I picked a Remington 597 heavy barrel up last week at a chain sports store (Dunham's Sports) for $200 on sale. I have a number of 10/22s and 795s which as an instructor I use as loaners. Both do a great job on the line but I've been seeing more and more 597s and wanted to try one, particularly since price wise it falls about half way between the two.
The HB version comes with a 3-9x scope and with the 16" bull barrel and greenish stock is a very attractive rifle. I couldn't resist it when I saw it on sale.
Overall, with the full sized stock and short bull barrel it is well balanced and not really that heavy. I found out when I sighted it in, very accurate. I did a more in depth review of it on my website http://www.nylonrifles.com/wp/2013/07/remington-597-hb-review/
This rifle has the potential of being the best bang for the buck, out of the box AQT killer.
BTW, I noticed in a recent AAR, that a student I had on the line about a month ago and shot a 220 or so on his AQT, came back with a 597 HB and shot 245 an a couple other 240+ scores. Granted he practiced a lot but one has to have a good rifle to do that.
Nice review of the 597on your site.
I've consolidated my herd of 22 semi-autos down to just Remington 597's and Ruger 10/22's. I agree that when you compare the Basic Rack (Bass Pro, Dicks, Gander) models from both manufactures the Remmy is a better choice for an out of the box Appleseed shooter.
Now before the Ford vs Chevy, AR vs Ak, Taste Great - Less Filling argument starts I'm just talking 200$ range OutoftheBox Stock /run wha'ch' ya brung. Apply enough $$$$$ and brain power a Cricket could be made into a good Appleseed rifle.
ps; if we could ever get one, more than likely a Marlin Appleseed 795 would beat both of them.
If you look around on my website you will see a whole series of articles on the 795 made up with Tech Sights etc. It if one of my favorite rifles particularly since I bought it a couple years ago for $100 with the rebate at the time. I actually bought two of them. One has Tech Sights, the other has a scope on it. It has shot a bunch of AQTs both as loaner and by me.
The 795 is a great little rifle and certainly a best bang for the buck. The only thing it needs out of the box is better sights or a scope. They are currently running $140-150 in my neck of the woods. Add Tech Sights and a sling and you are around $247 ($75 for the Techs, another $15 for sling and $12 swivels). You could do it cheaper with a cheap (Simmons 22 mag 3-9x) scope. The basic Simmons scope is around $50 after shipping and/or sales tax. So we have $150 for the 795, $50 for the scope, $27 for the sling and swivels for a total of $227.
Add about $100 to those prices to set up a 10/22. I have 5 10/22s and I love them but none of them shoot as well
The 597 (on sale in my area) was $211.98 out the door with tax. You need a sling, swivels ($27) plus studs ($5) brings the total 2 pennies shy of $244.
The advantage of the 597 over the 795 IMO is that the adult sized stock and bull barrel give it a very nice balance. I think most adults would find the 597 easier to shoot well and perhaps more accurate.
In regard to the Marlin 795 LTR rifle, so far it is just vaporware. If you can't wait for it to appear, buy a 795 and make one yourself or get the 597.
Having both a 795 and a 597, I love both. Both have seen duty as loaners and each has replaced the other for a shooter having issues. The easy loading magazines of the 597 were just the thing for a woman shooter with Arthritis. It is always a good thing to replace a failing rifle with another one of the same make. No learning curve on the manual of arms that way.