In 2014, Remington recalled their Remington Model 700 and Model Seven Rifles to replace their triggers after complaints that they were firing when they were not supposed to. Fast forward to 2017, a federal judge in Missouri began hearing arguments for a suit brought against the company by owners of the rifles, which is one of the most popular bolt-action rifles in history.
For airsoft players, their encounters with the Model 700 is in the form of its military versions, which is either the U.S. Army’s M24 or the U.S. Marine’s M40 series (M40, M40A1, MA403, and M40A5) that are made by Classic Army (M24) or ASG-VFC and Tokyo Marui (M40 series).
The models recalled by Remington were the rifles that were built from May 1, 2006 through April 9, 2014 that use the XMP (X-Mark Pro) trigger which the company says have been assembled with too much bonding agent. But complaints also cover the original trigger, called the “Walker” trigger
According to Inverse.com, more than 20 people have been killed by the rifles which their owners say fired without them squeezing the trigger. With the problem recognized by Remington, it may lead to those accused or convicted of shooting the victims who claimed that the rifles fired on their own to be declared innocent.
In one case, as covered by CBS News 60 Minutes, is about Zac Stringer, who his father talks about in the show, was sent to prison for killing his brother with the Remington 700. Zac maintains his innocence that he didn’t kills his brother and that the rifle went off without him doing anything to make it fire.
Zac Stringer is now out on good behavior, after serving five years of his 10-year prison sentence.
In 2010, CNBC conducted an investigation before on the Remington problem, and that thousands of owners of the rifle have complained about the trigger problem ever since the rifle was first introduced in 1940s. The original designer, Merle "Mike" Walker, who was already 98 years old when CNBC conducted the investigation, proposed a safer trigger in 1948 when the rifle was being tested but was rejected since it will add to the cost though the added cost, adjusted for inflation is US$0.55.
In the 60 Minutes report, the X-Mark Pro trigger was supposed to correct the “Walker” trigger problem , but actually made it worse. Remington blames human error rather than the gun’s fault. They may have to stand with this assertion as it may cost them real big if they have to replace every trigger as lawyers estimate that it will be 500 million dollars. That’s a lot of money, and thus the lawsuit will deeply impact the company if they lose.