Interview With Jack Belk

In an interview with CBS News Correspondent Jim Stewart, Jim Belk, past president of the American Custom Gunmaker's Guild, said he has known about the problem with the Remington Model 700 firing when the safety is engaged since 1969 and has told the gunmaker about it. The following is a full transcript of the interview.

Jim Stewart: "Is it possible that the Remington 700 can fire without the finger being on the trigger?"

Jack Belk: "Yes, very much so."

Stewart: "You’re a gunsmith?"

Belk: "Yes."

Stewart: "You’ve known about this problem for how many years?"

Belk: "Since 1969."

Stewart: "Did you ever tell Remington about it?"

Belk: "Yes."

Stewart: "What did they say?"

Belk: "They said they’d take it under advisement. I’ve never heard anything more from them."

Belk: "I heard about the problem actually in gunsmith’s school. My old design and function instructor said that that trigger was just parts flying in loose formation."

Stewart: "It’s fair to say when most people buy a weapon, they don’t expect it to go off unless the safety is off and they pull the trigger?"

Belk: "That’s the two rules of gun design. No gun should fire with the safety engaged and no gun should fire unless the trigger is pulled. My contention is, if you don’t know when a gun is going off, there’s no such thing as safe. Right now, I could hold a 700 and take the safety off, and if it fired, people within five miles of here are at danger even if it’s pointed up, or down."

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