Gunsmithing Educate me on the remington 788 action.
- Thread starter shooter65
- Start date
tag for info also.
I have one in 22-250 and it shoots great, made in RH and LH, 3 rear lugs 60* bolt lift, very solid. Not sure what you are looking for.
Was a great action, predecessor to the 700. Short bolt lift and good lockup contributed to an accurate rifle. The one I had in .22-250 killed a bunch of critters over the years.
Weakness: The bolt handle. It is brazed or welded onto the body and is known to come off. If you are lucky, it can be repaired. If you're not lucky, the rifle is now scrap due to the rarity of bolts.
I sold mine around the time we had two come into the LGS I worked at with bolt handles broken off. Couldn't find a bolt for either one.
1911fan
Weakness: The bolt handle. It is brazed or welded onto the body and is known to come off. If you are lucky, it can be repaired. If you're not lucky, the rifle is now scrap due to the rarity of bolts.
I sold mine around the time we had two come into the LGS I worked at with bolt handles broken off. Couldn't find a bolt for either one.
1911fan
Classy lady.
Jim wisner makes new bolts for them. I have 6 788's and they all shoot. Side note the 788 is not predecessor of the 700 but cut into 700 sales so it was discontinued. The 788 was very popular with the off hand shooters because the fast lock time.
Lots of NRA silhouette shooters used them in the 80's. I shot one for several years in 7-08 it was the bomb.
Very good action. Terrible trigger.
Paul
Paul
I had several 788's over the years, especially in 22-250, and loved them. I remember when they cost under $100 new. They had 9 rear locking lugs and at the time were said to have the fastest lock time of any centerfire rifle on the market. They would outshoot almost anything, and half MOA in the 22's and 6mm's with decent handloads were the norm. Someone already mentioned the bolt, that was a weakness, a weak design, they would break off, especially those made in later years. Warm handloads and even some factory loads made for a hard bolt lift, sometimes very hard, so people over stressed the bolt handle. I never broke a bolt but I've known of a couple that did. Some of them felt a bit "notchy" on later ones when you worked the bolt on an empty gun, even new ones, and I believe it was partly timing. I have great memories shooting them but I eventually discovered the Savage 10/110's as their replacement (cheap, super accurate, but strong and reliable) and that's what I've had the most of since.
Some smiths specialized in them and from what I understand, any kinks could be fixed, whether any of those businesses are still around I don't know. I remember that they were written up in Precision Shooting magazine a few times and they raved about them, especially the ones that had been tuned.
Some smiths specialized in them and from what I understand, any kinks could be fixed, whether any of those businesses are still around I don't know. I remember that they were written up in Precision Shooting magazine a few times and they raved about them, especially the ones that had been tuned.
I could be totally wrong here, but I was under the impression that the 788 was a European made mauser imported by Remington.
I'm still kicking myself for not buying a NIB 788 in 30-30 that I saw at a couple of different gun shows couple years back. The 30-30 is a great cartridge for use with cast bullets (my favorite 30-30 bullet is Lyman's 311041), and I had visions of using it as the ultimate cast bullet rifle. When you see the same desirable rifle at two different gun shows and still don't buy it, you gotta wonder how hard does someone gotta whack you to get your attention?
A couple of friends had 788s in 22-250 back when we had beau coup prairie dog towns to choose from, and they were both very accurate rifles. I've heard that some guys managed to fit a Canjar trigger to the 788 and make it work, but don't have any more specific information on that. Would sure love to see the 788 still in production, rather than the cheesy 770 or 783.
A couple of friends had 788s in 22-250 back when we had beau coup prairie dog towns to choose from, and they were both very accurate rifles. I've heard that some guys managed to fit a Canjar trigger to the 788 and make it work, but don't have any more specific information on that. Would sure love to see the 788 still in production, rather than the cheesy 770 or 783.
