I was pawnshopping yesterday and came across a real nice Remington 597. It had been marked down to $89.95 so I bought it. It has a satin blue with a gray plastic stock. I thought that for the price it would make a good knock-around .22. Does anyone have any experience with these rifles (good or bad)? It has stamped on top of the barrel that it is made in Mayfield, Kentucky. I didn't know Remington built rifles in Kentucky.

This is a good forum for info. Model 597 - RimfireCentral.com Forums

I've had 2 597's; one blue, the other, which I still have, stainless. They're good all-around rifles. Never had a problem of any kind. I usually blow out the chamber with Gunscrubber and run a patch through the barrel every 100 or so rounds. I have 4x scope mounted and haven't had a problem hitting what I aim at, as long as I do my part. I even used one to compete in a summer biathlon (running and shooting).

I used to have one. I think I sold it for $115 a few years ago, mainly because I was a little overloaded on .22's and that was my least favorite of the bunch.

Funny story about that rifle...it was what my eight-year old daughter was firing when my idiot New Jersey transplant neighbor called the sheriff's department and reported "...two people walking through the neighborhood shooting an M-16..."

Luckily, the sheriff's department was well aware of his propensity to exagerate. That could have been bad.

The Highlander

.22, .223, whatever it takes.

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If you take it all the way down for cleaning, putting the rails back in is a bit of a trick. Snug, don't tighten the set screws behind the rails. Trick on this is to try not to bow them in any direction. The bolt rides these rails and like to be kept aligned to function right.

Also, when you reassemble, tighten only the front screw in the triggerguard. Snug the rear.

I have one the first 597 HB laminates that came out. Tune it and she hums, forget one or two things and it becomes a jam-o-matic.

FYI, the Remington extended cap mags actually work, but makes it a bit difficult to shoot off bags.

JR

I've had one since shortly after they were released. I don't fire it too, too much nowadays (though for a while I did an insane "Let's not clean it!" test for thousands of rounds - you would not believe the crud that built up inside the receiver, but it kept ticking away perfectly), but it's a keeper. I've got it fitted with a Weaver K-4 on which the parallax has been re-set to 50 yards, and - well, it's just a solid tool.

FWIW, the extended capacity mags were iffy when they first came out, but they seem to work now. There have been several generations of factory 10-rounders, so don't sweat it if yours is hinky - just buy a modern one for $10 and forget about it.