Remington Arms -- the nation's oldest continuous manufacturer of firearms -- is preparing to announce it will replace the triggers on almost 8 million rifles, CNBC.com is reporting.
The weapons in question are Remington Model 700 bolt-action rifles. They are one of the most popular hunting weapons in Alaska and the rest of the U.S.
Remington has for years been fighting accusations the triggers are faulty and that because of a design defect the Model 700 can fire inadvertently without the trigger being pulled.
CNBC.com reports that the deal to retrofit millions of rifles with new triggers comes as part of an out-of-court settlement Remington has reached with plaintiffs in a class-action suit.
The Alabama-based company has long disputed the accusation the triggers are faulty, but according to CNBC, the company has agreed to "to replace the triggers in about 7.85 million rifles."
The settlement must still be approved by a federal judge in Missouri who is overseeing the case brought against Remington, CNBC reports. The network began investigating allegedly faulty Remington triggers more than four years ago.
In 2010, it aired a documentary -- "Remington Under Fire: A CNBC Investigation" -- that alleged the company had for decades covered up a design defect inherent to the Model 700.
Three years later, Ian Pollard of Concordia, Missouri, filed a suit against Remington claiming his Remington 700 rifle fired on multiple occasions without the trigger being pulled. Similar suits were filed by plaintiffs in other states.
In a 2009 suit filed in Anchorage, Jay Rambo claimed that his father was loading his .338-caliber Model 700 for an Alaska moose hunt when it fired without the trigger being pulled. The bullet from the gun struck Rambo in the forearm.
CNBC claims that "at least two dozen deaths and more than 100 serious injuries have been linked to inadvertent discharges of Remington 700 series rifles."
Remington has already recalled both Model 700 and Model 7 rifles manufactured between May 1, 2006 and April 9, 2014 to replace triggers.
But the latest action would massively expand the number of guns affected. The Model 700 has been in production since 1962. The Model 7, a variation on the Model 700, was introduced in 1983.
Alaska Dispatch Publishing