# Remington 597 Mis-fire/Fail to Fire



## sleepr71 (Jan 29, 2010)

I have a Rem. 597 semi-auto  in 22WMR that misfires/fails to fire about 80-90% of the time.The problem has become more persistent/consistent & has made the gun useless. The gun  has only had 200-250 rounds through it in 8-9 years & I am the original owner. It appears that the firing pin is striking the casings too lightly & off to the side(but don't rimfires strike the side of the case anyway?). I have taken everything but the bolt apart & cleaned it w/ no improvement(wasn't very dirty to start with). The firing pin seems to move back & forth easily inside the bolt assembly... Any ideas? I've tried 4-5 different brands of ammo w/o any improvement.


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## cloudwarmer (Jan 30, 2010)

I've experienced problems with two 597s in 22lr and attributed them bulk 22lr ammo. The only ammo that didn't have occasional issues is CCI mini-mag. I suspect it is the mainspring tension from the factory. That said, replacing the spring with a stock spring only would work if the factory replacement was actually a better spring, I suppose.

I've heard from others, too, that semi-autos just don't have the recoil to reliably eject some ammo. I experienced this problem with bulk 22lr as well.

That said, the kids and I really like the 597s. My daughter actually wanted the pink camo model, which surprised me. My boy didn't like the camo at all, and we bought the wood-stock model with the heavier barrel. 

I don't care for their trigger actions all that much, and may upgrade them.

All the best, Cloudwarmer


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## GrouseHiker (Feb 1, 2010)

Brian618 said:


> Rimfire problems can usually be attributed to one or more of three things, Broken or Worn firing pin; weak Mainspring; or dirty firing pin channel



Does your firing pin move freely? Do you dry fire a lot? Check to see if you have any firing pin marks around the chamber at the breech end of the barrel. I can't see that occasional dry firing this rifle would be a problem, but Remington says don't do it:







My 597 (22 mag) seemed to have weak strikes (based on looking at spend cases) during the 30 round fired before it blew out. I didn't have any misfires, but I saw the potential.  My headspace on that bolt was 0.053 - got it back from Remington last Thursday with new bolt and new barrel - haven't checked or fired this one yet. Are your spent cartridges domed at the base at all?

Check to make sure a new round falls into the chamber easily up to the rim. Gunk in the chamber might hold the round back. I've heard of major gunk deposits in factory rifles that took hours to get out. On a side note, keep your chamber clean and DRY when shooting. I believe good friction between the expanded case and chamber is extremely important in this rifle.

You might also want to check that your hammer is moving freely - also, I read that some guys install their hammer springs backwards on purpose. You might want to make sure yours is not.

Can you post a photo of a spent case?

By the way, try something else for me to see if yours also has this problem. Dry fire on a spent case and hold the trigger (magazine out). Cycle the bolt back against the buffer and let the bolt back forward. Release the trigger and see if the rifle is now cocked. If the rifle is not cocked, the hammer is riding the bolt back down. This will leave very faint firing pin marks on the rim of the cartridge when you're shooting. This lack of cocking is a different problem, but I had it on the original rifle setup, and I have it on the one Remington sent back. They missed it during the repair but are working on the fix as of last Friday.


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## sleepr71 (Feb 1, 2010)

Thanks for the tips guys! I'll try taking the bolt out & seeing if the firing pin may be bent( possible since it's striking the shell on the outer edge) & go from there. Got a lot going on right now but will post up on what I find/whatever it turns out to be. Sleepr71.


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