I've got a nice Model 700LH (an early left-handed BDL-type variant) that was made in October 1973. It is super-accurate and chambered in .270Win and it has been my main hunting rifle since 1995 or so.

It, of course, has the older two-position safety which requires one to put the gun in "Fire" mode to work the bolt to unload it and such.

Naturally, I never have my finger near the trigger or point any gun in an unsafe direction when unloading it.

That all being said, has my M700 EVER gone off when I carefully wiped off the safety in a proper manner? Only ONCE . . . in 1996. Yes, it happened as I stood next to my truck, working the bolt to unload the rifle after spending a morning in a deer stand.

I've never been able to make the gun go off ever again that way. Could it happen again? Sure . . . anything can happen in this world . . . that's why safe gun handling is imperative with ANY firearm.

It hasn't stopped me from using this as my primary deer rifle, nor will it.

A later M700BDL in 30.06 allows one to operate the bolt to load or unload while the safety is on . . . a BIG improvement . . . but I stick with my tackdriving, lefthanded 700LH.

No, I would not loan it to a novice hunter . . . for this very reason though . . . for some folks don't practice all forms of gun safety in a 100% consistent manner. I do, and I'm fine with it.



Tom