[pip_daddy_dog]

I was just out shooting today. I cleaned my 597, did a little polishing on the inside top of the receiver and lightly lubed the guide rails. I put the set skrews back just to the point that they are just snug. I was still having some feeding problems. I have four magazines for it. The factory one (plastic with red follower), two factory replacements (plastic with orange followers) and a metal one that remington gave me when I sent my gun back in for a broken extractor. I took each one apart cleaning each part, even the spring. I did put just a little gun oil on the sides of the followers before I put them back together. I did take them apart seperately to make sure that I keep the same parts together. Now when I go to load them I can put 6 or 7 rounds in each one then it seems like they are getting bound up and there is no tension on the top round. Another way to describe it is that if you push down on the top round ( any one after 7 rounds) they do not spring back up. Thus this is giving me a major feeding problem. I am just about out of patience with this gun. It worked excelent before I sent it back to Remington and now I have a "plinker" that does not plink. By the way when I was able to get it to feed I was getting 1.25" groups at 25 yards. I have purchased a laminate stock off gunbroker and floated the barrel. If I ever get this thing to feed I am going to try to pillar bed the front of the barrel to try to improve the consistancy. For anyone that is wondering if it is the frustated shooter and not the gun, I was able to get sub .5" groups with my 10/22. Another thing about my 597 that I noticed was its desire to digest subsonic ammo. I was getting best results with Remington vipers. Funny thing is that I can not get them to feed in my Ruger.........It must be a Remington thing...

If anyone has any advice on what I should do next I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance,

Eric

 

[dean]

I have two of these rifles and five metal magazines. I was having feeding problems that I could not isolate to any ammo or gun problem. I numbered the magazines and found that #2 was the problem. I can not see any difference in it, but it will cause a feeding problem every time I used the thing. The rifles work very well with the others and have better than average accuracy.

 

[mdoerner]

My theory.....

...try swapping the follwers out and switching them with other magazines. See if that doesn't help the situation. It is my opinion that the tolerances between the follower and the magazine body (be it plastic or metal) are too tight. Since you have so many magazines (I only have my one, and I haven't had the guts to do it myself) try filing down the sides of the follower ever so slightly, and re-assemble.

This could make your situation worse, as you are validating my theory with your practice.

Mike Doerner

 

[outlander]

Try taking it apart again and check the spring, make sure it fits over the 2 points on the botton just right.
I moved the spring over a bit so the point missed the second coil of the spring and then closed it up.
It started hanging up just like you described.
Another thing ... I got rid of the orange followers and put the red ones in the metal mags, they fit and operate much better.

 

[4667]

My ideas

Sometimes what will happen is that the rim will hitch over the lower one(their not supposed to do that) and that will change the angle of the cartridge and it will not fit proper. It does this to me in my plastic clip but not in my metal one. I still havent fingured out a way to fix it, i just watch how I put them in. Hope it helps a little.

 

[pip_daddy_dog]

can someone please measure a spring for unsprung length on a operating magazine. I am wondering if I have too much of too little spring tension.

 

[outlander]

can someone please measure a spring for unsprung length on a operating magazine

2 1/4"

 

[mdoerner]

This is the problem with the double stacked mag

can someone please measure a spring for unsprung length on a operating magazine. I am wondering if I have too much of too little spring tension.

Yup. The spring in the mag is kinda on the weenie side. In order to get the magazine that small and hold 10 rounds, the spring has to be rather weak, otherwise you wouldn't get the last couple of rounds in without denting the cartridges (or setting them off )

Ever wonder why the 597 magnum mags only hold 8? Betcha the spring is a bit stiffer too. I can understand 9 cartridges in the magnum 597 (because the dia of the magnum cases is bigger) but 8 means they're doing something else inside that mag.

Does anyone with a 597 magnum care to elaborate on a.) the spring length and b.) the gauge of the wire the spring is made of? Thanks.

Mike Doerner

 

[Mike Gibson]

I measured an old plastic magazine spring and a new metal one. They are the same except the metal magazine spring looks like spring steel whereas the one out of the plastic magazine looks galvanized. I'm sure it's spring steel also just a different coating. The uncompressed length is 2.130" and the diameter of the spring wire is 0.035". So if anyone wants to experiment get some 0.035" welding wire and have at it. Make your own spring and see if you can do better than they did. I would check the thickness of the follower. The one on the magnum is 0.800" from the top of the feed ramp to the bottom of the follower at the high end and 0.400" from the low end of the feed ramp to the bottom. I don't have a .22lr magazine to compare so you'll have to measure yours Mike and see what you come up with.

 

[outlander]

the diameter of the spring wire is 0.035"

I guess their quality control needs some improvement. Mine has a diameter of .0284

 

[4966]

597 metal mag

i too was having trouble with my new metal mag, i could put six rounds in ok, then when i tried to put the next one in it seemed to seize up and the rounds that were already in the mag were stuck. what i have done is to dismantle the mag thoroughly clean it and then i have polished the inside of the mag where the rim of the bullet slides on the inside of the mag, to do this i used a cotton bud dipped in some silver polish. before i put the mag back together i made sure to put some very light grease on the surface where the rim slides. the gun now shoots like a dream, every time i bring the gun back from shooting i dismantle the mag clean it and re-grease it. the gun gets a clean when i think it may need it. heres a site you may like to look at here in the uk.
www.minsterleyranges.com

 

[4126]

I was getting best results with Remington vipers. Funny thing is that I can not get them to feed in my Ruger.........It must be a Remington thing...

Very, very odd. My 597 loves Yellow Jackets best of all so far. I got a .6" 10 shot group at 25 yards with them. I don't know if it's an exceptional lot or my 597 is a freak of nature.

On another note, my 10/22 feeds Vipers/Yellow Jackets flawlessly, but prefers Minimags.

 

[tball]

I recommend getting several 30 round magazines for your Remington 597. CDNN sells them for less than $12 each.