CNBC special on Remington 700

[austinN4]

I watched it, but almost turned in off in the first minute when the reporter, Scott Cohn, was holding a 700 at his side with his finger on the trigger.

But I am glad I watched the whole thing. There was some prettty damning evidence from Walker himself.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/39743024

[Jerm]

Very damning IMO... And I went in expecting a MSM hatchet job I could just dismiss.

[austinN4]

Very damning IMO... And I went in expecting a MSM hatchet job I could just dismiss.

CNBC is the primary business channel I watch. Although related to MSNBC, if anything, CNBC is right leaning.

[montanadave]

I recorded the show and just got around to watching it this morning (too many baseball games in the evening).

Based on the information presented in the report, it seems pretty clear that Remington has known the trigger mechanism in the 700 was prone to malfunctions since almost the inception of the design but simply chose to ignore the evidence and proceed with the original design due to the increased costs associated with a redesign.

As reported, the actual unit cost for a redesign back when the 700 series was initially introduced would have amounted to less than six cents ($0.06) per unit. The estimated cost of a recall today to replace the trigger mechanism (assuming every Model 700 produced in the interim were returned and modified) approaches 300 million dollars.

So based on a strictly mercenary cost/benefit analysis, Remington has maintained an official position of denying any problem (despite an abundance of evidence to the contrary) while settling wrongful death and injury claims on a case by case basis with a nondisclosure clause attached to every settlement and no official admission of liability.

Remington's behavior makes perfect sense from a business model viewpoint, but from an ethical perspective, it stinks to high heaven.

It was not discussed in the report, but I wonder what Remington's response would be to a 700 owner who contacted the company and requested they modify their rifle with the newer X-Mark Pro trigger, which apparently incorporates a trigger block safety mechanism which mitigates the problem associated with the original trigger design.

[austinN4]

Based on the information presented in the report, it seems pretty clear that Remington has known the trigger mechanism in the 700 was prone to malfunctions since almost the inception of the design but simply chose to ignore the evidence and proceed with the original design due to the increased costs associated with a redesign.

Yeah, that is what I got out of it also, but you should hear them screaming foul (most but not all) over on the Hide. One poster even went so far as to refer to the mother that accidently shoot her little boy as bitch. Truly disgusting!

Since I am trying to buy a 700 SPS or LTR I have been very interested in this situation that i had no idea existed. Here is a link to a law firm synopsis of the problems: http://www.drinnonlaw.com/Texas-Defe...mington700.php

Yeah, I know - it is a law firm with a vested interest but it is still interesting reading. It includes citations of cases which would be verifiable.

[Icculus]

Looks like Remington has a few rebuttal clips here

http://www.remington700.tv/#/home

[austinN4]

Looks like Remington has a few rebuttal clips here http://www.remington700.tv/#/home

If this wasn't all so tragic it would be laughable. Walker says he didn't tell them they sould come. Then Remington says he didn't invite them, which is technically true, but what Cohn said was "Thanks for inviting us in".

Maybe Walker didn't invite them over, but it sure looks like he invited them in when they got there, which he didn't have to do. And he never said on CNBC's or Remington's tape that he asked them to leave.

Walker is the key to this whole thing and Walker is on tape saying the original Walker trigger is flawed and that he tried to get Remington to fix it and they wouldn't. Shame on Remington for taking advantage of an old and honerable man.

I guess when the PR gets bad you just crank up your own PR. Based on the lawsuits they have settled and the bad PR now, I'll bet they wished they had fixed it way back when as Walker wanted to do.

[Armati]

A couple of things....

Obviously, you MUST keep your weapon pointed in a 'safe' direction when it is loaded.

AND...

You MUST keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire.

Never the less, it is interesting to here this story come again. Over 20 years ago the news show 20/20 did a similar story on Remington. Law suits should be a matter of public record. I wonder how many claims like this Remington has?

[austinN4]

I wonder how many claims like this Remington has?

Jury Verdicts and Appellate Court Opinions of Remington’s Defective Fire Control (Source - http://www.drinnonlaw.com/Texas-Defe...mington700.php)

In Lewy v. Remington, 836 F.2d 1104, 1106-07 (8th Cir. 1988); the Eighth Circuit upheld a finding of punitive damages against Remington in 1985.

In Campbell v. Remington Arms Co., 1992 WL 54928 (9th Cir. 1992)(unpublished opinion); affirmed a jury verdict of $724,000 based on a fire on bolt closure, finding no error.

Later in 1992, the Texas Supreme Court, in Chapa v. Garcia, specifically describes Remington’s fire control as “defective.”

In 1994, a Texas jury rendered a verdict in Collins v. Remington after Glenn Collins lost this foot to a Model 700 accidental discharge. The jury found that the fire control was defective and awarded a $15 million in exemplary damages. The total verdict was in excess of $17 million.

The verdicts stopped with the Collins verdict. After that, Remington settled all claims. Instead of recalling or replacing the defective fire control, Remington has quietly paid almost $20 million to settle claims out of court, finally replacing the fire control only in 2007.