Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 788 in 308 thouhhts

Think I might be able to get one for the money is it worth the buy or get a Mohawk? Would do a tikka but no short barrels
Thanks

I'd rather have a 600 Mohawk than a 788, but I'd do so knowing that I would need to buy the CVMW bottom metal from Willie Manning. What can I say? Tinkers gotta tinker.

I've had several 788s in 308, even had one that was set up as an unauthorized sniper rifle when I was in the Army. They do tend to be accurate, but I don't love the detachable magazine protruding below the bottom of the stock.

I have owned more than a few 600/660 308’s. Most were Mohawks. I really like them. My friends usually pry them out of my hands. The one I have now will either be on my estate sale or one of the kids will get it. I prefer the bottom metal that 260 wrote about, but this one is the one that came with it.
788’s are OK. I have two. But the 600 Mohawk is much better in my opinion.

in my opinion, 308 is the easiest caliber in the 788 to find. I would prefer an early 700 carbine in 308 myself, but they are not cheap or easy to find

True. I grabbed the first one I had seen locally laying on a table and it happened to be in good condition and at a good price. Fall of 2022 I paid $450. This is how it came, now wears different rings and scope. I also got a very good condition 7mm-08 carbine, but I believe I paid $600 or $625 for it about a yr earlier.

I have a soft spot for the 788 because my first centerfire rifle was the 788 in 30-30. I traded a 788 in .308 to a friend since I have several .308s in other models. The “problem” for the 788 and the detachable magazine is how limited you are with COAL. The magazine, especially in the 30-30 is pretty constrained. Even 150gr spitzers are generally too long to be used in the 788 magazine. I’ve had excellent accuracy with it and it is not finicky in regards to various bullets and weights. As a kid I had several boxes of Accelerators and surprisingly they were actually pretty damn accurate too, accurate enough for a 11 year old boy to hit jackrabbits and cottontails on the run and a scaled quail at 78 paces. That rifle and I became 1….it’s currently upstairs resting but she’ll always reside with me.

I picked up a Remington 788 chambered in .308 couple of weeks ago and it has been refreshing to shoot. Can't wait to hunt with it.

Like Aces above, my very first Deer rifle was a 788 in .308 Win. My Mom actually had to buy it because I was too young yet. My Dad won 6 boxes of Remington 180 RN Cor Lokt's at an estate sale and that rifle loved them! Honest .5 MOA rifle with them. For quite q few years that rifle and I kept the family in Venison.

Still have it. In fact, I found one of the magazines a few days ago and it still had 3 rounds of the old 180 RN cartridges in it!

Frog----OUT!

788s are shooters, especially with a little bedding.
The slightly extended magazine does not really cause any problems.
Second mag allows for quick reload if you find it necessary.
My 2 cents from working with 4 or 5 of them

I cut the barrel on a Tikka 308 to 19"and recrowned the muzzle. Did it at home at ZERO cost to me. I figured I had nothing to lose and if it didn't shoot well I could always pay someone to cut another 1/4" off and redo it. It shoots just as good as before.

IMO the 788 was a good rifle for the money when introduced. There are better rifles today and I won't pay what they want for 788's. Magazines can be hard to find too.

They will out shoot most rifles but need trigger work to be really good.

The 788 is A decent reasonably priced gun that will last a lifetime and do most anything you need

They’re cheap rifles that often shoot very well. Even at 18, I decided the 600 was a bit nicer, so ponied up the extra $15 or so for one of those, useless plastic vent rib and all. Many have an attachment for both models based on nostalgia and also their performance, but current budget rifles are better choices from a practicality standpoint, with lots of aftermarket support, and equal or better performance, plus modern cartridge choices and barrel twists.

No way would I choose either over a Tikka. Barrels can be cut.

I’m another with a soft spot for the 788. Mine, in .222, bought in spring of 1967, was my first really accurate rifle with which, it seemed, I could hit anything at any distance. I still have it.

Today, I would grab one in .30-30 (just because I’m currently jonesing for a.30-30) but probably no other caliber.

IA fog;
Top of the morning to you, I hope the weather is seasonally appropriate and survivable for you all out east and you're well.

With apologies to those who've read and seen these previously from me, I'll say this about that.

Over the years I've tuned 3 different 788 .308's in my shop and when I was shooting a wee bit of hunting rifle bullseye competition lost money to a few more, one in 6mm and one in .7-08 that I recall not wanting to shoot against.

My competition rifle back then was the most consistently accurate rifle in the safe, my wife's 788 carbine in .308 that I'd restocked, bedded and tuned the trigger.



Shooting 130gr Speer HP with a max load of WW748, with a few different shooters it would hold to ½" groups with a 6X scope, which was the maximum magnification for the match.

It used to rankle a few of the other competitors that I'd bring it out as a "club rifle" with a box of 50 handloads so others could borrow it. Of course that meant I lost to the rifle I'd brought to the match fairly regularly.

Years later this one came into the shop in a trade, with a broken trigger which is the weak spot with them in that the bolt stop is a pin in the front of the trigger assembly. When it shears off, unless one can remake the pin from scratch, one is looking at a new trigger. We installed the one from my wife's rifle in this one, put a Timney in hers which was a nice improvement and it shot 3 test rounds into an inch as seen.



An old friend wanted it for his step father who was left handed, so it went to a good home after I'd finished the stock with a walnut grip cap and a brown Decelerator.

Besides the rear lugs which some folks can't get past, it's a reasonably stiff receiver because of the single stack mag and not too large ejection port. They had a fast lock time too as I recall.

Back when as well I recall reading about the odd one that the bolt handle would come out on, it's silver brazed in so surely that could take place if it's not a great job, but I also suspect that hot loads and beating on the bolt handle in some cases were contributing factors.

As to whether it's better or worse than a Mohawk however would be down to a personal call.

They're fine for what they are or were at the time, but they were the Ruger American of the day more or less as I remember them.

Hope that was useful to you or someone out there.

Good luck on your rifle quest whichever way you decide.

Dwayne

My 788 308 is one of the few I'd really like to have back. Cast or jacketed, it performed well.

I am unfamiliar with this. Did Remington market it as a Carbine? What length barrel did it come with originally? What date range was it?

The picture Shade Tree posted looks like a generic stocked oldy but goody, quality barreled action Remington was known for in the 70’s.

Why not a Remington 673?

Dwayne, that lighter colored stock left hand 788 is a beautiful rifle. Thanks for sharing!!! I am down to one 788, a rifle I purchased last year when I got lucky and found it at a small mom and pop shop. It's chambered in 30-30, which is what I'd look for, instead of a common 308win. I like it because it's unusual. While not nearly as cool as the Winchester 54 30-30, it's still pretty cool. The last left hand 788 I had was a 6mm rem, and that rifle was a shooting machine. Scarry accurate with just about any bullet you put in it.

Well if I could find one priced right yes but they are higher than a tikka generally

I'd look for a used Tikka at an affordable price, then have the barrel cut and recrowned. I know they are out there, as I see them from time to time. When I bought my Tikka T3 308w, it was scoped and I paid $500 for the combo. Sold the scope for $230.00. It's been a great rifle, so I know deals like that are out there. Just have to look.

bsa1917hunter;
Good afternoon to you sir, I hope the day is progressing according to plan and you're well.

Thanks for the reply to my post, I appreciate it.

That stock didn't have terrible grain, I want to say it's birch, but like all trees there's prettier grain and less so for sure.

It might have been some sort of soft maple too, not entirely sure looking at the photo and can't exactly recall if I ever was certain back then.

Somehow too, if I ever took a photo of the finished rifle, which I usually try to do, it's long gone somewhere now.

The 6mm 788 was one I recall losing money to at the shoots where we'd run a squad of a half dozen shooters and the winner got a turkey or a percentage of the cash pot.

Honestly I'm not sure I've ever seen either a .44 Mag or a .30-30 in the flesh so to speak, but either would be a very cool rifle to my way of thinking.

All the best and thanks again.

Dwayne

308 Carbine here, I like it

Thanks Dwayne. Same to you! Yeah, the 44 and 30-30 are pretty rare, and prices are a reflection of that rarity. Mine has been a joy to shoot. There are some things I don't necessarily like about it, for a "hunting" rifle though. The metal magazine hanging down, is kind of sharp, and the rifle doesn't have that sleek feeling like I look for. If that makes any sense. The best example I can think of, to explain what I mean, is the rifle I just bought a week ago. A small framed Sako AII. That rifle handles like a dream. Doesn't have any sharp edges, and feels great in the hands and is a joy to shoot.

With that being said, the 788 is a rifle that is known for it's excellent accuracy/precision. I think Remington stopped making them, because they were cutting into 700 sales. Their intent with the 788 was to make a cheap rifle that anyone could afford: One of the earliest budget rifles, if you will. I don't think they ever could have imagined how the design would be so dang consistently accurate though.

I've had two 788's, a 222Rem and a 223. Both shot really well but the 222 was far and away the most accurate rifle I'd ever owned. I'd like to have another 788 but not willing to pay what they go for! My favorite hunting rifle for a lot of years was a Rem 660 in 308. Stock was more fence post than rifle stock but it shot great and handled really well. I suspect the price of them is also more than I'd pay these days. But ya know gold to one guy is just a rock to another!

My brother had the bolt handle come off his 788 (.243 Win). This was back in the mid-70's and he lives right down the road from Ilion. He simply walked in the front door of "The Arms," as the plant was known in the Mohawk Valley, and they fitted a new bolt to the rifle while he waited in the lobby.

It was, indeed, silver brazed on, with a round lug section of the handle, about 1/4" round iirc, that fit into the bolt body very little if any deeper than it's diameter. Having loaded all the ammunition that went through that rifle, I am sure it never saw any hot loads or needed the bolt pounded open. It was very apparent that the assembling the bolt handle to the bolt body was done by means of a little precut square of braze metal put on the round lug and, I would guess, some sort of production setup to apply the necessary heat, very likely by induction but possible on a conveyor system that moved the assembled bolt bodies/handles through a gas flame. My guess is there was a flaw in process engineering and/or QA, as a friend who did contract repair business for Remington for some years told me he saw a lot of 788's with missing bolt handles.

Great post. That is another flaw, I've noticed with the 788.

Long ago I had a .308 and .223 in 788 and both were cheap tack drivers. Daughter shot a beautiful black bear in Prince William Sound wit the .308 and I shot a running fox at about 300 yards with the .223. For some reason I traded/sold both rifles and wish I would of kept them

The .308 had a 18" barrel and I cut the .223 to 20" my self. Great truck guns for Alaska with the detachable mags I kept up front in cab. There is no critter in Alaska I can't take on with a .308 Win. and the 168 grain Barnes TTSX.

Love my .243 Carbine . If I had one in .308 it would soon be a .358 .

cra1948;
Good afternoon or I see its evening already out in South Carolina.

Thanks for the additional information on the 788 bolt issues, it's much appreciated and a good thing to put into the memory banks.

All the best and thanks again.

Dwayne

I used a .308 M788 for a lot of years when I was younger. I killed my first deer and antelope with my mom's 788 in .243 Win. I sold the .308 (wish I still had it) but still have mom's .243 Win. My older girls enjoy shooting it, even if we can't use it for deer hunting here in Iowa. It's one of those guns that I'll never sell. It's sub MOA with pretty much anything I send down the barrel except, for some reason, 95 gr. Nosler Partitions. But 100 gr. Partitions shoot 1/2" at 3000 fps and I wouldn't hesitate to take that combo elk hunting because the bullet goes exactly where I tell it to go.

My brother has a 788 in .308. Mine is a .243. My brother refinished the stock for me. I only wish it was a Lefty. Had it since I was 14-15.

Ron

My first 788 was in 1984 (7mm08).
I now have one in every caliber.
I have put timney triggers in some, restocked others and just shoot the heck out of all of them.
I reload for most of them.
Ugly, heavy, YUP BUT THEY ALL SHOOT VERY, VERY WELL!
I say buy the 788, because prices are going up and up and they dont make them any more.

Teaching a SWAT sniper school years ago, one of the students showed up with a department-owned, heavy barrel 788 in 308 Winchester...

That doggone thing was one of, if not the most accurate rifle in the class of 20 some SWAT officers. I was impressed as was everyone else. We usually saw Remington 700's and Accuracy International rifles - which also did well, but that 788... My goodness... Quite a rifle!

Regards, Guy

I've got a 788 in 308 that has about a 12.5" LOP. Nice job shortening the stock with a thick recoil pad. I bought it to be my wife's elk rifle if she ever wanted to hunt with me. (But it was just too good of a deal to pass up and I'm a fan of 788s) I've got an accurate load with 150 partitions ready to go.

This is my other 788, a custom barreled 260. Probably the cheapest custom in my safe and it shoots well too. (some have seen these pics before, sorry)

Picked this beautiful old girl up a few weeks ago. She's a 24 inch .308 that shoots great, but wouldn't eject right with the scope mounted normally, so I rotated the scope 90 degrees. Gotta go shoot it again this week

I love the stock on that one.

18.5 " barrel? Bobbed forend?

Here in Central NYS back in the 70’s the 788 in 222 was a common woodchuck killer. Story was Remington stopped making the “economical” 788 because it shot right with their flagship 700 and was cutting into sales.

That's the story but I'll bet the real story was they could not produce the 788 anymore at their price point and make money..mb

When Metallic Silhouete shooting first appeared north of the border most competitors were shooting Remington 788's in .308.