Beware of the "Remington Moment"

[lrg355]

Anyone who has a Remington Model 700 rifle in any variation should be aware of the potential FATAL flaw in the safety mechanism.  The older versions can discharge by simply moving the safety to the firing position without pulling the trigger.  I have one that has done this TWICE in the last 48 years.  I bought this rifle at age 15 in 1968 and on its first target firing it discharged without the trigger.  I returned it to the sporting goods store where it was purchased and the store owner said he would "adjust it" ??  Seemed OK after that for about 30 years until it happened again while preparing to unload at the end of a day of hunting. Luckily it was pointed at the ground this time.  I do not use it anymore.  Remington will repair them now after decades of litigation and fatalities.  If anyone has a 700, DO NOT have it pointed at anything you may not want to shoot when moving the safety.  If in need of repair check out the situation online for return info.  Some refer to this as a "Remington Moment".

 

[momay4000]

Anyone who has a Remington Model 700 rifle in any variation should be aware of the potential FATAL flaw in the safety mechanism.  The older versions can discharge by simply moving the safety to the firing position without pulling the trigger.  I have one that has done this TWICE in the last 48 years.  I bought this rifle at age 15 in 1968 and on its first target firing it discharged without the trigger.  I returned it to the sporting goods store where it was purchased and the store owner said he would "adjust it" ??  Seemed OK after that for about 30 years until it happened again while preparing to unload at the end of a day of hunting. Luckily it was pointed at the ground this time.  I do not use it anymore.  Remington will repair them now after decades of litigation and fatalities.  If anyone has a 700, DO NOT have it pointed at anything you may not want to shoot when moving the safety.  If in need of repair check out the situation online for return info.  Some refer to this as a "Remington Moment".

Remington recalled all the rifles with the affected X-Mark trigger (XMP)  and has agreed to fix it for free (they will even pay shipping) - this has been a known issue for a few years. Keep in mind not ALL 700's are affected. Go to the Remington website and enter your serial numbers and you will know if it's a gun with the affected trigger. Do NOT ever ever ever take the gun to the sporting goods store where you bought it to have it "adjusted". As I understand it, some XMP triggers had excessive epoxy and it affected the safety mechanism causing accidental discharge.

 

Given my hesitation to send any of my rifles in the mail, I put new Timney triggers on all my 700's myself two years ago. Easy job, no issues but the trade-off was $90 each gun for the trigger.

 

Chris

[lrg355]

It is hard to follow the time line. They made a fix in the early 2000s but that has been recalled for additional problems. The bottom line is every 700 since 1948 when it was first manufactured until the first fix, potentially has the origional problem. I took mine back to the store in 1968 when I was 15. Of course, I wouldn't do that today. This has been a well publicized.problem but just trying to be sure everyone knows about it. As I mentioned, I have personally experienced it 2x. I also have another 700 which was my father's originally and that one has never done it.

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[Hookedup]

Had a 700 in 300 mag do it 25 years ago. Had a gunsmith fix problem that was before anyone knew about it. Sean

[Giz9219]

I have a 7600 that went off twice once while over my shoulder and my buddies said what did you do nothing i said pumped another shell in pointing in the air went off again? Took it to Remington they checked it and said nothing is wrong with it? Haven't used it until tonight left my 7mm at camp?

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Edited November 23, 2016 by Giz9219

[Xxx]

All my 7600 pumps I took out the trigger mechanisms and sent to California at have better triggers put in them. They sent me my new trigger mechanisms and they have 2 1/4# pull, and they sent 2 other springs one for match shooting at 1 3/4# and one at 3 1/2# the original was terrible. I later heard there were problems, I was ahead of the time LOL. Now I never heard about the 700bdl.

[reeleyz]

I have my dads old 742 and a model 4 (special edition 7400) and have never had an issue.

I do remember one time my brother loaded his 742 30-06 and he slid the action closed slowly to be quiet. Later that day his gun wouldn't fire when a buck came through. He figured out that the hammer never cocked or went back down slowly when he slid the action closed.

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Edited November 24, 2016 by reeleyz

[lrg355]

Had a 700 in 300 mag do it 25 years ago. Had a gunsmith fix problem that was before anyone knew about it. Sean

I did a lot of research on this issue. Remington knew about it a bit after introducing that model in the late 1940s. The origional designer wanted to change it but was overruled because it would cost 50 cents per rifle to fix. They have always fought it but lost a few court cases in the 90s after fatalities. Now they are repairing them. The first change/ repair didn't go well because there could be extra epoxy used in a certain area causing a similar issue. The origional issue was caused by a poor fit that would cause the trigger to slip if there was a certain amount of debris or slight wear present. All 700s from inception until those manufactured just a few years ago after the epoxy fix should be considered suspect.

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[Willy-C]

I personally witnessed two 30-06 700's fire when the two-position safety was pushed to the fire mode.  In both cases they were different guns, different owners, both guns were never trusted afterwards. the older rifles had the two-position safety that had to be moved to fire before the bolt would open to unload the gun, seems the newer guns have three position safety.

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I have an older Rem 742 30-06, great gun, never jammed but I was warned it always needed to slam shut using the bolt release for the breech to close tight

Edited November 24, 2016 by Willy-C

[treedude363]

beware also  remington ammo had many  dudd shells out of  3  boxes bought some at  dicks  some at  wallmart and at a  gun store all  from  diff  boxes misfire click  nothing imagibe  a buck of  a lifetime comes out then click!!nada   that y I changed to hornady and federal ammo unlike Remington they  don't make clothes gadgets of all  kinds  they just make ammo

[Missdemeanor]

Exactly why I went with a savage. I love my 10ML2 muzzleloader....and my axis .308. Now my remington 870 will always always always be with me in a duck blind

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