I picked up a Remington 597 last weekend at a big box outdoor store and got it out to the range yesterday for the first time. The first thing I will say in this review is that I love the look of this gun. Not all
Not all 597′s look like mine, but one you see on this post is the one I got. It’s one of those guns that you are either going to think looks awesome or you are going to think it’s the most hideous thing in the world. I am in the first camp, obviously, since it ended up coming home with me!
When I went out to buy a .22 rifle, I thought I was going to get the nearly-iconic 10/22 from Ruger or something else in the $200 range. My goal was just to simply get something that was cheap to shoot to give me more practice.
However, once I got to the store, they were out of the 10/22 and pretty much everything else under the sun. There was a Savage model and the Remington 597 to choose from. To be honest, even if the 10/22 had been there, this one still would have come home with me. For starters, it already reminded me of my Remington 700 5R – especially since it had the stainless steel barrel.
I grabbed the Savage one first though and held it. It was a $200 gun, and felt like a $20 gun. It felt like it should have a fluorescent orange tip on it. Next, I was handed the 597 and it felt like it was made for me. That’s when you know you have picked the right gun. So, how did it perform?
Remington 597 Review – Worth the Money?
Let’s get on with the review! In which we take a look at the 4 key elements of owning this rifle.
- Simplicity
- Accuracy
- Price
- Quality
Simplicity
The 597 was very simple to operate. As most of my readers know, I am fairly new to shooting still. My only rifle experience thus far is a bolt action. This is a semi-automatic with a 10-round magazine. Doesn’t get much easier than that. Load it up and fire!
Accuracy
When I brought it out the first time, it was extremely windy. I will be shooting it more in the future and even in indoor ranges to avoid outside factors to test it out.
I can tell you though, that at 50 yards with wind and with me being a novice shooter, I was still getting quarter-sized groupings. An experienced shooter would most likely have just been putting bullets through the same hole at 50 yards. I am pleased with the accuracy of this.
Price
I have seen my exact model online for just under $500. I paid a little more than that, because I bought it at a regular retail store. Some people are going to think that this is too much to pay for a .22, and I may have agreed with that a week ago. However, I never want to buy anything that is cheap in quality. Especially when it comes to guns, I expect my guns to last longer than I do.
This is my 3rd gun purchase, and I have had the same mindset with all 3 of them. That mindset is “I want to be able to hand this down to my kids when they get older”.
How much more true is that of a .22? It doesn’t get much more ideal for a “first gun” than a .22. So, what’s the difference with this one versus the $200 ones? Aside from the fact that it’s an American made Remington, it also has a stainless steel barrel.
Stainless steel barrels are a big deal to me. Granted, we can all take care of our guns, regardless of what the barrel is made out of, but I have seen far too many rusty blued barrels to be convinced that those guns would last the long haul.
Quality
Everything about this gun is top notch, with one exception. The magazine. If there was a better quality magazine in it, it would be 100% top quality. However, in the 60 rounds that I fired, I had a few misfires. I am currently searching out replacement magazines for it, but it seems like a pretty common problem.
Trigger, barrel, stock, everything else has excellent build quality. The magazine is definitely the weakest link on this gun. I hope Remington steps up their game on the magazine for this. It would make it the perfect .22 in my opinion!
Remington 597 Review: Summary
In short, I would recommend this gun to anyone looking for a quality .22. Both of my rifles are Remington right now and I have been very pleased with both of them.
Hopefully, this Remington 597 Review was helpful! Feel free to leave comments and questions!
