Remington Arms Co. has announced a major rifle recall, and a serious warning on .17 HMR ammunition. Remington is immediately recalling all of the Model 597 rifles chambered for the .17 HMR. Remington is not offering any repairs, rather they are issuing coupons of $200-250 for a replacement Remington rifle and refunding the shipping costs of sending the rifle back.
Additionally, Remington announced that their .17 HMR ammunition is not to be used in semi-auto firearms. Stating that the use of Remington .17 HMR ammunition in a semi-auto firearm “…could result in property damage or serious personal injury.” People wanting to return the ammo will be issued $10 coupons for each box of 50 they return.
Remington specifically states about the ammo:
The use of this ammunition in a semi-automatic firearm could result in property damage or serious personal injury.
Yikes.  The whole thing is a bit of  a black eye for Remington.  Any time you have to recall a product, you will generate bad press and probably lose a few customers.  That is unfortunate.  Remington is known to make quality firearms and ammunition.  My experiences with the brand has always been very positive.
However, a recall without any repair is an even bigger problem. Â What this suggests is a design defect rather than a single part problem. Â What that defect may be, well, we may never know the specifics. Â I’m guessing it is something pretty serious, and something that is cost-prohibitive to fix. Â Not only does the company have to refund up to $250 per rifle, but there are customer loyalty issues to consider. Â If the company is willing to lose a few miffed customers, then I suspect the cost of designing and implementing a fix must have been very steep indeed.
Recalls on Remington products are relatively few, especially when compared to the sheer number of products they produce in the sporting, military and ammunition verticals. Â The company makes a lot of things, and a recall now and again is to be expected. Â Don’t judge them too harshly.
Dear Remington
what is the exact nature of the danger in using my remington 597 lshb in 17 hmr? I shoot this rifle regularly and have volquartsen extractor and hammer for improved trigger action. have shot more than 2000 rounds through this rifle. your recall price is rediculous low and I want to know why and the specifics of what accidents or incidents have occured to generate this recall. you can reach me at my e-mail or my phone is 970-XXX-XXXX. Sincerely
Dan Stucker
Hi Dan,
Thanks for stopping by. As I’m sure you realize, this is not a Remington web site, and I doubt if any of the Remington customer reps will see your message here. I edited out your phone # for your privacy. You might want to go to their site and e-mail or call them directly.
Richard
Dan,
My son was shooting his 597 and a round ‘exploded’ in the chamber last year. It was so bad that the magazine was blown apart and the receiver was damaged. If he had not been wearing eye protection I am sure he would have lost his eye. He received a cut on his check and some burns on his face. Before someone says we did something wrong or the gun was dirty, just know he is 17 and has been hunting with me since he was 2 years old. I should have said something sooner about this as it happened months ago and I am just now getting around to doing something about it. I too think the $200.00 is low and not all of our ammo is in boxes, but at this point I was ready to throw it away. We need to get the word out better as I had not heard anything about it. Please pass this on to anyone that has one of these guns. I hate to loose it as we too shoot a lot and this was a great shooting gun.
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
I to have had my .17 explode on me. The round did not feed completely into chamber before firing. It blew up the clip, cracked the receiver and the stock.This rifle was clean and well oiled. I have owned many other models of Remingtons but this rifle is not safe to shoot!
my 17 hmr model 597 mag. exploded on me this past sunday. It appears as though the shell was not fully engaged in the chamber when fired. The shell(CCI) tore thru the back and split in front. The clip completely
blew apart. My hand was burned and my ear still echoes.
I love the gun and it is hard for me to return for a $200 coupon. What to replace it with?
My Husband has a 870 shotgun that blew up when he was shooting it Sunday
at Williams gun site . after a trip to emergency all checked out of some neck pain and shrapnal in his hand. any Idea why this would happen after shooting 25 shots then boom!
My first guess would be that the problem relates back to the ammo. If he loads his own ammunition, it is possible he dropped the wrong charge into the shells, which could cause a catastrophic failure. I’ve never seen ammo from the factory do this, but it is also a possibility.
A barrel obstruction is also a possible cause. If, for example, he was shooting slugs and had a underpowered shell (either handloaded or factory) and the slug only made it half-way down the barrel, this could also cause the problem.
If you have any photos of the gun, and additional information (kind of ammo used, condition of the shotgun, etc.) you could share, I’ll post about it on the main page and see if some of the readers can offer suggestions.
–Richard
I have been shooting Remingtons for over 40 years!
Hard to believe remington would turn their back on loyal customers!
I finally called the factory and after all this time they still won’t take responsibility for their poor design! Still blaming the ammo!
Remington did say at NO CHARGE to me they would re barrel in 22mag!
It still burns me, I didn’t want another 22mag.
I guess it’s better then a $200 piece paper!
well i have this 17 hmr tht hasnt had 5 boxes threw it….. and the bullet exploded in the barrel and blew my climp into pieaces… i put it up have never shot it again….. and this guy told me today tht they recalled them have never had any problem with remington…. but i am a young boy 17 years old just imagen it blowing up in my face…… and 250 dollars tht is so crazy they should give the full refun bck……
HI Logan,
Thanks for posting. You may want to call Remington directly and explain the problem you experienced. Just because they announce one thing doesn’t mean they won’t do something better to help you out.
–Richard
i sent my 597 back to the factory remington offered me a choice several bolt action rifle guns. i choose the model 770 in 243 caliber
Archie,
Glad to hear than Remington took care of you. Thanks for posting your experience.
-Richard
My wife and I have two Remington 17’s that we have shot many times. We are very dissapointed that they have been recalled.