Remington 700 Safe?

[jfuller]

Seriously not trolling here but looking for honest opions! I have a brand new, never fired, Rem700 BDL in 300winmag and have read on the Internet that it has a tendency to fire when taking the safety off???!!!??? Any comments - the rifle is from the factory and not at all modified. We all know how careful to be regarding Internet RUMINT but as a long time lurker on this board I know there are a great number of folks who can comment thoughtfully and appreciate any input!

Thank You!

[Zekewolf]

Some Remmy 700's manufactured in the mid 80's had the problem that you describe. It's been fixed for a long time. Your Remmy currently has a trigger pull over 6#, not conducive to accurate shooting. There are threads here that tell you how to adjust your Remmy trigger. It's pretty simple.

[T. O'Heir]

Hi. Go shoot it. It's really the only way to find out if it wasn't built correctly. If it has factory defects, contact Remington. http://www.remington.com/aboutus/companyinfo.htm
"...Internet RUMINT..." What a great term. My CF security clearance was Rumour too.

[Tom Matiska]

Only "problem" I'm aware of was the bolt lock feature of pre-1982 models required the saftey to be taken off to remove a live round from the chamber. If you have a post '82 you can keep the safe engaged while unloading.

Other side of the problem is we have a legal system that allows people to point a loaded gun at someone, remove the safe, and blame Remington.


http://www.remington.com/Safety_Modification_Program/700_safety.asp

[Picher]

Most bolt actions can be made to be unsafe when the safety is released. Remington triggers are adjustable and can be adjusted to have too little pretravel and release prematurely; usually by not remaining engaged while the bolt is being closed. That condition usually doesn't result in a rifle firing, but it could.

Safe is a relative term with firearms. No firearm is completely safe, ever. Anyone who trusts a safety mechanism to keep a gun from firing when it's pointed where it shouldn't be is an idiot. That said, safeties should be as "relatively" safe as they can be and firearms should be maintained to be in a safe condition.

If a person adjusts his/her trigger at all and the gun accidentally discharges, that person may be held liable in court, whether the trigger was adjusted properly or not. That's how the "legal" system can bite you today.

Picher

[Olaf]

The current Remington, two-position safety is just as "safe" as any other trigger-block type safety...as long as it's properly adjusted. It can be mis-adjusted to be unsafe....but then, so can ANY other type of safety. The controversy about the Remingtons, as someone mentioned, had to do with the pre- 1982, three-position safety. All Remingtons since that time have a two-position safety, that works just fine.

Also, as someone else mentioned, trigger adjustments on the Remington are easy. You DO need to know what you are doing, before attempting it. The Remington safety is designed for a range of 3 - 7 lbs...and if it is not pleasant to use right "out of the box"...it can easily be made so. Remington does tend to adjust them to the higher end of the range....due to safety (liability) concerns. If you do not feel comfortable in doing the adjustment yourself.... most any gunsmith will do this, for a very reasonable fee (often only $25 - $30).

But, as to the concern about the "safety problem"....this is now one of those stories that just won't die. Past history. It's usually promulgated on the web by those who, for some reason, dislike Remingtons....and want to push their own "favorite" brand. If I were you...I'd just forget about it and enjoy your BDL. It's a great rifle.

[Zekewolf]

Per Picher, if, when adjusting a Remmy trigger, insufficient engagement is dialed in, particularly when combined with a pull weight that's been adjusted too low, you can have a condition in which the rifle fires when the safety is flicked off (usually after the trigger has first been pulled with the safety "on"), and a condition in which the rifle fires when the bolt is closed. I've personally adjusted my Remmy so that it fired when the bolt was closed. And yes, it really did fire.

I'd hate for such caveats as are contained in this thread to discourage anybody with walking-about sense from learning to adjust the trigger on his Remmy. It really is simple; it really is safe, assuming reasonable parameters are kept.

[jfuller]

Many thanks for all the clear-headed reasonable responses! I think I'll hit the range tomorrow AM and site this baby in - super hot here this afternoon to be in the sun - and have my local gunsmith adjust the trigger if it is too uncomfortable for me. I agree unconditionally with many of the posts regarding the fact that nothing supercedes safe gun handling - been doing so since my Dad got me shooting young and personally subscribe to the "no such thing as an AD only an ND philosophy. Bottom line was wanted to pulse if anyone thought any preventative maintenance should be done; I think I have my answer; thanks!

PS - spent a few years in the military to include in combat areas and was consistently amazed at how much lead the sand buckets outside safe areas collected accidentally - know what I mean ;-)!?

[jfuller]

Ohh yeah; on the it feels like Christmas in my house today front I also have a brand new Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40 that will be mounted-up on the rem700 before hitting the range. I love getting new guns! :-)

[Capt. Charlie]

I have a 700 BDL chambered in .270 Win. that was made in the mid-70's. When the safety is on, the bolt is locked, so yes, you have to disengage the safety to unload the chamber. But, I've unloaded numerous rounds without the weapon going off when I flicked the safety off, so I'd say there has to be other reasons, like home gunsmithing or somehow bumping the trigger.

[Zekewolf]

Capt Charlie: Good to hear that your Remmy's safety hasn't failed yet, but there was a change in design to eliminate the problem being discussed. You're right about the home gunsmithing. I don't consider adjusting an adjustable trigger to be gunsmithing.

[Rangefinder]

The Remington 700 I hunted with years ago had a little glitch--when the safety was on it wouldn't lock the bolt down solid, but rather allowed you to snap the bolt up. Then it would lock it completely-couldn't close it again OR pull it back. I found that out the hard way and had to disassemble my rifle in the middle of a hunt to clear it. Lesson learned, I just made sure the safety was off before touching the bolt. As to a discharge from disengaging the safety, never saw anything even close to that. BTW, this was also a late 70's to early 80's manufacture. I've had several other 700's since then and not a single problem--ever.

[Capt. Charlie]

YET??? :eek: :eek: :D

[ClarkEMyers]

All the verified instances I heard about involved putting the safety on and then pushing the trigger really hard in a misguided effort to test the safety.

Considering the number built any one in a million accident is a certainty with the Remington - for myself I'd worry no more and NO LESS with a Remington.

[bretcst]

I do not know anything about any one problem with the 300 but I do know that gunk in the safety can make a model 700 fire when it is not supposed to.
Good luck,
Bret

[Zekewolf]

Clark: The "pulling the trigger hard" with the safety on, then flicking the safety off is exactly what I'm talking about.

[Tom Matiska]

Many thanks for all the clear-headed reasonable responses!


If I may muddy this up.....

I though the "problem" was only with the old two postion safety where the firing pin and bolt where both locked or unlocked, resulting in having to unchamber a round with the safe off.

I understood the three positon safe allowed the bolt (but not pin) to be unlocked to be the best option. Was there ever a problem with the three postion safety?

[Zekewolf]

Tom: The "problem(s)" can also be with modern Remmy 700 triggers, IF those triggers are incorrectly adjusted. If one is prudent in one's adjusting habits, Remmy 700 triggers are safe and reliable.