Rem 700 VTR Safety Issue, Firing on Release!

[Halfton]

I got my wife a new rem 700 VTR in 308 for Christmas last year in anticipation of her coming hunting with me this fall. Well I managed to call in a small bull moose for her a week or so ago. She was behind me watching the the other intersection of the cutline...I called her forward to me and as she got close to me and saw the moose she released the safety on her VTR rifle and BOOM ...Big smoking hole in the ground 4 feet in front of her. Needless to say we where both so rattled we never got the lil bull.
Now she swears and I know myself, for I saw with my own eyes her finger was no where near the trigger...the gun fired on release of the safety only. Fortunately my wife with what I had taught her and her taking her PAC Course and Hunter Training Course was practicing safe rifle handling and had the muzzle pointed in a safe direction so no harm other then to the nerves and the total loss of confidence in her rifle. ( This rifle is new...unmodified with less the 100 rounds fired from it)
Now I know for a fact that the older 700's had this same issue but supposedly it had been fixed...and the new X-trigger is not supposed to have this issue at all...But guess what it does.
I will be contacting Remington soon to see what they say and will post any responses I get if I can.
So for all you guys and gals out there...Just be careful and if you know of any other 700 x-trigger failures please speak up.
Jim

[elkhunter11]

Just curious,was the trigger ever adjusted,or did you ever spray lubricant anywhere near the trigger assembly?

[catnthehat]

Could be exactly what was asked, a trigger that is too light will do this at times, and if there is some crud in there it will also discharge on closing the bolt.
Something could have worked loose as well.
get it checked out or if you are capable, look at it yourself.
I assume however, if you are asking about the trigger, you need a qualified person to take a look and see what the problem is.
Cat

[Halfton]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

Just curious,was the trigger ever adjusted,or did you ever spray lubricant anywhere near the trigger assembly?

Short answer is no...this rifle is virtually new...the only cleaning done to it was confined to the barrel after I had taken her to the range several times...Trigger has never been touched and action has never been out of the stock.
Cat, the rifle's trigger pull is actually on the heavy side for my liking and factory stock. I don't believe that any dirt had gotten into it.
Jim

[Grizzly Adams]

Sounds like it might fit in here.

http://www.tacticaladv.com/showthrea...-recall-notice

Grizz

[gitrdun]

First and foremost, I'm happy to hear that no one was injured and that I hope your missus regains confidence in her rifle once resolved. I recently purchased a Mountain Rifle LSS, is this model prone to this? I've put about 25 rounds thru it, no issues thus far. This sure gives the "accutigers" a good reason for being.

[6.5 shooter]

I had a brand new Lakefield? years ago, I took it home and as part of my "getting to know my rifle" routine, I happened to pull the trigger when the gun was on safe, next thing I know the firing pin goes click, when the safety was released. So I play with the rifle a bit more and it does it again. So back to the store it went and I bought a Rem. 700 instead.
I also have a Sako vixen, which went bang once, after releasing the safety, what I discovered is that there is a small roll pin, which had worked its way loose in the trigger mechanism, put the pin back in the little hole, flared the ends problem solved.

Hope my experiences have helped, Glad to hear she had the rifle in a safe position when it fired, and no one got hurt.

6.5
Shooter

[hardy]

I don't want to be rude or seem like i know it all, but the reason remington went to x mark was to eliminate trigger movement. The original trigger which i happen to like better(it is far more adjustable)does not block the trigger when the safety is engaged. So if you where to pull the trigger and for some reason dirt or a week spring doesn't allow the trigger to fall back into place under the sear,the rifle will go off when the safety is released. The x mark does not allow trigger movement. It has a plunger that locks up against the trigger when the safety is engaged. I would say that your wife mistakenly pulled the trigger "or" you could check your rifles trigger for movement with the safety on. If it moves something is broke. I have a x mark on an alaskan ti rifle and have had no issues except that i cant adjust the creep in the trigger(not that there is much).

[Pathfinder76]

Posted a couple of days ago on another site. Interesting read.

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/...8561091241/p/1

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/...3/m/8541091241

[twofifty]

Halfton, if you or a gunsmith are not able to replicate this unintended discharge, then you may have to consider that your wife did have her finger on the trigger.

Here is why:

Under the pressure of an impending shot on game, it is disconcertingly easy to space out exactly where one's finger is, esp. for a new hunter who may only have had a couple hours of training and familiarization with their first rifle. In other words, the muscle memory that is complementary to training courses takes a while to become ingrained.

Here is an example. Not what happened to you and your wife, but related nonetheless:

I witnessed an experienced shooter who ND'd his rifle while raising it to his shoulder from low ready, during a competition. When asked how it happened, he was convinced that his finger was nowhere near the trigger. Yet I saw him slip his finger into the trigger guard half way through the shouldering motion. The forward motion of the stock as the gun came to his shoulder pushed the trigger into his finger... Bang.

Glad your wife's muzzle awareness training was solid, and that you are both ok. Tell her that, to be honest, there are those who have had NDs, and there are those who will. Most of us fall into one category or the other.

And since most will eventually only break one of the 3 basic safety rules in one 'brain fart' moment, rather than all three rules, folk seldom get shot. There is a lot of layers to firearms safety training, which is why hunter/shooter accidental deaths are down from the 1960s.

[Halfton]

Well I was watching my wife, when she was coming up to me...She was only a few feet from me...I had a clear view, and I am sure she never touched the trigger....I have not been able to replicate the failure and I have tried numerous times with different scenario's.
I think what I will end up doing is putting a Timney trigger on it....I don't think I good every trust the stock trigger again.
Jim

[honda450]

Just found this on another site. Model 700's going off on there own.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?play=1&video=1616222630