Heads up for Remington owners...

[Dentrimental]

So my Remington Versa Max Shotgun just blew apart while I was duck hunting the other day. Jammed the exploded shell in the barrel (factory Remington ammo), took 2 chunks out of the bolt head and left me without anything to shoot the two Canadian geese that promptly flew into my decoys. Anyway, I contacted Remington and there response was as follows:

"Thank you for contacting RemArms, LLC,

RemArms, LLC. is a newly formed company that acquired the Remington firearms division from Remington Outdoors Company. RemArms will be producing Remington branded firearms at the historic Ilion, NY facility where Remington has been produced for more than 200 years. Our website, www.remarms.com. is now online.

The existing supply of parts for Remington firearms is currently limited to inventory already in the marketplace.

RemArms is not currently accepting orders for gun parts and will be unable to do so until our parts supply has been replenished through supply chain re-engagement and/or new manufacturing capacity. As RemArms ramps up production of Remington firearms, availability of parts for firearms that are produced by RemArms LLC is expected to improve."

They went on to list several parts retailers that might sell me a new bolt but none of them had the part in stock, most said discontinued by the manufacturer. I was quite disappointed as I have usually experienced excellent customer service from Remington in the past. (They fixed my old 887 Nitromag twice and didn't charge me a dime!) Part of me hopes that some of this lack of parts inventory is from the whole covid mess but I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
This is mostly just a friendly heads up to anyone with a Remington that was manufactured before April 2021 that you will probably not get any help from the "New" Remington company if you run into any problems.

Also If anyone knows where I might find a bolt assembly or at very least the bolt head that would be greatly appreciated, Thanks!

 

[SFC B]

We have started to get new Rem products at work. 870s and very few 700s so far. Hopefully the new company and owners can unfornicate the mess that has been Remington the last several years.

 

[Farmerj]

Check with big horn arms or some of the other clone manufacturers

 

[elkantlers]

Chuck that Remington in the ditch and go get something dependable that isn't going to leave you blind.

 

[Pmacc60]

Wow , I’m glad you were not hurt! To your question , Rem Arms if it’s going to succeed needs to understand it needs to cater to those of us who have been loyal customers. Seems to me they could guide you to a supply of parts if they had any attention to customer relations, I find your problem disheartening both for you and the future of Rem Arms.

 

[Nick87]

Chuck that Remington in the ditch and go get something dependable that isn't going to leave you blind.

My thought as well. After that, I'd be walking away from that gun...actually running. Had to have the 887 sent in twice now the versamax, see a trend? I like remington, the old 870's were some of the most dependable shotguns ever made imo. Those 887's and the versamax, no thanks.

 

[Mallardsx2]

Buy you a Winchester SX2,3,or 4....

 

[ccc23454]

Newer Remington shotguns are just paddles to help get your benelli to the duck blind! It sucks it happened but time to move on...

 

[Bullshot]

Such as it is with bankruptcy. Chalk that gun up to a loss and move on. The company that made it doesn’t exist anymore.

 

[44hunter45]

Is this a Ruger made gun?

 

[MThuntr]

Is this a Ruger made gun?

Ruger bought the Marlin line...Remington ammo went to its own company and Rem Arms is producing the firearms.

To the OP: I know you feel like they should make it right and have 100% of spare parts ready but they're restarting a company in a time where supply chains are basic non-existent. They needed to tool up and start making firearms. They don't have to honor anything from the previous company and I'm sure they're trying to get ramped up to fix the endless known issues with Rem Shotguns but they're not there yet so being patient or finding the parts yourself is what you need to do versus slinging mud on the internet because you didn't get your way. I agree with the others that you're likely going to want to mark this as a loss (yes it sucks that's part of life) and move on to a shotgun line that isn't known for blowing up.

 

[44hunter45]

Ruger bought the Marlin line...Remington ammo went to its own company and Rem Arms is producing the firearms.

To the OP: I know you feel like they should make it right and have 100% of spare parts ready but they're restarting a company in a time where supply chains are basic non-existent. They needed to tool up and start making firearms. They don't have to honor anything from the previous company and I'm sure they're trying to get ramped up to fix the endless known issues with Rem Shotguns but they're not there yet so being patient or finding the parts yourself is what you need to do versus slinging mud on the internet because you didn't get your way. I agree with the others that you're likely going to want to mark this as a loss (yes it sucks that's part of life) and move on to a shotgun line that isn't known for blowing up.

Oh yeah - Marlin only. I had a senior moment on that one.

I looked at some new production 870s off the rack the other day. Looks like stained birch wood and rattle can powder coat finish. My 1970s Wingmaster is a work of art in comparison.

@Dentrimental - I want to know more about what happened when the gun blew apart. In your picture it looks like the head of the shell blew out? Is the barrel bulged at all? Was there possibly an obstruction in there? What I'm saying is that while you want your gun repaired (as I would), maybe you need to be looking into the cause of the failure. Was that old stock Remington ammo or new production?

For the locking lugs to shear off as shown in your picture, it was likely in battery. Then you are looking at over pressure or a badly heat treated bolt. Both should be investigated.

Remington Ammo went to Vista Outdoors after the breakup. I've been a fan of the various parts of Vista Outdoors for many years, but the truth is that when you make many millions of things that go "bang", it only takes an infinitesimal percentage to be wrong for some to get to the field.

I am a relatively skilled armorer, but if I had a gun blow with any factory ammo I would get it to a certified gunsmith immediately to be inspected. Your lawyer will thank you.

 

[Bam Bam]

So my Remington Versa Max Shotgun just blew apart while I was duck hunting the other day. Jammed the exploded shell in the barrel (factory Remington ammo), took 2 chunks out of the bolt head and left me without anything to shoot the two Canadian geese that promptly flew into my decoys. Anyway, I contacted Remington and there response was as follows:

"Thank you for contacting RemArms, LLC,

RemArms, LLC. is a newly formed company that acquired the Remington firearms division from Remington Outdoors Company. RemArms will be producing Remington branded firearms at the historic Ilion, NY facility where Remington has been produced for more than 200 years. Our website, www.remarms.com. is now online.

The existing supply of parts for Remington firearms is currently limited to inventory already in the marketplace.

RemArms is not currently accepting orders for gun parts and will be unable to do so until our parts supply has been replenished through supply chain re-engagement and/or new manufacturing capacity. As RemArms ramps up production of Remington firearms, availability of parts for firearms that are produced by RemArms LLC is expected to improve."

They went on to list several parts retailers that might sell me a new bolt but none of them had the part in stock, most said discontinued by the manufacturer. I was quite disappointed as I have usually experienced excellent customer service from Remington in the past. (They fixed my old 887 Nitromag twice and didn't charge me a dime!) Part of me hopes that some of this lack of parts inventory is from the whole covid mess but I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
This is mostly just a friendly heads up to anyone with a Remington that was manufactured before April 2021 that you will probably not get any help from the "New" Remington company if you run into any problems.

Also If anyone knows where I might find a bolt assembly or at very least the bolt head that would be greatly appreciated, Thanks!

Thanks for the heads up, you may have just saved me a headache. I was shopping for one of the new 870s, but no more.

 

[RemingtonRules]

Good 'ol China made steel.

 

[BucksnDucks]

Crappy situation. Sorry that happened to you. Am I the only one wondering what the hell happened? Do you have any idea what caused this? I've heard of barrels blowing out for a variety of reasons, but this appears far different.

 

[Don Fischer]

Thanks for the heads up, you may have just saved me a headache. I was shopping for one of the new 870s, but no more.

Ya know, if I like'd the 870, I'd go for it. Might not ba as pretty as older one's but I would doubt they would intentionally put out a firearm that would simply blow up, their lawyer's would go crazy! If the new one's look like maple stocks, well the 788's also had maple stocks and they were quite a gun. Painted on finish? Lot of newer guns look like that's what they have on them, maybe they do, doesn't make them unsafe, it's paint. My suggestion to anyone looking to buy a gun is get one you like to look at and that feels good to you! You will probably find a shotgun you like as well and problrm fixed, doesn't make the 870 a dud! I got going with pump action shotguns and never really cared for the 870's; that was a long time ago. Didn't mean they were a bad gun, I simply didn't like the way they looked and felt! My choice then was Mossberg 500's. Shoot, I didn't even care for the Win mod 12 that much, looks and feel.

To bad what happened to the OP's gun but 44hunter45 has the right answer, find out what caused it first. Not trying to champion any gun here but I think the guns being made today are probably the best we have ever had with few exceptions. bad mouthing the gun when no ones even sure what happened was, just don't work for me!

 

[Cousin Basil]

I just discovered one of my already replaced once Limbsaver recoil pads is melting again. I should have gone with the Supercel when they replaced it the first time. They are unobtainium now.

 

[Dentrimental]

Oh yeah - Marlin only. I had a senior moment on that one.

I looked at some new production 870s off the rack the other day. Looks like stained birch wood and rattle can powder coat finish. My 1970s Wingmaster is a work of art in comparison.

@Dentrimental - I want to know more about what happened when the gun blew apart. In your picture it looks like the head of the shell blew out? Is the barrel bulged at all? Was there possibly an obstruction in there? What I'm saying is that while you want your gun repaired (as I would), maybe you need to be looking into the cause of the failure. Was that old stock Remington ammo or new production?

For the locking lugs to shear off as shown in your picture, it was likely in battery. Then you are looking at over pressure or a badly heat treated bolt. Both should be investigated.

Remington Ammo went to Vista Outdoors after the breakup. I've been a fan of the various parts of Vista Outdoors for many years, but the truth is that when you make many millions of things that go "bang", it only takes an infinitesimal percentage to be wrong for some to get to the field.

I am a relatively skilled armorer, but if I had a gun blow with any factory ammo I would get it to a certified gunsmith immediately to be inspected. Your lawyer will thank you.

This is what it looked like before I dug the shell out of the barrel. My best guess is there was way too much pressure, both pieces of the bolt were wedged in place by the brass. Nothing appears to be wrong with the barrel and I don't think there was any obstructions, I had fired the gun several times before this happened. The shells are a couple years old, I usually use federal black cloud but I've had a terrible time finding any nontoxic shot so I dug these Remington's out of my stash.

 

[featherman]

It’s BK, whatchu gonna do?

Unfortunately, that’s our legal system.

 

[ImBillT]

Remington as we know them, liquidated just about all of their parts and firearms prior to the bankruptcy auction. The new ownersship, operating as RemArms, did not buy the Remington company. The Remington company was split into many pieces by a court. RemArms essentially bought some old buildings and old equipment. They did not even get the trademark Remington. Hence the name RemArms. They have to pay a royalty for every gun they put the name Remington on. They attempted to hire back as many employees as possible, and made press releases MANY MONTHS AGO that they would be begin operations by manufacturing an extremely limited lineup.(700s and 870s only I believe) As far as I know, they have only had complete rifles coming out the door for a few weeks. What’s the point? RemArms does not have a warehouse full of parts for your shotgun(those parts were sold before RemArms was allowed to purchase the warehouse). The new management may not even know where the equipment used to make your parts is, or how to operate it. They may not have schematics on any of the firearms. Those may have gone with the company that bought the intellectual property. RemArms is an entirely new company that just happens to be manufacturing a few firearms that a company who no longer exists used to manufacture(kinda like Christensen and Bergara already make 700 clones). The idea that it is bad customer service for Company A not to have a part in stock for a product manufactured by Company B is absurd. Judge RemArms customer service based on how they service and product they actually produced. They didn’t make your shotgun. They didn’t even buy the company that made your shotgun.

Remington no longer exists! It is not possible for them to give you good or bad customer service. They cannot give you customer service at all!

When RemArms gets into full production they may well offer service to most or all of Remington’s models as a courtesy to new customers, but if they don’t, it’s not poor customer service. Being upset that RemArms doesn’t have the parts for your shotgun is almost as bad as being upset that the Toyota dealership wouldn’t warranty your Ford.

Because the court split the intellectual property into a separate item at auction, RemArms may well be unable to produce the VersaMax. Being released on 2010, many parts of it are likely still under patent(utility patents last 20 years). RemArms does not own any of the intellectual property of Remington.