Remington 700

Yes, I own a rifle that has done this several times. All when unloaded and on an empty chamber, thank goodness.

I'll be honest, I'm not as big of a fan or Remington as I used to be, but the trigger issue is only a very small part of it.

Despite what many will say, the problem is very real, and it has happend to factory new, unmodified guns. Estimates run as high as 10,000 incidents being reported to Remington over the years. But if I liked and wanted a Remington I'd still buy one. I've known about the issue since the late 1970's and still bought several since then.

The problem is more common in older pre-1982 made guns. Remington modified the safety in 1982 making it possible to remove a chambered round while the gun was still on safe. Almost all of these incidents happen when unloading the gun. At some point the trigger lets go and the safety is the only thing holding back the firing pin. When you move the safety to the "fire" position the gun fires with no touch of the trigger.

Remington engineers first discoverd this in 1946 and recommended a change. They finally made that change in 2007. New guns made since then should not have these problems.

Have been using this design since 1980, in several different rifles that have had thousands of rounds fired, and never once experienced this.

Winchester, lee enfields, mausers, and others made a real safety that blocks the firing pin and not just the trigger. Remington should have spent the extra money and made a better safety. I know the best safety is between your ears, but they knew about this problem for over 40 years.

plenty of other reasons not to buy a 700 or any other Freedom Group products

I own 3 700's from 1977 to 2011. Never had a problem, but I also don't trust a safety. My feelings are to always point the gun in a safe direction when loading or unloading.

I looked down the top of the barrel of a Remington 700 7mm mag the other day and saw the gentle ripples of an incomming tide. Great QC (Not!). I will not own a 700 or a 721 unless I change out the trigger with a timney. I do have a Remlin lever gun though, and it is top quality.

this is old news. my 700 has a timney and likely all from here on out will too. not necessarily form a safety standpoint as much as the timney is just a much better trigger.

buy a used one and swap out the trigger with an aftermarket one. I was under the impression that remington finally redesigned the trigger in the past couple of years. Am I wrong?

they did but a lot of the original triggers are still being sold as new, because they just produce so much product that some sits. (according to a LGS, I have no facts to back that up)

Have been using this design since 1980, in several different rifles that have had thousands of rounds fired, and never once experienced this.

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And most likely you never will, nor will almost anyone else. That does not change the fact that it does happen. I've never been struck by lightening, but know it does happen.

Considering that according to Remingtons own research less than 1% even have the potential to do this the odds are slim. But with over 5 million produced, there are lots of guns out there that COULD do it. Guns made after 1982 are even less likely to do so and as each year passes more and more of the older guns with the potential to do this are being taken out of service and being replaced with newer guns.

My 1974 rifle that has shown it may do it is mothballed. Just to illustrate how confusing this is, my rifle performed perfectly for over 20 years. Suddenly one day when I pulled the rifle from my safe to inspect it the firing pin dropped on an empty chamber when I moved the safety. Over about an hour I was able to get it to do the same thing 3-4 times with about 100 cycles of the action and safety. It stopped as suddenly as it started and has not done it again for over 10 years.

I was unlucky enough to get one of the 1% and feel the odds of my getting another are so slim I don't worry too much about it. I'm just amazed at the number of guys who refuse to believe this is true and want to blame a TV network of conspiring to run a gun company out of business.

Yes, I own a rifle that has done this several times.

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I have to ask then why the hell you ever took it out of the safe until you found the problem the and corrected it the first time!! Ive owned 700s for over 40 years. Ive put as many rounds down range with them as anyone and have probably killed as many deer with them as anyone in the country and have yet to have one do it other then when i was ajusting a trigger and got a bit carried away, but took care of it before a round was ever in the chamber. In all my years I have never even witnessed it happen to someone else 700

I love my 700 and have never had an issue with it. That's why you always assume its loaded and keep them pointed in safe direction.

new trigger in 2009
The X-Mark Pro Adjustable Trigger now comes standard on all new 2009 Model 700™ and Model Seven™ bolt-action rifles.

Love all of mine, never had an issue.

TV gun haters.

Ever get a flat tire in your car? It could have killed you or somebody else, you know that don't you!?

I've got one that I purchased recently and have never had a problem.

If you go to Remington's website they will show you the problems that these rifles were experiencing. The vast majority of them had problems because unqualified people tinkered with the triggers in ways that the gun was not designed for.

Don't be dissuaded by a report from MSNBC....they are not a reliable source

I have to ask then why the hell you ever took it out of the safe until you found the problem the and corrected it the first time!!

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My 1974 rifle that has shown it may do it is mothballed.

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I have better guns anyway. It is worth more to me to keep it as is just to prove to the doubters that this issue is real.

The vast majority of them had problems because unqualified people tinkered with the triggers in ways that the gun was not designed for.

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That is the version Remington want you to believe. CNBC has nothing to gain by not telling the truth and everything to lose by getting caught in a lie. They have solid documentation for everything in the report and the problem has been around long before CNBC existed. Remington on the other hand has everything to lose if they ever admit the truth. Their defense is to muddy the waters and confuse juries.

Remington internal memos are quite damning however. This is a 1980 memo documenting 152 rifles being returned in just 1 year with owners complaining of guns firing with no pull of the trigger. Remington technicians were able to get 55 to duplicate the problem.

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/CNBC/Se...Remington_Under_Fire/Documents/Rem_Doc_08.pdf

Here is a 1968 Consumers report where they had a brand new fresh from the factroy with unmodified trigger do the same as my rifle over 100 times before it stopped.

Page 2, botton left paragraph.

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/CNBC/Se...Remington_Under_Fire/Documents/Rem_Doc_13.pdf

This is Mike Walkers memo to Remington management from 1946 stating that he had discovered a potentially dangerous situation with the Remington trigger in which in certain conditions it would fire with no pull of the trigger. Walker urged Remington to change to a redesigned trigger in 1948. They finally changed in 2007.

1946 memo

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/CNBC/Se...Remington_Under_Fire/Documents/Rem_Doc_02.pdf

1948 memo

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/CNBC/Se...Remington_Under_Fire/Documents/Rem_Doc_09.pdf

In all my years I have never even witnessed it happen to someone else 700

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And in all of my years of hunting (over fifty) with either using a Model 700 rifle and/or being with others who were using one, I have never experienced nor witnessed a Model 700 going off when it wasn't supposed to.
Which has nothing to do with whether jmr40 (or others) had it happen to him (them). From the research I've done (mostly the same as jmr40 provided), there is little doubt in my mind that a very few of the 721/722/700 models made by Remington over the past several decades have fired inadvertently as a result of a defect in the design of the trigger. Some say "never trust a safety"-true. Others argue that "a firearm should always be pointed down-range while loading/unloading it"-also, very true. But, speaking for myself, I would never knowingly use a firearm that ever fired when I did not intend for it to do so. Never.

Yawn, I bought my first Remington 700 in 1969 and never had a bit of trouble with the nine or ten that have passed though my hands.

Never encountered any problem with any of the six Model 700s I have owned. The oldest of those was bought new in 1995 and the newest about 5 years ago.

Don't be dissuaded by a report from MSNBC....they are not a reliable source

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MSNBC is the Democratic Central Goverment News Agency. They have about as much legitimacy in fair "reporting" as the old Soviet News agency TASS did in the Cold War Era.

The Remmy 700 trigger problem was fixed in the mid-80s. They have to be monkeyed-with now, in order to duplicate the syndrome referenced.

I've adjusted dozens of Remmy 700 triggers. I adjust Remmy 700 triggers properly, and they never go off when they're not supposed to. If there's not enough engagement adjusted in, and/or, if the pull weight is adjusted too light, then the problem occurs.

The Remmy 700 is the most proven bolt action design, subsequent to the venerable Mausers. I own two Remmy 700 varmint rifles, a .223 and a .243. For the price, they're very accurate. I have installed Timney triggers in both rifles, but only because I wanted to adjust the triggers down to around 1#, and I couldn't safely adjust the factory triggers that lightly.


I've routinely shot groups in the 2s and 3s with the .223.

[QUOTEI have better guns anyway. It is worth more to me to keep it as is just to prove to the doubters that this issue is real.
][/QUOTE]

So you keep a defective dangerous gun?? What happens if something were to happen to you and someone else ended up with it and someone was shot with it? Seems kind of idiotic to keep a defective gun just to prove to people remington guns have a problem. What do you do? take everyone that comes over to your safe to demo it??? Sorry buy im not buying. Sounds to me like you have a hard on for remington and this especially applys if your willing to keep a defective gun around to prove it.

heheh do you work for remington or something?

whats it matter what he does with his gun either way? the evidence is staked against them, yes its only in a very small amount of rifles but it does exist.

I have a broken faucet in my garage, is that a big deal?

I have several, once I had an issue with one that had some home brew work on it. But with stock rifles, no issues.

I bet i've had at least 50 700's since i bought my first one in 1971, and i still have half dozen or more of them today.

To this day i've never had one go off unintended on me, nor have i seen or heard of it happening to a friend or family member. Also i owned/ran a gunshop for many years, and i never had one returned for that reason or had a customer say that it happened to them.

I just don't know what to say about all that trigger business, except what i already posted above!

DM