Remington 572 BDL Fieldmaster

by Technical Advisor Brendan Atkinson
Australian Shooter October 2002

Pump action rimfires have been around for a very long time and although their popularity seems to have waned in recent years, they are still a lot of fun to shoot.

In the past, there were a number of professional rabbit shooters who preferred the pump action over the semi self-loaders, as they considered the former to be more reliable and not as sensitive to ammunition types. (Some self-loaders were not reliable with anything less than high velocity ammunition.) Well, self-loaders are now banned and rabbits are harder to come by.

The Fieldmaster 572 comes in two grades: a standard model and the BDL ‘Custom Deluxe’, which was the one I tested.

This rifle features the usual high-grade American walnut stock, with custom chequering on the pistol grip and fore-end. It has a high-gloss finish, which I was told is a Dupont RKW mix. Some may feel that an oil finish would look better, but the Dupont finish should prove to be easier to maintain for general use. Those who feel strongly about it can rub back the wood and oil it, but having done this on a 541S, it is quite a task.

The 21" barrel has a right hand one in 16 twist and comes with open sights fitted. These are adjusted at the factory, but the new owner will need to sight in at whatever distance they intend to do most of their shooting. The rear sight has a ramp and adjustment for elevation can be easily made. If the rifle shoots right or left, you should always move the rear windage sight in the direction you want the rifle to shoot. It is not recommended that any adjustments be made to the front sight.

With regard to safety, a little extra care is required when operating a pump action firearm.

The Fieldmaster has a cross bolt safety fitted. In the ‘safe’ position, the trigger is firmly locked. In the ‘fire’ position, a red band is clearly visible. The problem comes when the shooter has finished and wishes to remove any remaining rounds from the rifle. Removing the tubular magazine and emptying rounds out is fine, but two may still remain in the rifle. One can be in the chamber ready to fire and the other in the action. The only way to remove these rounds is to work the slide backwards and forwards with the safety on. The trigger will be locked but the slide can move. If the tubular magazine is still in place, the end of the magazine follower can actually be seen in the open action.

Pump action rimfires are very ammunition tolerant, in that a shooter may use 22 shorts, 22 longs and the more common 22 long rifle, with capacities at 20, 17 and 15 respectively. Even a mix of these will work, but it would be pointless to do so, as impact points would be all over the place. Most 22 long rifle cartridges are packed in lots of 50 and it is easy to select 15 and drop them into the tubular magazine. Number 15 will be visible in the open port of the magazine. Do not try to put more in, as the tube and follower will not close properly.

Some shooters tend to shy away from pump actions, as they consider them too difficult to clean. The Fieldmaster comes with a comprehensive guide, which outlines how to remove the barrel from the action. It’s not that difficult, as long as it is done with care and attention. All rifles need to have the barrel cleaned from time to time, even rimfires. A warning in the owner’s manual says that if 22 shorts are used, the chamber must be cleaned before attempting to use 22 long rifle, as the residue from the shorter cartridge may cause malfunctions. Pistol shooters who use 38 specials in a .357 magnum would be well aware of this problem.

Because there are a few more moving parts in a pump action versus that of a bolt action, it pays to be more attentive to keeping out dust and grime. This can be difficult when hunting in dry conditions and especially when spotlight shooting from a utility, where being covered in dust is just part of the game.

The action can be disassembled and cleaned, following the instructions given, but use oil and other lubricants sparingly, as these tend to attract and hold dust. There are plenty of new space-age lubricants available at gun shops that do a better job than ordinary oil.

I really enjoyed shooting this rifle. The sights were easy to use and the rifle was dead on at 50 yards with high velocity ammunition right out of the box. On a short hunting trip, I was able to use the Fieldmaster for a few sessions of plinking - it certainly tunes up one’s shooting in the offhand position and practice never hurt anyone.

For a test of accuracy, I fitted a high quality 4x32 scope. The receiver top is grooved to accept 3/8 mounts and fitting was a simple matter.

Pump actions were not really designed to shoot groups from sandbags, but I achieved some very good results with Power Point HPs and RWS Subsonic. Groups of five shots that measure less than an inch at 50 yards will give humane head shots on rabbits with accuracy to spare. As usual, shooters must try various brands of rimfire ammunition to see which one the rifle prefers.

In summing up, this is a very nice outfit that would suit the rimfire shooter who wants something a little different from the norm. Quality costs money and this is not a cheap rifle - the RRP is just less than $1000 - but, properly cared for, it should give excellent service for a very long time. Rifle supplied by Raytrade.