remington 597

[mjbgalt]

when my brother bought this gun a few years back i thought it was quite possibly the ugliest gun ever. i didnt even shoot it.

he is away at college and asked me to sight it in for him so when he gets back he can hunt with me.

i bought remington thunderbolts (all i ever shoot) and went to the woods.

i set up a cardboard sheet at 25 yards and drew a circle with a marker. it took me a while to get the groups where i wanted them but they were small the entire time.

resting the gun on the side of my truck and holding it as still as i could, it punched out the bullseye. and then did it again, and AGAIN.

all three shots touched. thats ridiculous with a semi auto and without a bench. maybe i need one of these "ugly" rifles too. lol

[armory414]

I've shot 3 of these, 1 used, 2 new out of box, and all 3 SUCKED!!!  They wouldn't hold zero, each one drifted left or right about every 5-10 shots.  I had a guy offer to sell me a new one last spring for $85 and I turned him down.  I'll stick to my 10/22's!

[jgalar]

I have a 597 - its the biggest POS to ever come out of Remington's factory!

[bgjohn]

The thunderbolts suck too!
JM

[armory414]

>I have a 597 - its the biggest POS to ever come out of Remington's factory!

Oh, I don't know.  Don't forget about the Remington Viper.  Or the Rem. 710--tell me again why it's a good idea to make a .30-06 receiver out of nylon?  Oh yeah--cheap, cheap, cheap!!!

[mjbgalt]

man did i post that on a bad day for everyone or what??? lol

i dont know what you mean by the thunderbolts suck but they have been great in the two .22s i shoot regularly. i routinely get less than 1/2" 25 yard groups with them.

i dont know what i think about the 597 but i do know some of remingtons budget guns do suck....take my 870 express...worst wood ever, horrid finish that attracts rust, and the buttpad is made of frickin granite. lol

it's as reliable as a rock but about as pretty as one unfortunately.

so i guess you get what you pay for but a $119 gun that will touch 3 bullet holes is a keeper regardless of what you think of that model.

sometimes ya get lucky i guess but i sure wouldnt wanna buy another 500 of those guns to find the next one that will shoot like this one does lol.

[armory414]

I think that's the key.  A company's reputation shouldn't stand on past accomplishments alone.  Are Rem. 597's accurate?  Maybe.  It will in part depend on whether you get the $119 economy version or the $250 version with all the bells and whistles.  Point is, you shouldn't have to wonder whether you drawn a good gun or not.  A new gun should function flawlessly and well.  If it does not, then it will not sell and you lose customer loyalty--if the economy version stinks, it's hard to get the consumer to shell out another $100 for the better version.

[Q-T]

I have two 597's, one in .22 LR and one in .17 HMR.  Both are extremely accurate rifles.  The .22 is reliable and shoots MOA with cheap Federal bulk ammo, HP.  The trigger is heavy, but manageable.  The .17 shoots MOA groups with both Hornady & CCI ammo, but the magazine is a weak point.  It must be kept clean or the bullets will fail to feed.  The trigger on this gun is pretty smooth, but could be better.  I love both rifles, but abhore the magazine for the .17 HMR.

[yotyroller]

bought one in october,the trigger wont reset,wont fire two shots in a row,jams constantly.sent to factory repair.two months later,i get it back.still does all the above plus it wont return to safety.it is now at the remington factory.i wish they would recall these guns.it is the 17hmr.booooooooooooooooo remington :cry:  :cry:

[3006bluffhunter]

My turn:   I have 2 597s and they shoot well.....they get there actions dirty fast but if you keep them clean they work like any auto should....i even use those rem golden bulets & use steel clips....great gun to take to the range and let the kids shoot.....  I take the trigger group about every 200 rounds and gun scrubber the nasty burned powder out of it.....Not a problem if you just baby it alittle...It not a clean once a year gun that you can hide behind the truck seat....If you do that it might let you down!!!!!

[32-20 wcf]

Absolutely the worst rifle I ever owned! I tried 10 different ammos, different clips etc.

I kept it 3 weeks, fail to fire, trigger not resetting, fail to feed, you name it.

Go buy 3 Romanians, for the same money, and keep the best shooter.

[anweis]

"Go buy 3 Romanians, for the same money, and keep the best shooter".

or do as i do:

think: "i am too poor to spend my money on a POS, and i don't need that gun this year anyway". And save your money and get a CZ 452 next year.
 :wink:

[madmikeray]

i think they are very poor rifles indeed . ive had 2 one in 22lr and 1 in 22mag, both of em sucked as far as accuracy no matter what kind of ammo i shot in em. i even went as far as 2 weeks ago sending a letter to the president of remington arms company. i told him that they need to come back out with the nylon 66 again and discontinue the 597's. you cant buy a nylon 66 for under $175 around here if you can find them , because all the coonhunters buy em up before you can call the person who put them in the paper. what do you guys think about this ideal :? .if you second me right them to please and back me up!

[jmckinley]

Gentlemen I own a 597 and it drives tacks for me. 25 to 50 yards point the rifle and there's a hole in the target. Exactly where I aimed. Took 3 cottontails today all head shots at 10-25 yards. I have been using Remington and Winchester ammo with out one jam or misfire. I have put 500 rounds through this rifle and love it. In fact I mixed my ammo today to see how it would feed and 0 problems. Soooo I guess it depends on what day it leaves the factory!   Jess

[MI VHNTR]

I've got a 597 LS in 17 HMR. It's been flawless since day one and it's accurate to boot. One more plus, swap the barrel and it's a 22 Mag that's an accurate shooter too. MI VHNTR

[Randy_che]

FYI:

Rimfirecentral.com has a Remington board with a lot on information on tuning the 597 to get better performance. Lots of fixes there for the problems mentioned here.