Yet another piece of news I missed during my time in Texas has bubbled up to my attention. The Firearm Blog reports that CNBC did a hit piece of the Remington Model 700 series.
CNBC’s report claims the Remington Model 700 can fire without the trigger being pulled and that flaw has resulted in injuries and deaths. Of course as The Firearm Blog points out pre-1982 Model 700s were known to have that particular flaw (although if there were injuries and deaths involved I don’t know, just make it a point to not walk in front of any firearm and you can avoid that potential cause of injury/death). As the CNBC report mentions this flaw going back 60 years I believe they are digging up an old story, claiming it’s new, and ignoring the fact that the problem was fixed in 1982.
I also have to agree with a point made on The Firearm Blog. In this day and age there isn’t a single issue a firearm can have that won’t go across the entire Internet. Just look at the Ruger LCP when it came out, every issue on the planet was brought up on almost every firearm message board on the planet. The Remington Model 700 is incredibly popular with hunters, military, and police. If there was a major flaw in the gun it would be well known.
Of course CNBC isn’t exactly known for using facts and they’ve always had a major anti-gun slant as far back as I can remember. Hopefully this hit piece doesn’t cause too much trouble for Remington.
If I were Remington, I would try to file a suit against CNBC – especially if it affects sales of the 700.
I’d say Remington is best off by not doing anything at this point. If they sue CNBC it will be spun as the “big evil gun company covering up their dangerous products.”
If they do nothing people will not even care in one week which is usually the maximum extent a story lasts in the publics’ mindset.