rem 700 malfunction

i'm pretty sure i've seen this problem mentioned here before, but since i don't know the URL for archives, i must bring it up again. yesterday my oldest son and myself went down to my firing range to do a little plinking with our .22s. i took along my rem 700 .223 because he had never fired it and wanted to give it a try. i loaded it and handed it to him. he placed it on the sandbags and squeezed the trigger and nothing happened. he had forgotten to take the safety off. he reached up with the hand he fires with and disengaged the safety. as it disengaged, the rifle fired. it was pointing down range, so no harm was done, but it was a mite disconcerting. i was watching, so i know his hand was no where near the trigger. we tried several times to duplicate the malfunction, but it never did it again. now, it seems like i have read or heard something about this kind of thing being rather common for a rem 700. is it? should i take it to a smith, or just let it go? since i am now aware of this rifle's ability to fire this way i can simply make certain to take precautions. but if for some reason someone else used it....who knows. i am reluctant to send it back to remington. do you think a local smith would know of the problem and be able to fix

#i am reluctant to send it back to remington.

Why? Randy Wakeman

# #i'm pretty sure i've seen this problem mentioned here before, ...

I think I have - perhaps it is the one mentioned at? http://www.remington.com/Safety_Modification_Program/ remington_safety...

#... is it? should i take it to a smith, or just let it go? #since i am now aware of this rifle's ability to fire this way i can #simply make certain to take precautions. but if for some reason someone #else used it....who knows.

PLEASE get it fixed! It might bite someone else, or sometime you'll be just a bit 'thinking of something else' and your fingers may do something you intend.

IMHO it would be better to have no safety than an unreliable one!

#i am reluctant to send it back to remington. do you think a local smith #would know of the problem and be able to fix it?

It would probably cost less to have Remington fix it, and you'd have factory service/parts.

I have seen this at the range. The guy did not pull the trigger, I just happend to be looking at him as he moved the safety (no where near the trigger) BOOM. I have heard this is due to too light of a trigger, I don't know. > ...

How was it lubed? I have heard that gummed up lube in the trigger mehanism can cause this.

JTH

# # i'm pretty sure i've seen this problem mentioned here before, but since # i don't know the URL for archives, i must bring it up again. yesterday # my oldest son and myself went down to my firing range to do a little # plinking with our .22s. i took along my rem 700 .223 because he had # never fired it and wanted to give it a try. i loaded it and handed it # to him. he placed it on the sandbags and squeezed the trigger and # nothing happened. he had forgotten to take the safety off. he reached # up with the hand he fires with and disengaged the safety. as it # disengaged, the rifle fired.

The Remington 700 has a reputation for discharging when the safety is flicked off. Last year the CBS News program 'Eye on America' did a story about a boy accidentally killed by his mother when she moved the safety on her 700 so she could unload it. They seemed to be onto something regarding the rifle, but unfortunately the program was marred by CBS's total failure to point out that manufacturers aren't the only ones responsible for gun safety. The mother was only about the length of a horse trailer away from her son when the rifle fired, so this wasn't some freak accident where the victim was 200 yards away playing behind some bushes.

The story is here:

Remington had/has a recall going on for this type of safety issue. Check their website. It is a sporadic occurrence in the 700's over 30 years worth of production. It has to do with the nature of their two position safety as it wears.

#The Remington 700 has a reputation for discharging when the safety is #flicked off. Last year the CBS News program 'Eye on America' did a #story about a boy accidentally killed by his mother

Hardly a 'reputation,' as much as it makes for media fodder.

When the muzzle of a loaded gun is pointed at a person, just what do you expect could happen?

This is sheer stupidity. Muzzle pointed in safe direction = no problems. That boy paid one heck of a price for his mother's recklessness, ignorance, and half-wittedness.

Randy Wakeman

I wouldn't be reluctant to send it back to Remington at all. They are good about fixing things and getting them back pretty fast. This problem is known. there is some arguement about what causes it. Some say it is neglected rifles with a lot of crud in them preventing the sear from engaging correctly. Some say it is ill adjusted triggers. Some say a design flaw. If the gun is used, it may be someone has monkeyed around with it, but either way, I would send it back.

Hey, on the up-side, nobody was hurt and what a GREAT lesson your son learned about gun safety. When he's 90 years old he'll be passing on that anecdote to the youngsters HE is teaching to shoot. I bet he'll never, ever take a rifle and its 'safety' for granted.

Lesson #2: buy a Ruger next time! (People here love it when I say that.)

Alternatively, always make sure your sights are on-target when you take the safety off on a model 700. That misfire is likely the only shot you'll have when the extractor fails. Ha!

Al

> ...

# When the muzzle of a loaded gun is pointed at a person, just what do you expect # could happen? # # This is sheer stupidity. Muzzle pointed in safe direction = no problems. That # boy paid one heck of a price for his mother's recklessness, ignorance, and # half-wittedness.

That's quite harsh. I suppose you would consider it deserved if everyone who's ever carried a 1911 in 'condition 1' had shot their leg off.

We'll also assume you never clean your guns, which is obviously impossible to do without violating the 'muzzle in a safe direction' rule.