Rem 700 trigger question

[Freezer]

My Remington 700 has been in the back corner of the safe for a long time. A couple of months ago I brought it out to fondle it, when I opened and closed the bolt it did not cock. The trigger stayed in the back position and the safety is inoperable. Curious, I removed it from the safe, pulled the bolt and removed the action and barrel from the stock. Everything looks fine, no rust, no sticky grease. Is this the problem they had with Remington triggers in the past? How should I proceed? Replace the trigger? Barrel date code indicates a January 1965 rifle.

[Zee]

Replace the trigger!!
My fellow shoe salesmen had major issues with pre-2000 triggers and grit grime. We tried Remington’s solution of the X-Mark Pro trigger and it was horrific.
We tested 5 different brands at the time and settled on Timney for reliability of pull under harsh conditions. Several other companies have come out Spence then that I have not tried. But, for a working/field gun…….I still rely on Timney. There are other good comp triggers out there if that’s what you are looking for. But, I still like Bomb Proof.

[Diver43]

Yup replace it with a trigger of choice (timney)
That what I did with my Remington 700 and have zero regrets

[Freezer]

I've replaced a number of Mauser and Ariaska triggers with Timney's. I was just hoping at this particular financial time.

This is my first bolt action rife and has served me well. Bummer and bad timing

[Bigslug]

The Timney is probably the better solution, but hosing out what you have with brake cleaner, then flushing it out with lighter fluid (leaves something of a dry lube) is the recommended approach. You have 58 years of dried up "whatever" in there, and that particular 58 years contains an era where WD-40 was perceived as a firearm cure-all. My guess is that cure-all varnished your trigger parts in place.

[Zee]

The Timney is probably the better solution, but hosing out what you have with brake cleaner, then flushing it out with lighter fluid (leaves something of a dry lube) is the recommended approach. You have 58 years of dried up "whatever" in there, and that particular 58 years contains an era where WD-40 was perceived as a firearm cure-all. My guess is that cure-all varnished your trigger parts in place.

And it will happen again. Why toy with disaster.

[Zee]

The most ADs I’ve ever seen
Have stemed from that trigger.

[Bigslug]

And it will happen again. Why toy with disaster.

We differ only slightly in approach - you've gone "meh" on 700 triggers; I've pretty much gone "meh" on 700's.

[Zee]

And it will happen again. Why toy with disaster.

We differ only slightly in approach - you've gone "meh" on 700 triggers; I've pretty much gone "meh" on 700's.

I’m jaded in that I have the means and opportunity in friends and acquaintances to FIX 700s. So yes, I still see their place. They can be fixed. I have the means.
But, from a laymen place……it can be done rather easily. Or………Bergara.
I DO lack your ignorance for hanging on to imperialistic out dated dogma inherent in the system. The world has turned. At least once.

[Zee]

And there is always Panda, and AI. To name a few.

[Bigslug]

And it will happen again. Why toy with disaster.

We differ only slightly in approach - you've gone "meh" on 700 triggers; I've pretty much gone "meh" on 700's.

I’m jaded in that I have the means and opportunity in friends and acquaintances to FIX 700s. So yes, I still see their place. They can be fixed. I have the means.
But, from a laymen place……it can be done rather easily. Or………Bergara.
I DO lack your ignorance for hanging on to imperialistic out dated dogma inherent in the system. The world has turned. At least once.

And every time I manage to adjust to that fact and get to where I understand and trust the replacement, the world will have turned AGAIN, and I'll be in the same boat. It's all the ************s insistent on "improvement" and "change", their fascination with shiny "new" objects, and the impulse to fix what isn't broke that are the problem.

I seem to be retreating into the Mauser realm, so I'm obviously not getting better.

[Zee]

No, you are not. Mausers are gone with the Dodo. Learn to fix the environmentally new generation.

[fisheadgib]

Now y'all have got me a little concerned about my one remaining 700. I always wanted a 700 Classic in 35 whelen and I picked one up used in the late 80's and although I've never had a problem with it, I've only hunted with it twice and I doubt that I've put 50 rounds through it. The two AD's with 700's that I've personally witnessed were from people pulling the trigger with the safety on. The rifles didn't fire but when the safety was taken off, they fired without touching the trigger.

[Zee]

Yep. Seen that happen several times.

[jkp]

A 1965 trigger shouldn't have the "unintentional discharge" issue, right? Or maybe it does...

https://riflebasix.com/blog/remington-r ... e-history/

Some interesting reading for sure. Has me thinking about my pre-2006 Rem 700 stuff. I think all of my Remington rifles have had a trigger job performed by a gunsmith except maybe the 40x, but I don't suspect that made them any less susceptible to the issue at hand.

[Bigslug]

The two inherent issues are (1.) the trigger connector:

remington-700-trigger.jpg (12.81 KiB) Viewed 1879 times

The original trigger itself is just a MIM casting - not hard enough to incorporate a sear engagement surface. That's where the trigger connector comes in. It's a hardened steel stamping that rests on the front of the trigger and provides a surface to hold the sear up in engagement with the cocking piece. Guess what holds the trigger connector in place? Nothing but pressure from the two adjustment screws on the front. Nope - not even a dab of glue. Now start to think about what might happen if you start making adjustments that involve backing those screws out. Yep. Your firing pin is now held in the cocked position by a sear that's being supported by a free-floating part.

The (2.) issue seems to frequently be that all of those parts in the diagram are held together in a stamped steel box that fits against them fairly snugly on the right and left sides. Get some good old 3-in-1 oil or WD-40 in there and let it dry up for a few years to compromise the normal movement and interaction of those parts.

Basically, you've got a really burly firing pin spring being held to the rear by. . .a not terribly foolproof pile of not very damn much that's supposed to be pushed into place by some very tiny springs in that tight fitting box prone to gunk freezing. It can give a sweet trigger pull and fast lock time when it runs right, but it leaves a good bit of room for stupid to come in and play.