Remington Responds to CNBC Investigative Report
On October 20th, CNBC broadcast “Remington Under Fire”, a story attacking the safety record of Remington model 700 rifles. CNBC’s report suggests that the Rem 700 is unsafe because it can discharge merely from moving the safety or lifting the bolt, even if the trigger is not pulled. The show, which aired last night, has already created a big stir in the gun industry. Jason Schauble, VP of Remington Defense Division, responded in an NRA News interview just hours after the “documentary” aired. Schauble attacked CNBC’s “irresponsible programming”, stating that the problems trumpeted by CNBC could not be replicated by the manufacturer (or even by plaintiffs’ lawyers). CLICK HERE for the Schauble interview. Schauble argued, “CNBC squarely placed us in their cross-hairs… [with] a loosely strung-together series of data points that relied more on an emotional pull than the facts[.]”
Remington Launches Remington700.TV Website to Defend Product
Remington has challenged CNBC’s report, asserting that the Rem 700 has an excellent safety record. Remington also argues that CNBC’s “experts” were biased and lacked proper qualifications and knowledge. An official response by Remington states: “CNBC ignored facts and information provided by Remington and instead relied on allegations, misleading anecdotes, and false claims.” Remington has also launched a dedicated web-page, www.Remington700.tv to counter the CNBC report. On that site Remington states:
For nearly fifty years, the Remington Model 700 rifle has been the preferred choice for millions of hunters, shooting sports enthusiasts and military and law enforcement personnel. Despite emotional reporting of baseless and unproven allegations and plaintiff lawyer assertions, several undisputed facts remain:
• The Model 700 is the most popular, reliable, accurate and trusted bolt-action rifle in the world, with over five million rifles produced and billions of rounds fired over nearly five decades.
• The Model 700 is the firearm of choice for elite shooters from America’s military and law enforcement communities, and has been the platform for the United States Marine Corps and the U.S. Army precision sniper weapon systems for over two decades, both of which specifically require the “Walker” trigger mechanism.
• The Model 700, including its trigger mechanism, has been free of any defect since it was first produced and, despite any careless reporting to the contrary, the gun’s use by millions of Americans has proven it to be a safe, trusted and reliable rifle.
• Both Remington and experts hired by plaintiff attorneys have conducted testing on guns returned from the field which were alleged to have fired without a trigger pull, and neither has ever been able to duplicate such an event on guns which had been properly maintained and which had not been altered after sale.
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Tags: CNBC, Remington 700, safety, Television
I have owned and worked on Remington 700 rifles for 40 plus years. Though they are not perfect they are one of the safest firearms ever made. The only Remington 700 Rifles that I have seen that were not safe had been altered form their factory settings by someone who did not know what they were doing. Their condition after they leave the factory is completely out of Remington’s control. I can say that Remington took measures to make their triggers more tamper proof in the 1980s. That fact created an entire aftermarket trigger industry. If Remington 700s were not one of the best designs then why have so many companies started making clones of the model 700. It is sad that CNBC is 30 years behind on this story and still digging. They should have more recent issues to address.
Nat Lambeth
Perhaps CNBC should be invited to a live demonstration their charges so they could prove the 700’s unreliability. Perhaps, if they decide to do so, they might first contact NBC in order to become enlightened on the details shown by NBC in the Chevy truck side-impact “explosions.” They are so insightful and clever! Sounds like they need each other.
I have owned dozens and dozens of 700’s and the exact problem shown has happened to me a few times in the past. I had a 700 PSS that fired when the safety was moved fwd numerous times. I purchased the rifle brand new and it did this from day 1. I called Remington and they wanted nothing to do with me. They were not even cordial to me. I have called Remington a number of times for various reasons and never get a friendly/cordial person on the phone. That being said, I really like 700’s and think overall they are a well-engineered action.
In the past 35 years I have owned a Remington 788, 541S, Mohawk 600 and two Remington 700 rifles, one of which I still have. I have also inspected a considerable number of Remington longarms for basic maintenance in the past three decades. I have attended a Remington approved armourer’s course dealing with a number of Remington actions and trigger assemblies. From my experience, I have never come across a suspect trigger on a factory tuned Remington 700 rifle.
I 2nd chrisj’s comments. I have had dozens of 700 and 1 had a problem of firing when the bolt was closed. also had 2-788s(both factory and unaltered) that would fire if the safty was moved or the bolt closed…called remington just a few weeks ago with this problem and they were rude and did’nt want to talk about it or do any thing to help with the problem.
I won’t comment on the issue of whether Remington has had any defective triggers in their rifles as I have never had that trouble with any I have used. With as many millions of Remington rifles as there are out in the marketplace, I would be shocked if something defective did not slip out there once in a while. If defective stuff gets out there, that’s on Remington and they have to deal with that and will be responsible for it.
What really concerns me is the whole CNBC show and program is being promoted and pushed (advertised aggressively, major newspaper coverage, etc.). Who’s pushing this and why? Who is funding the push and paying for all the advertising? Do we really know?
I see this potentially as another mechanism to try to find an angle for gun control – maybe to try to open the door for gun controllers to re-visit that the Consumer Product Safety Commission should now regulate guns.
I truly feel sympathy for those who have been injured or lost a loved one, but are these people and their tragedies being used in the program, not really to correct an real or chronic problem, but to present an emotionally charged presentation to further a political or social agenda?
Robert Whitley
See thread below. since this came on more people are reporting the same problem. put the safety on, close the bolt and it fires. This is real. shame on remington. i can;t belive there hasn;t been a class action.
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=72520
How many rifles have been sold in relation to how many ADs?
It is terrible that one of the rifle owners had an AD while unloading the rifle and shot her son. But I have to ask what was she thinking letting the muzzle cover something she was not willing to destroy?
There has never been anything in the news that has struck a nerve so fiercely as this CNBC BS that is being broadcast.
Remington is in no way responsible for anyone that has been injured or killed by an accidental discharge from any firearm they have manufactured, even if the firearm is truly faulty. I state this as anyone handling a firearm should know and understand a few simple rules, and anyone who doesn’t know and understand them fully is the ignorant party and the one truly at fault. How hard is it to comprehend “do not point any firearm at a person or anything you do not want to shoot”, “treat every firearm as if it were loaded”, “always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction”.
You could have 5000 accidental discharges, and if you just follow those simple rules, nobody will ever get seriously hurt or killed. I myself have had a few accidental discharges, all from a Mosin with a trigger issue that has now been resolved. Nobody was ever hurt or killed, and all that ever resulted from it was a slight cut on my hand from the rifle recoiling.
I am just so tired of everyone needing someone to lay blame on for their own ignorance or carelessness. It is a very sad state we live in, when people will needlessly try to destroy a company due to other’s using poor judgement. In this situation, it all boils down to poor gun handling, which is no fault of Remington’s.
I just hope those who have injured or killed others by not being safe with a firearm have fun looking at themselves in the mirror every morning, knowing damn right well that they are the responsible party.
I expect nothing less than pure propaganda from CNBC and they deliver in spades. There is no reliable, unbiased news source in the USA anymore. The former U.S.S.R. would be proud of the degree of subterfuge and level of propaganda todays media have achieved within the borders of nation.
above should say > within the borders of “our great” nation.
I love the Rem 700. I’ve owned many of these over the years. I have had the exact problem occur to me on two seperate firearms and I witnessed it with a shooting buddy on his 700 on the first time he took it to the range right out of the box.
I hate the liberal media as much as anyone else… HOWEVER….
…a rifle should not fire by closing the bolt or taking it off saftey. Remington has know about the problem and even the gentlemen who designed the rifle felt convicted that something should have been or should be done.
Like I said… I love the M700…but Remington has a responsibilty to more than just their shareholders. They are responsible if only one death could be contributed to a fault of the rifle.
A number of my family have owned Remington model 700’s over the past 35 years. I know of 3 AD’s, all of which I attribute to carelessness on the part of the hunters/shooters. My brother fired an accidental warning shot over a herd of elk, and I did the same thing to a mule deer.
Here’s how I think these two incidents happened: While hunting, when we walk with the firearm,attempting to jump shoot at fast moving game, it is our practice to keep a round in the chamber for a quick shot. However, for safety, we set the weapon up in this fashion: when we close the bolt with the round in the chamber, we hold the trigger down, so that the firing pin spring is “un-cocked”. The weapon cannot fire in this configuration, until the shooter lifts the bolt handle and puts it back down, cocking the firing pin spring. The trick is to make sure your finger is not on the trigger when you do this, and in all cases to be aware of where the muzzle is pointed! I attribute our (harmless, due to obeying the simplest safety rule of muzzle direction awareness!)AD’s to the wearing of heavy gloves, and in our excitement, putting finger inside the trigger guard while cocking the bolt. (The safety will not go “on” until the bolt is cocked, ready to fire.)
My father shot a hole through the roof of our home, while trying to extract a jammed round from the chamber of his Model 700. I am pretty sure he touched the trigger with the safety off, because, on a Model 700, if the bolt is “cocked” you cannot open the bolt, unless the safety is off. He was forcing the bolt open, with the safety off ( as required, to open the bolt) and forgot where his finger was.
I stand behind Remington 100%. It’s not Remington’s fault that some people were careless with their weapons and accidentally killed or injured someone. I can never understand how people can blame the gun manufacturer for their own carelessness. Maybe Remington did make some faulty firearms, but you should never point a firearm at anyone or anything you don’t intend to shoot.
The liberal media will do whatever it takes to create drama inlolving firearms. I personally believe this is a government backed ploy to attack our second ammendment rights. I hope I’m wrong, but it wouldn’t suprise me if I’m right.
Hello,
I do some digital work for Remington. In case anyone was curious, I thought you might want to check out Remington’s response to CNBC’s program: http://www.remington700.tv
Best,
Jose
I have a Remington 700 6mm BDL in like new condition with only one problem–the rifle discharged twice without touching the trigger. I have written Remington Arm Co regarding the problem several years ago. Remington informed me they were unaware of any problems and this was an isolated incident. Haven’t used this gun since.
I have had a Rem 700 for many years, I had this problem when i changed the stock, though i had the sense to check without a round in it, as most of us do, anyway I found the cause was down to timber pressing against the side of the trigger mechanism, as soon as I had cut some timber away the problem stopped,since then I have come across the problem on other rifles and in such cases it is mostly caused by the action being loose in the stock or a new stock being fitted.
Gun safety is the handler’s responsibility, PERIOD!
Sam Updike– I have to warn you that your method of making the gun ‘safe’ is EXTREMELY dangerous!!!
With the firing pin resting on the primer, all it takes a bump on the butt to cause the firing pin to retract by inertia and fire the gun as it snaps back forward. In addition, ANY impact on the back of the cocking piece fires the gun!!
Its’ better to leave the bolt handle raised into the ‘extraction cam’ notch and simply close the bolt when you want to fire.
As a full time gunsmith I have seen several similar trigger problems over the years. On several Remingtons the problem was dried oil in the trigger housing that did not allow the sear to fully engage. This problem is worse in cold weather. A cleaning with lighter fluid usually does the trick. I had to take apart the trigger and scrape the dried oil on one.
I’ve posted the “Remington-Walker Explanation” here-
http://www.flinthillsdiesel.com/Remington-Walker.pdf
I think I’ve covered all the bases but I’ll be glad to answer questions.
I am not a gun owner and never will be. Rich Barber needs to evaluate his values. The way I see it, he and his wife lost their son Gus, to a gun accident. I am so sorry for their loss and can’t imagine if that happened to me. Probably, by the sounds of the CNBC report, the Remington Gun Company (DuPont) definitley owns the bulk of the blame. But, for the Love of Jesus, I would suggest to Mr Barber to his face if I could that he should pack up his guns in a sack and burn them. I impore Mr Barber to take up another hobby. Checkers comes to mind. His little pea brain should find peace with Gus in that. Mr Barber posseses a characterr flaw beyond my comprehension. When is enough….ENOUGH?? Again, I do not own a gun. If Mr Barber had to use a gun to feed his family I could rationalize the need. But to go out in solitary to shoot the weapon that killed his son, Mr Barber needs his ass kicked straight.
I bought a Remington Model 700BDL-30/06 in 1981.I have used it for deer hunting,and target shooting. I have carried my Model 700 throught all kinds of terrain.I have fired hundreds of rounds through my Model 700 and have NEVER had an accidental discharge.Firearms safety is paramount anytime one takes a firearm in hand.I have never had a problem with my Model 700 and continue to enjoy shooting it.
I wonder why the media is not as aggressive with investigating the alleged “mass shootings” which suddenly “happen”all over the country…