A word of Caution

[Larryh128]

In 40 years of being an avid hunter/shooter/gun nut I have had personal experience with 3 potentially hazardous/fatal firearm malfunctions. Every one of these involved a rifle with a side safety. The 1st was a M700 in the 1970's that fired as the bolt was closed while loading the rifle for a fox calling stint. 2 cycles equaled 2 holes in the ground and a couple shocked hunters. Factory rifle with factory non-adjusted trigger. Remington later recalled 700's for that problem but it had already made a trip to the smith and was fixed. I later fixed it by trading it off.
2nd was another 700 a few years ago that decided to do the same thing after the bolt was cycled after shooting a good buck. Bolt was cycled twice & resulted in 2 bullet holes thru the overhang (awning) of a box blind. When I pulled the action out of the stock that evening, a small piece of weed stem fell out (and it was small). I found nothing else wrong, everything operated & was adjusted properly. I cleaned & lubed the trigger & all is well. Apparently the weed stem lodged in the wrong spot & didn't allow the sear to engage the cocking ledge.
The 3rd episode happened this year as I loaded & chambered a round in an enclosed blind with the windows shut. A 300 WSM with an integral brake went off resulting in a hole thru the blind, thru the roof overhang, leaving me "shell shocked" and probably with some permanent hearing loss. At best it's a very embarrassing situation because I think that I should be able to avoid any such happenings. Another rifle with a side safety. The safety seemed to be operating a little stiffer than normal but I ignored the warning sign. I would assume another piece of debris got down the slot & did it's voodoo with sear. I found absolutely nothing wrong with that trigger & tryed 3 different ones on that rifle & couldn't reproduce it. I have always liked the 3 position (firing pin block) safeties the best and use them on several rifles but haven't in serveral because of the additional $140 cost. I may have to rethink that issue.
I guess that the bottom line is , if it doesn't feel right , take the 3 minutes required to drop the action out of the stock & check it.

 

[NHgunNut]

I hate everything about my savage accu-trigger except that little safety lever in the center! I would probably have had some bad experiances if not for it. Good words of wisdom, thanks. Good thing we always keep muzzle pointed in safe directions!

 

[fe1]

What was the third rifle?

 

[bozo699]

Larry,
All things mechanical were destined to fail the day they were made, it's just how many cycles it takes before the inevitable happens, all we can do is clean and inspect our firearms and replace parts if we get lucky and notice a problem before a malfunction happens. I shot my Buck a few days ago, immediately reloaded and put the smoke pole's hammer on half cock, changed hands with the rifle, muzzle in the air and it went off I had it by the forearm and the recoil was so great it took me half way to the muzzle to get enough grip to stop it from sliding right out of my hand, it was a mechanical failure and is now fixed but that is the importance of practicing safe gun practices including muzzle control because we never know when that sear or whatever will fail, rest assured it's never when you expect it, so take care of your firearms the best that you can and always keep in mind where the muzzle is pointing as it could go off at anytime!

Side note: you should never lube a trigger with oil or solvents or grease.
Wayne.

 

[MrMajestic]

So glad nobody was hurt. Only had one mishap and it was with a CZ 70 .32 ACP pistol. I was shooting in my basement range(23 yds.) and it went full auto and discharged the remaining 3 rounds, one in the floor and two in the ceiling as I reacted in shock! Again nobody hurt but my pride and sear was replaced before firing again. That muzzle always pointing down range and never at anybody is reinforced.

 

[BigDMT]

My Father-in-law was letting his nephew use his Remington 700 in 280 Rem during a high country elk/ mule deer hunt we were on. Gun was mostly custom, but still had the factory trigger. Long story short, we jumped a bull at about 70-80 yards while dropping over a ridge top. The nephew went to shoot off hand...CLICK! He lowered the gun to his hip cursing the unfamiliar rifle and he was about to chamber another round before the bull took off, but right before he began cycling the bolt... BOOM! The gun went off at his hip. Of course the elk began to turn and run so he chambered another round and...CLICK! But this time the wise ex-marine sniper held the crosshairs on the bull and after about 2-3 seconds...BOOM! the gun went off and he hit the bull good enough to follow it and finish it off.

He was very lucky he didn't get seriously injured or killed. had he managed to open that bolt as the round went off, it would have been big trouble! But luck having played a part, he didn't.

Remember to always count to "10 one thousand" before opening a bolt on a misfire, unless it is self defense and your life is in immediate danger. I'm sure all you ex-military boys remember that training. The nephew should have remembered too, but a stressful situation with adrenaline taking over can cause the mind to become dull for some people. But he luckily escaped any injury and still got his quarry with a wise follow up shot and all is well : )

 

[DennisH]

I hate everything about my savage accu-trigger except that little safety lever in the center! I would probably have had some bad experiances if not for it.

DITTO

I do tweak my accu-triggers and can get them down to about 12oz's taking my time.

I will state the little safety lever probably has saved my butt a few times! If it were not for the accu-trigger design, I would never tweak the triggers. It is very safe design and I highly recommend them!

 

[BigDMT]

I am also a Savage fan. Got a couple custom rifles built on their actions. A 6.5 Rem Mag on the 116 and a 20 VarTarg on the 16. Great actions for the "hobby garage gunsmith" like myself because they are so easy to work with and very accurate : ) I trashed the triggers on my Savages and bought Savage Sharp Shooter's "Competition" triggers. Utilize a rolling block for a sear, easily adjustable to ozs. without compromising safety engagement, and zero creep or over-travel. $97 including shipping. They make a lighter weight trigger, but you have to send them the action for installation. The Competition trigger installs easily at home.

I also had them flute my bolts. They do some really cool bolt fluting for Savages for a very fair price.

http://www.sharpshootersupply.com/

 

[DennisH]

Utilize a rolling block for a sear, easily adjustable to ozs.

BIGMDT, do you do something special to get these triggers in the ozs range? I tried getting mine in the 8oz range and haven't done so as of this post!

Feel free to PM me!

 

[artbosco]

In 40 years of being an avid hunter/shooter/gun nut I have had personal experience with 3 potentially hazardous/fatal firearm malfunctions. Every one of these involved a rifle with a side safety. The 1st was a M700 in the 1970's that fired as the bolt was closed while loading the rifle for a fox calling stint. 2 cycles equaled 2 holes in the ground and a couple shocked hunters. Factory rifle with factory non-adjusted trigger. Remington later recalled 700's for that problem but it had already made a trip to the smith and was fixed. I later fixed it by trading it off.
2nd was another 700 a few years ago that decided to do the same thing after the bolt was cycled after shooting a good buck. Bolt was cycled twice & resulted in 2 bullet holes thru the overhang (awning) of a box blind. When I pulled the action out of the stock that evening, a small piece of weed stem fell out (and it was small). I found nothing else wrong, everything operated & was adjusted properly. I cleaned & lubed the trigger & all is well. Apparently the weed stem lodged in the wrong spot & didn't allow the sear to engage the cocking ledge.
The 3rd episode happened this year as I loaded & chambered a round in an enclosed blind with the windows shut. A 300 WSM with an integral brake went off resulting in a hole thru the blind, thru the roof overhang, leaving me "shell shocked" and probably with some permanent hearing loss. At best it's a very embarrassing situation because I think that I should be able to avoid any such happenings. Another rifle with a side safety. The safety seemed to be operating a little stiffer than normal but I ignored the warning sign. I would assume another piece of debris got down the slot & did it's voodoo with sear. I found absolutely nothing wrong with that trigger & tried 3 different ones on that rifle & couldn't reproduce it. I have always liked the 3 position (firing pin block) safeties the best and use them on several rifles but haven't in several because of the additional $140 cost. I may have to rethink that issue.
I guess that the bottom line is , if it doesn't feel right , take the 3 minutes required to drop the action out of the stock & check it.

In short-range Benchrest we use 1 1/2 ounce Jewel triggers. Out custom actions have NO SAFETY. However, BOLTS ARE ALWAYS REMOVED until the command "commence firing" is given. Bolts are carried in a bolt holster on the belt, ready to be inserted when the time comes to do so.

If practical, and if possible, remove bolts for the ultimate in mishap prevention, regardless of the situation. I follow the same practice with a hunting rifle. When I step into the field, I insert the bolt. After shooting I remove the bolt. To me, bolt removal is the ultimate safety.

 

[bozo699]

Outdoorsman,
I don't disagree with you on purely the safety aspect of it but if your sitting on a white tail stand you better have a shell racked and just hope they don't hear the safety clicking off because if you have to rack a shell in he will be long gone for sure and on a clean concrete bench it's okay to have your bolt out of your rifle but in the field your looking for big trouble IMO. One must just be careful and pay close attention to detail. However we all make rules for ourselves and I pack my daily rifle in the front seat 24/7/52 but the bolt is always open while in the vehicle for two reasons first and foremost for safety and secondly it gives people riding in the rig a safe state of mind and if you happen to get pulled over it's easy for the officer to see it's empty, but if removing the bolt in the woods makes you feel safe by all means do it but pay attention to debris collecting in your breech and don't loose the bolt, on most customs there around $600+
Wayne.

 

[tome]

I've never had any problems w/ a Remington 700 or 40x safety till I started to adjust the trigger pull. Then the rifle was fine closing the bolt and passed repeated bump tests. The rifle fired ( empty ) when I cycled the safety. All my fault. I had the trigger too light and not enough sear contact.

 

[Larryh128]

3rd rifle was a commercial 98, same as a Rem 798, MK X Interarms or Charles Daly. I SUSPECT that I picked up a piece of debris that recoil knocked out of the way. Big point is that side safeties only block the trigger & not the firing pin. All of my hunting triggers are set between 1 3/4# & 2 # and have been forever. A 3# trigger feels like 8# to me now. Engagement on the sear & cocking ledge was .020+ so that wasn't an issue.Removing the bolt wouldn't have had an effect as it fired upon closing.

 

[Larryh128]

P.S. And yes, keeping the muzzle pointed in the proper direction certainly was a plus but I'm thinking seriously about constantly wearing my electronic muffs in the hard blinds.

 

[lpreddick]

had 2oz shilen triggers in two custom guns that did the same thing...trigger pull would not discharge round, lift bolt and BANG! both times barrel pointed downrange . took to my gunsmith and we flushed a small sliver of brass from the trigger! FLUSHED the trigger completely with lighter fluid and have had no problem since. absolutely NO lube, oil, grease, etc in trigger...it's a dust, lint, gradu magnet and will mess up function. jewell advises flushing trigger with "lighter fluid" each time you clean gun and i do this religiously. i once actually dripped lubricant into my triggers!!!live and learn.