Swapping Remington 700 Trigger Assy.

[KC45]

I have an older (1980's) Remington 700 BDL in 35 Whelen that came with amazing factory trigger. The trigger is light, crisp and has very little over travel. It feels as good or better than most aftermarket target trigger. On the other hand, I have a recent (2004) Remington 700 ADL in .243 Winchester with the worst factory trigger in the world. The rifle is very accurate (scary accurate) but the trigger is making it impossible to take advantage of the rifle's accuracy. Anyway, I was thinking about swapping the .243 trigger with the one from the 35 Whelen as I don't shoot that rifle anymore.

Is that possible? Are all Remington 700 rifle trigger compatible? Can they be swapped without issues?

 

[jmr40]

I suppose it could be done, but I'd just pay a little more and go with a good aftermarket trigger for the 243. By the time you pay a gunsmith to take out 2 triggers and replace them, you won't be much cheaper than buying 1 trigger and having it installed. Then you will have 2 guns with excellent triggers.

 

[Edarnold]

There are liable to be problems with the functioning of the safety when swapping triggers from different decades, and you end up with the BDL having a crummy trigger. Why not drop a few dollars and get a third party trigger for the .243, like a Rifle Basix or Timney, and have good triggers on both guns?

 

[Fremmer]

I think a gun smith could easily tune that bad trigger for you. Have it done by a smith so that it's done right.

 

[Abel]

Put in a Jewel Trigger and keep both shooting right.

 

[Mohave-Tec]

Jewell is the AM trigger for the 700. Easy install. Do it yourself.
If you want to go on the cheap, ask here if anybody has an X-Mark Pro leftover from a Jewell install that they want to sell. It's a nice factory trigger and there are a lot of them out there.

 

[gamestalker]

I agree, if your considering changing triggers, just go with a Jewel.

But I would also bet that the crummy trigger could be cleaned up nicely in the hands of a decent smith. Most 700 triggers are fairly decent. I had a guy bring me his 6mm a few months ago to see if anything could be done to clean the factory 700 trigger up. First problem I found, was the trigger housing was dirtier than any I've ever come across. I washed it out, and then spent a few minutes adjusting it, when I finished he couldn't believe it was the same trigger. So I wouldn't go changing triggers until you've had that one cleaned and adjusted.

GS

 

[LeonCarr]

What Gamestalker said.

If a gunsmith can't get it down to a manageable weight, a Timney or a Jewel would be a good investment.

Also, you should take out that .35 Whelen and shoot it every once in a while so it doesn't get lonely .

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[cwmoss]

Get a Jewel, you will not ever regret it.
Daryl (cwmoss)

 

[788Ham]

Get a Timney from Midway for $129 and be done with it, I have an 788 Remington that had a turd for a trigger, replaced it with the Timney, 200 % difference in how it shoots now, lights out!

 

[Kp321]

+1 on having the factory trigger adjusted. They can be safely adjusted to less than two pounds by a knowledgeable smith. Whatever is done to the factory trigger, be sure it is thoroughly cleaned! All the gunk in a M700 ends up in the trigger housing, trapped by the factory gunky grease. IMHO, the brown grease that Remington put on their triggers was the source of many of the AD's Remington's experienced over the years.

 

[cdb1]

I bought a 700 ADL in 2002 with a trigger pull off the charts. It cost me $25.00 to have it adjusted down to 3 lbs. It is a great trigger now.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

My gunsmith will not touch a 700 trigger.

 

[Mohave-Tec]

So...is there a point to be made with that statement?

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

Liability.

 

[ngnrd]

In my opinion, that's just absurd. Any actual gunsmith worth having the title would understand how the M700 trigger works, and will be able to clean and safely adjust one. If that's not the case, I'm not so sure I would feel comfortable with that particular 'smith working on any other parts of my firearms.

Sure, 'smiths can tend to specialize in doing a certain type of work, or working on a certain make/model/style of firearm. So if a particular 'smith has decided to specialize in, say... revolvers, or... lever action rifles, then it would be perfectly reasonable to turn away work outside of that specialty.

But, gunsmithing in general is an inherently 'high-risk, high-liability' profession, regardless of what work is being performed. So, refusal to work on the M700 trigger based on some false belief that doing so somehow exposes them to increased risk, seems rather disingenuous to me.

And, in regard to the original post, I'd suggest the same basic options that others have mentioned. If you're not entirely comfortable adjusting your own trigger, either take the 243 to a gunsmith for proper cleaning and adjustment, or replace it with an aftermarket unit. There's no sense in sacrificing the good trigger in the Whelen, when the cost of fixing/replacing the trigger in the 243 would be just about the same as doing a swap. And then you'd have two rifles with good triggers.

 

[jmr40]

Any actual gunsmith worth having the title would understand how the M700 trigger works, and will be able to clean and safely adjust one.

ANYONE, gunsmith or not who actually understands how a pre 2007 Remington trigger works will throw it in the trash and replace it with one that works.

 

[ngnrd]

Replace it with one that works? Both of mine work just fine, thank you. As do hundreds of thousands of others. Including, apparently, the one on KC45's Whelen. And, I don't think the one on the 243 is broken. In all likelihood, all it just needs is to be properly cleaned and adjusted.

Are there better triggers available? Sure. There's always something better out there. And it's easy to say 'just go buy a new one' when the cash doesn't have to come out of your pocket. But, as KC45 already knows from using his Whelen, the M700 trigger is perfectly acceptable when properly cleaned and adjusted for the trigger pull weights typically used on a hunting rifle.

 

[hentown]

IF you have a reasonable ability to read and understand the English language, and have an I.Q. higher than that of an unborn rhinoceros, you can easily and safely adjust your own Remmy 700 trigger. I've adjusted dozens. It really isn't rocket science.

However, if you want to swap out the triggers, that's a pretty simple task. I'd highly recommend readjusting both triggers after the swap, though.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

Adjusting a 700 trigger, especially for others is just asking for trouble. If anything goes wrong and someone gets hurt or killed who do you think they will sue? You had better have darn good insurance and deep pockets. I would replace the trigger.

 

[ngnrd]

There's no VooDoo or Black Magic needed to properly clean and adjust the trigger on a Remington model 700. Like most everything else associated with firearms, it does need to be done with care, and you should have a healthy bit of respect for the risk associated with it. But, most people have the ability to do it, and there's no need to fear it. Of course, the same can be said of handloading ammunition, or even just shooting in general. There's nothing to be afraid of if you understand what you're doing. If you don't, you can always employ the services of a competent gunsmith to do it for you.