Remington 722 Questions

[Tim in New York]

Buddy loaned me his rifle for deer season, because my nephew is using my Savage 99. I did some research and see that the 722 had some safety problems, at least in the early years. Based on the barrel codes on his gun, it was made in 1971, which makes sense as it was his first deer rifle and he started hunting in the mid 1970's. Were the problems fixed by the year this gun was made? And I cannot get the safe to stick off, it almost seems spring loaded to on. But that may be because there is no cartridge in the chamber?

Thanks - our first day is Nov 15 in NY so I have 10 days to figure this out.

Tim

 

[urbancase]

back in the day Remington had a problem with there safety's, and the rifles were recalled to fix but that is if the person sent it back. i remember they were sued as a guy and his son were hunting and the gun went off with the safety on while he was handling the gun. it killed his son and will leave it at that. i had one gun go off in my life time that was on safety and it was not a Remington but you have to be careful when you handled them and mine went straight off in the air, reason not to load a gun till your ready to hunt.

 

[Mule Meat]

Remington 722 line of rifles were not made in 1971. They were produced from 1948 until 1962.

Yes they're safety concerns. The rifle could fire without even touching the trigger even while the safety was on. Remington knew this was a hazard from day one and still allowed the rifles to be sold. A 5 cent piece could have fixed the problem. But Remington refused to do it.

A video of a father accidentally shooting his 7 or 8 year old son in the head while on a hunting trip was enough for the government to step in and force Remington to address the defect.. The video showed the father holding the rifle by the barrel and sitting it down. When he did it went off killing his son.

I have saw a few Remington bolt action rifles bump fired even with the safety on and you could not give me one. Dang sure not one with a defective safety.

 

[redoakroach]

If your safety won't stay off there is a problem with it and you should have it checked out. I have a model 721, the long action version, and it works just fine.
Larry

 

[Goose]

The problem must be unique to the 722.

I've used a Remington 78 "Sportser" as my main deer rifle for over 30 years and never had a problem, nor heard of one.

 

[Janicholson]

Safety in both the fire arm, and the person holding it are critical. Have the gun checked by a professional gunsmith, or don't use it/load it.

 

[MarkB_MI]

The problem must be unique to the 722.

I've used a Remington 78 "Sportser" as my main deer rifle for over 30 years and never had a problem, nor heard of one.

Ever watch 60 Minutes?

Remington 700 Defect

 

[Tony in SD]

Not framiliar with Remington 722 but I never count on a safety working. All mechanical things break/fail. The real question is when will it fail?

On a side note, one of the safest gun events I attend is SASS Cowboy Action Shooting. Most shooters including me do not have any compitician guns with a safetys. IMHO a safety should be your last option in the safety chain. Unload, safe muzzle direction are both much more important than a safety.

 

[MarkB_MI]

Even if it didn't have a dodgy safety, I'd be hesitant to take a member of the Remington 700 family with unknown history on a hunting trip, let alone one old enough to collect Social Security. The M7xx safety issues are well-documented.

You have plenty of time to buy a new rifle and sight it in. That's my recommendation.

 

[redoakroach]

Not framiliar with Remington 722 but I never count on a safety working. All mechanical things break/fail. The real question is when it will fail?

On a side note, one of the safest gun events I attend is SASS Cowboy Action Shooting. Most shooters including me do not have any compitician guns with a safetys. IMHO a safety should be your last option in the safety chain. Unload, safe muzzle direction are both more important .

Well said. Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, always keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot, always keep the firearm unloaded when not using it.

 

[David from Kansas]

I have owned many Remingtons in the 700 series, from a model 722 in 222 cal to a 7mm rem Mag and have never had any problems with any of them. But that is not to say there was never any problems as so many of you have stated, just my experience. Hunted and killed many deer and a few elk with the 700 rem 7mm mag with no problems, in many extremes of weather.

 

[J.Wondergem]

I have owned many Remingtons in the 700 series, from a model 722 in 222 cal to a 7mm rem Mag and have never had any problems with any of them. But that is not to say there was never any problems as so many of you have stated, just my experience. Hunted and killed many deer and a few elk with the 700 rem 7mm mag with no problems, in many extremes of weather.

I bought a 760 pump years ago. Still the best rifle out of all the others that I have.

 

[Butch(OH)]

The original type 722 safety required the bolt to be opened to apply it and once the bolt was closed it locked the bolt also. Thus to remove a live cartridge you had to take the safey off, rotate and retract the bolt. Many 722's have had that bolt lock feature removed also quite few 722s have had model 700 triggers and safety's installed. I advise you to not use that rifle until you take it to a competent gunsmith who can explain which trigger and safety it has and how to use it.

 

[Tim in New York]

Big backup here - its a model 788. No idea how I came up with 722. Same questions still hold though. So looks like the mfg year of 1971 still makes sense>

 

[Mule Meat]

Big backup here - its a model 788. No idea how I came up with 722. Same questions still hold though. So looks like the mfg year of 1971 still makes sense>

The Model 788 is one that must have the safety off in order open the bolt. They had been known to fire when taking it off of safe to open the bolt.

I have been hunting since I was a kid. My first rifle was a 1954 vintage Winchester Model 70 when I was 11. Still today the only high powered rifles I own are all Winchesters Model 70s. I mainly hunt with an M70 Featherweight .308.

I think the three position safety on them is the best on the market.
Forward - Gun will fire and bolt will open.
Center - Bolt will open but will not fire
Rear- Bolt will not open and gun will not fire.

Tid bit in case someone doesn't know..

You can decock most bolt action rifles.. With the gun empty.. Raise the bolt as if you are opening it.. Pull and hold the trigger while closing the bolt.. This will decock one without snapping the firing pin..

 

[cjunrau]

The Model 788 is one that must have the safety off in order open the bolt. They had been known to fire when taking it off of safe to open the bolt.

I have been hunting since I was a kid. My first rifle was a 1954 vintage Winchester Model 70 when I was 11. Still today the only high powered rifles I own are all Winchesters Model 70s. I mainly hunt with an M70 Featherweight .308.

I think the three position safety on them is the best on the market.
Forward - Gun will fire and bolt will open.
Center - Bolt will open but will not fire
Rear- Bolt will not open and gun will not fire.

Tid bit in case someone doesn't know..

You can decock most bolt action rifles.. With the gun empty.. Raise the bolt as if you are opening it.. Pull and hold the trigger while closing the bolt.. This will decock one without snapping the firing pin..

I never close the bolt on my rifles till I want to shoot at a deer or target. I have never even put my safety on. Never thought that the time it took to close the bolt made any difference on weather I could shoot a deer or not, As far as setting a gun down that has a bullet in the chamber and it going off because of the bump, should never happen as a loaded gun should never be set down till emptied. I know the USA everyone has a loaded gun in the bedroom(not everyone). In Canada if you got caught with a loaded gun in house or vehicle, 10 years no more gun ownership and maybe a fine and small jail sentence. I know people who got caught in hunting season with loaded gun and lost there truck. My brother in law shot a dog on his property in town and lost his guns and license for 2 years. I know we have some very strict laws but Not one of them has been an issue with me and I have more rifles than the average person.

 

[redoakroach]

Big backup here - its a model 788. No idea how I came up with 722. Same questions still hold though. So looks like the mfg year of 1971 still makes sense>

You should still have the gun looked at. It may just be that it needs to be cleaned.

 

[MarkB_MI]

If it was my rifle, I'd replace the original trigger assembly with a Timney trigger. It includes the safety, so that should fix the problem you're seeing with the safety not holding on. However, the Timney trigger costs 180 bucks and this gun is a loaner. 180 bucks won't buy a new rifle, but it's a down payment.

Timney trigger for Remington 788

 

[wjytexas]

Buddy loaned me his rifle for deer season, because my nephew is using my Savage 99. I did some research and see that the 722 had some safety problems, at least in the early years. Based on the barrel codes on his gun, it was made in 1971, which makes sense as it was his first deer rifle and he started hunting in the mid 1970's. Were the problems fixed by the year this gun was made? And I cannot get the safe to stick off, it almost seems spring loaded to on. But that may be because there is no cartridge in the chamber?

Thanks - our first day is Nov 15 in NY so I have 10 days to figure this out.

Tim

What caliber is your Savage 99. I have a .250-3000 and a .308, both with the rotary magazine. That .250 is a fine gun for whitetails and I have taken quite a few feral hogs with it.

 

[WNYBill]

Just remember there are few rifle safeties that block the firing pin. Most just block the trigger. Exceptions are Mauser and Winchester M70. I seldom carry a rifle with one in the chamber with the bolt closed. Forget the safety, leave the bolt up and just close the bolt with your thumb when you are ready to shoot.