Remington 700 trigger recall

After many years of complaints and lawsuits about accidental discharge, Remington has agreed to replace the trigger on its Model 700 rifle.
Remington will replace Model 700 triggers

Mark, I remember reading 2 or 3 months ago that none have been returned to owners. Big backlog. Mel

A friend of mine had his repaired by Remington about 8 years ago. He had a very close call with it.

The big problem, in my opinion was the the triggers were (as they should be) adjustable and fools who have no idea what they are doing start fooling around with the trigger adjusments. "Firing without touching the trigger"? Maybe, maybe not. The original "expose" article was a screw job done by gun haters and Remington was the big boy on the block, so hit them first. I personally never liked the Remington triggers because it only had the two position safety, but any "accidental discharges" were due to owners not understanding the two position system or the above stated tinkering without proper knowlege. In Remingtons' defense, there where very few 3 position safety designs around as little as 30 years ago. The Remington design was far more common than 3 position designs then. Triggers are also mechanical devices and all mechanical devices are subject to wear and failure if not maintained. Some of those rifles have been around since the 1940's.

Facts matter not, though and Remington has decided it will be cheaper to replace the triggers than to fight the danged lawsuits. Which is precisely why there are no motorcycle or snowmobile helmets made in the USA anymore either. Gotta admire them for holding out as long as they did.

My old Mauser K98 had nice easy to use effective safety with 3 positions. Designer at the time in century before last was concerned about safety when used by conscripts, officers concerned about their safety in front of those same conscripts that might drop rifle and AD would result in bullet going into officer's hind end. Unmaintained sensitive designs in hands of sloppy shooters can be dangerous- that is why the range masters insist on open bolts until pointing down range, they can se big safety indicator. K98 has 'wing' up, firing pin is blocked, easy to see. Little bitty buttons at various places blocking trigger but not firing pin may look nicer- but functioning might be iffy. SKS has that lever at side of trigger guard and obvious block to trigger, works good for right finger user-- but a dirty bolt and firing pin, US 'sporting' ammo primers have resulted in automatic 'slam fires' and some ATF visits. AK clones have a big side lever safety - use hole hand or couple fingers- but need to take fingers off trigger to do it, another safety feature that considered use by minimal trained conscripts as likely. Expert use of fancy equipment is safe- the no expert use of same equipment is lawyers job security. RN.

what i read was the original designer even said at the time it had a flaw in the trigger but would cost Remington 5 1/2 cents to fix at time,when first induced and the one guy who has been pushing for years lost his son the discharge take place when you have to take the safety off to clear the chamber remington has paid out untold dollars in settlement that all care can't disclose clauses but the one guy wouldn;t settle with out a recall up date HOUSTON, Dec. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- On Dec. 5, 2014, papers were filed seeking approval of a proposed settlement of two economic class-action lawsuits of certain Remington bolt-action centerfire firearms that contain either a Walker trigger mechanism, or a trigger mechanism which utilizes a "trigger connector."

The filings triggered multiple news reports that mistakenly conveyed the proposed agreement in significant fashions that require immediate clarification.

These settlements are not recalls.
These settlements are not any admission that the products are defective or unsafe.
These settlements are an opportunity for any concerned consumers who have the Remington Model 700, Seven, Sportsman 78, 673, 710, 715, 770, 600, 660, XP-100, 721, 722 and 725 rifles with either a Walker trigger mechanism, or a trigger mechanism which utilizes a "trigger connector" to have Remington install a new trigger.
The benefits under the settlement, including the trigger replacement program, will not be in place until after court approval of the settlement and full notice will go out at that time.

This culminates from extensive mediator-supervised negotiations between lawyers for those concerned about the triggers and Remington, who while denying there is any cause for concern, always desires to ensure that its customers are satisfied with Remington products.

A joint press release will be issued to better explain details of the proposed settlement

Don, the Winchester Model 70 has an adjustable trigger and has been around about as long as the M700, yet complaints of accidental discharge with the M70 are rare. Oh, but it has a three position safety so you can unload it with the safety on, and it has a rock-solid trigger. Sure, the 70 doesn't have a lock time as quick as the 700, but there's no excuse for building a gun that's susceptible to accidental discharge.

I have three Model 70s, one of which is my dad's .22-250 varmint rifle. Ole Dad backed off the trigger pull to a hair trigger, yet it never went off except when you actually touched the trigger. (I've since re-adjusted the trigger to a more reasonable pull.)

Accident investigators talk about the "chain of errors" which leads to an accident. The idea is that an accident is seldom due to a single error or failure. If you can eliminate even one link from the chain, the accident might not have happened. Eliminate all the links and that accident becomes a virtual impossibility. For example, a pilot retracts his plane's landing gear when it's on the ground because he mistook the landing gear switch for the flap control. Yes, it was pilot error, but it could have been prevented: make the gear a flap controls distinctly different, and add in an interlock so the gear won't retract on the ground. Now you've significantly reduced the risk of human error, and the pilot can focus more of his attention on other problems, like avoiding a runway incursion as he taxis.

Getting back to the M700 issue, it is a true statement that every time someone is killed or injured by an accidental discharge, there is human error involved. But that's the nature of human beings: we all make mistakes. If Remington had built their M700 more like the Winchester M70, they wouldn't be in the position they are in today. And it's not as though they haven't had time to work on the issue, it's been around for at least thirty years. Contrast Remington's inaction to Ruger: Ruger voluntarily offered a transfer bar conversion to all the old Blackhawk revolvers, even though the Blackhawk was no worse than any other single-action revolver.

I had my 700 30-06 laying on a sand bag on a table. As I was chambering around in it, the gun went off and the scope caught me between the eyes. I sold the gun!

I wonder if that trigger recaII for the modeI 700 is for guns soId in Canada as weII?

I have a Remington 30-06, bought new in 1982,..I shot Iess than 50 rounds with it before it started to go... BOOM! as soon as i switched the safety off.
Been sittin unused in the cabinet since 86

(quoted from post at 13:29:52 12/06/14) The big problem, in my opinion was the the triggers were (as they should be) adjustable and fools who have no idea what they are doing start fooling around with the trigger adjusments. "Firing without touching the trigger"? Maybe, maybe not. The original "expose" article was a screw job done by gun haters and Remington was the big boy on the block, so hit them first. I personally never liked the Remington triggers because it only had the two position safety, but any "accidental discharges" were due to owners not understanding the two position system or the above stated tinkering without proper knowlege. In Remingtons' defense, there where very few 3 position safety designs around as little as 30 years ago. The Remington design was far more common than 3 position designs then. Triggers are also mechanical devices and all mechanical devices are subject to wear and failure if not maintained. Some of those rifles have been around since the 1940's.

Facts matter not, though and Remington has decided it will be cheaper to replace the triggers than to fight the danged lawsuits. Which is precisely why there are no motorcycle or snowmobile helmets made in the USA anymore either. Gotta admire them for holding out as long as they did.

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Pretty much in line with what I was thinking Don. I used and worked on a lot of 700's and never saw any that had a problem not directly related to Joe Gunowner "fixing" the trigger.

I was never a 700 fan in the 1st place, but I'd bet 95% of those triggers have been messed with.

(quoted from post at 03:00:01 12/07/14) I wonder if that trigger recaII for the modeI 700 is for guns soId in Canada as weII?

I have a Remington 30-06, bought new in 1982,..I shot Iess than 50 rounds with it before it started to go... BOOM! as soon as i switched the safety off.
Been sittin unused in the cabinet since 86

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You can get a different trigger for it pretty easy. Or you can have a real gunsmith fix the one you have. It's not hard or expensive.

Mine won't fire by itself when you flip off the safety, but just the very lightest touch on the trigger while the safety is released will cause it to fire. Once the safety is off it takes the normal pressure to fire, but while switching off the safety it's very, very sensitive.

My uncle had one. Had a couple not-real-close-but-close-enough calls with it. Finally leaned it up against a tree loaded, little while later it went off. Went back to Remington twice, supposedly a new trigger both times, but no fix.

Interesting that the inventor of the trigger mechanism used in the 700 series made note of potential problems way back when....

Remington has redesigned the M-700 trigger so that the action can be opened and the gun unloaded in the safe position. It is an improvement, but still inferior to the 3 position safety design.

You are correct that the M-70 Winchester trigger was the best factory trigger ever put on a production rifle up until everyone went running scared during the "lawyer proof trigger era".

I can understand Remington resisting the anti-gun pressure to conceed. However, you are correct about that line of thought having been proven to be short-sighted, unpractical in the real world, and to Remington's disadvantage the the long term. I don't think Remington gives a rat's butt about M-700 sales anyway, at this stage of the game. Their corporate owners deduced many years ago(and correctly) that the AR style rifles were going to be the big sellers for the forseeable furture. They seem to have cornered a large enough chunk of that pie that everything else they market is pretty much peanuts by comparison.

Every gun owner in America should have a shrine in their back yard for Ron Coburn of Savage Arms and worship him for his perserverance in devloping the Accu-Trigger. He proved that a good, creep free, three pound, lawyer proof trigger could be designed. Thus forcing the other companies to come up with something other than the 7 pound, eigth inch creep, junk triggers we've all been cursed with since the mid 1970's.

Folks I missed this re-call. I have been hunting with a Rem 700 BDL .270 since 1982.
Only issue I ever had was 2 yrs after buying it I was walking the woods and forgot to put safety back on after shooting and wounding a deer. I was by myself holding the gun with both hands and the gun went off. Startled the crap out of me. Having gloves on I always felt that I unknowingly must have pulled the trigger. Now you have me wondering.
I own dozens of rifles but this is one of my favorites. Never had another issue since.

Will checking the Remington site give me the info on the recall.

I have treated the Remington 700 series guns like they had the plague strictly due to all the problems they have had and caused. Way, way too many innocent people have died due to these faulty triggers. Sad that Remington took this long to finally do something about it. Personally, that is one model that should be returned to Remington and be destroyed, just to make sure no one else gets killed.

(quoted from post at 11:29:28 12/08/14) Folks I missed this re-call. I have been hunting with a Rem 700 BDL .270 since 1982.
Only issue I ever had was 2 yrs after buying it I was walking the woods and forgot to put safety back on after shooting and wounding a deer. I was by myself holding the gun with both hands and the gun went off. Startled the crap out of me. Having gloves on I always felt that I unknowingly must have pulled the trigger. Now you have me wondering.
I own dozens of rifles but this is one of my favorites. Never had another issue since.

Will checking the Remington site give me the info on the recall.

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The website had a place for you to enter your serial number and it will tell you if yours is in the recall or not.

I bought a new model 700 .223 last year and had never fired a shot through it, got the recall noticed and it said they felt the problem was with the glue they used.

I hope this problem hasn't been going on since the early 80's and after building thousands of model 700's since then they now are finally deciding to remedy this? This is my first Remington and this is how they operate I think As soon as I get it back I'll trade it off on a Ruger, Ive had good luck with the three I own.

"got the recall noticed and it said they felt the problem was with the glue they used."

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Curious what glue and used where?

(quoted from post at 08:30:27 12/15/14)

"got the recall noticed and it said they felt the problem was with the glue they used."

Click to expand...

Curious what glue and used where?

Click to expand...

First paragraph of the letter I received reads..... Remington is voluntarily recalling Remington model 700 and Model Seven rifles with X-Mark Pro triggers, which were manufactured from May 1, 2006 through April 9, 2014. Remington determined that some XRP triggers might have excess bonding agent, used in the assembly process, which could cause an unintentional discharge. Therefore, Remington is recalling ALL affected products to inspect, specialty clean, replace ax necessary, and test all affected rifles. We will then expedite return of these rifles to you.

Next paragraph then goes on telling how to check if your rifle is in god recall and what to do from there.