Is the Remington 700 a bad choice?

K

Kingcuda

Inactive
I've been looking into getting a new deer rifle and am leaning towards the Remington 700. I have looked that the rugers, winchesters, and a couple others but I have a few Remington shotguns and a 7600 and I've always like Remingtons products. My concern is about all the bad stories I've heard about the 700, how they have a problem with the trigger and can fire unintentionally. I've also heard that there have been a lot of recalls on the 700 over the last few years related to trigger problems. I'd really like to get a 700 but do not want to even consider it if it's going to be a safety hazard or give me problems. Can anyone else tell me what they know about problems with 700s and if it's a good investment buying one or not
 
Buy a Tikka T3 or a Bergara B14. Remington 700 is a great gun to build a project on but if you want to buy one and leave it alone, I'd spend a little more upfront, or roughly the same amount depending of model of 700, and buy something else.

The 700 isn't worth the gamble it appears to be at their price point anymore. Other companies have stepped their game up and Remington isn't the value it once was. If the Remington 700 5R was to become standard then I'd say buy a 700.

I own a 700 but the only thing left on it that Remington had anything to do with is the action body and bolt, both of which have been modified and improved.

I'm in the market for a mountain gun and it will likely be a Tikka T3 Lite.

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The trigger issue is very real, and very dangerous. But the issue has been resolved and should not be an issue on any rifle made in the last 2-3 years. There was a recall on guns made starting in 2007 up until I think 2014. Those guns should be fine after the trigger is replaced.

The bigger problem is that the triggers used from 1946-2006 are the ones to worry about. There is ongoing litigation and the issue is still unresolved. I replaced mine with a Timney and would advise anyone else to do the same.

Remingtons future is uncertain. Depending on how the multiple lawsuits work out Remington could end up bankrupt. At the least they are spending millions of $$$$ fighting lawsuits and in payouts that could be used to build better guns.

Even with the trigger issue finally resolved I'd not recommend a Remington today. There are better options. Like someone else pointed out. The Remington action is a good start for a custom build where most of the other parts are replaced.
 
I had an old friend and neighbor who called Remington's "poop" guns. When asked why, he always replied that if you visited a pawn or gun shop and looked at the used guns most were Remington's. You rarely ever saw a used Winchester. But when you did the used Winchester was twice the price of the used Remington. Therefore, his opinion was that a used Remington had about as much resale value as a bag of "poop". LOL!
 
Kingcuda, what are you replacing? The 700 is a good gun. I've had two: an early 7 mag I inherited from my father and a later 22-250 VS. Still have the 7 mag. That one did have the trigger problem, whether due to design or the fact that a previous owner fooled with it. As stated by others, replaced with a Timney. The other never had an issue with the trigger, and shot one hole with the right load. The 7 shoots an inch with SGK or Nosler AB 160s. So, if you like it, get it. That said, there are some real nice rifles out there today.
 
Millions of people shoot unmodified Remingtons with no problems.
Click to expand...

Just because they haven't had a problem YET, doesn't mean there isn't a problem. On the 1946-2006 rifles the problem is a flawed design. The 2007-2014 rifles were a solid design, but with a manufacturing defect.

On the older rifles around 1% of those manufactured have discharged with no trigger pull. 1% doesn't seem like much, but with 6 or 7 million manufactured that is a lot of guns firing. The vast majority have done no damage or caused no injuries. But there have been about 2 dozen people killed or injured.

The problem is that 100% of them could do it at any time. Just because someone has a 20 year old rifle that has never done it is no indication that it won't the next time it is loaded. Remington used a unique, quite complex, trigger design on those guns that no one else has ever tried. If internal parts inside the trigger (the trigger connector) align in just the right way it will fire without pulling the trigger. The engineer who designed the trigger discovered the flaw in 1946 and made management aware of the problem. He went as far as designing a replacement without the trigger connector, but Remington management ignored his warnings.

My rifle was manufactured in 1974 and I bought it in 1975. I first became aware of the issue in the late 1970's or early 1980's and scoffed at the idea. Until sometime in the 1990's when my rifle dropped the firing pin one day without me pulling the trigger. Fortunately it was unloaded at the time. I was able to get it to repeat it 2-3 times and it stopped.

I used the gun for another 20 years with no more issues, until 2 years ago when it did it again. Once again unloaded. After that I bought a Timney. That is only 2 incidents in over 40 years. Not a lot, but it did happen. I can understand why many people don't take this seriously. Just because you haven't seen it happen doesn't mean it doesn't.

The odds are that for most people you will never have a problem, that is certainly true. But I have no intentions of walking around with a loaded rifle knowing the trigger is a flawed design that could fail.
 
Take my opinion with a grain of salt. First off I'm a Model 70 Winchester Guy. The finest rifle ever made.

But having said that, the Model 700 is never a bad choice. There is a reason why the Model 700 action is the number one pick for precision target rifles.

It's the base for the Army's Model 24 and Marines Model 40 sniper systems.

Also it was the number on rifle chosen for LE Sniper systems. At the recommendations of the AMU Sniper School Staff, I chose it as the Sniper Rifle I used as a LE with the Anchorage Police Dept.

The Army also chose it as the action to build their Mann device for testing 5.56 ammo.

The only thing wrong with the Model 700 is it isn't a Model 70 Winchester.
 
I don't know squat about the new Rem 700s, but I've got two vintage 700s:

1971 vintage in 30-06 with the same era Leupold scope, and

1966 vintage in 270 with the same era Leupold scope.

Put it this way: MOA accuracy is strictly on me.....

Bayou
 
The Remington 700 action (and its clones) are the most "supported", in terms of aftermarket parts, stocks, etc. by MILES over any other action/rifle. This makes them a great "beginner" rifle out of the box, that can be upgraded as the shooter's skills and budget dictate.

They (or again, the custom clones) are still the choice of the vast majority of competition shooters today.

That all said, for a hunting rifle (with no future as a target/precision rifle) I would personally recommend a Ruger American or Savage 10/110 (not the Axis).

JMO- and you know what they say about opinions...
 
I've purchased a M700 ADL since the trigger recall, and it shoots good enough for me. Shoots even better since I put it in a B&C stock. I'll buy more if it suits my needs, for $400 for an ADL package from Wally World they're hard to beat.
 
Wouldn't phase me one bit to get another 700, I think I have four right now. Nope make it five, got a 788 too. Have never had the trigger problem and have had a good number of Remingtons over the years.
 
The military used a lot of M70's. Even Hathcock shot the 70 until they replaced it with the Remington, which he didn't think much of. The reason being $$. Remingtons were cheap and came out as the lowest bidder on the military contract. They were a "poop" gun back then and they're still a "poop" gun today. LOL!
 
The problem with the trigger has been addressed by Remington. There was a serial number range with issues.
However, commercial hunting rifles are never any kind of investment. They're all pretty much the same. Think I'd go Savage before Winchester or Remington though. Mostly on the price alone, but a Savage is very hard to beat for out of the box accuracy at less money.
 
I have a bunch of Remingtons, but they were all made before 2000. If I had to buy today I'd buy Tikka, Winchester or Ruger before I bought another one.
 
the biggest killer by AD,S was winchester-marlin lever action rifles and it took from 1860 to the 1980,s to rectfiy the problem. to me the so called one percent of remington 700 series rifles that had triggers problems is a red herring, it will never be known how many were misadjusted by a former owner, who would never admitt it after a AD happened. eastbank.
 
My newest rifle is a Mossberg Patriot. Got one because I like how the wood stock one's look. Didn't have any idea how it would shoot. No background on Mossberg rifles. If I wanted another rifle right now and Mossberg chambered it, I'd get the Mossberg again. I guess I'd have to be a Remington supporter but I like most rifle's. No idea why I ended up with more Remington rifles that anything else!

The only rifle I was upset with after getting it home and trying to work up a load for was a Rem mod 7. Never get one of them again!
 
I have owned and shot a lot of guns since the mid 50s. I had a Rem M700 back in 1971. The only one I ever had. Sold it shortly after I got it when I learned that no one could shoot it. That is the only one I ever had.

I hear of a lot of folks buying M700s, then they buy a trigger for it, then they rework the action, then they rework the stock. By that time, it is not a Remington any longer.

I currently have Weatherby, Mossberg, Savage, Winchester, Harrington & Richardson, High Standard, Howa, Ruger, Marlin, Stevens, Fox, Parker, and Dakota in the safe in various offerings. But, no Remingtons.

I know a few gunsmiths that will work on nothing but Remingtons. I guess there is money to be made from doing so.
 
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