Remington 700 Trigger adjustment

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davem

Moderator
I have a Remington 700 with the Walker type trigger. The pull is almost 8 pounds and I wanted to drop it to a better level. There is talk about dropping the pull creates a hazard because of the floating connector. Therefore do nothing. BUT...there is a lot of stuff on the net about the trigger is good and can be adjusted. I'm wondering if it is simply a matter of being aware to carry the rifle without a round in the chamber and wait until you are in your tree stand. In other words- don't "rough handle" the gun- which is probably a good idea any way. The other thing is the Remington trigger is exposed on top and can get dirt accumulation. I'm wondering if a blast of canned air, etc is a good cleaning practice.
All comments good or bad appreciated. :cool:
 
There has been quite a bit written good and bad re the "Walker" trigger. Personally I have had very good success with the Rem 700 triggers. They can be adjusted, but the sequence of which screw is to be turned is very specific. If you adjust, Remington will void the warranty, so it might be better to have a smith do it. My 700's all are at about 3.5# of pull weight and have operated flawlessly for years. Oldest is a 7 mag that soon will be 50!!! I also have swapped out three for the Jewell w/safety so I could take pull wt under 3#. But that is for me, not necessarily for others. And yes, a squirt of canned air can't hurt as they need to be clean to operate efficiently.
 
I believe if you google "Remington Crisp", you will find a recipe for adjusting the standard Rem 700 trigger. Don't try to go too low.
 
Replaced all of mine with Timneys.. They will preset them for the # of pull you want. I get mine at 3.5 .. Takes a whole 10 minutes to replace from start to finish with a small hammer and pin punch.
 
I think to keep the rifle original or at the least keep its original parts in their original condition is a necessity. If ever there is a company call back like which to place for many Remington models made before 1987. You might disqualify your rifle from a free company repair because of your tinkering with its trigger group settings. Consider an aftermarket trigger change-out instead. Timney for hunting. Jewell for benchrest. But its your decision. As far as trigger cleaning Air is good and so is WD-40 according to those who have serviced their triggers as I was told.
 
WD-40 in a Remington trigger is a recipe for disaster. WD-40 was never intended as a gun cleaning lubricant. It does not completely dissolve, but will settle into small nooks and crannies and harden into a sticky varnish. Canned air, or other gun cleaning products designed for guns will work much better. Lots of guys recommend lighter fluid followed by a blast of air to clean. The lighter fluid will dissolve gunk in there and will then completely evaporate.

Remington triggers by design can be problematic. ANY trigger can discharge unintentionally if adjusted too light but the Remington trigger in particular must be PERFECTLY clean or it is far more susceptible to malfunctions. In rare cases perfectly clean triggers still discharge. I've seen it happen and there are simply too many documented cases to ignore.

The problem is rare, but happens enough to warrant extra precautions. Personally, I'd replace it with an aftermarket trigger, or leave it alone just as it left the factory. I have seen Remington's fire with no trigger pull. That alone would not remove one from my consideration, but I use extra care when handling them and strongly suggest trigger replacement.
 
I never had any issues with the Walker triggers on the 700's I owned, and I sold or traded those guns before the mainstream media began their assault on them. Still, if I owned one today I would replace it with an aftermarket trigger. As stated above it is a very easy installation and while I remember my Walker triggers feeling pretty good, they could not compare to the aftermarket ones I use today.
 
[QUOTEWD-40 in a Remington trigger is a recipe for disaster. WD-40 was never intended as a gun cleaning lubricant.][/QUOTE] Really. I wonder if that is the reason why those (others) are cleaning their triggers to begin with. I've never encountered any problems suggesting I need to clean mine. I just took for granted on their say so it was a good product for the purpose. Apparently not. Thanks for commenting otherwise.
 
Remington 700 trigger adjustment

Make sure you do the safety checks.

The first check, before you do anything to the trigger is to put the rifle on safe and see if you can operate the bolt. If you can't, call Remington and see if they are still replacing these. If not, buy a replacement trigger. Remington changed the design in 1982, so if the rifle was made after that, it won't do this.

Confirm the rifle is unloaded & safety off, cock the rifle and beat on it with a rubber mallet. Do this a lot, left, right, top bottom. Pull the trigger to release the sear, then re-cock and repeat the procedure a few times.

Confirm the rifle is unloaded & safety off, cock the rifle and bang the butt on the floor a few times. Pull the trigger to release the sear, then re-cock and repeat the procedure a few times.

Confirm the rifle is unloaded, cock the rifle and put the safety to "safe". Pull the trigger and make sure sear doesn't release. Take the rifle off "safe" and make sure this doesn't release the sear. Repeat about 30 times. Pull the trigger to release the sear, then re-cock the rifle and repeat the whole test again, several times.

The most important thing is to remember a mechanical safety does not cancel the need for safe gun handling.
 
I'm no expert on this so I'll state it as best I can. That Walker trigger was different. The top of the trigger doesn't rest against the sear- there is a cover or "connector" over the trigger top that is free floating and is pushed back against the trigger by a spring. If you pull on the trigger while the safety is on the trigger will always bounce back under spring pressure but the connector could get caught. If that happens there is nothing holding the firing pin, as soon as you flip the safety the gun fires.
How can the connector get snagged?
1. The safety is a cam that lifts the sear high enough for adequate clearance, if you didn't move the safety all the way the sear could be too low and snag the connector.
2. Dirt/gum/etc. The top of the trigger is exposed. It is easy for debris to get into the area.
SO.....5 million guns sold and only a handful of accidents. What is the deal?
David E. Petzal said a Remington trigger should never be set at 3 pounds or less pull. If you want a lighter pull get an aftermarket trigger.
Therefore, my Rem has a terrible 8 pound plus pull and as a margin of safety I'm thinking about setting the trigger at 4 pounds. For hunting that isn't too bad.
On cleaning- one of the spray cans designed to clean guns? Brake cleaner? Any help appreciated.
I'm thinking that with normal cleaning, a 4 pound trigger, and normal safe gun handling (don't take the safety off unless the muzzle is in a safe direction- that there should not be a problem.
 
I'll also suggest a Timney trigger as you'll never get the factory trigger safely adjusted to break as cleanly as the Timney.
 
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