A class action lawsuit that has been filed against one of Americas longest running producers of firearms says that the cornerstone rifle of Remington’s empire is just that.
The Remington 700 bolt action rifle has been a staple to the modern hunter for over 40+ years. Personally, I can think of at least 4 hunters I personally know that own one. But it would seem Remington has had trouble with the rifles almost since it’s inception.
This is mind blowing to me, as to the fact that with over 30 years of shooting and hunting experience, I am only NOW hearing about this.
According to a report from CBS, thousands of gun owners claim Remington 700 rifles have fired without the trigger being pulled.
The class-action lawsuit has been filed and a recall has been established to get the potentially lethal defective weapons returned to Remington.
According to the CBS Report:
A federal judge in Missouri heard arguments this past week in a case involving one of the most popular bolt-action rifles in American history: the Remington 700 series. Here’s the problem: thousands of owners have complained these rifles have fired without anyone squeezing the trigger.
The company has downplayed the danger for decades and the complaints represent only a fraction of the rifles out there. But 10 attorneys general wrote the court saying, “There are potentially as many as 7.5 million defective rifles at issue.” And that, “Remington knows or should know…they are unreasonably dangerous.” (Read More)
With multiple lawsuits over the years, there have been multiple accidental deaths as a result of various trigger mechanisms used in the 700. By 2011, Remington had received over 200 complaints about the X-Mark Pro trigger going off on it’s own according to the CBS report.
However, troubles with the 700 date as far back as 1994 with the Walker Trigger Mechanism and even further back. “According to a Remington internal document the company had evidence of the problem as early as 1975 when its own tests showed some of the model 700s firing without the trigger being pulled. And this 1979 document indicates the company considered a recall. That never happened, but a decade ago it did switch from the original Walker trigger to the X-Mark Pro” according to CBS.
Normally, when I hear about class action lawsuits against a firearms manufacturer; I take it with a grain of salt. But in this case, CBS, the lawyers and families involved in the law suit have a monumental amount of evidence stacked up against Remington. So much so, that I am beginning to have doubts as to Remington’s reliability.
I am very curious to see how this case plays out and how Remington handles it.