Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters It finally happened to me - Remington Safety Issue

The problem is, that when you can not make it repeat the problem, then it is very hard to say exactly what happened. I am not saying at all that it never happens, but out of 5 times, it could be 2 or 3 different things. Could have been set wrong, dirt, operator error etc. Hard to say without being able to duplicate. miles

You're jogging my memory...and of course this is discussion, dispositive of nothing...

And as I recall he recommended changes. A reasonable person will ask..."Why would the guy who invented it, warn of potential problems if he didn't know what he was talking about?"

From a liability point of view, management, by that memo,was on actual notice, "knew or should have known" that the design was vulnerable to an AD under circumstances that were entirely "foreseeable" given the intended use of the trigger and rifle, and ignored it and failed to make changes,likely because it would cost too much (?). That sort of balancing test between cost vs benefit vs risk, has gotten more than one manufacturer in trouble over the years.

That it didn't happen 4 million other times, or that it could not be duplicated (I find that hard to believe since I've handled a couple of rifles that did it in gun stores and my experience is insignificant statistically)...is irrelevant. The issue is ....did it happen in the instant case and was the occurrence foreseeable?

That may be enough to tip the scales toward a "preponderance of the evidence"....the legal standard in civil matters. Pretty high risk for defense counsel to recommend.."Hey lets just toss it to the control of the jury and see what happens!" Any good lawyer will evaluate a case form both sides. There's big risk in going to trial and tossing your fate into the hands of third parties. At least in a settlement you somewhat control your own destiny...

Like the poster above described so eloquently, when you make 5 million plus of anything,SOME portion of them are going to be sub par. If manufacturing methods slipped and the part was no longer up to standards, you have a problem in the face of Walkers early memo.

Anyway...fun discussion. Not trying to convince anyone. We all have our own views.

They are not blind yet they cannot (will not) see...

It's like every time a military aviator crashes it's the fault of the aircraft. But it's usually human error.


Casey

That comment is not totally accurate. I my 30 plus years smithing I have never had a Model 70 come into my shop complaining of an AD. Some Savages and many Remington's. Most of the Remington's were not Human error.

22 Rimfires are a whole different story for another time.

Keep dreaming. Facts are there for all to see, over 90% of all mishaps are pilot error and those of us who actually had something to do with it, freely admit to it. But feel free to show your reference data, unlike the 700 trigger's issues which are well documented..

Bob, I think you're right.

IIRC, the solution wasn't that expensive but the bean counters decided to not go with Walker's proposed "fix"...

If that's true, it sure bit'em in the azz over the long haul...

DF

Failure to keep the weapon clean can come back to haunt any mechanism, this one had debris in the "trigger" too.

http://www.denverpost.com/2016/12/14/thunderbirds-crash-cause-colorado-springs/

The from the lawsuit featured in anti-gun CNBC's hit piece (that curiously so many 'fire members buy into).

Several weeks after the accident, representatives from Remington and the Barbers conducted a preliminary examination of both the condition and the performance of the rifle. Among other abnormal conditions, the inspection found the inside of the rifle to be heavily rusted, and the trigger engagement screw, safety lever, and fire control mechanism had all been either adjusted or removed and reinstalled after the rifle left the factory. As to its performance, the rifle passed all the function tests performed in this preliminary inspection, and fired only when the mechanical safety was in the "fire" position and the trigger was pulled.


https://casetext.com/case/barber-v-remington-arms-co-1

My original "not blind but cannot see" stands...

I give up........

DF: Boy I'll say !


http://remingtonfirearmsclassactionsettlement.com

Me two...

Well it happened to my wife and I was there when it happened, and she has sworn off Remingtons. I had that trigger and another R-700 replaced with Timneys, but she is still adamantly opposed to ever shooting one again. I can't blame her and now I never carry hot, period.

This is a very interesting discussion. It is not that a dirty out-of-adjustment trigger cannot fail. It will.

RATHER, it is that the Walker trigger has a floating disconnector. This is a mechanical design that lends itself to "random" failures to reset due to various factors, some of which are preventable and some of which probably are not in normal usage.

The first paragraph does not nullify the second. Some here are truly choosing to be blind.

funny that the police/Mil M700s/M24s ect... using the same walker trigger seem to work just fine.

Brilliant

Just wondering on something.... do all replacement triggers fix the AD problem? What I'm asking, if I replace the factory trigger with a Timney trigger for instance, does that fix the problem? What is different on replacement triggers? Genuinely wanting to know

No floating connector link!!!!

The connector used on Remington Walker triggers is especially sensitive to the tiniest bit of dirt, ice or rust. It sweeps back and forth on every shot and is returned by a tiny spring. If anything gets between the connector and the trigger body it will fire when the safety is released.

Replacement triggers are not nearly as sensitive.