Very scary

[rickomatic]

Brother and I went to the range yesterday (I know....busiest day of the year...sheesh) to sight in for hunting season. Brother hasn't hunted for years, but his wife and kids bought him a rifle for father's day and he's on board to hunt with big brother finally after a 20 year hiatus.
So, the rifle he got is a lefty Rem 700 7mm mag with ported barrel. Very nice rifle. Couldn't get it on the paper after a couple shots, so had the range smith bore sight it. That got it on the paper, so it was just a matter of walking the POI to where we wanted it...3" high at 100 yds. After a couple more shots...maybe half a dozen, we're getting close and as he's chambering another round, the thing goes off as he closes the bolt!! We both looked at each other like WTF!?!?!? Thank goodness it's pointed downrange. At first I think we better have a smith look at it before we try it again. But we chance it, keeping it pointed downrange, and it works fine....until a couple more later it does it again. He fired a total of 15 rounds and had 3 go off when he closed the bolt. Finally got it sighted in and left.
We talked on the way home to try to figure out what could have caused it. Could the bolt have been so dirty so that the firing pin wasn't retracting all the way? Was the sear damaged? Was the rifle "cooking off" the rounds? When we got home we googled some stuff, and found out that some older (this is a used rifle) Rem 700's have this problem. Remington, I guess denies it, but there is or was a lawsuit. Have any of you guys had or seen this problem?
This is what we did. Took the action off the stock to access the trigger mechanism. Let me back up for a second. He told me that the trigger seemed "light". I checked it, and HOLY CRAP! Barely touching it when cocked set it off! So, following instructions online (flame suit on), we adjusted the trigger for more pull weight. You can see through a small hole in the trigger mechanism where the trigger releases the sear, and before we adjusted it, there was only a minute movement needed to release the sear. We adjusted it so that the pull weight was significantly more. Put it back together and every thing seemed a lot more "normal". We haven't live fired it yet, but I was thinking about loading up some cases with just primers and testing it that way.
What are you thoughts? Ever see this problem firsthand? Were we stupid to try the fix ourselves? (I still think a good smith checking it out is needed). I've done a lot of minor gunsmithing on my own guns, built AK's from parts kits, assembled AR lowers, but never anything that I felt was a safety issue like this.
Sorry for the long rant from a newbie (been lurking for years though) Any thoughts?

[grundy53]

Wow scary stuff. Hope your fix works. And welcome to the site.

[FC]

You fixed it, someone just set the trigger too light, 3.5lbs or more will probably put you in safe territory.

[ELKBURGER]

Welcome to the site .
I would have done the same thing. Trying to find the problem, keeping the rifle pointed in a safe direction, and attempting to adjust the trigger. You may have found the problem but I think getting a smith's blessing on your repair is important. I have a newer rem 700 in 300 win mag and hope I never encounter the same problem. It definetley reinforces the fact of keeping good muzzle control, especially while loading. Hope all works out. Keep us posted.

[rickomatic]

You fixed it, someone just set the trigger too light, 3.5lbs or more will probably put you in safe territory.

That's about what I was thinking. That thing was measured in ounces!! Definitely change your underwear time!!

[Curly]

Sounds like a good fix to me.  I've read about those issue before on the message boards too.

[MikeWalking]

I remember a Recall many years back over just this problem. I don't remember Remy fessing up and paying out but they did recall and fix. They tried to blame poor maintenance by owners..

FWIW  The only weapon I have seen Cook Off and fire was an M60 after a quick 300 rounds. Stupid 2nd LT nearly had a hole blasted in his shin standing in front of it wondering why it jammed...

[FC]

LOL Mike that is the only way I have seen rounds cooked off too!

Rick, I would bet you are good now, I've seen that where they are adjusted down way too light like that before. I too would drop your POI for a 7mm mag to about 1.5-2 inches high at 100.

[Fishnclifff]

Went to the range with the wife to sight in today.
She shot first. she fired 1 round and the shell didn't eject from her 30-30. The extractor was bent out.
I took it home and straightened it out. it is fine now but the range master wouldn't let her shoot till she proved a certified smithy did the work.
Guess we will go back to shootin stumps.

[rickomatic]

Thanks for all the replies guys. Especially on the POI. Neither he or I have ever owned a 7mm mag so we just went with the old 30 cal "normal" 100 yd POI. Makes sense to lower it though since the 7mm is a flatter shooter. Will make that adjustment. Thanks again.

[BlackRidge]

Wow, that is freaky! Sounds like its definitely associated with the trigger assembly or bolt. Like the trigger isn't resetting after the pull or the firing pin itself is extended in the fire position when chambering the round.

I'd definitely get that checked out, but hopefully adjusting the trigger weight has a positive effect

[FC]

Wow, that is freaky! Sounds like its definitely associated with the trigger assembly or bolt. Like the trigger isn't resetting after the pull or the firing pin itself is extended in the fire position when chambering the round.

I'd definitely get that checked out, but hopefully adjusting the trigger weight has a positive effect

The firing pin sticking out of the bolt won't set off a bolt action (it will set off an auto) just because the bolt isn't moving fast enough when operated by hand. The problem he has run into is the trigger tripping from the motion of closing the bolt, it can't release the pin until the bolt handle is at least part way down, if the thing was going off just from closing the bolt we would be more likely reading about this in the news....The story about a guy blowing his hand off at the range when his rifle fired out of battery and jammed the bolt right back through his wrist.

FWIW if the pin was sticking out too far from improper adjustment etc it would be poking holes in the primers...Another source of excitement at the range!

[jeepasaurusrex]

X2 on a run away M-60. Except mine was on a door gun while doing aerial gunnery from a Huey. 

Ended up twisting the belt to jam it and get it to stop firing. 

Guess we should not have shimmed the buffer with a couple nickles to increase the rate of fire. 

[Alchase]

M60 s will do that when they get real hot as well, especially the M60Es.

[Three_Oh_Eight]

I own Remingtons and their triggers can be adjusted quite low.  The only problem is the problem you are experiencing.  Often, the striker will fall as you close the bolt.  This means you need to take it out of the stock and adjust it heavier.  After I do this, I assemble and work the bolt as hard as I can with a snap-cap to simulate the worst abuse.  I do that about 10 or 20 times and then toss the rifle against my bed a few times with the striker cocked and safety off.  I then do it again with the safety on.  If still no malfunctions, I take it out on the concrete and beat the recoil pad down on the concrete a few times to see if it will cause the striker to drop.  If still nothing, cover the adjustment screws with clear fingernail polish to keep them from moving.  Then put the gun back together and mount a scope and go shooting.