Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Remington 700 unintentional firing - need info

CCCC, don't worry. Anytime someone criticizes Remington and their crap triggers, the groupies come out of the woodwork and proclaim it is user error. Obviously the courts found otherwise, especially when the designer himself acknowledges there is an issue.

Thanks dogcatcher223 - I understand and appreciate what you say there. Being one, I realize that it takes all kinds of characters to bring out the differing views on this site. Even after what may be too many years dealing with firearms issues, some of the posts here sometimes cause me to step back a bit and wonder. Looks like this issue is coming to a good solution - thanks again for your help.

Groupie? Hardly. Your criticism of the 700 trigger would be more believable if you had an actual first hand, working knowledge of the design rather than posting a link to an attorney's site to support your case against it.

The problem with the trigger isn't the design, it's idiots who don't understand the ramifications of tampering with a fire control system they don't understand. The problem is people who try to make something do what it wasn't designed to do, and then blame everyone else when it fails.

CCCC's "friends" trigger may very well have a problem, but his solution isn't going to be found here on the internet, or perusing through court cases of a law firm who specializes in product liability suits against the firearms industry. It will likely be found, simply, by contacting the company directly. If the company fails to address the problem, then he has other options. But since the trigger doesn't have a design "flaw", it can easily be corrected by a competent gunsmith if the owner chooses.

I'm with the gunsmiths on this issue.

I don't believe that there is anything inherently wrong with the design of the Walker trigger.

If it alleviates any concerns your friend has then just replace the trigger with one of the aftermarket ones.

Then why does Walker himself acknowledge there IS a problem with his trigger design? This schit isn't made up. I have seen these triggers fail firsthand.

And why is there such a good aftermarket for remington triggers if the factory ones are so good? I don't think Jewell, Rifle basix, Timney and Shilen would bother offering aftermarket triggers for the M700 if there weren't a demand.

I love how every gunsmith gets a hardon for these posts, and thinks the trigger just hasn't been adjusted by them, the world's greatest trigger doctor, LOL.

Mr. Walker claimed there is the POTENTIAL for a problem if the trigger were neglected or maladjusted.

I was looking at some 1975 copies of Rifle magazine and there was an article in there about modifying the 700 trigger for target shooting.
The majority of these makers epoxied the disconnector to the trigger rather than just have it float as designed.

I don't know if this is feasible but I thought it was interesting that so many glued the disconnector.

It is a complicated question with many answers. There IS a fault, but it usually doesn't show itself in a bump situation, though it can.
http://www.gunsmiths.com/articledetail.php?id=87

Malm - all is OK - just try to comprehend what has been written. Remington has admitted and owned that trigger problem, and it had NOTHING to do with any post-production adjustment or alteration. Again - nobody on this end is dealing with any lawyers. My buddy is in contact with Rem and they will get it fixed.

There are gunsmiths, and there are gunsmiths. Some make triggers better, some screw them up. The latter make more work for the former. It's all economics.

CCCC, go to: http://remington700.tv/# and click on Remington's Response to CNBC's "Under Fire" for the rest of the story. Do some first hand, independent investigating on your own before joining dogcatcher223 on the "bad trigger" bandwagon. Don't believe everything you hear or read on the internet.

And then CCCC, show me where, as you say, "Remington has admitted and owned that trigger problem".

Malm
No good deed goes unpunished...

Malm - thanks for the link. I had already watched that video on the Campfire site, but I went and watched it again this evening after seeing your post. It is a very well constructed propaganda piece by Remington - part of their array of sales pieces - and in many ways it is impressive - probably convincing to many. But, it is their big $$$ effort to quiet little folks who never will produce a flashy video with many "experts" talking about their product. Little people who, in some cases, have experienced real and actual malfunctions with a certain series of the 700 safety/trigger mechanisms. Remington never denied that fact.

At their current website they artfully dodge actually saying that they admit to a failure, but they do explain the type of lock setup where the malfunctions have ocurred (in a certain time period) and they give instructions for having them deal with those problems. Send in your rifle.

To your suggestion, I did some more of my own investigation and talked with a close relative who worked for the parent company and who, for many years, directly handled their Remington accounts with many distributors. Through this, I have some hard data about what Remington knew and did. Past tense.

I have zero gripe with Remington - I own/use several of their M700 rifles quite a bit - never a problem for me, even with a safety/trigger mechanism. Further, I have now witnessed the faulty discharge first hand and have done a careful inspection of the involved safety/sear/trigger setup. That finding was reported here earlier.

So, it's not just a matter of ignorant mob mentality, urban legend, or "where there is smoke, there must be fire". How many other single rifle models have suffered this specific trigger history to the point where the manufacturer - many years later - is taking them back and fixing them? That's all I was looking for - a way for my pal to get them to fix the problem with his rifle. Seems that maybe I have succeeded, thanks to some help from guys on this site.

Although I appreciate your interest and efforts to assist, it is difficult to understand why you are so certain that this specific problem with this one rifle (that you have never seen) must be a dirty or corrupted or mis-adjusted trigger setup that would be better fixed by some unspecified gunsmith rather than one employed by Remington. Haven't figured that one out - yet.

Then do whatever it is you intend to do.

You're not likely to be convinced, by gunsmiths you never met, that the Walker trigger is fine (5 million plus sold).

You continue to believe as you will and the 5 million Walker triggers will continue to work as they have always done.

With that many examples of anything you can expect to hear some negative reports.

The millions of well satisfied 700 owners just continue to put rounds down the tube.

Get an aftermarket trigger if it will give you the warm fuzzies.

As for you castigating Remington for producing a "propaganda" piece you need to look at the other side.

They have money, they have a captive and gullible media, and they have packs of shyster lawyers who would like nothing more than to line their pockets with the dollars of shooters and hunters worldwide.

I think I'll side with Remington on this issue.

Feel free to disagree.

What?!?!? Remington with all their lawyers would continue to build an unsafe trigger for how long and in how many copies? Whne they clearly knew it all along?!?! I am shocked!

And what will he get from Remington to replace his "faulty" trigger? I am guessing another OEM Remington trigger...

And one which is not as good as the "defective" Walker trigger it replaces.

On the money. -Al

The funny thing about reading all the dumpphuck Remington trigger posts, especially from I can never get a [bleep] thing right dogcatcher, is that I can make damn near every trigger do what folks say is the problem with Remington.

I've had 1 fire when the safety was taken off, and it weren't a Remington trigger and have seen another drop and that weren't a Remington trigger either.

There are cheaper ways to get a X-Mark Pro than paying shipping both ways and Remington $20...

I'd put the coin towards an aftermarket trigger, if I was hellbent on replacing the original. No way would I pay to put an X-Mark Pro on something.

The only rifle that I personally know of that fired when the bolt was lifted was an old Mauser that a friend had on loan from a man he worked for. I was not there and only know what he said happened. I have been around a lot more Remington 700 rifles than old Mauser's too. miles

Going on and on as if someone's "expert" gunsmith opinons have been shunned. Is that injured expert ego, or what?

Just the facts, M'aam.
Never said that a competent gunsmith could not fix the problem.
Never "castigated" at all - just noted propaganda when I saw it.
Never talked about Rem continuing to buld zillions of unsafe triggers - just noted "malfunctions with a certain series of the 700 safety/trigger mechanisms" and "malfunctions have ocurred in a certain time period" - see reference on their own website.
Never said a mite about the Walker trigger, per se. Said that I own and use such rifles without troubles.
Never said anything about replacing the mechanism or looking for an aftermarket fix.

Just was looking for a way to have Rem fix his rifle. As one gunsmith said above "I can make damn near every trigger do what folks say is the problem with Remington." I think that he is probably correct, and maybe a good reason to avoid some "gunsmiths".

I don't know any of the posters, but the great gunsmiths I have known did/do not communicate with their customers or the public as some of you have done here. Takes all kinds, I suppose.