Remington X mark trigger no good

W

Wendyj

New member
We just bought a CDL 30-06 with the X mark trigger. I had one in a 7-08 which dropped down to 2 lbs. supposed to drop one pound with each full turn. Turned until it came out and was only 1/2 lb lower. Off to the gunsmith for a trigger job. We've owned Remington's all our lives and the Freedom group has done nothing but ruin a good rifles reputation. Great shooter but who wants a 5 lb trigger.
 
The problem goes back a lot farther than the Freedom Group. Remington has been turning out defective triggers for the 700 and 600 series of rifles since 1946. Their own engineers warned them of it and drew up plans for a new trigger in 1948. But since it cost 5 cents more to produce management didn't go for it. After thousands of unintentional discharges, dozens of deaths and more than 100 lawsuits Remington finally designed a trigger that won't fire unless you pull it in 2007. Probably as an overreaction they designed it so that it couldn't easily be adjusted too light. That was never the real issue, but public perception being what it is demanded it.

Don't waste time or money adjusting the one you have. Buying an aftermarket trigger is just part of owning a 700. I finally changed my 1974 edition to a Timney a couple of years ago. Much better and it only shoots now when I pull the trigger.
 
jmr40, I am not sure the problem was quite that bad (and my own 700's fire only when I want them to), but why in heck would anyone who thinks that way ever buy any product from such a totally irresponsible and criminally negligent company?

You mention thousands of AD's but seem to have real experience with only one rifle. And the Remington trigger problem was not caused by users like you tampering with the trigger and setting it too light, but with the way the sear was made.

Jim
 
If you're buying a 700 these days, go ahead and budget another $150.00 or so and order a Timney at the same time. Replace it before you ever shoot it, you'll be much happier. Takes 10 minutes and you don't have to wait on a GS.
 
I bought a new 700 LR with that trigger and had the same issue, turned it till the screw fell out and barely nudged the weight of pull. Replaced it with a Jewel and haven't looked back. I also have a Ruger Precision with a very nice trigger out of the box and adjusts nicely, much like a Savage....it can be done. It would appear that Remington is willing to not address it as long as we the customer seem willing to budget in a new trigger along with buying the gun.
 
I hate they've gone this way. My older adl rifles with the 3 screws were pretty complicated to set but a little time and patience and it could be done. My tikka and Savage both go to lower than I would ever hunt with. Going aftermarket this time.
 
supercub99 said:
I bought a new 700 LR with that trigger and had the same issue, turned it till the screw fell out and barely nudged the weight of pull. Replaced it with a Jewel and haven't looked back. I also have a Ruger Precision with a very nice trigger out of the box and adjusts nicely, much like a Savage....it can be done. It would appear that Remington is willing to not address it as long as we the customer seem willing to budget in a new trigger along with buying the gun.
Click to expand...
Remington has a good trigger design in-house but they wouldn't dare put it on a 700. It's the trigger they acquired from Marlin (X7 rifles) that they're currently using on the 783. The day they put a blade-safety trigger on a 700 you'd have Fudds rioting in the streets.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
A 5 lb trigger is fine if it's smooth. Five pounds isn't a very heavy trigger. However, an X mark trigger is adjustable between 3 and 5 pounds. Factory set at 3.5.
You may want to look at this too though.
http://xmprecall.remington.com/
Two pounds on a hunting rifle is far too light. Good bump and it'll go bang.
 
The so-called "blade safety" trigger is a bit deceptive. It does not act to prevent the firing pin/hammer from falling, it mere stops the gun from firing if it does because the user set the trigger pull too light. In that respect it is the same as the half-cock notch on 1911 type pistols. If your 1911 hammer falls to half-cock every time you cock it, you don't think the safety is good, you get the gun fixed.

Jim
 
All my Ben h rifles are set from 1.5 to 2 lbs. My hunting rifles from 2 3/4 to 3 lbs. it's what I'm accustomed to. I think 5 is way too heavy. I don't shoot with gloves so that's not an issue. Only heavier triggers I have are on ar 15 and an older 30-30.
 
I shot my Ruger M77 for 40 years with a 7+ pound trigger. I was used to it and it wasn't a problem. Someone shot it and said..."Jesus Christopher, how the heck do you shoot that?" I thought maybe I'd missed something so had a Timney put in and whoa! I had shot pistols all my life and other than a shotgun and a .22 that was it. I was a hunter.

Now, I have a lot of rifles, bench rest and some hunting. Bench rest I like a 2, hunting a 3. Its nice to be able to adjust them for both, and easily. My one bench rest gun is a 1903A receiver with a polished original military trigger, my favorite and probably a 2+, nice take up and clean break.
 
My son has bought two R700's with X-Mark triggers. The first was horrible, at different times while shooting it the pull was so extreme we thought the safety was engaged. We replaced it with a Timney and have been very happy with the results. The second 700 was not as bad but since he is wanting to shoot precision stuff he ended up replacing it with a Timney too.
 
One of several reasons I went with a Savage (actually two now) was the acu trigger.

Its a darned good target trigger (with the Varmint down to 1.5 lb , hunting one 2.5 lb) and you can adjust up to a higher weight hunting trigger pull if that suits you (not going to hunt with it so no experience with it in the woods with the blade as a primary safety or a heavier set weight).

It more than good enough that I don't have to change to an after market for target work. That's $100 plus or minus a bit right there.

Same trigger with a different sear and you can get it down to 6 oz for pure target shooting.

Now that is a good design and well done Savage and shame on the rest that don't have the guts to do the same thing.

I guess the good news is it helps employment in the US as people want good triggers.
 
Last edited:
I have been entirely satisfied with the factory triggers on model 70 Winchesters, and the adjustability of them is good also. I can't speak one way or another about the new model 70 M.O.A. triggers. Their safety leaves nothing more to be desired, in my view. I just feel that the M70 is a better rifle than the Remington 700. Of course, these days, a lot of people buy a new gun, plus after-market replacement parts to install right away, perhaps before a shot is fired. Certain firearms come to mind in this category, especially the Ruger 10/22, the Remington 870, and the Remington 700 topping the list. I come from the days when you expected the rifle to be good to go and used as is, with perhaps only the addition of a scope and sling.
 
T. O'Heir said:
an X mark trigger is adjustable between 3 and 5 pounds
Click to expand...

As discussed in other threads on this very forum that is not a universal statement. Some people have had decent luck getting the x-mark pro trigger adjusted down, others not so.
 
Remington can't win, it seems.
They make the walker trigger for 40 years and a number of people manage to kill themselves, just as they did with "unsafe" ruger old models. Meanwhile, gazillions of other users manage to not shoot anyone.... :rolleyes:

Then they bring out a safe trigger, the original X mark, with sealed trigger adjustments (lacquer only), and everyone hates it because it's too safe and heavy. (I just removed the lacquer from mine, adjusted it to awesomeness, re-lacquered it and haven't had a problem in the last 9 years or so).

Then they bring out the "XMP" or "Xmark pro" to allow users to adjust the weight without the fuss of removing the action or stripping lacquer from screws, and shooting wonks seems to hate those.

You'd think that at some point they'd just buy Timney or Jewell or someone and let them make their triggers. That would probably make even more people angry, or would cost so much they wouldn't sell to the 90% of M700 buyers that don't care.
 
RC20 #13. blade never a primary safety. I realize you don't have low tree limbs or bushes with stout branches to push through on your bench. But that blade knows no difference between your finger and a branch entering the trigger guard for those who do go in the woods. Actually everyone should get acquainted with their manual safety. It is the only primary safety. I'm sure you know the difference, but some newbie could get the wrong idea, ending in disaster. No offence intended, so please do not think I meant any. Actually I bet those Alaskan woods are a whole lot prettier than Florida heavy brush. But I hear you too, have blood suckers. We have them nearly year-round. .Pat
 
The original problem with Remington triggers was caused when Remington found that the solid sear trigger it was planning to use violated a Winchester patent. To get around that, they made the "double sear" type with two thin halves, which was more subject to wear than a solid sear. That.combined with a very small engagement with the connector, left too small a safety margin to allow for wear. The result was what is called "failure to reset", which allowed the firing pin of a loaded and "cocked and locked" rifle to fall when the safety was taken "off".

There were some other problems, but that was the main one. Of course, it didn't help when incompetent and ignorant rifle owners decided they knew more than the factory, broke the trigger adjustment seals, and deliberately made the rifle dangerous so they could brag about how they got a "great trigger pull."

Those who think an after market trigger is the solution are correct, but no trigger is proof against fools and files; the other triggers can be abused or set up to be unsafe just like the factory triggers. The main point from some views is that Timney is a small company so it is hardly worth big name attorneys suing them, where Remington is a big company, a nice fat target for genuine damage claims as well as fraudulent claims by the gun control gang trying to put gun makers out of business.

Jim
 
jmr40 said:
The problem goes back a lot farther than the Freedom Group. Remington has been turning out defective triggers for the 700 and 600 series of rifles since 1946. Their own engineers warned them of it and drew up plans for a new trigger in 1948. But since it cost 5 cents more to produce management didn't go for it. After thousands of unintentional discharges, dozens of deaths and more than 100 lawsuits Remington finally designed a trigger that won't fire unless you pull it in 2007. Probably as an overreaction they designed it so that it couldn't easily be adjusted too light. That was never the real issue, but public perception being what it is demanded it.
Click to expand...

Not this crap again......

Read these threads:
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=516968

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=498729

We will just say jmr40 and I disagree on pretty much everything on this subject. Not going to bring it up here, it was covered extensively in those 2 threads.

I am not saying there isn't a problem, I am just saying that the evidence provided as "proof" is suspect at best, and downright misleading in some cases.

A properly adjusted post 1982 Walker trigger is an excellent trigger and perfectly safe, but that does not mean you are exempt form basic safe gun handling. Yes, some people died at the hands of idiots using a Walker trigger equipped Remington 700, but EVERY one of them would be alive today had the owners followed Rule #2.

Jeff Cooper said:
RULE 1
ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED
The only exception to this occurs when one has a weapon in his hands and he has personally unloaded it for checking. As soon as he puts it down, Rule 1 applies again.

RULE 2
NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT PREPARED TO DESTROY
You may not wish to destroy it, but you must be clear in your mind that you are quite ready to if you let that muzzle cover the target. To allow a firearm to point at another human being is a deadly threat, and should always be treated as such.

RULE 3
KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER TIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET
This we call the Golden Rule because its violation is responsible for about 80 percent of the firearms disasters we read about.

RULE 4
BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET
You never shoot at anything until you have positively identified it. You never fire at a shadow, or a sound, or a suspected presence. You shoot only when you know absolutely what you are shooting at and what is beyond it.
Click to expand...
 
James, from all I've read, you are spot on regarding the cause and effect, well said. I also think Emcon5 makes a very valid point, #2.
In the end, anytime someone has a problem along these lines in these times, crap will hit the fan, it will be blown way beyond what it was or is and post's will fly from now till hell freezes over. There is no longer a requirement to have merit, just say it and off it goes.
Springfield had problems with the original 1903's going off, solution? Put a pin in the trigger guard to keep the trigger from bouncing forward as you can fire that design in either direction. Some folks have been known to take that pin out, lose it or have it fall out and the gun can and will go bang. Put that faulty trigger guard on a Rem 1903A3 and now you have a problem with that. Just an example on how things get out of control in a hurry.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top