The Remington .17 HMR Model 597 controversy
There has been much controversy over the Model 597 (.17 HMR) buyback.
For those of you not familiar with the buy back, I will summarize. Back in August Remington finally acknowledged that their .17 HMR semi-automatics had serious issues. They offered a $250 coupon, which could be used towards the purchase of another Remington firearm, for each 597 that was returned to them. A $10 coupon was also offered for each box of ammunition returned. Since then there has been a lot of anger and confusion.
The confusion regarding the .17 HMR cartridge.
This buy back does not mean that the .17 HMR is unsafe in your bolt action, single shot or lever action rifles. The problems occur in semi-automatic rifles. Matt Groom explained in the comments ...
With any bottle necked round, the pressure generated in the body of the case has to be compressed slightly to flow through the smaller diameter of the case neck. This is why the shoulder usually moves forward a tiny bit on rifle cartridges. The gases also accellerate as they travel through the neck area, which can cause the neck to soften and split. This all happens very fast, and is one reason why nearly everything with a bottle neck is fired from a locked breech. The PPSh and other Soviet SMGs are the only things I can think of that use a bottle neck in a blowback action before the modern .17 caliber rimfires came out, and I think those used steel cases.
This was likely the reason that Ruger never launched their once advertised, but never seen, 10/17 rifles.
In September Hornady, who originally developed the cartridge, posted this noticed on their website ...
Recently there have been notices placed on several web sites warning about the use of 17HMR ammunition in semi-automatic firearms. Statements are to the effect of do not use 17HMR ammunition in semi-auto firearms or serious injury may result and do not use unless or until you have contacted the manufacturer of your firearm. Every ammunition manufacturer determines the warning it believes is appropriate for its product.
First and foremost, the safety of our customers is our primary concern, and the same is true for all other SAAMI member companies. We are making this statement to hopefully reduce confusion, answer questions and clarify issues.
We believe 17HMR ammunition is manufactured to the highest standard of care and quality and performs within the specifications established for 17HMR ammunition and is consistent with SAAMI standards for ALL ammunition.
We are not firearms manufacturers and we believe the firearms manufacturers are solely the ones responsible for determining if and how they should market and sell a model or type of firearm. WE STRONGLY URGE YOU TO CONTACT THE MANUFACTURER OF YOUR FIREARM TO DETERMINE IF IT IS SAFE TO USE 17HMR AMMUNITION IN YOUR SPECIFIC TYPE AND MODEL OF FIREARM.
So there you have it. It is safe, but be wary of using the round in a semi-automatic.
The controversy regarding the buy back.
Many owners of recently purchased .17 597 rifles are understandably unhappy about the buy back. Some have paid hundreds of dollars more for the rifle than what Remington is offering in the buy back scheme.
In the comments Rand said ...
A few points, then: 1) Remington’s buy-back offer represents $10 less than what a gun dealer who is unaware that the thing has been recalled will offer for a gun that has blown out its magazine. So you could say it’s a pretty lousy buy-back offer, but you could also say that it’s about right, since you wouldn’t be able to get much more for the gun by selling to someone else. Either way, Remington is not doing anybody any favors.
2) If you read Remington’s recall notice (which I also found when I Googled the thing), you’ll see that it does not admit that there is anything inherently wrong with the round OR the rifle. It says Remington has been “notified” by its “supplier” of 17 HMR ammo that the ammo is unsafe for use in semi-automatic rifles. So Remington offers to buy back its ammo. Then it says, essentially, that because it’s recalling its .17 HMR ammo, it’s also recalling its Model 597 rifles in .17 HMR. But why recall the rifles when the problem is the ammo? This is classic CYA legal language, pure and simple. I was in fact shooting Hornady ammo in my son’s rifle when it blew out the magazine.
Overseas customers are worse off as they have to pay much higher prices for their rifles, but are being offered the same buy back. Pat Gallagher said ...
I live in Ireland were we are screwed cost wise for just about everything, I bought a Remy 597 in .17hmr about 12 months ago.I paid 700.00 euro for it, approx 1040.00us dollars and am being offered the same deal as you guys recall value, and you guys are pissed!.
Shooters affected by the buy back have been emailing and snail-mailing Remington, complaining to the BBB, organizing an online petition and threatening legal action.
In the comments Joe argued that, on the whole, Remington are being fair ...
Having worked at Remington for over 40 years and retired I know that the company does everything possible to produce a quality product. As with any other industry sometimes new products don’t live up to expectations for one reason or another,the 597 .17 being a good example.I am also aware that no matter what reconciliation is offered it won’t satisfy everybody. many of the issues raised in the forum are justified and I think the company will be fair in their response.The thing that bothers me is the talk of lawyers and lawsuits. With Washington filled with antigun politicians we as gun owners should not be so quick to hobble a company that is in the forefront of protecting the 2nd Ammendment. You may say that I am biased but I would feel the same if it was Winchester,Mossberg or any other American gun maker.
What can Remington do to make this right?
I am going to write an email to my contact at the Freedom Group's Public Relations department and propose that Remington offer to replace any 597 purchased in the past X years with the closest equivalent .22 LR model. Customers could choose to have their 597 replaced or to take the $250 coupon. Sure this is not a perfect solution but I think it is more fair than the current situation.
Do you think Remington is being fair or not?
Correct me if I am wrong but doesn’t the Tokarev TT-33 and the like use a bottle neck cartridge (I believe the same cartridge as the PPSh-41) and utilize blowback?
Even MORE fair would be for them to, instead of replacing with a .22lr model, to give the end user the option of a .22lr or .22WMR, since the latter is what the .17hmr is based off of. I have a .22lr 597 and frankly I *love* the thing, and I considered a .17 or .22mag for groundhog control (until I realized how much MORE effective a .223 is…) and I think many other people may have done the same. Replacing a .17 with a .22lr is probably better than the “certificate” but it’s certainly isn’t totally fair.
The weird thing is that it seems like Remington could rebarrel these .17′s to WMR pretty easily…I wonder why they aren’t doing that?
The TT33 is a locked breach pistol with a modified browning design,the fire control system was borrowed from a french military pistol as I recall.
I’m pretty familiar with what happened proceeding the 597 buyback- I purchased the laminated stock 597 for prairie dog hunting back in 2005. It was a fantastic rifle; it was extremely accurate and killed a lot of prairie dogs. Right out the gate however, I started noticing, no matter what brand of ammunition, the rim and bottom of the fired cases was dramatically bulging. I got a hold of Remington customer service, who subsequently told me that wasn’t uncommon, and to not worry about it.
Fast forward to Summer 2008: I’m out shooting my favorite game with the rifle, using Remington ammo, and the rifle exploded in my hands. I was hit in the face (remember, always wear your glassses!) with the extractor, the bolt was cracked in half, and we never found all the small parts from the bolt which were blown out of the gun. So I took pictures of the aftermath, and sent it off to customer service, then started up another year of school and forgot about it until May, when I talked in person with some of the Remington reps at the NRA show in Phoenix. They were well familiar with this happening to that rifle and, they gave me a UPS tag, and I sent the rifle in. A month later they sent me back a Marlin 917 Varmint.
The moral of this story is- Remington knew something was wrong with their rifles, and that they were blowing up. And up until late this summer, they figured it was cheaper to just keep the malfunctions quiet, and replace rifles that did blow up with a competitive bolt action. This summer, they realized that the potential longterm costs of keeping those rifles in public hands would be more expensive than recalling them. Every manufacturer does it (just look at Toyota and their floormat recall), you’ve just gotta balance the risks of keeping the rifle (and not being under warranty) or taking the financial hit.
I’m glad that you’ve taken up this issue. I don’t have one of the affected rifles, but I have been pretty horrified reading Remington’s ads on their offer to “make this right.” And disappointed, too: I love the 597 (preferring it to its competitors) and have a couple of them.
As an attorney, I’m sort of amazed that Remington’s lawyers think this is enough. They market a product that turns out to be arguably dangerous, so they recall it. Good for them. But then they offer to pay WAY less than the product cost on the recall. I guess there aren’t enough of these rifles out there to make a class action suit worth any attorney’s time (which is probably why Remington is proceeding thusly – though if there’s a suitably PO’d attorney out there with a .17 HMR 597, perhaps s/he’d decide to undertake such just for spite), but otherwise this situation seems ripe for such a suit (imagine if this were a car we were talking about).
As a consumer, well, I’ve got to tell you that this makes me think Remington/Cerberus/Freedom Group does not care about their customers. The suggested “coupon for an equivalent 597″ would seem like a much more equitable response. Perhaps Remington/Cerberus/Freedom Group’s management will see the light after your email. I’m sure that lots of consumers will be like me and take this debacle into consideration when deciding where to spend their cash on future purchases. Hey, maybe it’s time for me to look into 10/22s for the next purchase . . .
Most people think that Remington is not going to get away with it, and will have to offer a “true recall”, either as a repair or full refund. But the brand is currently owned by a capital investment firm which probably hopes to get away from that investment before the full cost hit.
Another thing Remington could do is replace the barrels or modify the guns to have a manually operated action, like a simple lock that acts as a straight pull device, where the handle cams into a recess cut into the receiver. This would be relatively easy to do, perhaps requiring a different bolt and a modification to the receiver. It would surely cost less than $250. That way, the consumer could still keep their rifle and cartridge, but it would take slightly longer to empty the magazine.
Check out the Consumer Product Safety Commission (which does not regulate firearms, btw). Their recall announcements come with instructions from the manufacturer that usually include the phrase, “FULL REFUND”. Anything less is pathetic. Better have kept your receipt, though.
I don’t own one, but as an interested bystander in this fight I view the Remington offer an insult to their customers. If the owner approves, why not offer to rebarrel it in .22 Win Mag instead? Seems like nobody loses this way.
Looking at the picture of the split case, you also see an annular ring swell right above the rim. Not a good sign!! Not fully in battery?
I walked into some stores and looked closely at these rounds in their plastic boxes; the neck was slightly split (cracked) on some unfired rounds as well! I notified the store as soon as I saw these. Please examine your ammo closely.
Back to Remington’s stance; time to make good for these errors, as we say “man up” for these loyal buyers or you’ll lose them!
I’ve got a Taurus pistol chambered in 17 HMR and see the same case splits when I eject the empties. I’ve not paid attention to my bolt action 17 HMR to see if it does the same thing. Do we (they) know this is a problem specific to auto rifles and that it doesn’t occur in its bolt action buddies?
Another thing they could do, cut off the chamber and re-chamber it for .17 Mach 2, then install a lighter recoil spring and new magazine, which they need anyways, am I right? This might allow it to work as a blowback safely by slowing the blowback, since the weight of the bolt mechanism is for a larger cartridge (assuming it would work at all!).
So do delayed blowback systems have these problems with bottle necks too or is it only with pure blowback weapons?
If not, what are the chances of modifying these rifles to delayed blowback?
I think if the offer did not get any better, I’d talk to a gunsmith about boring, sleeving, and rrchambering that 597 to .22 WMR
I won a Remington 597 in 17HMR from the Remingto website. Before I fot through the second box of ammo the magazine blew out of the bottom of the gun. I called Remington and they sent me a box to return it to them. A few days latter I got a call from Remington saying the gun was going to be discontinued and they had no parts to repair the gun. They told me I could pickout anouther gun with a value close to the value of the 597. I asked if I could pick a gun with a higher value and pay the differance. I picked out a Remington 700BDL in 243 Winchester for an additional $200.00. I was very happy with this transaction. Maybe they gave me a good deal because this was shortly after the 17HMR came out. I couldn’t complain about the costomer service I recieved.
Thank You,
Charles Kirby
FWIW: The Chinese, Czechs, and Yugoslavians also had domestic blowback SMG models in 7.62mm Tokarev. There were also blowback SMGs made in 7.65mm Parabellum by the Finns and Swiss, and in 8mm Nambu by the Japanese.
I suspect that the issue with the bottlenecked rimfire cases is that their case walls are thinner and softer than their centerfire counterparts. After all, the rimfire case has to be thin and soft enough so that the firing pin can ignite the primer compound within the rim.
As has been said, I wouldn’t want to bankrupt the company, like Brady and Bloomberg, among others, have tried to do to the firearms industry. However, it seems to me that Remington didn’t do enough testing (or inspection) before they started shipping rifles out to distributors. The entity that made the mistake should make a good effort to reimburse those who bought their mistakes, and the current solution come up a bit short.
Suggestions? How about giving the options of a $250 check, a voucher for $350 in Remington products, or rebarrel the rifle for .22WMR. The suggestion of converting the rifles to bolt action is also interesting. Maybe a straight-pull bolt action like the Browning T-Bolt would work?
Voquartsen Custom is still manufacturing their 17HMR semiauto’s and has no intention of discontinuing them. After I disassembled my 597 in 22 Mag
for the 1st time I have been embarassed to own such a cheaply made gun. I guess you get what you pay for.
In the scheme of things, it would be a small investment in the value of the brand name to offer to replace the 17′s out there with any other Remington retailing for the same amount.
A wise man once said: the F’ up is not the original mistake…the F’up is not making it right
Many good points above.
As a cheapish solution to this problem, how about adding mass to the bolt and using a lighter recoil spring? Perhaps drill out the bolt and pour in some lead, or just bolt an extra mass onto it.
Wouldn’t that make the bolt stay in battery for longer, and thus support the case better?
It’s remarkable to imagine how little testing Remington must have done on this rifle before they marketed it.
Carl,
As I understand it, the bolts on the magnum 597 are already made from a tungsten alloy.
Have both Marlin and Savage bolt actions in .17 as well as a Henry in lever.
All have had issues with split cases and bulged rims. No explosions as the breach is locked, but I would think this indicates an ammo issue. Did an experiment with 4 different ammo brands (I know its all CCI) in a 597 and all had split cases across the board. The Remington offer sucks, I agree, but I think there is also a MAJOR ammo problem that CCI is trying to sweep under the rug with this Semi-auto BS. By the way, had a Excel 17 pistol blow up in my face, they replaced it with a .22 mag no problem. The rep. at Excel also said its an ammo issue.
Daniel, ok, that kind of figures I guess. I guess Remington would have tried making the bolt heavier if it was possible.
Two Emails to Remington on this matter. I got an email back from “Remington Information”, Some one named Daniel. I let him know that Magnum Research Is offering full refunds on their 17 HMR Semi auto’s. Daniel told me he was sorry but this was not a “recall” just Remington trying to help out loyal its customers. After all this was an ammo problem right? The terms of this program were set, “sorry for any inconvenience Happy Holidays” Short and sweet. I thought every one should know that a small company like Magnum Research is giving full refunds. It is troubling to me that a company I always trusted would treat its costumers in this way. So I am done with Remington after 40 years. from what I’m reading, I wont be alone. Good luck to all and Happy Holidays, for real.
I recently purchased a 17 cal. Henry lever action varmit express. It is my understanding that there is no problem with the ammo, using this particular weapon?
I just spoke to a customer service rep at Remington and they are currently swapping out the barrels and converting this rifle to 22WMR at no cost
Call them @ 1-800-243-9700 option #3 and have your serial # number ready to have them send you a postage paid mailing label
Good Luck!
Michael
Just got off the phone with Remington, they are sending me a shipping lablel. Thanks to Michael Jones for posting this info. I had given up on Remington and this gun. Wouldnt have even known of this option if it wasnt for The Firearm Blog. Great job and thanks.
I was very interested in getting the 597 in 17hmr until I heard about all the problems and the fact that remington is discontinuing them. It seems to me that a company like Remington, with the reputation it has, would thouroughly test any new products before mass producing and sending them out to their cutomers. Furthermore, they should make good on any problems with their products to protect ther reputation. I don’t think remington would have any poblems giving a full refund with the current increase in firearm sales as of lately. The fact of the matter is if remington wants to continue to be a viable and reputable manufacturer of firearms they need to carry themselves in a proffesional matter and admit their mistakes and make them right. As for the volquartsen Fusion in 17hmr; I would gladly pay that price for a reliable and safe semiauto 17 after all you could easily spend that much customizing a 10/22 these days.
I was wondering if Michael Jones, or any one else has received their shipping label and box as of yet. I called Remington on 1/16/10 and was told they were sending it right out. I called yesterday and was told it could take 2 weeks or more to arrive and to call back in a week. I’m wondering if any one else has had any luck yet.
I have had a 597 for three years and love it. i just found out I should stop shooting it and i’m heartbroken. Remington said they would re-barrel to 22wmr at no charge. it is possible to load the clips wrong which will cause a jam in my experience. could this be part of the problem? i have shot over 300 wonderful rounds and will miss it. if you wait till it blows up on you remington will give you a gun of choice. one customer got a 700 varmint rifle instead of the 250.00 bucks. thats not fair!
I contacted the Missouri state attorney general’s office about this issue in late November or early December of ’09 and filed a complaint. Prior to that I had called Remington and asked them if they would be willing to swap barrels on my 597 LSHB to make it a .22 mag. They were at the time rude and uncooperative and said basically I could take it or leave it on their offer. The “offer” in my case was to give me the bs certificate for another one of their rifles… half the purchase price.
The same exact day that I received the letter from the atty general saying the investigation had started, Remington must have received theirs, because I got a phone call from who I later found out was one of their attorneys. Lo and behold he was all smiles on the phone and was very exuberant in offering to change my rifle to a .22 mag for free! So, don’t know if my original complaint got the wheels moving for the .22 mag swap or not but if it did I hope there will be several others who benefit from this.
On another note… if it does turn out to be the ammo I hope a class action law suit is filed and we all can nail whoever is responsible. I’m sitting on a box and a half shy of 2,000 rounds of .17 HMR and now own another rifle (Marlin) to shoot it with. Hope it doesn’t become worthless as well!!!
I think this is a rip off by Remington. I have called and left messages for some higherups in the Remington company including their house counsel and have not even received a reply or call back. We gave this gun to a friend for a present and paid a lot more than what Rem. is offering for it and the gun has been used about 4 times overall. I am going to discuss this matter with the Mn. Attorney Generals office to see if there is anything that can be done regarding a fair settlement. Remington, according to their own website no longer offer any guns in .17 HMR. I guess I am just mad that this happened and mad the Remington offers a 2-250 rebate for a gun that cost a hell of a lot more than that.. And to top it off you can only use the rebate to buy a remington gun..
Got the mailing label from Remington yesterday. The accompanying paper work said it would be six to eight weeks to get my gun back rebarreled in 22 magnum. Yes.. its pain in the a__. but if if they get it back to me when they say they will I’ll be ok with it. I wish they had stepped up to the plate a bit sooner though. I never was really happy with this gun as it didn’t feed very well. I tried cleaning the mags, bought new mags. tried stiffer mag springs nothing helped, I never did try any of the after market mags as you cant buy the hi-cap stuff in NY so I don’t know if they are any better. I can say if the gun gets just a little dirty the feeding problems start. On that note, I think this gun was designed by Satan as it comes apart real easy but just wait till you try to put it back together. you need three hands and one needs to be very small. I use 2 pair of hemostats to hold the double springs on the guide bars. Its great fun, lots of swearing and small stuff flying around the shop. Like I said great fun. If this thing wasn’t such a tack driver I would have given up long ago. Cant wait to see how it shoots in 22mag. To any one who hasn’t don so yet, call the number supplied by Michael Jones a few posts up and tell them you want to have your gun rebarreled I was told this was an open ended program so their is no dead line as of yet. Good luck!
*see my post from Jan 31st above*
I got my 597 back yesterday with a brand new .22 winmag barrel on it. Serial number checks the same so they did change my rifle from .17 HMR instead of sending me a different rifle. Zero cost to me. I am planning on shooting the rifle on Monday, and if all goes well I will probably continue being a Remington customer… maybe! Gotta admit this whole thing has made me doubt their products…
nobody seems to be getting it, its not just remington 597′s, it’s the ammo.
why do you think pretty much everybody quit making .17 HMR semi-autos.
the reason the ammo is safe in a bolt or lever gun is the locked breech.
the cases still can split but are locked in the chamber, nothing to blow up.
I brought my son a Marlin 917 for Christmas [2009] While sighting in a scope I kept seeing dirt fly about 30ft. in front of target.I took the gun from my son and moved up closer.I held the gun with my left elbow resting on my side put my left hand under the clip to steady the gun.BANG! Very loud and had instant pain in my left hand.Looking at my son to see if he was ok we both freakout.My hand had pieces of the clip & powder in it.I never thought something like this could be possible since this was a bolt acting rifle.After looking at the bolt that would not open half way the rim of the shell was blown flat against the barrel.The synthic stock seperated an cracked .We found the spent brass an seen splits on brass.My son started looking at the rest of the NEW BOX of shells and could see splits in the unfired rounds.What happen to Q.C.!!! This is Wrong! I am glad this happened to me and not my son.I called Marlin they sent me all the shipping labels,boxes ect.Well got the back the rifle [2/23/2010].Marlin REPAIR DOCUMENT: EXTRACTOR is BROKEN:REPLACE BARREL:TEST FIRE AFTER REPAIR: BIG deal I still have SEPERATED AN CRACKED STOCK!!! VERY VERY DISAPOINTED! THOUGHT MARLIN/REMINGTON was a better co.than that!
It sounds to me like it is a problem with the “NEW” shells, if there are splits in the unfired rounds you should have stopped there, taken the shells back where you got them or sent them back to the manufacturer.
I would like them to replace the 597 with a bolt action 17 HMR… after shooting my 597 I love the 17 HMR for varmenting.
I want a Model 597 in .22 Magnum in exchange and a even trade round for round for the ammunition I have. I also want my Leupold scope that is a centerfire scope bought specifically to compensate the paralax of my .17 HMR rifle, exchanged. My Grandpa said, “Want in one hand and poop in the other and watch which one fills faster”. If Remington can not honor their reputation as a manufactorer then I will buy Rugers, Marlin’s and Winchester’s. I have bought my last Remington.
I purchased a 597 in 17 HMR, about 6 years ago, I have shot it little, a bit over a box of shells without issue. I paid $350 for it on Gun Broker…not terribly impressed with it over a 22 Magnum, any wind at all and say goodbye to your windage. Remington reading these discussions Remington has been GROSSLY unfair and disreputable. $250 (I have a laminated stock) for a $350 rifle? And I have to buy one of theirs? If they wanted to TRULY own up to this they would either offer a $350 cash rebate or offer to REPLACE it with a bolt action HMR… which would be an even more appropriate solution. Safe to say Remington has had more than its share of troubles lately considering the failed CTI 105 and CTI 105 II… once I am clear of this mess and figure what to do I will NEVER buy another Remington unless they make this right. Gone are the days of the 1100…
If they wanted to handel this correctly they would offer to exchange the gun for a bolt action 17HMR… many people that bought this gun did so cause they wanted a 17hmr, not because they wanted a 22 magnum.