Faulty Remington rifles shatter lives

Lloyd Woods is a Vietnam veteran and longtime hunter who has spent much of his life handling and using guns. But when he bought a used Remington 700 bolt action hunting rifle in 1988, he had no way of knowing that the sleek, carefully finished exterior hid a dangerous design flaw ? a defect that has injured more than a hundred people.

The series of small, metal parts that control the gun?s firing mechanism were prone to failure, making the rifle accidentally discharge without the trigger being pulled.

Remington Arms Co. officials knew of this problem in some rifles as early as 1947, but for decades failed to fix the firing mechanism or warn customers of the danger. The problem, the company?s own records show, could have been fixed for 32 cents a rifle.

There are a couple things to bear in mind here as we begin a careful examination of the Detroit News' attack on Remington.

1. They've gone back to 1996 to find an illustrative incident, regarding a gun that was bought (used) in 1988. Thats about 15 years -- quite a long time for something that is supposed to illustrate a current, serious problem. Especially when you have to go back even further to find the date of original sale.
2. They claim the problem dates back to 1947, and their quoted cost figure to 1981, which means the "32 cents per rifle" figure is in 1981 "cents" rather than 2003 "cents" -- what would be an almost trivial cost today would be more serious in 1981.
3. They claim that over 100 people have been injured by this design flaw since 1970. Reality check here. 100 people over 30 years? More children drown in bathtubs over a SINGLE year.
4. This "design flaw" does not occur on new rifles. The firing mechanism must first be damaged or worn.
5. And, of course, in order for this design flaw to actually injure anyone, the person holding the gun must break the rules of gun safety -- by pointing a loaded gun at something they are not willing to shoot.

It was far from an isolated incident. Since the 1970s, more than a hundred people ? mainly hunters ? have been injured, maimed or killed when their Remington rifles accidentally fired without the trigger being pulled.

Missouri attorney Richard Miller, who estimates he has handled about 100 cases against Remington, said the firearm manufacturer?s own records show it has received more than 1,500 complaints of unintentional discharges involving the 700 rifle.

Leaving aside the interesting habit of the Detroit News reporters of quoting from lawyers on only one side of these cases, there's an interesting ratio here: 1,500 complaints resulting in 100 cases. That is, a 15-to-1 ratio of people experiencing the problem versus people being injured by the problem. Once more we see that safe gun handling is the order of the day.

Remington, under new ownership since it was sold by DuPont for $300 million in 1993, insists that modifications in the 1982 rifles ? which allow them to be unloaded with the safety on ? have ended the problem. And they say an ongoing recall of pre-1982 rifles, initiated last year, is addressing the problem with older rifles.

Hmm. I'm trying to recall the theme of this series -- you know, how current laws are not enough to encourage responsible behavior from firearm manufacturers? And yet, I'm seeing that Remington fixed this problem in 1982, and has a recall in progress for guns made prior to that year!

Seems like Remington is making it right to me.