Remington 700 bolt locking safety modification

R

roklok

New member
I prefer the bolts to lock closed when safety is engaged on my hunting rifles. All my 700s are post 1982, but I have installed early safetys in most of them to convert to locking bolt.

The exception was my newest 700, made in 1997, that no longer had the bolt factory machined for the bolt lock safety. I solved this problem with careful use of my dremel tool, it turned out great, and has less bolt wiggle on safe than the factory machined bolts.
 

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Remington changed that safety so the gun could be loaded/unloaded with the safety on, reducing at least the chance of an accident. The idea of locking down the bolt handle was to keep it from being moved up by a tree branch, or a hunter's clothing, keeping the gun from firing when needed. Both arguments have validity, but I guess Remington decided an accidental discharge was worse (from a legal viewpoint) than not getting a deer.

Jim
 
Evidently y'all missed the MSNBC special on how unsafe the 700 is. Worth watching but I have my doubts even though the original designer says he knew it was unsafe and told Remington what needed to be done before the 700 went into production. All I know for sure is I’ve done everything I can think of (without doing damage) to my 1973 700 BDL to make it go bang and the only thing that will make it go bang is pulling the trigger with the safety in the off position.
 
IMHO, there are problems with the 700 trigger. One is that excessive wear in the older mechanism can result in failure of sear reset, and the gun firing when the safety is removed.

BUT, the biggest problem is that a zillion idiots just had to take screwdrivers, files, bench grinders and everything else to that trigger to "improve" it, even though it was the best trigger ever put on a standard sporting rifle. There were even web sites (now seemingly gone - wonder why?) telling the fools exactly what to file, grind, adjust or hammer on to make the trigger "better". Too many people did as advised, and the a$$holes who gave the "advice" won't accept any responsibility. It is just fortunate that more people were not injured or killed.

Jim
 
I dont have a problem with the standard Remington trigger, never saw the need to spend the money on aftermarket triggers when the factory trigger can be tweaked a bit, resulting in a great trigger. However, the old style bolt locking safetys can be used with several of the aftermarket triggers as well, if one does not trust the factory trigger.

I think it is a real shame that Remington did away with the bolt lock safety, and have converted all my 700s to lock, except a couple that are mostly used for varmints.
 
Have to remember that Rem 700 design Does Not Ever Lock The Firing Pin! Prevent the bolt handle from lifting? Sure. Firing Pin Can Still release and fire if round in chamber...

I owned more than 10 Rem 700s a few years back and sold all but one.
Prefer the Winchester 70 or Sako designs. The rifles shoot as well as the legendary 700, and I can lock the firing pin and remove the bolt from battery if I choose.

Locking the Rem 700 bolt is a misinformed safety measure...
 
Hogan,

Misinformed safety measure ? I dont get it. Are you saying I am misinformed ? I understand very well the mechanics of the Remington 700 trigger and action, as well as most other firearms.

The older Rem 700 bolt locking safetys lock the bolt from opening when safety is engaged, a feature that is very desireable to me in a big game rifle. Accordingly, I have coverted all my 700s I use for big game hunting to locking bolts, as they came factory equipped through 1982. This particular rifle was my only 700 that did not have the bolt factory machined for the bolt locking safety, so I modified it accordingly.
 
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