DJ ... re: the sear-return test ...
While I know what you mean about "should it happen?", I still can't see how that is relevant in any way. First off, we're talking about the relationship of the cocking piece to the sear - which means we're not talking about the trigger's function - at least not internally.
Failing the sear-return test simply means that the cocking piece has not moved far back enough to clear the sear, which means the sear is still pressed down, which means that the trigger cannot return into full battery because it's being blocked by the dropped sear.
Further, since you are going to HAVE TO move the bolt back to either eject a spent case, and/or chamber a new round, the fact that the sear is blocked from popping back up unless you work the bolt is irrelevant, simply because this is something you're going to have to do. And, since the bolt, camming, cocking piece, sear, and trigger all work perfectly after the bolt is cycled, your assertion that the "sear return test" means something goes out the window.
Look, if you want to nit-pick the Rem700, go ahead ... I'm sure you can find some things that could be improved ... but quite frankly, I think that anyone can do that with just about any production rifle out there.
When it all comes down to it, with the exception of a very small potential for failure with the Rem-Walker trigger's connector, a properly adjusted and "built to spec" Remington rifle is as fine a production rifle as there is ... it's proven itself as well as any other production rifle out there. Whether you prefer CRF, Mauser style actions, 3-position safeties, etc. is a completely different story ... but if the Remington rifles didn't work so well - considering they have traditionally been priced with most other production rifles, they wouldn't be considered "the most popular", or at least near the top of the list for so long ...
