Thinking about a Remington 597, Opinions?

[Boomstick308]

I can get the synthetic stock version at a local shop for $175. I want a cheap, yet accurate, plinker to shoot in between the more expensive .308

I recently saw an (older) article on American Rifleman and the Remington VTR 597 came out as the most accurate in the group of Tacticool 22LR. I'm not looking to get an AR lookalike, just the most accurate .22LR (relative to the price of course)

Anything else that would be more accurate or that I should consider?
Ruger 10/22
Marlin 60

Accuracy the main requirement, while not going overboard on price.

 

[Situation Normal]

Re: Thinking about a Remington 597, Opinions?

Are you limiting yourself to just semi-autos? I ask because you mentioned wanting the most accurate 22LR (relative to the price). Crankers are usually more accurate than the semi's are. If you are open to a bolt action, and keeping in the same price range I'd look at the Savage MkII-F. They are great rifles for the money.

 

[Boomstick308]

Re: Thinking about a Remington 597, Opinions?

I was actually looking at the Savage MKII right now. I'm already partial to savage as I have a 10 FCP HS Prec

Would that be the best route? What kind of accuracy could I expect?

 

[bondoscustomz1]

Re: Thinking about a Remington 597, Opinions?

I have a Rem 597 heavy barrel and it's pretty accurate. The one thing I don't like is the mags. The factory mag works great(10 round) but all the aftermarket(30 round) ones I have found suck. My next 22 semi will be a 10/22. Just my 2 cents

 

[Powder_Burns]

Re: Thinking about a Remington 597, Opinions?

I've been shooting the MKII for about 2 weeks now. Shooting 1/2" circles at 100yd with about a 65% hit rate. (could be that I'm a bad shooter, it was gusting 18-20mph out)
At 50yd its boring accurate, dot drill targets are easy to clean at that range.

 

[Boomstick308]

Re: Thinking about a Remington 597, Opinions?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Bondoscustomz1</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have a Rem 597 heavy barrel and it's pretty accurate. The one thing I don't like is the mags. The factory mag works great(10 round) but all the aftermarket(30 round) ones I have found suck. My next 22 semi will be a 10/22. Just my 2 cents</div></div>

How accurate, I think under 1" @ 100 is plenty accurate for what I want


<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Powder Burns</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I've been shooting the MKII for about 2 weeks now. Shooting 1/2" circles at 100yd with about a 65% hit rate. (could be that I'm a bad shooter, it was gusting 18-20mph out)
At 50yd its boring accurate, dot drill targets are easy to clean at that range. </div></div>

Which model were you shooting? Have you shot it past 100 yds?

 

[JoeMartin]

Re: Thinking about a Remington 597, Opinions?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Boomstick308</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
I recently saw an (older) article on American Rifleman and the Remington VTR 597 came out as the most accurate in the group of Tacticool 22LR. I'm not looking to get an AR lookalike, just the most accurate .22LR (relative to the price of course)
</div></div>

Something to keep in mind is that many .22's prefer different .22 ammo. Out of the tests conducted did those doing the test find the best accurate ammo for each rifle. I kind of doubt it.

Personally if it were me, I'd go Savage bolt action with the Accu-Trigger. Savage's have very good barrels, the Accu-Trigger is included in the package, and you just can't go wrong with one, IMHO.

 

[JonnyHawes]

Re: Thinking about a Remington 597, Opinions?

I have a Marlin 60 and for what it is, I think its pretty darn accurate. But the tube loading gets annoying after a while.

For extreme accuracy, these guys are right, go with the bolt. For more fun, Id take the 10/22. Easier to load mags IMO

 

[Powder_Burns]

Re: Thinking about a Remington 597, Opinions?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Boomstick308</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Bondoscustomz1</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have a Rem 597 heavy barrel and it's pretty accurate. The one thing I don't like is the mags. The factory mag works great(10 round) but all the aftermarket(30 round) ones I have found suck. My next 22 semi will be a 10/22. Just my 2 cents</div></div>

How accurate, I think under 1" @ 100 is plenty accurate for what I want


<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Powder Burns</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I've been shooting the MKII for about 2 weeks now. Shooting 1/2" circles at 100yd with about a 65% hit rate. (could be that I'm a bad shooter, it was gusting 18-20mph out)
At 50yd its boring accurate, dot drill targets are easy to clean at that range. </div></div>

Which model were you shooting? Have you shot it past 100 yds? </div></div>

MKII TR. Haven't had the chance to take it to 200 yet, no range close by with a berm that far.

 

[JoeMartin]

Re: Thinking about a Remington 597, Opinions?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JonnyHawes</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have a Marlin 60 and for what it is, I think its pretty darn accurate. But the tube loading gets annoying after a while.

For extreme accuracy, these guys are right, go with the bolt. For more fun, Id take the 10/22. Easier to load mags IMO </div></div>

Agreed on the choice of a 10/22 if you are set on a semi-auto. There are so many options available that you can do with a 10/22 Ruger that will amaze most folks. Here's a simplified option I did to mine;

ATI Fiberforce stock, TSR200 Tech Sights, Allen Sling, and you can even add a Bi-Pod if you want. If you want to scope it all you need do is add the Rail (that comes with the 10/22) to the top of the Receiver and put on a scope.

 

[Situation Normal]

Re: Thinking about a Remington 597, Opinions?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Joe Martin</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

...Agreed on the choice of a 10/22 if you are set on a semi-auto. There are so many options available that you can do with a 10/22 Ruger that will amaze most folks...</div></div>

10/22's are like Barbie dolls... There is an infinite amount of ways to dress them up. I have three different stocks that I rotate mine through.

 

[George63]

Re: Thinking about a Remington 597, Opinions?

I would be quite impressed to see the 175$ rem 597 shoot 1 in at 100 yd

 

[BuellX1]

Re: Thinking about a Remington 597, Opinions?

I have Savage 10 as well love the Savages. Buy any model MK II u wont regret it

 

[Mike_in_FL]

Re: Thinking about a Remington 597, Opinions?

If you want to go the semiauto route, don't overlook the 597. You can get stocks for it such as the Tacticool from Boyd's. It doesn't need a bunch of high $ parts to have a good trigger. It needs a Volquartsen target hammer. You can get a 20 MOA EGW base for it. Jarvis makes a great .920 barrel for it.

If you really compare $, you'll be hard pressed to build a 10/22 cheaper or more accurate. However, if you really NEED a $700 McMillan stock on your .22, then you need a 10/22.

The older laminated 597HB's are not .920 barrels, not sure it matters however.

Accurate and plinker are 2 words I'd normally not associate together. I can't disagree on picking up a Mk. II bolt instead. I own one and love it, and most say the same if they own a CZ 452.

 

[planalpha]

Re: Thinking about a Remington 597, Opinions?

My buddy has a 597 and when he got it it jammed a lot and with good ammo grouped about 10 MOA on a good day. So we just used it for a garbage disposal for cheap ammo though a few aftermarket 30 round mags. He did add a Vorquartson extractor and hammer which actually made it run worse for a while. But as the round count climbed a funny thing happened. It started running great and became more accurate. Fast forward a little, it puts SK Plus in the same hole at 50 yards. I guess it just needs a lot of break in but is one of our favorites now.
That being said, I have the MKII and love it. But unless you get the TR you'll need to replace the POS stock that Savage uses.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Re: Thinking about a Remington 597, Opinions?

I think that the Remington 597 and Marlin 60 are pretty fine .22LR semis. But the 10/22 simply has so much more potential for modification into a truly accurate .22LR semi.

For bolt guns, the Savage MKII is my choice, and I find that the basic MKIIF I have has served all my plinking/practice/marksmanship training needs for nearly a decade and a half, with no end in sight, except maybe my own.

It's my strongly held opinion that a major portion of the .22LR's intrinsic accuracy comes from the cartridge itself. I'll go on out onto the limb to suggest that it's probably even kinda hard to make a .22LR shoot poorly, as long as it's in decently functional condition. This is why I have chosen to leave my MKIIF unmodified. I just don't see much purpose to spending bigger bucks on a rifle whose ammo I cannot construct for myself.

...and then of course, I piss my own pants when I go and upgrade a 10/22 to a cost that reaches a significant fraction of $1K. But it's also one heckuva good shooting 10/22 now; so...

LOL!

Greg

 

[kansas45]

Re: Thinking about a Remington 597, Opinions?

I have a 597. It worked good right out of the box untill the extractor fell out. Twice. I replaced it with a Volquarsten. I worked on the trigger & adjusted the tension on the slide rails & have a pretty good rifle now. I use it to shoot turtles in the pond mostly.
But I still prefer my bolt guns. I have a Savage MKII F, MKII FV, TR & a 17 HMR. I changed the factory stock in the FV for a Boyds tactical. It improved the FV quite a bit. All of my Savage rimfire rifles use a Rifle basix trigger. Where am I going with this? Beats me, just rambling I guess. Buy a Savage MKII FV, get a Boyds stock & a Rifle Basix trigger & a good scope & shoot the heck out of it.

 

[boltstop]

Re: Thinking about a Remington 597, Opinions?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Boomstick308</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Bondoscustomz1</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have a Rem 597 heavy barrel and it's pretty accurate. The one thing I don't like is the mags. The factory mag works great(10 round) but all the aftermarket(30 round) ones I have found suck. My next 22 semi will be a 10/22. Just my 2 cents</div></div>

How accurate, I think under 1" @ 100 is plenty accurate for what I want


<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Powder Burns</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I've been shooting the MKII for about 2 weeks now. Shooting 1/2" circles at 100yd with about a 65% hit rate. (could be that I'm a bad shooter, it was gusting 18-20mph out)
At 50yd its boring accurate, dot drill targets are easy to clean at that range. </div></div>

Which model were you shooting? Have you shot it past 100 yds? </div></div>

Guys, read my Range Report on Rimfire Central. Tech Target range report: CCI Std Vel + other cartridges and my accurized thumbholer

 

[boltstop]

Re: Thinking about a Remington 597, Opinions?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Greg Langelius *</div><div class="ubbcode-body">snip

It's my strongly held opinion that a major portion of the .22LR's intrinsic accuracy comes from the cartridge itself. I'll go on out onto the limb to suggest that it's probably even kinda hard to make a .22LR shoot poorly, as long as it's in decently functional condition.

snip

Greg </div></div>

Wait, what? I normally nod my head in agreement to most everything you post but this had me shaking my head.

I have as yet to see a .22 shoot sub MOA with the exception of a single-shot Winchester bolt gun I bought from my wife's friend. My Remington 597 does fairly well but the best group I've seen out of it is 1.6 MOA @ 100 yards.

With the rimfire priming being so dodgy, and the bullets often found in the boxes with loose case-to-bullet fit, I just don't see .22 LR as a contender in 100 yard accuracy.

Maybe you meant at 50 yards? I'd buy your argument there.

 

[ArcticLight]

Re: Thinking about a Remington 597, Opinions?

Get an early 70's Winchester Model 72A bolt gun.

They cna be had for about $300 or so.

Extremely accurate, good quality.

I have a marlin mod 60 and am happy with it.


BUT - I also have a Rem 597 that I gave to my nephews and it is a VERY VERY fine 22LR for the price.....For the price..

 

[cysoto]

Re: Thinking about a Remington 597, Opinions?

I had a 597 for a while and, while a really fun plinker, it was not the most accurate .22LR I have ever seen. It's been said before but it is worth repeating: You want accurate and affordable, get yourself a Savage Mk II FV

 

[ooglassoo]

Re: Thinking about a Remington 597, Opinions?

I bought a 597 tech target from dicks about 2 months ago for the same price as a 10/22. The tech target comes with a 20" carbon fiber bull barrel and boyds stock. This rifle is AWESOME! At 50 yards I can cover the ten rounds with a dime at 100 it's more like a silver dollar. I was shooting it at 200 at a painted steel plate and the group was the size of racket ball. I have used cci stingers those were not so good, fast but not accurate. Then I was using rem target ammo those were good but the best results so far have been 40gr round nose federal match ammo from walmart. I would like to try some wolf extra match but it's hard to find in MA and we can't order ammo here. But if you can find a tech target fir $225.00 like I did jump on it, you won't regret it.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Re: Thinking about a Remington 597, Opinions?

I've done some considerable shooting with all three, and they all work very well in their original configuration for tasks like plinking, squirrels, etc. In a general way they can serve as a trainer; but IMHO, semi's encourage poor fire discipline.

When it come to modifications, I favor the 10/22, simply because I believe there's a better served market out there for decent accuracy mods.

Greg