Remington ML 700 - Fires When Bolt Closed

[countertop]

Mods: Not sure if this is the right forum or not. Was gonna post this in either Black powder shooting or hunting, but its more a safety repair issue, please move if needed.

Had an incident at the range on Saturday. Took my Remington ML700 with me so a friend who had never fired a smoke pole before could check it out. I loaded it up, closed the bolt, and he fired it. All went well. Then began reloading another round.

I opened the bolt
I cleared the spent primer
I loaded 2 777 charges.
I put a bullet in the sabot and rammed it in.
I ENGAGED THE SAFETY.
Pointed the gun down range.
Loaded a percussion cap
Closed the bolt and it fired

BOOOOM!

That's not supposed to happen.

The safety was on and I didn't touch the trigger.

When i got home, I spent some time cleaning the gun and trying to figure out what was happening.

15 of 15 times in my kitchen (unloaded and without breach plug) when I closed the bolt it set off the percussion hammer. Regardless of whether the safety was on or not (and for that matter, the trigger doesn’t seem to work at all).

Not sure what happened, and if its a problem with the bolt (likely), the safety (clearly), or the trigger, but either way its an incredibly dangerous situation.

The gun is 5 or 6 years out of warranty, but I called Remington up this morning and they had never heard of something like this happening. They asked me to send it right in, with a note describing what happened.

Anyone else ever have a similar problem?? So far, I'm pretty impressed with Remington's service.

 

[tjj]

Never heard of that one.

I'm not surprised Remington wants that one back in house and now. No manufacturer wants their product with safety issues out on the street.

 

[Jim K]

Had you, or perhaps a previous owner, done any work on the trigger or adjusted it to lighten the pull?

The older Remington 700s had a problem with sear reset after long use and a lot of wear. If the bolt was cocked and the safety set, then the trigger pulled, the gun would sometimes fire when the safety was taken off.

I had not heard of that problem with the 700ML, but that gun, though, like all bolt rifles, can fire when the bolt is closed if the sear or cocking piece is broken, worn, or defective.

I am sure Remington will repair the gun at no cost.

Jim

 

[nicholst55]

This also happens when the trigger is mis-adjusted to lighten the trigger pull; frequently when the sear engagement is dicked with. I sent a factory Remington trigger to a well-known gunsmith for tuning to 1.5 pounds for dedicated target work. He sent it back with a note saying '1.5 pounds.' Only problem is, the trigger broke at 8-ounces, and the rifle fired if the bolt was closed with authority. Needless to say, I won't be sending any more triggers there.

 

[natman]

Sounds like insufficient sear engagement. Get it fixed.

 

[Tamren]

Nicholst-55 I don't believe Remington factory trigger are designed to be safe below 4lb (lawyer) *cough-2.5lb-700-armorer-course-instructor-cough*

 

[RS1860]

I know this is an old thread but I have one that does the same thing. I had a gunsmith look fix it but it still does the same thing. Not every time, but enough that I don't trust it. I was wondering if there was ever a fix for this

 

[alsaqr]

The triggers of inline muzzleloaders often get crudded up from powder/primer residue. They are easily cleaned by spraying with copious amounts of brake cleaner and then blowing out with compressed air.

 

[RS1860]

Are you talking about taking the trigger assembly out and hose it down? How about a little oil after that?

 

[gamestalker]

I wouldn't put anything on them that can collect dust and grit, oil would be like a magnet. I like them dry, which is why I always rinse / spray them out with acetone or brake parts cleaner prior to adjusting them.

GS

 

[Bob N. Weave]

accidental discharge

Do a search for "Remington Walker trigger". Same trigger used in ML 700.

 

[jmr40]

Common problem. Been doing it since 1946. The only real fix it to replace the trigger with aftermarket.

 

[eastbank]

since i have owned well over 50 model 700,s in the last 55 years, i should have had a bad trigger, but i have not had a single trigger malfuction and i have adjusted quite a few. can there be bad triggers out there,yes but its not a common thing with the number of model 700,s made over the years. the triggers that malfuction should be looked at and a finding made to determed what caused the malfuction, i mean owner error by doing the adjustments or a true trigger malfuction. to me the realy worse offender rifles for going off are the older winchester lever actions and marlin lever actions with out the hammer safety, when loading or unloading and the hammer slipping when trying to lower it after firing a shot and levering another shell into the chamber. on the posters rifle i think the trigger needs to be checked out to find out what caused the gun going off and then replace the trigger. eastbank.