Remington 700 safety problems

There is another side to this story: www.Remington700.tv.

As someone said on another site: "Every departure from the original 98 Mauser design is a mistake."

Given the massive quantity in use and the relatively few reports of problems I would be inclined to take Remington's side in this.

This looks pretty bad for Remington. From doing a quick review of the videos on their web site, they don't seem to have a good defense against the CNBC video.

They seem to be using two main excuses, people are pulling the trigger by mistake or trigger function is compromised by modification or neglect. But Walker recognized the potential for malfunction in the trigger he designed way back in 47. Remington verified malfunctions in 44 of its prototype rifles. Walker set up a quality check in manufacturing to presumably prevent the problem. But some years later Remington eliminated the quality check. I would give Remington the benefit of the doubt about whether the quality check was still needed, but in the 70s Consumer Reports found a repeatable flaw in the 700 they were testing. Also, Remington did a recall on some 600 series rifles with the same trigger. Apparently in the late 70s Walker encouraged Remington to redesign the trigger or rename the safety to some other name so that people wouldn't make the mistake of thinking it was safe. None of the above allegations made by CNBC seem easy to explain by either accidental trigger pulls, modifications, or neglect. It may well be that CNBC has crafted a misleading story, but though Remington seems to have had time to produce several fancy videos in response to this report, they don't seem to be addressing these very damning pieces of evidence from the CNBC case.

From looking at this pdf which explains the trigger problems, among other issues, it looks like a small gap which normally forms between the connector and the trigger can trap tiny bits of debris and lead to sear engagement that is too small. The problem may be very rare and may not be repeatable if the debris is dislodged after the malfunction. http://www.rifflawfirm.com/areas/pdf/remington4.pdf

Isn't this a really old story -- like 25 - 30 years? I heard about trigger issues with the 700 waaay back. Don't know if these are the same or something else.

JHeath...

Well many of 700 Police rifles referred to in the story are new 1990s & up production. So they apparently didn't learn...

Regardless of the shooter not following The Big 4 rules, the rifle shouldn't fire if you touch the bolt and not the trigger.

This was a huge legal+management failure by Remington, esp with the decades of paper trail. And PLCAA can't (and probably shouldn't) fix this.

Bill Wiese
San Jose CA

Can't really say, I'm a Winchester Model 70 guy.

Attached is Remington's response to these salacious accusations.

Below is Remington's response to these salacious accusations:
http://www.remington700.tv

I have used the Remington 700 ADL for years. As long as you follow the directions that all firearm shooters follow, you shouldn't have any problems. First, why would you have a live round in the chamber and switching the "safety" on/off if not for immediate use? Why is the muzzle pointing in an unsafe direction? Have you accomplished checking the rifle as per book that came with the firearm? When was the last time you cleaned your firearm? A properly taken care of firearm with firm grasp of the rules of safely handling firearms, there would never be an "accidental" discharge. I saw the progam the other night and I cannot get over why the woman had the rifle pointed in an unsafe direction. She obviously did not follow safety rules handling the firearm, maybe her husband should have been standing and watching as an observer to oversee her activites. I have put thousands of rounds through a Remington 700 over the years. I don't ever rely on a "safety" for safety. The most dangerous firearm is the one supposedly not loaded. Never assume anything with deadly weapons. That is why they are called "deadly".

I have been a Remington 700 fan for years, it is a great over-all rifle. I had never experienced any issues with mine until a couple weeks ago. I had just finished hunting with my son and went to un-jack the shells, which in the older models, mine was made in '76, you have to switch the safety off to unbolt. On switching the safety off the gun fired. At the time my finger was nowhere near the trigger. As usual I had the gone pointed at the ground and away from my son, but this could still have been a dangerous situation had the round hit a rock. It was only after this happened that I started looking around and found how common of an issue this is. After speaking with a Remington customer service rep I was told they were requesting all Remington 700 rifles made before '82 be sent in for a "safety check". However the $20 fee they are charging for this as well as shipping through an FFL adds up to almost $100. This seems a little steep for a mistake on there end. Bottom line, just wanted to confirm for everyone this is a real problem and even when proper gun safety is followed it can still be dangerous.

My new Remington 700 fired on releasing the safety while sighting the gun in. This occurred on about the fifth shot in a new gun. The gun was pointed downrange so no one was hurt. This is a problem Remington needs to fix. I will be very reluctant to purchase anything else named Remington because of this.

This safety issue on the model 700 may be old but still relevant. The other day I took my son and daughter in-law out on the range for some practice and the 700 did fire when the safety was placed in the fire position. Nobody was hurt due to safe range handling practices, but the fact remains that this issue is still present in new model 700’s.

Bottom line: The rifle should only fire when the bolt is forward and locked, the safety is in the fire position and the trigger is pulled. This is the expected behavior of all firearms.

Remington needs to push the lawyers and bean counters out of the way and do what is right. This is a safety, integrity and reputation issue. The Remington Exec need to take charge on this one…

I OWN (4) 700 REMINGTONS. I PURCHASED THESE RIFES BECAUSE 0F THEIR OUT OF THE BOX ACCURACY, SMOOTH, CRISP, AND ADJUSTIBLE TRIGGER PULL. I HAVE NOT HAD A PROBLEM WITH THESE TRIGGERS. MY GUNS RANGE FROM EARLY 1970S TO PRESENT MODELS. SOME OF THESE TRIGGER HAVE BEEN ADJUSTED DOWN TO 2.75LBS. THAT PROCESS MAY HAVE BEEN A MISTAKE, BUT HAVE NOT HAD AN ISSUE(GUN GOING OFF) REMINGTON MAY HAVE AN ISSUE. IN LISTING TO MR.WALKER, IT SOUNDS LIKE HIS DESIGN SHOULD HAVE UPDATED WITH A TRUE SAFETY. AT THE TIME OF HIS RECOMMENDATIONS IT WOULD HAVE COST REMINGTON ABOUT 6 CENTS. NOW $85-100. THEY NEED TO DO IT FOR THOSE CUSTOMES WHO WANT IT DONE.

I have 3 remingtons: a 700 30.06 I purchased sometime in the 1970's. Accurate and relliable. Never had a problem; a 700 .308 I purchased in 2003. A nice buck turned to walk directly toward me. I released the safety and it fired. this does not happen every time. I believe it occurs when the gun is placed on safety and thereafter pressure is applied to the trigger. I have been able to repeat this occasionally but it does not happen consistently; A model 7 7mm .08 purchased in 2004. Here the rifle fires every time when, after the safety is set and pressure is applied to the trigger while the safety is on followed by a release of the safety. This repeats itself every time.

You got a very wonderful website, Gladiola I found it through yahoo.

I have owned both Remington 1100 shotguns in 20 and 12 guage and a Model 700 30.06 for over 30 years. Never had a problem until last weekend after hunting. I got back to camp and was unloading my rifle with the rifle pointed towards the ground, I dropped the bullets out of the botton, then relaesed the safety to remove the bullet from the chamber and it fired clipping the bottom of my brand new travel trailer damaging a portion of the slide and bottom of the trailer finally coming to rest in a board used to level the trailer. Fortunately, my son who normally hunts with me was not there, otherwise he probably would have been sitting on the steps removing his boots. This has never happened before. On Monday I bought a new Sako. Even if I were to repair my 700, I'm not sure if I could ever trust my rifle again..