Ruger 10/22. i've put 525 rounds of cheap Remington ammo through mine the last two days and would still go plinking with it today if i could. So much fun to shoot. The variety of aftermarket parts (if you wish to do so) is like none other as well. Great Gun, especially for $200.
I had both and still have the 10/22. I had to trade off the 597 because it wasn't near the gun the 10/22 is. I really thought Remington would have put alittle more in the 597 model givin their reputation as a gun maker but they didn't. Spend the extra money and buy the Ruger and hit what your shooting at!!
Remington makes a .22lr semi-auto? Really? The same Remington who used to make a .17 HMR semi-auto that was a failure right out of the box then recalled them and offered unlucky owners about 50-60% of the purchase price which was only redeemable for another of their products? Is that the Remington you're talking about?
I vote Ruger 10/22 as well. Got mine recently and over the past few weeks I have ran just a bit over 1200 rounds of bulk from Federal, Remington, and some CCI's. I got 1 FTE with the Remington and that's the only malfunction I've had. I know that's probably not typical for people and the number of malfunctions is generally higher but you can't go wrong with the 10/22. So customizable and there's a reason EVERYONE thinks Ruger 10/22 when they think 22 rifle.
I actually vote for a Marlin Model 60 I actually own a Model 60 and 10/22. The Model 60 is far more accurate then the 10/22. You can dress up the 10/22 A LOT more though. I prefer the 60 anyday of the week FWIW.
I've owned a 597 and wasn't that impressed with it's accuracy or build quality. I currently have a 10-22 that's had just about everything replaced/upgraded except the barrel and bolt. I like the options of the 10-22, but I don't buy into the mythical abilities. It's a good 22lr, but if I were to do it all over again I'd buy a S&W 15-22 MOE because it was designed from the ground up as a high cap 22lr.
I have a 597 VTR and love it. It's the heavy barrel version with an AR feel to it and you can add about any accessory from AR to it. And it shoots as good or better than my heavy barreled 10/22. Only thing I've had to do to it is add a Volquartsen extractor. Runs very smooth now
I have a 597 and its a tack driver!! If I had to do it again I would go with the 10/22 though. Way more aftermarket options for the 10/22.
The funny thing about my Remington is that it absolutely hates the bulk rem ammo. it's almost impossible to shoot that crap in my gun