I had a gun that was unsafe once the bolt was closed. It was not a Remington, but a Stevens .22 that I worked the trigger as a kid to make it a true hair trigger. The bolt could not safely be closed until the shooter was ready to shoot. Since I knew the issue (and intentionally created it myself) it was safe for me since I would always handle it knowing how dangerous it was WHEN the bolt was closed. I killed a lot of small game with that rifle, and won a few bets along the way.
I am a firm believer in Rule 1 of gun handling — always point a gun in a safe direction. I'm also a believer in Rule 2 — treat every gun as if it were loaded.
That said, there is statistical evidence the Remington trigger/safety system is not as safe as other trigger/safety systems. The evidence is the long history of a low percentage of Remington 700 rifles discharging when they were not supposed to while no other major make of rifle has that history. May some of this be due to the huge numbers of Model 700 rifles out there? Of course that would make any low percentage issue seem bigger. Then again, there have been a lot of Model 70 Winchesters sold and Mark 5s sold, Sakos sold, and Mausers sold, all without this track record. Sadly, our laws have allowed Remington to pay off victims in exchange for non-disclosure agreements so we will likely never know the number or severity of injuries.
Previous posts have repeated what Remington has always implied the issue was, while the evidence says otherwise. This is now glaringly clear since SWAT teams and military units have documented the same safety issues related to the trigger & safety system. The history shows most Rem Model 700 rifles will never experience this problem, but those that do are extremely dangerous. For now the only safe ways I know to have a Rem 700 rifle are: mounted on the wall where it will never be loaded, or with an aftermarket trigger. I say this not as someone who dislikes Remington products — there are two in the safe & one I sold was the second most accurate rifle I've ever owned (a BDL Varmint whose worst factory ammunition groups were right at .5" & best factory ammunition groups were consistently under .2").
For me this issue is not a knee-jerk reaction as to whether I like Remingtons. It's about finally knowing one Model Remington rifle has had (a very low percentage of) their rifles fire unexpectedly since the model was introduced while other makes & models have not had that problem. It's about Remington paying for nondisclosure agreements so we can't see what happened in these cases. It's about Remington doing its' best to bury this issue instead of redesigning their trigger/safety system. And (sadly) it's about Remington not disclosing the vast numbers of claims they have had on this issue to their dealers & customers.
If this trigger cannot safely be adjusted, Remington can make it non-adjustable. If dirt is the issue, Remington could seal it or make it easier to clean. If it is an issue of a random stack-up of manufacturing tolerances that makes occasional triggers unsafe they need to improve quality control or design around the issue. This is an issue for Remington to fix, and if they choose not to, they deserve a jury award, or multiple awards, that will bankrupt them. Hopefully, Remington's management will decide to do the right thing for the long-range health of the company, and for the safety of their customers, and replace this trigger system with a better one.
