Remington 597 tune-ups

Hi, all. I have a few questions about some easy mods to make on my Rem 597 .22lr. I bought the rifle new in 2000 and never really fired it much b/c of the well-documented woes with its magazine. I rececently dug it out of the safe, and I am looking to tune it up a little. I already bought a 3rd gen mag, but it is only marginally better than the plastic one that came with it. The main problem I have with the magazine is that it falls out! I have not seen any other posts complaining about this; thus I haven't seen any advise on how to fix it. Any ideas?
Also, I read somewhere about trimming a little off of the bolt buffer to allow the bolt to cycle back further. This is supposed to help eliminate stovepiping. My questions are: has anyone tried this, and if so with what would one trim it?
I appreciate any advice, other than the 597 is a pos. Already have 2 10/22s. I just want to make the most of what I already own. John