Thread: early remington 700 safety issues

I'm considering the purchase of a 1972 Remington mdl 700. Its a beautufull rifle,..but I watched a couple videos about them fireing with out the trigger being pulled.I'm convinced theres a problem. But what needs to be done to this fine rifle to make sure that its safe? Does the trigger need worked? Is it the safety itself? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

I'm far from an expert, but it seems to me that all of the instances I've seen reported of Rem700 firing when the safety was switched off were in guns were someone had adjusted the pull without knowing what they were doing and without checking it for correct operation throughout the process.
If you are concerned about it, you can always get a new trigger/safety assembly (Timney, or others) and simply replace the old one. But I'd probably first simply have a reputable smith take a look at and adjust the one that's in it first.

My dad's got a half dozen Rem 700's from the early 70's through late 90's and has never had an issue with any of them.

If one follows good safety practices and muzzle discipline the Safety on a Rifle is the LAST link in the chain. When reading about the accident(s) that brought about the controversy, the muzzle was pointed in an unsafe direction to start with.

Another factor has always been maintenance and "good ole boy gunsmithing". I recently replaced the trigger assy on my Remington but it wasn't because of a Safety Failure, I just wanted a better trigger. I installed a Timney in about 15 minutes and $125. Results were definitely worth the money.

Originally Posted by LCBrewing

I'm far from an expert, but it seems to me that all of the instances I've seen reported of Rem700 firing when the safety was switched off were in guns were someone had adjusted the pull without knowing what they were doing and without checking it for correct operation throughout the process..

Same here.

The adjustment screws on the 700 are very easy to reach, easy to adjust, and easy to mess up. They are also easy to do correctly, but it takes an element of patience and purpose to do it right.

If you have an opportunity to buy a nice rifle at a fair price, do so.

My 700 in 8mm mag firing pin released one time when the bolt closed (unloaded), sent it back to Remington, it was repaired at no charge. I believe there was a recall on some of these. Been 20 years or so.