Just got back from my local Remington dealer. Had my Remington .17 HMR with me in the hopes he would accept it as a trade in. I bought it in 2006 and never had any troubles with it. He had a new Remington .22 VTR on display and I asked him about it. To make a long story short for $100.00 difference he sold me the VTR complete with scope and a brick of Blazzer shells. I figured that was a pretty fair deal. The only 597 I have owned was the HMR. Can someone give a little feed back on the 597 .22 VTR. I know I made a fair deal as I was trading in a boat anchor but sure hope the .22 by Remington is more dependable in the long run. As I said the .17 never gave me a lick of trouble but will admit I am a clean freak and it still looked like new inside and out.