I’ve had a problem with my Remington 700 for about a year now. When the gun sits in the safe for a couple months, it will misfire when I take it out. I’ll take it out and open the bolt. When the bolt closes, it fires (if the safety is off).

The first time it happened, I was cleaning it and thought the rag hit the trigger. Then it happened again, so I took the rifle apart and found it was pretty dirty. The trigger housing was dirty, so I thought that was it. I took the gun apart (completely) and cleaned it. The problem seemed to go away.

Today I took it out of the safe. I opened and closed the bolt. No problem. Then I dry fire it. I open it up and when I go to close the bolt, it goes off.

I called Remington about it. They tell me, my trigger sear (?) is probably worn down and needs to be replaced. So the problem I have now is, to have a gunsmith work on the Remington Trigger or just buy a Timmy Trigger?

Has anyone else had a Remington do this?

Did you disassemble the entire trigger group and scrub every piece, including inside the housing? If not, it isn't clean. Too many places inside for dirt and debris to hide.

Save your money. You're trigger just needs a good, thorough cleaning and adjusting by someone who knows what they're doing. And that's not necessarily the factory.

Buy a Timney. I replaced both the safety and the trigger on mine. It is controversial. Remingtons are known to have this problem. I think it is a problem with the way the trigger is designed.

The Remington trigger is one of the best factory trigger designs, better than most of the after market triggers that are suppost to be improvements. Any trigger can develope the problem yours has if it is allowed to gum up with excess oil and crud. As Westpac said, a good cleaning and adjusting should take care of the problem.

Just a guess at best but I would be more suspiciuos that "someone" has been doing some adjusting of the trigger. I believe that about a 2 to 3 lb. pull is about as low as you should go without those "accidental" let-offs happening. I installed a 2oz. trigger (from Brownells) on my 700 but have set it at about 6oz.-good tigger with a very crisp let-off. --- John 303.

quote:

Originally posted by Westpac:
Did you disassemble the entire trigger group and scrub every piece, including inside the housing? If not, it isn't clean. Too many places inside for dirt and debris to hide.

Save your money. You're trigger just needs a good, thorough cleaning and adjusting by someone who knows what they're doing. And that's not necessarily the factory.

+1
Amen..

Thanks for all the help. The trigger was adjusted 14 years ago by a qualified gunsmith that has done a lot of work for my family/friends. The trigger has a 2.5 lb pull. One huge problem with taking it back to him is I will not have my rifle back before this years hunting season.

The rifle is a 300 Win Mag that has been to Kodiak to South Africa. This problem started after last years hunting season. Never had a problem with the rifle before. 90% of my rifles (and my family’s rifles) are Remingtons. My Dad’s 30-06 Ackley is older than I am, and has been more places than I’ll ever go. No one has ever had a problem like this before. And I have to say, I’m a little nervous just to have the trigger cleaned.

I called Remington’s Gunsmith near Sacramento. It seems the cost will be the around the same (either to have them work on it, or if I replace it myself with a Timmy or Rifle Basix trigger).

Thanks again for the help.

To disassemble/clean/adjust to 2-3Lb by a competent 'smith shouldn't cost more than $25.00.

I was thinking it was gummed up again but maybe not. Could be some rusting in the internals. You could check Gunbroker and other places and buy a used remington for very little.

If I can find the bag in a reasonable amount of time I have the take off from mine. There was no function problems with it at the time I replaced it. The design problem I talk about is the way crap can get into the trigger and allow it to fire on closing. As I said it is a controversial subject. I wanted a 3 position safety so replaced that as well.

quote:

Originally posted by Mike Smith:
Buy a Timney. I replaced both the safety and the trigger on mine. It is controversial. Remingtons are known to have this problem. I think it is a problem with the way the trigger is designed.

+1

They are adjustable, but 2.5 lbs. is probably farther than I'd go with a 300 WM.

Certainly can't hurt to clean it thoutgh.

Some Remington fans get kinda hot over this subject. I've only had one sear trip inadvertantly over the years, but that was 1 more than I want. Now I just buy aftermarket triggers when I see them on sale and then replace the factory triggers that come into my possession. No regrets.

You will be amazed at the crap you can flush out ot an older rem. trigger gunk,chips/shavings, dead bugs- I actually washed out a small cock roach in one I had bought at a pawn shop. I like to flush them with gunscrubber spray- disassemble and clean- put a little lube where needed and substitute a lighter wolff trigger return spring on reassembly but I would try to go much lower than 3-4 lbs on a hunting gun

Didn't Remington change their trigger design within the past 3 to 5 years? I am personally aware of three instances here in Montana where a 700 has fired upon closing the bolt. Two of those occurrences ended in fatalites, one in Three Forks and another near Lima. The third occurrence I witnessed when my hunting partner closed his bolt inside the wall tent. The 700 fired and blew a hole in his sleeping bag and cot. Lots of goose down feathers floating gently down amid the deafening silence of the evening.

Remington has been aware of this for some time now and design features were made. I'm no gunsmith so I don't know what was done. Their rifles are good, don't let me start an argument about which is the best make out there.

This is just an observation.

2.5 lbs is less tension than the Rem. 700 trigger is designed to function at. For $228 you can get a Jewell from Midway. Then you can set your trigger from 1.5 oz to 3.5 lbs, eliminate all the creep, and rely on the thing to function safely.

Jewell recommends cleaning the mechanism with lighter fluid. Irrigate the mechanism from the top down. Lighter fluid (napha) evaporates and does not leave a residue.

A good trigger is at the heart of accuracy. Yes, you can use Jewell or Timney, but there's a new trigger by Huber Concepts for the Rem. 700 that has been well received.

Here's a link to the trigger web page:

http://www.huberconcepts.com/Remington700.htm

and here's a review of the trigger:

http://www.snipershide.com/node/12

quote:

Originally posted by Dans40XC:
To disassemble/clean/adjust to 2-3Lb by a competent 'smith shouldn't cost more than $25.00.

I rather go fishing instead.

quote:

Originally posted by Shof:
A good trigger is at the heart of accuracy. Yes, you can use Jewell or Timney, but there's a new trigger by Huber Concepts for the Rem. 700 that has been well received.

Here's a link to the trigger web page:

http://www.huberconcepts.com/Remington700.htm

and here's a review of the trigger:

http://www.snipershide.com/node/12

Several years ago, I wanted to buy a Timney trigger for a Mauser 98 I have in 7x57. I called Brownell's and they were out of them. So, I bought a Huber trigger instead. I must say I am VERY happy with the Huber performance.....

Don

quote:

I called Remington’s Gunsmith near Sacramento. It seems the cost will be the around the same (either to have them work on it, or if I replace it myself with a Timmy or Rifle Basix trigger).

If you in the Sacramento area, call Ernie at Paull Firearm Specialties. He's great with Remington triggers. Call him at 916-631-1609. His shop is in the Rancho Cordova area.

Send it to Dan that posted above. He lives in Fairbanks, Alaska and will get it back to you in a week. Try him at www.accu-tig.com
Butch

jim pigg in jackson hole wyoming 700 guru

I am sure there are/have been problems w/ the Rem. 700 trigger, but I would not want to hazzard a guess as to how many there are "out there...," old version that is. Have used them for over 40 years in all kind of conditions and have yet to have a problem with them, providing they are adjusted properly and maintained, cleaned when needed. Also use Jewells and they are a fine trigger, but honestly never felt a least bit poorly equipped w/ std. Rem. trigger in match rifles. They certainly are not intended for benchrest shooters, but for prone/sling shooting set a some 2 lbs.+ they work just fine. Old Rem. 700 action on it's fifth barrel and literally thousands of rounds fired and same trigger, no problems. Do a search for Rem. 700 trigger adjustment instructions and believe you will find quite easy to do and will produce desired results. Can't imagine a sporting rifle trigger being "worn out" for they see little use compared to a match rifle.

Thanks for all the help guys. I’m going with a Timmy. I no longer trust this trigger and I want it off my gun.

Out of +10 Remingtons my family and I own, this is the only one that has a problem.

I’m going to let it sit in the safe for a while and try to film the bolt going off when it’s closed.

quote:

Originally posted by CA Safari Hunter:
I’m going to let it sit in the safe for a while and try to film the bolt going off when it’s closed.

It ain't exactly like sneaking up on and filming Sasquatch. You can probably do it in 1 take. But just in case, here are a few tips to aid in your success:

1. Get a little build up of dirt between the connector and the trigger lever, film it going off.
2. Back the sear screw off, film it going off.
3. Reduce the spring tension, film it going off.
4. Hold the trigger to the rear while you close the bolt, film it going off.

About as complicated as cleaning the trigger, re-adjusting the pull and solving your problem.

Good luck!

Drop in a Jewell. Problem solved. You'll wonder why you put up with anything less.

I like both Jewel and Timney. I chose the Timney over the Jewel for two reasons. First the Timney was less expenisive than the Jewel. Second and probably more important on a 375 I didnt need to set it as light as a Jewel so the timney was fine. My choice might not have been the same in a lighter rifle.

Another trigger worth buying for the 700 is a Rifle Basix. Excellent breaks. I have 4 on rifles now, and would buy another. Timney's are excellent too, as I have one on a 700.
I have two Jewell's on target rifles, 2 oz triggers.

Don

quote:

Originally posted by highcountry2:
jim pigg in jackson hole wyoming 700 guru

Last I heard, Jim Pigg is long gone.

If you want to see one malfunction - soak it with WD-40 and let it set a while -Any excess lubricant and a little dirt -then malfunctions become a problem. I've seen a lot of problems related to WD-40 use-in firearms- it is not a lubricant- it does clean/penetrate but it will leave some residue that turns into gum/varnish that is the problem.

Buy the Timney, have it adjusted properly and shoot away.