Winchester XPR Recall

Richard Johnson
by Richard Johnson
XPR Hunter

Winchester Repeating Arms began a recall of XPR rifles in October. The reason behind the recall is that manipulation of the safety can cause movement in the trigger itself. This movement, according to Winchester, could result in an unintended discharge. This is clearly a bad situation.

It is unclear if all XPR rifles, or only certain XPR rifles, will need retrofitting. Winchester states the problem is with “certain XPR rifles,” but later in the same article states “do not load or shoot any XPR rifle until it has been returned to our service center and received the retrofit.” (emphasis added) The company set up an online serial number check on this page (click here.)

To correct the problem, Winchester Repeating Arms will replace trigger group parts. The service is considered mandatory and will be done free of charge. The new XPR rifles coming from Winchester will already have the new trigger group parts installed. If you purchased a gun in the past two months, it is possible that you do not need a retrofit. Go to the above link and check your serial number.

Winchester initiated a recall on the SXP shotguns earlier this year. In this video, a round discharged from an SXP shotgun when it was chambered with the safety on. The video should be a real eye opener and serve as another reason why you always point firearms in safe directions – even when your finger is not on the trigger.

Richard Johnson
Richard Johnson

An advocate of gun proliferation zones, Richard is a long time shooter, former cop and internet entrepreneur. Among the many places he calls home is http://www.gunsholstersandgear.com/.

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  • FightFireJay FightFireJay on Dec 09, 2015

    If guns made in the last 2 months already have the upgrade, then...
    1. Winchester has had the upgrade for 2 months without informing the public?
    2. Winchester knew well before then that an issue existed, investigated, designed, and finally manufactered a fix. How long have they known and not told us?

    • See 1 previous
    • Evan Evan on Dec 09, 2015

      @FightFireJay As someone who has had their employer go through this process...

      When a company learns of a potential problem, it becomes a bit of a bureaucratic morass. The legal process gets involved and everything has to be handled with kid gloves, almost as evidence, which in a way it is.

      Everything has to be documented, scientifically tested, independent 3rd parties have to be contracted. Conditions and results have to be reproduced at will... It's a very involved process. After that's all completed and a problem is identified, then they have to notify the government to cover their butt, adhere to consumer and public safety laws, etc., contact all their distributors, partners, etc.

      A 2-month turnaround time should/would be something to be commended. A time span of years is not uncommon.

  • Peewee Sierrafour Peewee Sierrafour on Dec 09, 2015

    Unforgivable. Tsk tsk.

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