Remigton 700 trigger

[DWalt]

I have no trigger adjustment issues with my 700. I bought it new and never attempted adjusting the trigger as it seemed OK to me from the start. I have read that some 700 users (hunters), fearing an unexpected discharge, simply leave the safety off at all times, the only safety being the hunter's control of his trigger finger.

 

[Charlie Foxtrott]

I bought a model 700 Sendero in the early nineties.

It was fine for several years until it wasn't. Closed the bolt on a round out hunting and BLAM a round into the dirt about five feet in front of me.
I had a skilled gun smith change the trigger group out to a Timney trigger and never looked back. A much better pull as well. A big improvement on the performance of the gun.
If I ever bought another 700 I would do the same thing right away, new gun or otherwise.

 

[ggibson511960]

What's the best way to assess a 700's trigger is okay. I own one 700, a family heirloom that is shot very little and would like to verify that it's okay. Like all 700's the trigger pull is remarkably good. Will a simple function cycling test be enough, or should I tear it down a bit and look at sear surfaces, etc. ?

 

[BigMuddy]

I lay blame on the Owners that had an accidentally firing.
They did something out of the ordinary; whether it be
drunk, cleaning, handling, loaning it out, adjusting or
thinking they know best. The Owner did something.

No one will know the truth unless they were
caught doing the dirty deeds.

That's IT! I was drunk and I'm lying about it.

Actually the first time I thought I must've had my finger on the trigger even though I know I never do. Second time, same day, made absolute sure only my thumb on safety.

My gun did have to have safety off to operate the bolt. After factory authorized repair bolt would operate with safety engaged. Worked fine for a few years then fired closing the bolt. Rifle was in a bench in sand bags. (Drunk again I guess).

I did own another newer 700 that never had a problem. Had a Rifle Basix trigger, but that was to improve the pull. And I stayed sober......

I'm done with this one. Good luck and stay safe.

Dan

 

[oneeyedpete]

I can't tell you what to do but I can tell you that about 2 years ago sitting in a blind with my buddy he took the safety off his 30-06 Remington 700 as we saw a deer approaching and the gun went off. I know it was not shooter error as I was talking and looking straight at him when it happened. Fortunately the rifle was aimed outside the blind and nothing happened. A Timney trigger is less that 100 bucks and is vastly superior to the factory trigger. Just saying.........

 

[Sistema1927]

Never had a problem with the trigger in my 721, but in an abundance of caution I replaced it with a Timney. Great trigger.

 

[Buford57]

I owned 2, a .222 and a .22-250 30 to 40 years ago and never had a problem. During the same time frame I was in elk camp with a coworker who shot a 700 in 7mm Mag. One evening he put it on the hood of his truck with the bipod down. As I walked past he slammed the offside door. Neither of us had a finger anywhere near the trigger or the safety, and considering the dummy had left a round in the chamber in camp he may have left the safety off as well. At any rate, a 7mm Mag going off a foot or so from your head kind of ruins a hunt. My ears rang for days. When I first heard of the complaints about the 700s a few years later this incident came to mind, but in retrospect I have to write it up as operator stupidity.

 

[DWalt]

What's the best way to assess a 700's trigger is okay. I own one 700, a family heirloom that is shot very little and would like to verify that it's okay. Like all 700's the trigger pull is remarkably good. Will a simple function cycling test be enough, or should I tear it down a bit and look at sear surfaces, etc. ?

There are three test procedures recommended which I will attempt to briefly describe:
1. With the rifle cocked (and of course unloaded), put the safety on and pull and slowly release the trigger, then push the safety lever to off. See if the firing pin falls. Repeat several times.
2. With the gun cocked, position the safety lever between on and off. Pull and release the trigger slowly. Flip the safety lever to off. See if the firing pin falls. Repeat several times.
3. There is a little bare metal area under the trigger guard between the trigger and the bolt release button. Cock the rifle and put the safety on. Take a small screwdriver and push on that little area ahead of the trigger and then release. You will feel it move slightly. Remove the small screwdriver. Pull the trigger and slowly release it. Listen carefully for a faint click. If you hear it, that is not a good sign. Move the safety lever to off and see if the firing pin falls. Repeat a few times.

My rifle passed all three tests, not a whisper of a click from test #3.

It's not a 100% guarantee of safety if your rifle passes all three tests, but it should at least indicate whether or not the components in the trigger are engaging properly.

As I earlier mentioned, some believe that the major cause of 700 safety failures and unintended discharges is not so much the trigger design, but the presence of dirt, lint, etc. in the trigger mechanism. And Bubbas messing with the trigger.

 

[30-30remchester]

Just got back a few minutes ago from an antelope hunt in southern Colorado. Hunting was tough and it was hard to get within a half a mile. One last hunt before coming home found us within 200 yards of lopes for the first time. My partner, using a 1980's vintage 700 sighted down on a lope. Squeezing the trigger got no results as the safety was on. Flipping the safety off, the gun discharged mere feet in front of the shooter. Lopes loped away. This is an often referred to problem with the Walker trigger and the second time and gun it happened with. I detest any box type trigger for hunting as they are easily clogged up with seeds, twigs, chaff ect or frozen up after getting soaked in freezing temp. After a 700 trigger froze up costing me a coyote, I gave the gun away. One remaining 700 custom in 375 was sold to a friend and it froze up twice costing him 2 bull elk. That guys luck is so good that the third bull he had a chance at was way bigger than the first two and this time was successful. I know of another frozen trigger that when thawed, discharged without pulling the trigger. Nope don't like box triggers for field work.

 

[mauser9]

Slightly off topic but bought my ADL back in 1984. I had heard Remington made changes where the bolt could be operated with the safety on. Think this change occurred around 82-83 if I am correct. Never had a trigger issue but am considering an alternative.

 

[Bozz10mm]

From what I'm reading here, the recall only pertains to the rifles with the XMP trigger made between April 2006 and April 2014. You can enter your serial number here and see if it is one that is affected by the recall.

Remington Recall

On the other hand, I seem to remember an earlier recall, in 1979, affecting the Remington 600 and 700 models.

 

[Patrick L]

Personally, I would keep the original trigger. In fact, I would not pass on buying an older 700 that passed a basic safety check that you would do on any potential purchase.

IF, and I say again IF, I ever then had an issue, I might consider a Timney aftermarket, but I have faith in pre 1990 or so Remington.

Just my . 02