Rem. M700 Question

[Road Apple]

I have a Rem. M700 FS model made in 1989. The rifle is a 7MM Mag. with a McMillan stock. Shoots excellent and the kevlar really soaks up the recoil. A friend has a M700 ADL of the same vintage in .270 Win. Our question is, is there a way to take the stiffness out of the safety? Both rifles have a stiff safety that we would like to smooth up a bit and thought it would be wise to ask you knowledgeable folks about this issue before we pursue it further. Thanks in advance for your responses.

 

[Barrelmaker]

The Remington safety is a trigger blocking safety as opposed to say a striker blocking safety such as the Winchester model. To smooth out the safety you will have to remove the action from the stock and remove the safety lever from the side of the trigger housing. Lightly smooth or stone the top of the camming surface of the safety which contacts the bottom of the sear. Be carefull to not remove to much material from the safety camming surface because if you do it will not lift the sear off of the trigger when the safety is engaged. Look at the side of the trigger and you will see a small hole where you can see the relationship between the sear and trigger when the safety is on or off. Flip the safety on and off and note how the sear is lifted from the trigger when the safety is on. You must still have this gap when your done smoothing up the camming surface so go easy and check your progress often. If you over do it you will need a new lever and I have a few of those if you do.

There are a few sites on-line on the Remington trigger so after your done be sure to check the safety function as shown in the following site.

I should add before you start, move the safety lever back and forth without the bolt installed. If you notice that it is hard to operate without the bolt, look at the side of the trigger housing and see a small ball bearing underneath a small piece of spring steel. You may be able to staighten out that small piece of steel a bit to take some of the tension off of the bearing as it rolls between the two detents that are on the side off the trigger housing.

http://www.recguns.com/Sources/IIID2a18a.html

 

[Road Apple]

Barrelmaker,

Thank you for taking the time to post a comprehensive answer to my question. I did take the bolt out and try the safety as you recommended. The lever seems to catch right at the beginning of it's travel, then moves with almost no resistance. I'll take the action out of the stock this weekend and see if I can remove that hitch as you suggested. Thanks again.