How do these do plinkers compare?  Thanks!

You'll get both pros and cons on both.

Don't let anyone tell you either one is perfect. They aren't and you can surf Rimfirecentral.com and see all the "HELP ME" with this and that threads in both the Remington and 10/22 sections.

If you want a rifle that you can swap out parts to make something very accurate but will cost you several hundred dollars more than the rifle get a 10/22.

The 597 is reported to be more accurate out of the box by several members who have both over at RFC but I can't comment on that since I swapped my 597's barrel for a Jarvis soon after I bought it nor have a 10/22.

The 597 hasn't been around nearly as long as the 10/22 but for it's short time Remington has done a pretty good job of tweaking all the problems that have popped up over the last few years.

I think that the majority of problems both guns have are related to:
1) Cheap bulk ammo
2) Dirty guns
3) Failure to allow sufficient break in period.

I have both and it all depends on what you want to do with it.  If you want a cheap accurate rifle then go with the 597.   The feature I like the best is that the bolt holds open after the last shot.  However, it took some time to work out the kinks.  The first few times I took it out it failed to eject some of the rounds and ended up stove pipping quite a bit.

The 10/22's bolt does not hold open on the last shot.  There are kits you can buy that will do this but it only accepts those specific mags.  The 10/22 is very easy to replace parts on if you want a custom gun.  The barrel is replaced very easily and there are so many different parts you can put on it.

Like I said I have both guns and find myself shooting the 10/22 more because I just haven't had the problems with the 10/22 that I did with the 597.  Both work fine and I have probably about 1000 rounds through the 597 and around 1500 through the 10/22.  I will say, IMHO, it seems that the 597 needs to be cleaner than the 10/22 in order to work consistently.  One thing that might help your decision is to look at the 10/22 pic thread and it will help you realize exactly what can be done to some of these 10/22's

Good luck with your decision!

I have both a 597 and 10/22, the reliability of the 597 has been pretty poor.  Stove pipes and misfeeds are the norm regardless of what ammo I feed them. The 10/22 has been great although the trigger assembly is looser than I would like, that could be fixed with oversize trigger pins but I'm lazy  The 597 has around 500 through it and then I bought the 10/22 to replace the 597 and it has around 5000 through it.   If I were to recommend one the 10/22 is clearly the winner in my opinion, that is out of the box or modified.

If all you want is a cheap plinker go with a Marlin model 60  $139 at dicks but they will probably need to order it.

cycles great, reasonably accurate, right price.

the remmy is one of the few rifles in 22 left, that include fully adjustable rear site assy., and a front site.  If you get 3rd generation mags for remmy , they have a 10 inside a circle, this takes care of 90 % of the fte ftf problems of the remmy.  to take care of the other 10%, simply remove the action from the receiver, take out back piece that holds the guide rods. Remove the guide rods, and then finger tighten them in , back in, just enough to close the end piece back up on them.  The big prob with the guide rods, is they are put in too tight at the factory, and they bind when the bolt assy travels rearward; loosening them all the way out as much as possible cures this problem.
 Out of the box, with no mods, the remmy is way more accurate than a ruger.

Are hi-cap mags available for the Remington?

I don't like the Marlin because of the tube-feed system.  I would like to have inexpensive magazines.

Quoted: If all you want is a cheap plinker go with a Marlin model 60  $139 at dicks but they will probably need to order it. cycles great, reasonably accurate, right price.

Maybe yours is decent, but in my experience they are terrible

Don't think you can go wrong with a 10/22, especially a target model.

Yes hi caps are available.  Pro-mag, Eagle, and Remington branded mags. 22 round and 30 rd.  Have had zero issues with 2 Eagle 30rd mags in 3K rounds.

The 597 is a simple design that is a very effective platform.  A simple understanding of the rifle and cleaning procedures and you have a trouble free .22

I have a 597 and don't mind it a bit.  The stock seems to have been designed with an adult in mind, something I've never experienced with a 10/22, and the action is solidly designed.

I haven't tampered with the guide rods as suggested, and I haven't had any problems with FTE or FTF.  The rifle has approximately 500 perfectly fired rounds through it, and has never been cleaned.

Accuracy has been wretched, however.  I can shoot a 1" group at 50yd if you don't include that one flier that makes it a 3" group.  I can't say what's causing it, but I've seen it happen with a number of shooters even when the rifle is on sandbags.  If I can't find that one ammo that the rifle really likes (and I've tried most everything on the market) I'm going to have to put on an aftermarket bbl and open the bbl channel in the stock.

The only real downside to this rifle is that there really isn't that much aftermarket stuff to build it up.  I'd be happy with two or three different stock options, but nobody's building them.  Same for barrels and action parts.  You have one supplier making one part in one style, and that's it for the foreseeable future.  Keeps money in my wallet, but...

Here is what I said in the other thread:

I have one of the first generation 597s. I've replaced the mags I had, and the hammer with a Volquartsen Target Hammer. With a 4x32 Nikon on top I can do dime to nickel size single hole 10 round groups at a 100 yards if I do my part. The biggest complaints I've ever heard about it were the stock trigger being to too heavy, lack of after market parts, and feeding issues. The feeding issues were mostly resolved with the 3rd Gen magazines. Some people still complain of this issue, but I haven't seen it personally. Out of the box with no modifications to it the 597 is more accurate than the Ruger 10/22 (I know I own both). The only real changes I felt were needed for my 597 after swapping the mags was getting the barrel threaded for my TAC-65 and swapping the trigger out. Swapping the trigger out isn't that hard, but you have to be careful not to lose the spring glued on the underside of the disconnecting mechanism. If you lose it during the swap out the trigger will feel like mush (great technical term). Overall I like it and its simplicity.

My stock trigger broke at 5.5 lbs. After installing the Volquartsen Target Hammer it dropped to a nice 2.76 lbs. YMMV. Volquartsen Target Hammer

Really neither rifle is a bad choice. I would just suggest you figure out what you plan on doing with it. Are you gonna tweak the hell out of it having only the receiver as the only remaining factory part, or are you looking for right out of the box with maybe the only add-on being a scope? Once you know what you plan to use it for and how... you'll know which tool to choose.