Trigger Job -- LIABILITY

[bmars]

I had a couple of scopes mounted and bore sighted on two Remington 700's through a local gun shop. It is known as probably the most customer-friendly gun shop in my area. When the smith called to tell me the rifles were ready, I said, "Hey, how much would you charge me to tune the trigger pull on both to about 3 1/2 pounds?" He responded that he could not help me due to liability reasons. He very kindly explained that Remington triggers (obviously not the new "adjustable" one) are not made to be adjusted and that if he were to adjust it, it would void Remington's liability and put it all on the gun shop. He said that practically no one will adjust a Remington trigger because of this concern.

Let me say, that the smith and everyone else at the shop have always been very professional and pleasant. I have no reason to doubt him.

Has anyone else ever run across this issue? Any suggestions? I've never done a trigger job myself and wouldn't know the first thing about where to start.

 

[crebralfix]

Go to a different gunsmith. People tune Remington 700 triggers all the time.

 

[Slamfire]

Let me say, that the smith and everyone else at the shop have always been very professional and pleasant. I have no reason to doubt him.

Sure. Everyone is afraid of lawyers and their stupid clients. It is too much to ask of a guy to put his entire life earnings, his future earnings, his business, his home on the line, if he does not want to.

But that does not mean you cannot shop around.

I don't adjust other people's triggers. But I do adjust my own.

 

[Bill2e]

You really can't blame the guy. Small business owner trying to hang one, while being over taxed & paying high insurance premiums. It is just not woth the risk of having to defend himself if something goes wrong for $50 worth of revenue.

I would still support the store and either replace the trigger my self or find another smith. You could also send it back to Remmington for the work to be done.

 

[bmars]

Again, to be clear, I really like the gun shop and have no problem with them. I certainly see their side. I'm not slamming them at all. And it is a shame that it has come to this with lawsuits and such.

 

[bmars]

Anyone else ever turned down on a trigger adjustment?

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Well, doing a "trigger job", involving *removing material* through polishing, as opposed to an "adjustment" via changing screw settings, CAN open up potential liability to lawsuits (whether meritorious or not), but it is NOT exclusive to Remington - doing a true "trigger job" on any rifle from any manufacturer opens up the same liability. So I agree, you cannot blame them one bit. You might want to find a smith that has less to lose, but yet does good work, and is willing to do it. Or learn to do it yourself. Just remember, like a haircut, once you take it off, you can't put it back on.

 

[moooose102]

he probably does not have much liability insurance, and is cya"ing himself. adjusting a rem 700 trigger is easy, most people can do it at home.

 

[wrc376]

its getting harder and harder to be a gunsmith... liability insurance almost makes the profession unprofitable

 

[WNTFW]

You have some options.
As said: Do it yourself. I would go that route first.
Find someone to do it. Before paying someone I would get a price. Check out an aftermarket trigger like a Jewel. They are easy to adjust and may not be much difference price wise. The Jewel is fully adjustable on the stocked gun. I ended up getting a used rifle with one and it is pretty impressive.

 

[jackdanson]

Yeah, just find someone else or use an aftermarket trigger. I understand his viewpoint, though there are plenty others that do trigger jobs.

 

[DRYHUMOR]

I've adjusted Remingtons, Winchesters, and Sakos. None where particularly difficult. I've also replaced factory with aftermarket, not hard either.

But everything I have adjusted or replaced, I seem to handle a bit more "safely" merely because some of them are very light.

I recently traded for a rifle, a M700 with a 2.5 lb trigger. Very nice, but it's another one I handle more safely. (there really cannot be too much safety in handing weapons anyway)

I can understand the shop owners reluctance. I once had a conversation with a fellow who said his son shot himself in the foot. The reason was an an adusted trigger by someone he said "supposedly knew what he was doing". I have no idea of the circumstances, so I won't offer an opinion.

If your shop owner will not adjust the trigger, you may ask him if he would install an aftermarket one.

Rifle Basix has a very good value for the money, and several pull weight ranges.

 

[Onmilo]

I can tell you that Remington swages the adjuster screws on factory set triggers.
Break the swaging and you void your warranty as well as it makes you or the gunsmith liable for any boo-boos.

Rifle Basix does make very excellent aftermarket fully adjustable triggers.

 

[Horsemany]

I understand the gunsmith's concern being a small business myself but he's in the wrong line of work if he's so fearful of liability. I'm guessing trigger jobs would make up a good percentage of the average gunsmith's income.

 

[jester_s1]

Any gunsmith who's afraid to adjust a Remington trigger isn't a gunsmith. That's as routine a task as rifle bedding and recrowning. If it's done right, a light Remington trigger is as mechanically safe as a heavy one. That's what we pay gunsmiths for- to know how to make guns work right. If you wanted something radical like a one pound trigger on a Weatherby, then I could see him turning you down. But the Remington design is so easy to set that I can't see any competent gunsmith being afraid of it.

 

[Art Eatman]

Just write it off as one of those things that some folks worry about more than many of the rest of us. Hey, some folks are religious about speed-limit laws. Everybody has hangups. Don't sweat it. And it has nothing to do with the gunsmith's skills.

Nobody is right about everything, all the time.

Not even me.

 

[RevolvingCylinder]

Why does he have a gunsmith's business when he's afraid of doing a gunsmith's work? It just seems odd to me.

 

[CZguy]

Why does he have a gunsmith's business when he's afraid of doing a gunsmith's work? It just seems odd to me.

It's very common in this area to turn down trigger jobs.

Blame out litigious society.

 

[lefteyedom]

I was talking to a local sporting goods shop about why the shop does not do "real gunsmithing" barrel installs trigger jobs ect. He told me that it would double his insurance rates. Wether this is true or not I can say but it show the mind set.

 

[bonedust]

lots of gunsmiths turn down trigger modification work. LOTS. a gunsmiths core job isnt to reengineer guns, its to repair them. modders and gunsmiths are not the same breed.