Remington's Model 597™ LS HB Part 2

I have to believe that the folks who seem never to have handled a machine that worked reliably, are the very same who swear at a wrench when a fastener won’t break free. To them I can offer, in abridged version of a machine’s perspective –

The Secret of the Machines
By Rudyard Kipling

We were taken from the ore-bed and the mine,
We were melted in the furnace and the pit—
We were cast and wrought and hammered to design,
We were cut and filed and tooled and gauged to fit.
Some water, coal, and oil is all we ask,
And a thousandth of an inch to give us play:
And now, if you will set us to our task,
We will serve you four and twenty hours a day!

But remember, please, the Law by which we live,
We are not built to comprehend a lie,
We can neither love nor pity nor forgive.
If you make a slip in handling us you die!
We are greater than the Peoples or the Kings—
Be humble, as you crawl beneath our rods!-
Our touch can alter all created things,
We are everything on earth—except The Gods!

Though our smoke may hide the Heavens from your eyes,
It will vanish and the stars will shine again,
Because, for all our power and weight and size,
We are nothing more than children of your brain!

The Remington Model 597 LS HB 22 Winchester Magnum ingested 100 rounds each of four types of  ammo, 400 rounds of ammo in total. The rifle cycled and fed as expected and the bolt locked open on empty. I do not believe the reliable operation was a byproduct of my expertise as an operator as I had only to insert the magazine, right side up, bullets facing forward and squeeze the trigger until the Remington said “bang”.

Despite the drama of some email to the contrary, the charging handle did not fly through the air as though “Thrown by the Devil”. The stock did not “fall off after 5 rounds”. The barrel did not “Unscrew a quarter turn with each shot”. In fact the barrel is not even threaded into the receive. It shot as it is, a well made, very reliable and accurate 22 WMR autoloader. I can’t speak to the Model 597 of 6 years ago, or Freddy’s cousin Charlie’s squirrel hunting experiences, I can only go by my current experience with multiple versions of the model and how they performed in my hands.

Were there some things I didn’t like? Hell, I’m 68 years old, there are ALWAYS things I don’t like. It seemed the magazine’s plastic follower had a bit of a rough fit inside the magazine. On initial loading, the magazine seemed to be undecided in regard to its capacity. Inserting 5 rounds was easy, 7 rounds was more difficult and 8 was just a annoying. I put a cleaning patch on the end of a punch and worked the follower full travel for perhaps 20 cycles, after which the magazine acknowledged its 8 round capacity.

The trigger is a gem. Crisp, short travel, minimal pre and over travel, but it is way too heavy for a rifle of this type. After 400 rounds the trigger pull still checked  a stout 5 lbs 11 oz, or about 2.5 to 3 lbs too heavy for a practical target/varmint rifle pull. Twice, while focusing on distant targets and a critical trigger squeeze I had to stop and make sure the safety was off before squeezing harder. Not a big deal to correct and other examples may not even have the same issue.

Where is all of the 22 Mag ammo? I have it… Just kidding

Four types of ammunition were shot when checking operational reliability. Three types were shot for accuracy. The forth was not when I realized I had only a small quantity left for chronograph data collection.

Below, two CCI GamePoint 50 yard groups shot at 50 yards while setting up the scope. Nearest to center is a 6 shot group, far right is a three shot group.

When I completed accuracy testing and data collecting I spent the afternoon playing 100 yard “Hit The Bottle Cap” to which many bottle caps gave their little plastic lives. The Remington 597 was too much fun to put down.

So?

Heck of a rifle and one that deserves a good look. The fit and finish is excellent, performance is exceptional and it is enough gun to extract all of the potential out of the 22 Winchester Magnum.