Remington Model 700 Safety Issues-Now what? FYI

[Snoplop]

Can't say I have ever had these issues with mine. But for what its worth if there is any credence to this would like others to know about it.
Went to the Remington site and didn't find any press release that mentioned it.
Maybe CNBC just bashing firearms again or ?

Remington Under Fire: A CNBC Investigation :
10-month investigation stretched from Florida to Alaska, turning up thousands of complaints, two dozen deaths, more than 100 injuries and 75-plus lawsuits, all alleging the gun fired without the trigger being pulled.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?play=1&video=1616222630

Will check around but would appreciate any info you folks turn up.

[Fred_C_Dobbs]

I make no claim to know the truth of it but I've been hearing about 700s having this same problem for more than 20 years. That might well be because the Anti's have focused on this rifle, I dunno, but that sniper at the end of the video who caused his to fire by just touching the bolt looked pretty convincing.

[Dennis]

As usual, I don't get on the soapbox much, but I'll put in a bit of comment here. I watched some of the MSNBC show on Remington Safety issues and I really feel perplexed.
I have shot Remington's for several years, along with many many friends and have been involved in silhouette and other competitive events, big game hunting, and shot literally thousands and thousands of rounds of ammo out of a 700 Rem, Yep, Skippy's relatives don't like me --even wore out a barrel or two, ok ok four or five- but I don't ever recall a problem such as being depicted on the show. Now I know a firearm is only a manmade device and things made by humans do tend to malfunction, but I would have thought that if this were an actual common occurance, I would have seen evidence of it sometime in the last 40 or so years.
Is it a real issue or something brought up by liberal reporters?
Has any serious non biased testing been done to determine a real cause of all these "safety issues"?
Could it be due to something as simple as someone not properly maintaining a firearm?
I fear it is a flanking maneuver against gun owners and not solid honest reporting. I do feel deeply for those that have lost loved ones, but after being on this earth for a while, I think we all can think of friends and/or family members we have lost due to man made machines--cars etc. and I think MSNBC could spend years reporting on deaths and injuries from vehicles, machinery, and other man made devices.
I don't belong on a soapbox, just thought I'd hop up on this one.

GET OUT AND VOTE!!

Dennis

[kenbrofox]

Aye to that Dennis. Ken.

[cracker]

not saying this is an issue or not.
but toward the end of the show where they were stating that Remington regulates themselves and is protected by the 2nd amendment made me think that maybe that was the real issue. If remington is protected and can't be forced into a recall of over 5 million guns then take away the 2nd and we will all be safe again. sorry thats just how I read thru the lines of their reporting.
Sportingly
Cracker

[mnpatterson]

Hello - My name is Eli and I do digital work for Remington.

I wanted to share Remington’s reaction to the biased CNBC program. Check out http://www.remington700.tv for Remington’s response.

[Sidewinderwa]

I have had this happen to me one morning when starting a hunt. The rifle went off as I closed the bolt and no fingers were near the trigger. I know of other people that have had this happen. I received this on an email on this issue:

“Those documents clearly speak for themselves and they speak volumes about what the company knew, when they knew it, what they did, and what they did not do, and what they continue to do today,” Rich Barber told CNBC.

Remington critics, including ballistics experts hired to testify against the company, trace the problems to a basic element of Mike Walker’s original design: a tiny piece of metal called a trigger connector. The connector, which is mounted loosely inside the firing mechanism, is supposed to allow the gun to fire more smoothly, according to Walker’s patent.

But the experts claim that small amounts of rust, debris or even a small jolt can cause the trigger connector to fall out of alignment, and the trigger itself to lose contact with the firing pin. Then, they say, the gun can go off when the user operates other parts of the gun—such as the safety or the bolt—without touching the trigger.

The documents include thousands of complaints from customers about Remington 700s going off without pulling the trigger. But Remington contends that in every case, the inadvertent discharges were the result of user error.

“Both Remington and experts hired by plaintiff attorneys have conducted testing on guns returned from the field which were alleged to have fired without a trigger pull, and neither has ever been able to duplicate such an event on guns which had been properly maintained and which had not been altered after sale,” the company says in its statement.

But other documents show the company has been able to duplicate the condition. On March 18, 1975, Research Manager John Linde wrote to a Houston gunsmith that Remington “could duplicate” fire control problems on a Remington 700 that had been returned to the factory. And in a March 5, 1980 memo, a Remington employee named E. Hooton, Jr. notes that of 133 rifles returned to the factory for inadvertent firing in the second half of 1979, 44 of the complaints—one-third of the total—were “verified.”

Documents show that in 1948, Mike Walker proposed a change in his original design aimed at eliminating the problem. Walker drew up plans to insert a blocking device that would keep the gun’s internal mechanism from falling out of alignment while the safety is on.

“One modification of the M/721 Safety uses a trigger block in addition to the present design,” Walker wrote in an August 16, 1948 memo entitled “M/721 Modification of Safety design.”

But the change was never implemented.

[Bayou City Boy]

If anyone here is interested, there's a pretty good no-agenda discussion on this issue over on Saubier, which has long been a forum known for common sense discussions.

-BCB

[greenmonster204]

even if there is an issue that needs to be fixed. basic gun safety would have still prevented most if not all of the injuries and deaths that have happened. not trying to be a jerk i feel bad for those injured but one of the first things you are taught when handling a firearm is treat it as if it is always loaded and could go off, and never point it towards anyone. hopefully if there is a problem Remington will take care of it though. maybe i am just being to harsh?