Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Remington Quality?

I read on another thread that Remington's quality into the 2000's was slipping. When/why did this happen?

I noticed in the late 90s - had MANY Problematic 700s.........

Beancounters

...and badly worn machinery

I heard somewhere that many of the talented work staff had retired at this point causing quality to go down.

Well, I will disagree. All of the R serial number receivers are CNC machined and are way way better than the older ones. Yes, I've had them in a truing fixture and checked them. They have had a problem with primary extraction as the bolt handles were attached too far back on the bolt bodies.
I know nothing about the barrel quality or triggers as I haven't used either for at least 20yrs.I need to correct that. A few years ago I had a 700 in 25-06 that was the worst shooting rifle that I've ever had in my hands. It is in the hands of an unfortunate soul at this time.
I really like the R series receivers and have bought several for builds.

Ido not know why, but will attest that the great 308 I bought in 79 was and still (even well used) is superior to that same flavor from 2010.

There is no gun company i can think of with worse quality than remington. They have taken brilliant designs intended to be inexpensive and idiot proof to build and have messed even that up.

The last several 870s I've purchased needed the chamber to be polished to function...of the last three 700s i purchased, one had zero primary extraction, one had a cracked bolt (model 7), and one had a gouge out of the chamber so bad it wouldn't extract at all.


Great designs...piss poor execution.

Also, the new ones are a crap shoot in accuracy...the old ones could almost always be made to shoot.

Last One I bought was an 870 Express maybe 20 years ago. Was so-so, with a crappy plastic triggerguard. That, and the horror stories my son told from his job at Gander after that kept me from wanting more. I’m sure some good ones were made, just didn’t want the bother of dealing with a bad one.

I actually liked the plastic trigger guard. The painted aluminum ones tended to get beat up pretty quick imho.

FWIW once i polished those 870s, they have been perfect.

Remington is a company that some people love to hate. Depending on your age, some folks dump on their products, citing the approximate time that the quality went south. All companies send out lemons from time to time.

I am not a fan of Remington bolt actions, but I would ask the people here what they would buy if most of the US manufacturers stopped making firearms. You could buy offshore stuff.

Perhaps the US government will lift the Chinese import embargo. You can buy copies of US designs, made by Norinco in the far east. How about Russia perhaps?

For those who say, I'll buy Tikkas or CZs, okay. I guess losing another US company is okay then.

Be careful what you wish for.

Somebody, I believe who worked in a plant said that cost cutting measures(retirements) were not merit/knowledge based.
I don't recall who it was.

I read an article from 2017 earlier this week indicating that the move to rocket city involved a lot of machinery upgrades such as 3d printers and machining tools that completed multiple steps meaning 3 machines could do what formerly required 11 machines (and operators).
The trick is that new technology often favors the young and leads to the loss of wisdom from the production team.

Steve,

I understand what you're saying but trust me...waiving the flag, holding your nose and buying junk because its Merican is not the answer.

Its the corporate greed culture that ruins companies like this...suck out the profits, don't reinvest and maximize profits buy cutting manufacturing cost. Wait for the bottom to fall out and file bankruptcy and laugh all the way to the bank. This is a dance that many American gun makers are well versed in.

There are lots of American companies building great guns...the problem is that the average user doesn't know what quality is and/or is not willing to pay for it. Its to the point anymore that quality means cottage industry

Butch,

You're right. The last 10 years of production has improved the product, including the general accuracy of M700's. It was the late 90's to roughly 2010 that the quality seemed to suffer.

No manufacturer does what they do out of the kindness of their hearts.

I never suggested holding your nose and buying junk. I hope that the new owners will recognize what they have and build profitable, American made rifles again. I like to be optimistic about their future. To dismiss them out of hand is unwise IMO.

Naturally, the naysayers will continue to dump on Remington. I get that. I know that we will continue to hear the complaints, both real and imagined for a long time. They just bought Remington to flip it for a profit. Yeah, yeah. Things haven't been the same since 1990, 1980 1970...Their triggers suck. Their stocks suck.

Okay.

I hope that the boardroom is listening and will correct some of the things. To borrow from the Trump campaign - Make Remington Great Again! If they try to resurrect the business and fail, I hope that other US manufacturers will take up the slack. Keep trying until you get it right.

I'm not sure if it is the time of year, COVID, the US election or low testosterone, but grumpy is everywhere around here. Anyway, we return you now to the crabs.

I'm surprised this thread didn't bring the Remington haters out of the woodwork.

If the M70 was the "Rifleman's Rifle" the M700 is the "Every Man's Rifle".........

DuPont sold Remington to C,D & R, a Wall Street scumbag shark capital management firm in 1992 (or 93). In the late 90's C, D & R borrowed $200 million against Remington, pocketed the money and gave Remington the debt. That's why Remington began to struggle.

In 2007 Cerberus, another Wall Street scumbag shark capital management firm bought Remington including the $200 million in debt. In the fall of 2007 Cerberus announced they were taking Remington public and an IPO was scheduled in the spring of 2008.

Enter CNBC, a scumbag, anti gun network. CNBC immediately began production of an "expose" to be called Remington Under Fire. Remington Under Fire was released in late February of 2008. Remington Under Fire was created expressly to torpedo Remington's IPO. CNBC succeeded in doing just that. ( And I can't help but note how many professed pro 2nd Amendment, pro gun people bought into what is probably the most sophisticated hit job ever aired on national television.)

Soon after Cerberus canceled the IPO, and devised another method to suck some money out of Remington and convinced lenders to hand over $840 million dollars in loans using Remington as collateral. Cerberus pocketed the money and gave Remington the debt. At this juncture Remington is now laboring under 1 billion, 40 million dollars in debt.

No firearms manufacturer and no ammo manufacturer on the planet could succeed with that kind of debt. It is quite the testament to Remington that they made it over a decade before folding.

rahtreelimbs, hopefully that addresses your question.

Savage arms was a phoenix that rose from the ashes and turned itself around with Lee Iacocca style. I believe it was Ron Coburn that was at the helm when Savage made the turn.

If Savage can do it, Remington can too if they listen to their customers and to the industry. They need to take some Marketing tips from Hornady on the cartridge front. If they start with some attention to detail on fit, finish and price, it'll go a long way.

Well said!

What are you talking about? "On the cartridge front?"


That doesn't exist anymore.
The ammo branch was bought and won't be much more
than a name on the box. Nothing at all to do with the
gun maker anymore.


Remington on has become Winchester of the last 40 years.
Completely seperate companies but hearing a name.
Not a single one of them actually the brand as a free standing
company like we think of it. Being bought and sold by puppet masters.
Finally, not even being built in the "Real factory, by the real workers".


Having said that.
Remington can move ahead, maybe be better than ever. (Both of them)

On the gun side though, they are swimming upstream.
With one hand behind their back.
Towing baggage.
And it's raning. Hard!

I understand that. When producing new rifles, make sure they have the appropriate twist as one example.