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worst rifle ever!!! remington 597

corey4

corey4

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Feb 11, 2012
1,425
467
pittsburgh pa
i picked up a remington 597 a few weeks ago.

http://www.remington.com/en/products/firearms/rimfire/model-597/model-597-hb.aspx

it FTF's about 30% of the time. it is not the ammo. i will have a FTF, put it back in, nothing, eject, put it back in, nothing. put the same round that i just tried 3 times in my ruger, BANG! the ammo works flawless in my rem 552 speedmaster and my ruger MK2.

the rifle has been cleaned from factory crud and oiled. for the rounds that do go off, it is very accurate. i shoot dum-dum pops at 25 yds with a hit rate of 95%. out to fifty, about 80%.

if i wanted to load each round individually, i would have gotten a bolt action!

sorry for the rant.
 
Re: worst rifle ever!!! remington 597

If you bought it new, why not contact either the seller or Remington and see what they can't do to help you out?
 
Re: worst rifle ever!!! remington 597

i was going to next week. i just wanted to rant.

the seller was dicks. they wont be any help. i have always refused to buy from dicks, but it was an impulse buy.
 
Re: worst rifle ever!!! remington 597

i saw it, held it and did a quick search when i got home. it seemed to get a good review form the threads i saw on rimfirecental.com and the other reviews i pulled up. i liked it because it had a threaded heavy barrel, detachable mag, semi auto. everything i was looking for, execpt for stainless. i guess i should have known better for $250.
 
Re: worst rifle ever!!! remington 597

That's too bad. I shot two of these guns over Christmas (brother in laws got them for Christmas as first rifles) and we had no malfunctions at all.

We shot them in 17 degree weather and went through a 500 rd box of the blue box federal a piece.

Did you try different ammunitions? I'm just wondering because I have shot ammo I felt was totally reliable in my other autos, and had issues when shooting a new (different) gun.

I would start there (if you haven't already) and then call Remington if the issue persists. I wouldn't be ready to get rid of the guns I shot this week even if they were giving issues, because they were accurate guns as yours seems to be.

Good luck!
 
Re: worst rifle ever!!! remington 597

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jaia</div><div class="ubbcode-body">To be expected from an entry level sub $200 rifle.
It would be a surprise if it did function well and shoot accurately.

http://www.cabelas.com/semiautomatic-remington-597-8482-22-rimfire-rifles-2.shtml </div></div>
This is not an excuse to not shoot reliably or accurately. I've had my Savage Model 62 for 15yrs now and it was new when I got it and it is dead nut reliable and very accurate. I would try a different ammo and if it still does it I would contact Remington.

BTW jaja the gun you posted is different than the gun the op posted. Yes the action is the same but the barrel is different which is where the differnce in price comes from
 
Re: worst rifle ever!!! remington 597

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">This is not an excuse to not shoot reliably or accurately</div></div>

I can only offer an opinion based on my own experience.
I've picked up, very cheaply, several brands of plastic stocked semi-auto's for the kids,
from other shooters who were disappointed by the quality and accuracy
of these entry level rimfires. For a youngster who is more interested
in action shooting, these 10 shot, mag fed, semi-autos are fine.
At distances less than 20 yards they are capable of quarter sized groups
which is ideal for jumping cans, golf balls and plastic bottle caps on the berm.
Still, these are not quality rifles. they're mass produced, assembly line fit,
in the box and out the door as fast as they can be shipped.
This leads to poor quality control and haphazard accuracy.
Tuning a rifle takes time, testing a rifle takes time, fitting an action to a stock
takes time and time is money. I stand by my comments as posted previously.
Accuracy takes precision machining and fitting, and quality components.
That's not something offered at such a low retail price.
 
Re: worst rifle ever!!! remington 597

this will get off subject. I'm just saying that the gun should be reliable if they sell it and companies wouldn't make them unless they were (with exceptions to defective fire arms)
 
Re: worst rifle ever!!! remington 597

I hear ya' fr103, that's why product registration cards
and minimal factory warranties are included in the box with the rifle.
This is after-sale quality control. If a real lemon shows up,
it's cheaper to deal with it after it's sold than to slow down
the entire factory to check every rifle as it comes off the line.
All the original buyer can do is contact the manufacturer and hope
to get the problem solved in a reasonable amount of time.

I wish him luck...
frown.gif
 
Re: worst rifle ever!!! remington 597

I have owned a 597 for about 3 years now. Out of the hundreds of rounds I have put through it I have had only one stovepipe. That was caused by me shooting in a timed stage and didn't have the mag inserted all the way. I will tell you that mine didn't like Remington gold ammo, very inaccurate. But once I started using CCI minimags it would put hole in hole.
 
Re: worst rifle ever!!! remington 597

I had a similar problem and sent it back to remington they replaced the firing pin which has a hair short and the extractor
as it was not properly machined.
When they sent it back they gave me two free magazines
and now it is as accurate as any self loading rimfire I have owned.
Contact their customer service they are easy to work with
 
Re: worst rifle ever!!! remington 597

I have one that has been run hard, and never cleaned. Works every time, with factory mags. Even the Remington Hi-Caps function in it.
 
Re: worst rifle ever!!! remington 597

thanks for the replies guys. as far as CS, i am not expecting too much since it is remington, even tho i am a huge remmy fan.

i will keep everyone posted. i'll try some different ammo if any is available.

at first i thought it was the ammo. i didn't have any other 22 with me the first outting. the first time, i just cleaned the barrrel, mounted the scope and off i went. i had way too many FTF, FT feed, FTE. so i figured i'd clean the shit out of it and that would solve the problem. NOPE. just 30% FT fire, light strikes, etc.

i'll try different ammo tomorrow and see what happens. i took the 552 and the ruger with me today to test the ammo. the 552 and the ruger had 100% reliability. the remmy 597, 70%.

we will see....
 
Re: worst rifle ever!!! remington 597

There seems to be an issue on the 597's with the bolt binding on the two guide rods in the receiver. Take the barreled action out of the stocks use an Allen wrench to loosen the two set / plug screws on the rear face of he receiver. Just snug the screws and then back them off 1/8th a turn or so to allow some clearance the the guide rods to self align as the bolt moves forward and rearward.
 
Re: worst rifle ever!!! remington 597

'Fraid I have to agree with Jaia.
I'm involved in sales/production of photographic equipment.
The manufacturers all work the same...their hi-end stuff (say anything above a $400-500 price point is made to tolerances (and has appropriate QC) to work pretty much as expected.
But a $150 camera...
They sell tons of them. They roll off the assembly line at an astounding rate and other than spot checks QC is minimal.
The manufacturers look at it this way...they are selling millions of them. They are making lots of money on them. A $150 camera (or gun) is costing no more than $20 to manufacture. $20 tops.
If they have to replace some they don't care...they're making money and the people who are buying them don't expect Mercedes quality.
They seem oblivious to the fact that someone who feels screwed on their $150 camera/gun is unlikely to purchase their $1500 model.
Early this year I purchased a Mossberg 715T for my young sons.
They have good bolt actions but wanted an AR looking gun for fun. I knew it's reputation (lots of missfeeds, FTT, plastic feeling) but have a good reputation with my dealer...I knew he'd exchange if we got a dud.
Now have about 3500 rounds through it with nary a hiccup.
We got lucky...but I wouldn't have been surprised at that price if it had problems.
I see it as more of an endemic issue in the gun shop community.
You bring your cheap camera to me that has issues and if it's within a reasonable time (under a month) and you've kept the packaging I'll replace it...I'll deal with the manufacturer.
Most gun shops have the attitude...once you've walked out the front door it's your problem.
 
Re: worst rifle ever!!! remington 597

I know you said the ammo wasnt the problem but I would try 1 other brand. Once I had some federal they would not fire 100% in a 10/22 but worked in a rem bolt gun. It was 20 years till I tried federal ammo again (not the same box) and when I did it functioned fine.
 
Re: worst rifle ever!!! remington 597

Can you take pictures of a round that doesn't fire in the Rem but does in the other? Curious what the strikes look like
 
Re: worst rifle ever!!! remington 597

I got mine when they first came out and love it.Now I will say that the plastic mag is a better mag than the aluminum one is.I can only run 6-8 rounds in it ( aluminum one ) not the 10 it should.I will even add that it can hold a 1/2" group all day with cheap ammo at 100 feet ( 33 1/3 yards ) from a bag.

Sounds to me the newer ones are bad or tooling and finish work has gone down since I bought mine.The only part I clean on mine is the two guid rails the action rides on,I'd go to say about every 500 or so rounds.Just a little wipe off and oil then back together,somewhere in the 10 minute range to do it.

I say call and send it back
 
Re: worst rifle ever!!! remington 597

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: CaptNemo</div><div class="ubbcode-body">There seems to be an issue on the 597's with the bolt binding on the two guide rods in the receiver. Take the barreled action out of the stocks use an Allen wrench to loosen the two set / plug screws on the rear face of he receiver. Just snug the screws and then back them off 1/8th a turn or so to allow some clearance the the guide rods to self align as the bolt moves forward and rearward. </div></div>

tried this. it still didn't work. i'll call remington tomorrow.
 
Re: worst rifle ever!!! remington 597

Sorry it didn't work for you.
At least it was a no cost / low effort try for a fix.
 
Re: worst rifle ever!!! remington 597

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ggmanning</div><div class="ubbcode-body">You should try a 522 Viper......that would make you like the 597
wink.gif
</div></div>

True that! Any secrets to polish one of those turds? I love Remington, but the Vipers are more reliable as a club than a rifle.
 
Re: worst rifle ever!!! remington 597

Hell don't feel like the lone ranger. I spent $687 on a new S&W 317 this weekend that has to go back to the factory....... I was less than pleased. Go "Freedom Group".
 
Re: worst rifle ever!!! remington 597

After a childhood of wanting a Weatherby Mark XXII, in adulthood I finally bought one. Big disappointment. It could not shoot a 10-round magazine without jamming at least twice. Perhaps it ties your Remington 597 for "worst ever."
 
Re: worst rifle ever!!! remington 597

Sorry you're having issues.... Both my 597's work flawlessly....
tack%2520driver.jpg
 
Re: worst rifle ever!!! remington 597

got it back today.

i had one malfunction in 50 rounds. the spent case didn't eject and it double feed.

they replaced the firing pin, extractor, and polished the bore. the notes on the bore were, "rough, dirty, rusty bore. polish bore."

someone posted somewhere that valquartsen (sp?) hammer and extractor work wonders for this rifle. i'll try that a little later down the road.
 
Re: worst rifle ever!!! remington 597

Sorry I'm a little late to this.
The extractor is usually the weak link on the 597. Had the same thing happen, minus the fail to fire. VQ extractor fixed that issue. Brownell's is said to have one that works as well. Half the price, roughly.

Main things to look at are:
Extractor
Guide rods, snug then back off a hair.
Front take down screw has been a bit long on some, worth checking.
Magazine with the circle around the 10 , on the body of mag, seem to be the most reliable.
Not sure how important but I don't oil mine except in the trigger area. Some form of Dry lube has worked better for me.
VQ hammer is a nice touch.
They are generally very accurate. Very happy I stuck with mine instead of giving in to the the horror of the first time out with it.
 
Re: worst rifle ever!!! remington 597

I have a synth. Stock rem 597 "mag" chambered in 17hmr. Remingtin has recalled all of these rifles. I paid $400~ for mine and theyre offering either $200 for the rifle or rebarrel it to a 22mag?
What would you do?
 
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