Maybe you’ve heard stories about Remington rifles firing on their own, causing serious injury or death. However, you’re not sure how seriously to take them. After all, the company claims that the triggers and the guns are safe to use. Maybe you even own one, and you have not had a problem with it thus far.
These aren’t just stories. Tests have backed them up. These guns have fired on their own, and the risks are real.
In one case, a 16-year-old boy was shot and killed when a Remington 721 went off unexpectedly. He was on a hunting trip at the time with his father, who was trying to unload the weapon when it fired and killed his son. The father insisted that he never laid a finger on the trigger.
While it may be easy for outsiders to assume that the father accidentally touched the trigger and simply forgot or refused to admit it, tests have backed up his story. Researchers took the gun in and reported that “the rifle fired each time the bolt was locked in the closed position with no pressure being applied to the trigger.”
It is possible to unload a bolt-action rifle simply by working the bolt to eject the shells. However, doing this would cause this specific gun to fire when closing the bolt, leading to the tragic accident.
It’s important for people to understand the reason for the controversies around this rifle. Those who have been injured or lost family members may have a right to seek compensation from the manufacturer.