his new to him 597. First off, I've got to say that I really like this gun. I doesn't "feel" like a 22. In fact, it shoulders, balances and points very much like a 700.

 

The gun takes 10 round magazines that fit nearly flush. I like that. There's really nothing hanging out of the bottom to bang or snag, or get a hand caught on. The mag release is forward of the trigger, and is designed to be operated with the trigger finger. Just extend the finger, and push the release. The mag drops out clean. Although they're supposed to be 10 round, we were only able to horse in 9. There's a 3rd gen magazine that is supposed to have solved this problem, as well as some reported feed issues, but it's not a dealbreaker for me.

 

The gun has a zoom scope that maxes out at 9x. It's a cheapy piece of glass, but not terrible. Eye relief seems a bit long, and the gun has a somewhat short dovetail, but with the scope mounted as far forward as possible, it works okay.

 

The thing is very accurate. Once we got it zeroed, he was hitting every available target on the silo range, and the groups on paper were nice and tight at what I think is 30 yards. As he gets more used to shooting it, they'll tighten up even more. I'm sure the gun is perfectly capable of producing a single ragged hole at the furthest possible distance (120 feet?? maybe a bit less) on the silo range at CR.

 

All in all, it was a very successful outing. He's thrilled, and that's all that matters to me. He stopped on the way home and picked up a WalMart bipod for 30 bucks, and we discovered that the gun didn't have a sling stud to mount it to, so we pulled one off his shotgun, drilled a hole, and mounted it up. Fits nice and tight, and seems to steady the gun better that the beanbags we were using.

[Malsua 1,422]

Nice. I've read good things about that gun at Rimfire central.

[axeman_g 128]

I have one and really really like it.... except for one thing. I did an Appleseed shoot with it and it was very reliable with the right ammo.... not so much with others. that being said, the one thing that works against it is the front sight.... I hate the bead front, especially the white. It blurs out smaller targets at longert ranges... it could be my eyes but it still sucks on long range shots. And there are no easy replacements other then firesight and they give the same problem, too big for small targets.

 

Otherwise... I do really like the rifle.

[Springfield1911 22]

Here is where I picked up some very reliable magazines for this rifle. They look exactly like the remington brand magazines but are much better built. They are double the weight. They are also cheaper. They are a high quality replacement.

 

http://www.keepshooting.com/firearmacce ... d-22lr.htm

[Scrap 4]

ken I couldn't agree more or said it better myself...

 

I purposely sought a .22LR as my first longgun, for survival in case SHTF and also pleasure plinking and skill building, and I am sorry to insult some but I DO NOT like to buy what all the hapless bleating lambs seem to buy and did NOT want a 10/22 , what wasn't an option,

 

So when I found the 597 at Dick's, it was OD green, had a scope from the box, and was almost an exact, albeit smaller copy, the Rem 700.... so I took a chance! Figured what the heck, it's $200, how bad can it be, it's a REMINGTON right?

 

Well I love it. I had to have the scope "re-boresighted" after they claimed it factory sighted, ( it wasn't), than Dick's counter jockey slash Fratboy who's studying to become a Gunsmith, while in college? And couldn't do it right... after I took it elsewhere, and offered to pay a store to sight it in for me, it shoots like a charm...

 

One thing I notice is it ABSOLUTELY HATES Remington Golden Bullet packs. Like, one shot, one waste, one shot, one waste. Thunderbolts are slightly better. But it really hates Remington ammo, wierd.

 

My next project, I'm gonna try to camo it... I am very interested in tips etc. I thought i might buy 4 cans of spray paint and see what happened, Tiger-style, anyone got any info to feed me? Thanks Scrap

[Malsua 1,422]

k

One thing I notice is it ABSOLUTELY HATES Remington Golden Bullet packs. Like, one shot, one waste, one shot, one waste. Thunderbolts are slightly better. But it really hates Remington ammo, wierd.

 

It's not weird. Remington Golden Bullets are PURE garbage. Thunderbolts aren't much better.

[Tom609 27]

I've tried every brand of ammo and the best in mine is CCI Minimags. I also changed the trigger and that lightened it up significantly. See 'Volquartzen hammer" at Rimfirecentral for specifics. I think it was around 35 bucks and took 15 minutes to do. Enjoy!