It has long been my understanding that the Remington Model 700 two-position safety was originally configured to lock the bolt closed when on "safe", requiring the user to place the safety on "fire" in order to unload the rifle but that, sometime in the early eighties, Remington changed the design so that the bolt remained unlocked when on safe so that the rifle could be unloaded while on safe as a concession to liability concerns. However, one of my favorite shooting/hunting authors, Dr. Wayne van Zwoll, in his book Deer Rifles and Cartridges, stated that in 1982, Remington altered the safety so that it "... locks the bolt down when the safety is 'on' to prevent opening of the bolt during carry. This change would later be blamed (not justly) for accidental discharges when hunters unloaded their rifles. Remington would respond by reverting to the original safeties..."
My question is whether Dr. van Zwoll has this bit of history backwards or has my "understanding" of the reason for changing the safety and when it was done been flawed all along? The answer would seem to be predicated on how the safety of the first Model 700 rifle functioned. Anybody know for sure? Thanks for those willing to indulge me in this rather esoteric query.
My question is whether Dr. van Zwoll has this bit of history backwards or has my "understanding" of the reason for changing the safety and when it was done been flawed all along? The answer would seem to be predicated on how the safety of the first Model 700 rifle functioned. Anybody know for sure? Thanks for those willing to indulge me in this rather esoteric query.