Remington 597 pot metal receiver

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deerslayer303

New member
I broke down my son's 597 the other night for cleaning. After I removed the two bolts I lifted the receiver/barrel out of the stock, while doing so a piece of the forward corner of the receiver broke off. After looking at it the metal looks like cast pot metal. While the receiver is in the stock you cant see it, and it won't affect functionality. Just wanted to let others know to be careful when taking these apart. I think maybe a 10/22 is in his future. Taking nothing away from the 597 it is super accurate no doubt, just a cheap receiver it seems.
 
It's not pot metal, it's aluminum. Still softer than a good steel, but hardly what we'd think of pot metal.

Contact Remington and they may replace the receiver for you. Seems there's been a bunch of these receivers breaking like that (don't know if it's overtightening or just a bad batch). I had one crack right there after I stripped the thing down and Duracoated it, and Remington replaced it under warranty.
 
Aluminum is far weaker then steel but usually soft. If pieces are breaking off that's a sign the heat treatment was poorly done. Don't know why they would use aluminum instead of steel other then weight savings because it's also more expensive then steel.
 
Its a less than spectacular rifle. I had the extractor break on mine. I had a gunsmith fix it and literally three shots later it broke again. Luckily big 5 gave me my money back and i got a marlin bolt action, which is a better gun.
 
I had one; it had a tendency to jam on me...no matter how clean I kept it. Got rid of it. When I get around to replacing it, you can bet it will be with a Ruger 10/22.
 
I am always amazed at people metalury knowledge. If it aint steel then it must be alluminum. I worked with steel for decades in my chosen profession. We stressed it and tore it to pieces on a daily basis. While we did have some aluminum, it had its advantages. I wish I knew more. I am unfamiliar with this particular rifle but from what little I have seen of Remingtons "aluminum" parts, they dont appear to be the same aluminum I used. It appears to be a low grade aluminum, but more like what we used to call pot metal. So many people want to believe whatever they own is the best ever they dont investigate with a keen eye. Ruger appears to used the same low grade aluminum to me, but again I have more knowledge than the average Joe, and I know little.
 
I'm just going off what I've read elsewhere.* This problem has been had by several others, including myself. The nature of the barrel/receiver attachment makes it very possible to tighten it excessively, thereby splitting the receiver.

Note the below pic for what happened to mine:
4368563201_e20b12394b.jpg


If you overtighten that attachment screw, the wedge will split the thing just like that.

*See the American Rifleman article about the 597VTR here. The first sentence of the second paragraph says the receiver is aluminum. I have both a VTR and a regular 597, and yes, I've stripped them both ALL the way apart. The "upper receiver" mentioned is a box-stock 597 receiver, identical to the one in my Walmart 597. Feel free to make snarky comments about the difference in our metallurgical knowledge, but "pot metal" in firearm use generally refers to the zinc based alloys (such as the Zamak you find in Hi-Pointe guns). I highly doubt this is a high quality aluminum alloy, but then again, this isn't a $1000 gun. It's a $150-200 gun, and for the accuracy it has out of the box, it's very hard to beat.
 
I was not making a snarky remark if you were refering to me. I was trying to learn. From my years of experence with various kinds of steel, I would assume there are varing kinds of aluminum. From the photo Technosavant took, the broken areas are what I experencened in what I call pot metal. I could have been misnaming that type of metal for years. I do know a higher quality aluminum will actually stretch and tear rather than break leaving a pourous broken surface.
 
The extractor plunger broke on my 597 on the third shot. I contacted Remington and they sent a replacement bolt, but did not offer to install it for me. Then I learned that the front sight was off center by a few degrees making it impossible to zero the sights. I sent it back to the factory requesting a refund, but they returned the repaired rifle anyway. Like Rifleer, I planned to get a Marlin (in my case a model 60). I made a series of calls to Remington only to learn that "the repair center does not call customers" and "company policy is to repair and return firearms if possible". I kept calling until I reached the VP of Operations in charge of all repairs. To his credit he called me back and spent a half hour on the phone with me. He talked me into firing the rifle again to see if it functioned properly. If it did not he gave me his direct line and instructed me to contact him personally for a refund.
 
The pic that Technosavant posted is EXACTLY what happened to my son's rifle. Now this is the first time it was taken apart. I will contact Remington to see if they can help. I was calling it pot metal, because after looking at the broken piece the metal looked scaley white in color. I'm no metal expert, but I look at high grade aluminum on a daily basis, because that is what our 300 million dollar aircraft are made of :D. I'm not all that upset though, it was 189 dollar very accurate .22 that my son has probably run 2000 rounds through without cleaning it.
 
Deerslayer, if they swapped out the receiver for me, I'd expect they'd do it for you. I've read of it happening to others too. Even though it's caused by ham-handed reassembly (like I said, it's very easy to overtighten that screw), they still covered it, so I have to say that ultimately I was impressed with how Remington handled it.

As for those with extractor issues, the Volquartsen exact edge extractor is a worthy upgrade. While you're mucking about in there, you may as well toss in the Volquartsen hammer too. You'll end up with a gun that has great accuracy potential, better extraction, and a sweet trigger.
 
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