The gun industry is the only manufacturer of a consumer product that is exempt from federal health and safety regulation. As such, there is no federal agency that can require a gun manufacturer to recall defective guns or ammunition. Gun owners and the rest of the general public must rely entirely on gun manufacturers to take action when they determine that a gun or ammunition contains a dangerous defect.
Very often, gun manufacturers fail to act in a timely manner or to accurately describe the safety hazard. This can discourage owners of defective firearms from taking the steps necessary to remedy the problem. In fact, guns and ammunition that contain safety defects are very common. Reportedly, the National Shooting Sports Foundation acknowledges that 40 percent of all new guns contain some type of defect, a fact that prompted Truth About Guns, a pro-gun blog, to observe: “No other industry could survive with a failure rate like this.”
The gun industry’s lack of health and safety regulation also means that manufacturers cannot be compelled to fix any defects except by lawsuits brought by injured gun owners. Recently, in response to one such lawsuit, Remington agreed to replace millions of triggers in its popular Model 700 hunting rifle. Today, caveat emptor is the watchword for today’s gun buyer.
The VPC has initiated a project to collect defect notices from gun manufacturers in an effort to demonstrate the scope of the problem, help alert the public to specific defective guns and ammunition, and continue to focus attention on the gun industry’s unique lack of health and safety regulation.
To learn more, see: Misfire: The Gun Industry’s Lack of Accountability for Defective Firearms
Below are recent notices of safety hazards issued by the top gun manufacturers. (The list is by no means exhaustive.)
Apex safety alerts and recalls
Apex Action Enhancement Kits for Slim Frame Glock pistols
Armalite safety alerts and recalls
AR-10, SPR MOD 1, SPR MOD 2, M15, Eagle-15 Rifles
Beretta safety alerts and recalls
ARX100 Rifles
NEOS Pistols
Bond Arms safety alerts and recalls
Roughneck Barrell Marking Compliance
Browning safety alerts and recalls
BAR MK3 Rifles
Bushmaster safety alerts and recalls (Bushmaster was part of Remington)
ACR Rifle
Caracal safety alerts and recalls
F and C Model Pistols
Charter Arms safety alerts and recalls
Lady .38 Special Revolvers
Colt Safety Alerts and Recalls
Colt AR-15 and Carbines
CZ USA
All American Single Trap Shotguns
Daniel Defense safety alerts and recalls
Disconnector Safety
Desert Tech safety alerts and recalls
SRS Rifles
FMK Firearms safety alerts and recalls
9C1 Pistol
FN safety alerts and recalls
FN 502 Tactical Pistols
FN 502 Tactical Pistols (Second Recall Alert)
FN SCAR 17S Rifles
FN M249S Semiautomatic Belt-Fed Rifles
Second Recall of M249 Belt-Fed Rifles
FNS Pistols
Glock safety alerts and recalls
Gen 4 Pistols
Model 17M Pistols (police department recall)
Henry safety alerts and recalls
.45-70 Lever Action Rifles
H015 Single Shot Rifles and Shotguns
Honor Defense safety alerts and recalls
Honor Guard Pistols
Honor Guard Pistols
Howa safety alerts and recalls
1500, 1550, and 1700 LS Rifles
IWI safety alerts and recalls
Carmel Rifle
Galil ACE Pistols
Kel-Tec safety alerts and recalls
SUB-2000 Rifles
Kimber safety alerts and recalls
R7 Mako pistol
Knight safety alerts and recalls
Revolution Muzzleloading Rifles
Lyman safety alerts and recalls
Black Powder Rifles and Pistols
Mossberg safety alerts and recalls
Model SA-410 Shotguns
Maverick Hunter Over/Under Shotgun
Model 685 Bolt Action Shotguns
Remington safety alerts and recalls
Model 887 Shotgun
Model 700 Rifle
Model Rimfire 22 Thunderbolt TB-22A Rifle
Law Enforcement Reduced Recoil 8 Pellet 00 Buckshot
270 Win. 150 Grain Soft Point Ammunition
.223 Remington 62 Gr Hollow Point (Match) Ammunition
22 Hornet 45 Grain PSP Ammunition
17 HMR Ammunition and Model 597 HMR
710 Bolt-Action Rifles
38 Special +P Ammunition
R51 Pistol
Rossi safety alerts and recalls
.38 Special and .357 Magnum Revolvers (class action notice)
Savage Arms safety alerts and recalls
B.MAG Rifles
Sig Sauer safety alerts and recalls
CROSS Rifle
P320 Pistol
P238 Pistol
MCX Rifle
SIG716 DMR, SIG516 Carbon Fiber, and SIGM400 Predator Rifles
Smith & Wesson safety alerts and recalls
S&W Response Rifles
M&P Shotguns
M&P Shield
M&P Shield EZ Pistol manufactured between March 1, 2020 and October 31, 2020
Model 22A Pistols
i-Bolt Rifle (November 2008)
i-Bolt Rifle (January 2008)
Performance Center Model 460 Revolvers
SW 1911
Performance Center Model 329 Revolvers
M&P 15-22 Pistols and Rifles – Alert – Alert FAQ
Springfield Armory safety alerts and recalls
3.3 XDS Pistol
XD-S Pistols
Sturm, Ruger safety alerts and recalls
Ruger-57 Pistols
Precision Rifle
SR-556VT Rifles
American Rimfire® Rifle
LCP Pistols
SR9 Pistols
P85 Pistols
M77 Rifles
Old Model Revolver – “Pre-1973” – “The Empty Chamber” – “Handle with Care”
Mark IV Pistols
American Pistols (9mm)
Taurus safety alerts and recalls
GX4 Pistols
Curve Pistol
PT Series Pistols
Thompson/Center safety alerts and recalls
T/C Compass Rifles
Venture Rifles
Icon, Venture, Dimension Rifles
Thunder Beast Arms safety alerts and recalls
Dominus and Ultra Gen2 Silencers
Walther safety alerts and recalls
CCP Pistol
PK380
PPK and PPK/S Pistols
PPS M2 Pistol
Weatherby safety alerts and recalls
SA-08 28 Gauge Shotgun (2013)
SA-08 Shotgun (2011)
Vanguard Rifles
Vanguard Stainless Steel Rifles
Winchester safety alerts and recalls
SXP shotgun
Model 94 Rifles
XPR rifles
Winchester 9mm Luger 115 grain Full Metal Jacket and 115 grain Jacketed Hollow Point pistol ammunition
Herter’s 9mm Luger 115 grain Full Metal Jacket pistol ammunition (manufactured by Winchester)
38 Special 130 Grain Full Metal Jacket Ammunition
Super-X 17 HMR 20 Grain Jacketed Hollow Point Ammunition
