Remington 700

[racer624]

Most of the guns that had this problem were the model 600 and not so much the 700. The safety has to be OFF on the model 600 for the bolt to be opened and the round to be removed from the chamber. The model 700 you can open the bolt with the safety on and thus eliminating almost any chance of an accidental discharge. Someone thought it would be a good idea on the 600 that if the safety was on then the bolt wouldn't open,so if you were walking through to woods with the safety on and a tree branch hit the bolt handle the bolt would not open accidentally.I personally have shot tens of thousands of rounds out of a M40A1 sniper .308 and never had even one malfunction(and yes I know some of the parts inside the weapon were changed out by the armory but all of the rem short action safety parts remained stock),But I have also seen the same gun(not mine) have a misfire and when the bolt was opened the gun went off. Was it a fluke or a delayed primer? The world will never know. The model 700 is one of the best rifles that I have ever had the privilege to shoot,and I have shot many weapons in my day. I am not a spokesman for Remington or affiliated in any way, just giving my two cents on one of the finest weapons there is out there.

[FN1910]

Facts and not hearsay - I have posted this before in this forum (I think and too lazy to look it up ) and others but here is my story on this. About three year ago I ran across a deal on a 700 BLD in a pawn shop and bought it. I took it out to my farm to try it out. After shooting a few rounds I decided my shoulder hurt enough and I was through. I still had a round in the chamber and one in the mag. I went back to my SUV and started packing up. I tried to open the bolt and it would not open with the safety on. while point it in a safe direction I flipped the safety to off and it scared the #$@% of me. It fired and I kept trying to figure out how I pulled the trigger. I finished unloading it, packed up and left. I kept trying to figure out how I hit the trigger. When I go home I started testing it out by dry firing it etc. and found that about one out of 10 times when you flipped the safety off it would fire.

I started doing some research and pulling the gun apart. First of all I found the the trigger mechanism was extremely dirty. I also found that the factory seals over the adjusting screws were still there. It had not been adjusted. I gave it a good cleaning and then could no longer make it fire by flipping the safety.

I also got on the Internet and found that Remington had issued a recall for the models of 700 that could not be opened without taking off of safety. I called Remington and found that my favorite local gun store was an authorized Remington repair shop. I took my rifle around there and the gunsmith told me that my problem was quite common on the first 700's made and was why they modified the bolt and trigger assembly. This problem only applied to the first couple of years or so of the 700's. He reworked (or possibly replaced) the trigger assembly and gave it a good cleaning along with a couple of goodies and cleaning instructions all for $10. Since then I have had absolutely no problem and it will now allow me to uncock the bolt with it still on safe. I also now know why I got such a deal on the rifle.

The later models of the 700 do not have that same design flaw but as has been pointed out that if you fiddle with the trigger, fail to clean it and try hard enough you can make it fire by playing with the safety. I don't remember the exact years but it was only a few and probably involves less than 5% of all sold. CNBC and the general public has taken this story and tried to make it sound like all 700's were involved ignoring the actual problem.

[FN1910]

racer624, you are correct that the 700 was not the only model involved but the 700 was their main concern but it did involve the early models that you could not open the bolt while on safe. The trigger design is so (however you want to describe it) that the jarring from the flipping from the safe especially while dirty of even misadjusted could cause it to fire. The very early ones did not even have seals on the adjustment screws and owners were encourgaged to adjust it to their liking.

[ocergryan331]

As a gun collector, I know how to safely handle a weapon. My question was not related to that, it was if anyone has had any issues with the flaw. When I buy something, I want it work as advertised. If I am unloading a weapon in the field, I dont want a misfire because I moved the bolt handle. That's not safe no matter how experience you are. I'm sure this answer is not sufficient for the family who lost their young child do to this flaw.

Although the 700 MIGHT have an issue, that family lost their child due to unsafe gun handling. Honestly, who in the &#@% points a gun at their child while unloading it?

Point it in the ground. Point it in the air. Point it at a tree. Point it at your vehicle. DO NOT POINT IT AT A HUMAN BEING!!!

I guess most of you haven't seen this actual episode. I have never had any problems with my rifle and I am still very comfortable with it. This incident, according to CNBC,was not caused by unsafe gun practices. The young boy jumped off a horse and walked around the other side of a mobile home without the parents knowing. She only switched the safety off, which is the only way to remove a chambered round. The gun fired unexpectedly, went thru the mobile home and killed their son. Now, despite a few sketchy safety decisions, someone died. There is no gun that I know of that should misfire because of a slight movement of the safety. I guess that would be the same as an iPod that doesn't play music. If it doesn't work as advertised, I am not a happy customer. My question is not based on safety practices, it's based on reliability. If I had a trophy buck in my sights and the gun misfired and scared him away because I slipped the safety off, I would be quite upset. I know how to safely handle a firearm and never deviate from my practices. I am not asking how you safely unload a gun. I'm not an idiot.

[dmaxx3500]

just more lies

[Iteach4U]

I recently watch a show on CNBC that was aired in 2010 on a surprising and very dangerous design flaw of the Remington 700 rifle. I guess the basic concept was that the trigger and safety mechanism had a flaw allowing the gun to fire while disengaging the safety to unload the weapon, movement from the bolt, or just random movement of the gun itself. I am under the assumption that this is related to early models. This is very unsettling to me since I own one. I personally have not had any issues with this but has anyone else? And what are your thoughts on this issue?

This is a complete myth! That is unless it's one of the recalled models.

I'm a Rem700 owner, new ones and older ones, and I can attest that firearm modifications, improper adjustments, and improper headspace are the ONLY ways safety failures occur with the Remington 700's that are not the recalled models. I have experienced a discharge when chambering a round in an older Rem 700 (.223) that had the action placed in an Ultimate Sniper stock, had headspace issues, and an improperly adjusted trigger. All 3 problems contributed to the discharge and were corrected by adjusting the headspace, shaving the stock where the trigger was hanging up, and adjusting the trigger to a proper and safe setting.

[ocergryan331]

I figures this was all BS and thanks for all the responses.

[Ecduc8r_NH]

Although the 700 MIGHT have an issue, that family lost their child due to unsafe gun handling. Honestly, who in the &#@% points a gun at their child while unloading it?

Point it in the ground. Point it in the air. Point it at a tree. Point it at your vehicle. DO NOT POINT IT AT A HUMAN BEING!!!

We had an incident in NH with a 9mm round being found in someone's pool. This was caused by someone pointing their firearm in the air.

Never point a loaded weapon in the air - this is basic firearm safety.