Below are three reasons why I avoid new Remington firearms and with very few exceptions why I wouldn’t recommend anyone buy their products either.
1. Gross mismanagement
Back in 2008 three CEOs from major American companies were asked to go to Capitol Hill and testify before Congress about their foolish financial practices. You would think that people under the microscope for mismanaging money wouldn’t fly expensive private jets to meet with Congress—especially when they came to ask for public funds to help them restore their bankrupt businesses—but that’s exactly what they did.
One of these men was Robert Nardelli of Chrysler, who Cerberus Capital Management installed as the CEO about two years before that company filed for bankruptcy. As you likely know if you are reading Guns.com, Cerberus Capital Management owns Freedom Group, a gun making conglomerate that owns several popular brands of US firearms, chiefly Remington Arms and Bushmaster Firearms. What many people don’t remember however is that after the stunt he pulled in D.C. while begging for taxpayer dollars, Nardelli was given a CEO position at Remington for a couple months in 2012 before distancing himself from Cerebus, but not before he drastically changed Remington’s operations.
Now, why would anyone hire a CEO with that kind of track record—someone who drove a car maker into bankruptcy and who doesn’t really know anything about firearms? It makes no sense at all, does it?
My inside source (a former Remington employee in the know) told me that when Nardelli took over Remington, everything went downhill. With a CEO who didn’t understand the market, Remington started to cut costs by making cheap components and outsourcing labor and parts to the cheapest bidders. The quality was downgraded so more money could be made–at least that was the idea, but, as any gun guy or gal could have told you, it predictably backfired and these changes, in my opinion, have done irreparable damage to the brand.
2. My 870 Tactical
Even knowing about the cheap components (I was warned by my aforementioned source) I decided to buy a Remington 870 Tactical shotgun anyway. I used an 870 in the military and I loved it. The legendary Remington shotgun worked well and was high quality.
Sadly, after less than 20 rounds through my new firearm—made during a the period of Nardelli’s influence—my front sight drifted off. On the tactical, I didn’t have a bead sight.
I checked online and found this was a problem with all the 870 tactical shotguns. So, I called Remington and asked for a replacement. I was shocked when they told me I should just glue the sight on with Locktight. Ugh. Nobody ever wants to hear that from a gun company they just gave money.
By way of anecdote, I know of police departments who, after ordering new 870s, sent them all back and went with a different manufacturer.
3. Remington 700 trigger recall
Shooters in the know have been aware of the infamous Remington 700 triggers for decades now, but how about a recent 5 million unit recall? How insane was that?! Cheaper parts means parts that break and I can only imagine how many millions of dollars that must have cost Remington Arms. Stupid—what other word is there for it?
I find it pretty sad actually that it’s rare that I recommend any Remington product to other shooters because, I alluded to above, I know from experience that the company once made legendary, high quality firearms. Regardless, I’d definitely avoid any products made or outsourced by Remington Arms since Nardelli once had an office there.
The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the position of Guns.com.
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