DANGER - Remington 700 BDL can fire without pulling trigger
 

I saw a show on CNBC last night detailing the Remington 700 BDL problem. The trigger design was flawed ever since it was designed in the 1940s. Many, many accidental firings have occurred and Remington knew about the problem ever since the beginning. Remington didn't want to spend an extra 5.5 cents per gun to fix it. It was the Typical Corporate America Cover Up. Now they have sold millions of the popular 700 BDL rifle and it will cost them dearly to repair them. Do some research if you have one and have it repaired. CNBC showed videos of the gun misfiring when the safety was switched off or when the bolt was touched. This is a serious problem everyone should be aware of.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MAcHvSPZZo


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/...in301947.shtml

I dunno, I think this was a hatchet job by anti-gun CNBC. IIRC the only rifles that have had problems were ones that hadn't been maintained properly and that had the triggers messed with.

Personally I think the 700 is as safe as any rifle out there.

There are numerous threads on this already.

And please spare us the liberal "corporations are evil" mumbo jumbo.

I am no Liberal and I have seen corporate America's ways first hand. They showed documentation from Remington of the problem, do your own research. I believe in being safe with a gun, thats all. If you have a 700 and choose not to have it checked out or fixed that is your choice.

Personally, I don't trust CNBC to tell a straight story vis-a-vis a gun manufacturer. YMMV.

This is fairly old news, like well over a decade old.

First off, I have no idea why they are digging this up. Second, I don't like the updated trigger, third, yes, you can get the remington trigger to go off if the sear screw is not set right. I setup remington triggers all the time. Standard operation 20 years ago was to set that trigger up to break like glass, with 2-3lbs of pull. Most have been modified. Remington tells folks never set them below 3lbs.

When I adjust a remington trigger, I beat that bolt with a rubber mallet dozens of times, and slam shut it several dozen times.

Only thing I can fault remington was over a decade ago they charged folks to change out thier trigger 25 or so dollars, and then sent you back a lawyer proof 8lb trigger. They should have did it for free.

What also cracks me up is they didn't interview the several hundred gunsmiths around the world that only uses a 700 action for custom guns. Or inform people that there are many aftermarket triggers.

They didn't even ask the marine armorer if the trigger has been modified. I mean these are easy standard questions.

Don't fall for the hype.

Lastly, I love the old trigger. I do not like having the bolt fly open with the safety on. You ever go hunting in rough terrain like newfoundland, it sucks walking thru the black spruce, and find your bolt popped open and rounds fell out and all kinds of crap flew in your action.

Bottom line is this. Don't point a gun at anyone unloaded or not. Its that freakin simple. Good article that is dead on.
http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/...el-700-trigger

Goodness, I am always so amazed how much sway TV has on guiding peoples lives.

I only watched a few minutes but other than the first lady (her's seemed like a true accident) all of those people practiced HORRIBLE muzzle control. Shooting your wife in the stomach? Your son in the hand? A friend in the head? Unbelievable.

With that being said I've had 0 problems with my 700 and I feel 100% safe with it.

Two reasons:

(1) Liberal media is anti-gun, and if they don't have enough inaccurate and sesationalist anti-gun stories which are new, they will repeate and old one and try to make it look new

(2) There isn't much else going on right now, besides how much Obama&Co. are sucking, and the Lib media certainly won't cover that.

I'm not calling you a liberal, I'm saying that the propoganda that corporations are out to get you is pushed by liberals. It is used as a justification for Big Labor, which in turn donates hundreds of millions of dollars to Democrats. It is also used as a justification for the hyper-interventionist domestic policy by which the federal government tries to get its grubby hands into every aspect of your life, in order to protect you from yourself and from the evil corporations.

Ive seen 3 model 700 BDLs go off with touching the trigger...I still think there great guns though. My dad has a 700 and actually got some notice about this through a gun dealer buddy of his, the years that Remington claimed to be defective i think he said were in the 90's, dont quote me on this. But i have seen them do it, but i can only vouch for the condition of one rifle, the other two I cant, and that one rifle went off while it was leaning up against the tail gate of the truck, missing the truck thankfully. Something malfunctioned in the spring is what they told him. But reguardless you should never sweep a friendly and always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction unless your planning to pull the trigger...Everything Malfunctions!

If I understand you correctly you're saying that rifle went off without anyone touching it? I guess I'm having a hard time seeing how that would be possible. :confused0024:

is this just the bdl? or is it all the new models of the 700?

Saw it with my own eyes.. The rifle was just sitting there leaning up against the truck, and bang!!! No one within 5 feet of it.. The gun smith explained that the springs go bad, apparently the saftey mechanism is held in place with a spring, not a gun smith so i dont know all the lingo here. But either way the spring went bad and caused the safty to slip, and some how effects the trigger... Its like back pressure i guess. He actually showed us, he simulated it by repeatedly opening and closing the bolt for like two minutes and eventualy it went off again.. crazy stuff. Apparently though this is only on older models of the BDL where this is possible is what we were told...

Dang, that's pretty crazy. IIRC weren't the rifles that allegedly had issues all made in the 70's? Anyone else heard that?

Ive heard of that too...and i know there were a lot issues in the 70s, i dont think they are the same, but this was not my rifle so i can not vouch for it.. My father has a 700 made in the 80s and besides the ejector going bad a few years back that rifle has been nothing but good, and my friend has a BDL made around the late 90s with no issues either. The gun i saw go off was a friend of mines uncles, and he takes care of his stuff, way better then i do. The other two rifles was while i was hunting in out of some guide camps out west over a couple years, but like i said i cant vouch for those people, i have no idea what they were doing with there guns before they got there.

It is just a warning man. You already know about it, great, but there are always many people that don't keep up with this stuff. CNBC is liberal sure, but 2 dozen deaths and 100 people getting shot is not the norm I would think for an accidental firing. I agree it was also the gun handlers fault for not always pointing the muzzle in a safe direction, loaded or not. If this posts helps someone avoid an accident, that is all it was supposed to do.

Goodness, If you have to bang on a rifle action with a rubber mallet to make sure the trigger is adjusted correctly and doesn't fire how sure can you be it is really safe and for how long?

All gunsmiths or amateurs like myself should do this on all trigger work unless its like block like on a Marlin 336 or 1895 action.

Std operation.

I don't mind you posting the warning, I just don't like CNBC trying to destroy one of the last american gun makers.

So far, I have had two friends contact me all paniced because they own remington 700's and just watched this show. And thats crazy, that TV has such sway on someone's life.

I feel like I fight the TV in every front of my life. My wife comes to me one day and demands we throw out all our plastic cups because she heard on Dr. Phil they contain BPH. Or all the sudden, she's in a panic to get our water tested because she watched a show where a family got toxic water.

The freakin boob tube should not run folks life.

I understand that. Its a horrible emotional story that american families seem to eat up.

Why don't they do a story showing 5 folks that died in md for not wearing a safety strap in the stands? At least it would be recent. Oh yea, I know why, there is no big ole mean corporation behind it.

Something I'd add to this. is the fact that guys shouldn't mess with anything they're not sure about, especially if it could become a safety issue. I can strip and clean all of my guns, but I don't think I'd feel good about modifying the trigger group on them. Personally I'd leave that to the smith.

I agree, if in doubt, find a trusted expert. My gunsmith watched 10 min of it, and he said he became so enraged, he turned it off.

The man has built probably 1000 rifles off the 700 action.

I bought a few remington triggers used and tore em apart. Got tired of paying a smith $45 to do a decent trigger job. I played with everything I could play with, and read everything I could get my hands on to adjusting. Its a great trigger.

And if I sell a gun I have adjusted, I would the buyer know, and probably setup the sear engagement to be up to 5lbs or more. Might even have some creep after I get done adjusting it back.

I can adjust one now that is dangerous. Same can be said of anything. Look at all the kids today, that leans out thier Air/fuel so much, they burn up thier cylinders. Or the home carpenter, that swears he knows electricity and puts in 5 junction boxes on the same circuit.

Here's a link to Remington's response.


http://www.remington700.tv/#/home

I have to respect remington's response. They controlled the situation and didn't let CNBC control them.

Yep. I'm of the opinion that CNBC was just out to do a hatchet job on Remington. They heard of a few issues and with there being ton's of 700's out there, they probably thought it would be an easy target. I'm sure their non-hunter, non-shooter friends applauded their actions.

Old news,I have a 700 BDL 22.250 heavy barrel and had issues with it firing if the bolt was closed too hard,took it to my smithy and he took care of the problem,that was 15 or more years ago, and have had NO more issues since.
If you practice safe gun handling,theres nothing to freak out about even if you have an issue with this!! And if you do a good smithy can fix you right up!!

I just bought a new 700 SPS Buckmasters .270 Win with the X-Mark Pro adjustable trigger. It's set at 3-1/2 lbs. from the factory, is crisp and nice and doesn't need adjustment. I don't like hair triggers on hunting rifles.

I saw a special on MSNBC that the democrats are better than the republicans.

Yeah, I think they run that around the clock, 7 days a week. :s6:

Hmmmm Im starting to think these cable news channels have a hidden agenda:rolleyes:

Ah c'mon, no way! :wink:

I have owned a Model 700 now for over 30 years and have never had a problem. The trigger works the same now as it did when I first bought it and has never been altered and never will as long as I own it. It's a great shooter and there's no need to modify it.

I heard Remington was being made in China now but could be wrong.

But after looking online I can see that they are made in the US still tho some of the parts may not be.

I have a 700BDL in .280 Cal. I have had the gun since the early 90's. Jewled bolt, and some trigger work done, not much just fixed the creep. Never an issue I have tried to rack a round w/ safety off, it's fell over in the stand. I call BS, Remington 700 BDL ne of the finest bolt action rifles around. Now there are many many variations of this model. I am sure there is a cheaper made model thatmay have an issue like this. But you know buy a 400$ rifle and you get what? I always spend my money wisely in my equipment.

I only gave $239 for my 700 ADL in 1980 and like I stated before, NO PROBLEMS!!! It's basically the same gun with the BDL having a little fancier stock and a front sight hood if I remember correctly.

I have owned at least 20, 721, 722, (same trigger) and 700 Rem's over the last 55 years. I have never had a trigger problem, although I have adjusted most of them for weight of pull.