Judge approves landmark Remington rifle settlement

[M-Tecs]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/judge-approves-landmark-remington-rifle-settlement/ar-AAolZSC?li=BBnbfcL&ocid=edgsp

Turning aside objections from gun owners, legal experts and nine state attorneys general, a federal judge has given final approval to a landmark class action settlement involving some 7.5 million allegedly defective Remington guns.
The ruling allows the owners of some of Remington's most popular firearms — including the iconic Model 700 rifle — to have their triggers replaced free of charge.
In 2010, CNBC investigated allegations that for decades Remington covered up a deadly design defect that allows the guns to fire without the trigger being pulled. (http://www.cnbc.com/remington-under-fire/?__source=msn|money|inline|story|&par=msn&doc=104341416|Zenefits' controversial f) To this day, Remington denies the allegations and maintains the guns are safe. The company said it was settling the case to avoid protracted litigation.
Critics of the settlement alleged Remington deliberately downplayed the risks in order to suppress claims in the settlement, and that plaintiffs attorneys — who will now collect $12.5 million in fees — did not do enough to hold Remington's feet to the fire.
The attorneys general argued that Remington should be required to admit the guns are defective.
But U.S. District Judge Ortrie D. Smith, who twice sent the parties back to the drawing board to improve the settlement, decided that in the end fixing some of the guns is better than risking none at all being fixed.
"By approving this settlement, the Court facilitates remediation of the alleged defect," Smith wrote. "That result may save lives and reduce the risk of injury to others."
The settlement covers Remington's Model 700, as well as these other firearms: Seven, Sportsman 78, 673, 710, 715, 770, 600, 660, 721, 722 and 725 rifles, and the XP-100 bolt-action pistol.
Under the settlement, most of these guns will be retrofitted with a new trigger mechanism free of charge. However, some models — specifically the 600, 660, 721, 722, 725 and XP-100 — are considered too old to be retrofitted, so Remington is offering owners of those guns a product voucher worth between $10 and $12.50.
More information on the settlement and claim forms are available here (http://remingtonfirearmsclassactionsettlement.com/).

[54bore]

This has been a long time coming!!

[ShooterAZ]

Personally, I would not send a rifle back to Remington. It would take forever to get it back. And $10 - $12.50 voucher? Really? I already replaced my 700 triggers with Timneys, but even if I hadn't I never had a problem and kept them clean. CNBC made a mountain out of a molehill.

[XDROB]

Quoted: 54bore, CNBC made a mountain out of a molehill.

Well what else is new. That the anti-gun media for ya.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

[historicfirearms]

$10 voucher ha! And how good do you think that replacement trigger will be?

[Plate plinker]

Does anybody on the site have a remington firearm that has a defective trigger? Is this legit at all?

[shoot-n-lead]

CNBC made a mountain out of a molehill.

Several networks besides CNBC contributed to that mountain...there have been numerous stories about this issue.

This would have been settled a long time ago had Remington not gone to such great efforts to cover this up. There were all kinds of internal memos about this...should have just changed the trigger and been done with it. While we all know they were safe, for the most part, all of them were not. I have known of a couple that fired...one fired when a friend leaned it against his truck. But, still, they were mostly safe, however, I have seen several people over the years, that hunted with Remington rifles, that did not trust them. And, when I shot silhouette for a few years, NO ONE trusted the XP100 triggers. I have several XP's...never had an issue with them...but I am extra careful about touching those bolts when handling them while hunting or on the range.

Ya' know, when the man that designs something, says that it has a problem...better to follow his advice to fix it.

[M-Tecs]

I have about a dozen Remington triggers dating back to the early 60's. None of mine will be returned.

[54bore]

I have replaced MANY Remington triggers with Timneys. Before i sent a rifle to them and had to wait n wait on it, i would boot up and pay the 100 bucks for a Timney, what do you think the replacement trigger will be like? My bet is another bad one

[wv109323]

I would guess the replacement triggers will be a minimum of 12 lb. pull to satisfy the lawyers.

[Uncle R.]

One "defect" in the Remingtons involved dirty or rusty trigger mechanisms, triggers that were worn or improperly adjusted, or both. If the safety didn't lift the sear off the trigger when applied, and the trigger was pulled with the safety on, the sear would drop some minute distance to be caught by the safety. The sear could not then reset when the trigger was released, and when the safety was thumbed off the rifle would fire.

The very same thing would happen to ANY rifle with a safety that locks the sear or the striker if it's not properly fitted or adjusted. The list would include 98 Mausers and Winchester model 70s. A clean, non-rusty and properly adjusted 700 trigger is one of the best factory triggers of its era, and one of the few that could be safely adjusted down to an excellent pull if you know what you're doing. I have several, have used and liked them for years, and have no intention of exchanging them for whatever lawyer-approved trigger Remington offers in exchange.

The issue with XP-100 triggers on the silhouette range was real, but was the result of owners deliberately adjusting them down to extremely fine engagement and light pulls. IHMSA rules tacitly encouraged this, in that an accidental discharge after the load command but before the fire command didn't get you expelled from the match as long as it went down range. An AD during loading only cost you a shot. IHMSA obviously didn't think the ragged edge adjustments on so many XPs were much of an issue.

You can adjust the old 700 triggers to the same nitroglycerin-touchy results if you go too far, but I sure as heck don't want that kind of foolishness in a hunting rifle. I test mine during the adjustment process by repeatedly slamming the bolt closed hard, or hitting the butt on the ground firmly. If the striker falls, your sear engagement is set too light. The best part is, with the Remington design your rifle is still extremely safe with the safety on, and the rifle is pretty much drop-safe and kick-safe even if the sear engagement is less than a knife edge. It's only when you snap the safety off that disaster strikes, but again that can only happen if the trigger is adjusted very wrong or so rusted or dirty that the trigger won't reset and stays in the rearward ("pulled") position.


It kinda begs the question - what kind of hunter points his rifle at another person as he snaps the safety off?


Again, the issue is not a trigger that's defective so much as a trigger that's not idiot proof. I'd bet almost all of the "defective" triggers that were involved in lawsuits could be cleaned, lubed and properly adjusted to work perfectly. It may have been a bad corporate decision from the lawyers' point of view, but selling rifles with a fully adjustable trigger that could be set to an excellent pull was sure a boon to shooters.

Uncle R.

[dverna]

Good writeup Uncle R

[Vopie]

Well said Uncle R. I have handled thousands of Remington rifles over the years, It has a great trigger and done of mine will ever be replaced. As Elmer Kieth said, "The only safety is between your ears" !!! It is a mechanical device, and as such it may fail. I never worried about shooting anyone when loading or unloading my rifle as I always KNOW were my muzzle is pointed, In a safe direction....This was pounded into my head,{and butt} by my father or any other adult we hunted with. I guess that's the problem, no fathers of father figures, know one to spank or instill responsibility into youths that grow up into "not my fault" adults.

[Texas by God]

I've liked all my Remington triggers. Even my Nylon 66.

[hunter49]

https://youtu.be/Qa0cNr2_fSE

[54bore]

I've liked all my Remington triggers. Even my Nylon 66.

I have done a mountain of trigger jobs on Rem 700s, some adjusted REALLY nice and made great triggers, and some were just not adjustable, they remained GARBAGE no matter what i did, These would need the hammer/sear internals honed and polished, Farther than i would go. The horrible ones recieved a Timney Replacement. Personally, i never had a Problem/issue with a Rem 700 trigger, if they were adjustable they made great triggers, and again the ones that wouldn't adjust literally went in the garbage and were replaced.

I did witness a BAD EXTREME failure one time with a Rem 700, EXACTLY THE SAME AS THE VIDEO ABOVE! It was a friend of mines rifle, it was a .280 Mountain Rifle, Stainless Synthetic stock, This gun was STOCK UNALTERED, The gun would fire when pushing the safety forward/off, Talk about play mind games with ya, and EXTREMELY dangerous! It was unpredictable, it might do it 2 times in a row and then not again for 10 times, you never knew when it was gonna do it? SPOOKY! Again this rifle was brand new, unaltered. It went back to Rem, the repair slip that accompanied it when it returned to the owner said 'Replaced Trigger'

[Wayne Smith]

I've only seen one, a Rem. 7 that someone brought to the range brand new, for his teenage son. Son had the rifle pointed downrange and it went off, he said "Dad, something's wrong with this rifle". Dad asked what, son said he hadn't pulled the trigger. Three times we, myself included, loaded it, pointed it down range, released the trigger, and the gun fired. Dad took it back to the gun shop. This was at least 10 years ago, too.

[Plate plinker]

Interesting video.

[Rick Hodges]

I have a Model 700 BDL that I purchased new in 1977 a LH 7mm magnum. I adjusted the trigger to a crisp clean 3.25 lb. pull and it has been great ever since....hot weather and cold. I have tried to make it mess up...pulling the trigger hard with the safety on then releasing it....I'll not have it replaced.

[lightman]

I've replaced all of mine with Jewel's except for the M600. For the most part, I was happy enough with the factory trigger. I did have 1 AD in my life. I got out of the truck one morning in the dark and walked to a deer stand. After getting settled down I loaded the magazine and gently and quietly closed the bolt. When the bolt closed, it fired. I can say with absolute certainty that I was not on the trigger! When I got back to the house I disassembled and cleaned the bolt and removed and cleaned the trigger. I had just returned from a Mule Deer/Antelope hunt in Wyoming and spent some time riding in the back of a truck, and a lot of walking. The trigger and bolt had a lot of red dust in them. Although I was very rushed for time I consider this my fault for having a dirty rifle. Would a Mauser or M-70 trigger done this under those conditions? Maybe not? Who knows!

[mac60]

I've owned 7 of them over the years. Of those 7 I still have 5. I have no intention of sending any of them back to Remington. They're well made accurate and dependable.

[jcwit]

I have 1 "one", years ago I replaced the trigger with a Rifle Basic trigger, it was replaced so I could have a light "2 oz. or less" trigger. The rifle will not be sent in, but I guess if they wish to sent me $12/15 bucks, I'll take it.

[rr2241tx]

"... plaintiffs attorneys — who will now collect $12.5 million in fees..."

And That Gentlemen is the whole case summarized. I have owned and shot Remington rifles with those "defective triggers" since 1962 and when properly adjusted and not just completely gummed up from improper owner maintenance they work as designed. Are they idiot proof? No. Are the lawyer triggers any safer when used by idiots? No. It's sad commentary on the state of our judicial system that a company the size of Remington can be bullied by people intent on destroying the 2nd Amendment into accepting a settlement to avoid litigation that would likely bankrupt the company. The judge should be removed from the bench for letting this go forward.

[dragon813gt]

Remington hasn't been bullied. Their own internal memos are what did them in. The bean counters didn't want to spend a few extra cents back in the 1940s, I think, to fix them. Now they are paying the price. I wonder if they have a risk management department these days :laugh:

[54bore]

Remington hasn't been bullied. Their own internal memos are what did them in. The bean counters didn't want to spend a few extra cents back in the 1940s, I think, to fix them. Now they are paying the price. I wonder if they have a risk management department these days :laugh:

Awesome post!!! I am a died in the Wool Remington 700 Fan, BUT they $hit and fell back in it years ago when they could have fixed this for pennies a trigger. Pay up Remington!!

[54bore]

I totally understand the folks in this thread that are NOT gonna send their rifles in to be fixed, i wouldnt send mine in either!!! I would be willing to bet the trigger you end up getting back in this 'Fix' will be a Lawyer proof ***, Maybe not? I sure wouldn't chance my rifle to it. The absolute best peace at mind to me is a Timney triggers are top notch! Yes, they are gonna cost ya 125.00-150.00 bucks, but in my opinion that is CHEAP LIFETIME insurance, and having the peace at mind that your rifle will NEVER FIRE when you push the safety off! Can you imagine not being ready with a bigger magnum rifle, not have it tightened up into the shoulder good, push the safety forward and BOOOOM, You would possibly be picking your scope out of your Forehead.

[ole 5 hole group]

Uncle R probably gave the best response I've read in a while relative to this "problem". Back in the 60's and early 70's there were a lot of us adjusting Remington 700 triggers down to almost a thought to go off. That was the least expensive method to get a great benchrest trigger and I never witnessed or heard of anyone having a round go down range without pulling the trigger.

Nothing wrong with a Timney trigger but for my money, I'll go with Jewell triggers every time.

[richmanpoorman]

ALL triggers wrapped up in a sheet metal case (including the new M70) are liable to unplanned firing, due to crud, rust, dirt, mouse poop or what have you. The pursuit of "no slack", "light pull" triggers in hunting rifles is why we are where we are. I am amazed old time hunters ever managed to kill anything with their lever guns, single shots, Springfields and Mausers. There is nothing safer than a tuned 2 stage military trigger, second is the "old" M70 trigger. Either can be easily tuned to 3 pounds .... as light as a hunting rifle should be. If you can't shoot a 3 lb. trigger, take up bridge.

[30calflash]

I like richmanpoorman's statement above. Pull the action out and blast it with gunscrubber/brakeclean and get rid of the hair trigger.

I won't be sending mine back, don't use the safety.

Not as scary as you think, mine go to the club range only. When I load it it gets fired, or unloaded if not. Muzzle downrange. Period.

Besides, I've a 600 and 788's that they won't fix, maybe deactivate?? to make it safe? Not gonna happen.

The manufacturers are getting weird when it comes to older models. I don't want them to keep mine and send a voucher for 30% off a new one of theirs. Sorry, ain't gonna happen.

[flint45]

I have a 600 that went off while hiking back to the truck safety was on and in safe direction thank GOD. Scared the you know what out of me took it apart cleaned it no problems for 20 years or so.