Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Remington Model 722 .308--anyone have any experience with this rifle?

At the end of deer season last week, a friend gave me the Remington Model 722 in .308 he had been using on our hunt. Some owner previous to my friend restocked the rifle with a nice piece of wood (which I intend to replace with a McMillan if I keep the gun). It wears an old Redfield scope which--again, if I keep the gun--I will replace with a Leupold or Zeiss. I have no experience with this particular model rifle, so I did some internet research to get some background. Does anyone have any actual hunting experience with this gun? Before I spend $500 for a Mickey (I already have the scopes, so no added cost there), I'd like to hear from someone who's actually used this rifle.

First post from here in south Georgia. Thanks for any input.

My wife inherited a 722 in 300 Savage and it's been slaying moose,caribou,bison, and brown bears for 20 yrs. In my opinion it's the forerunner of the mod 7. Very accurate rifles.

I have only seen a couple of 722s in 308, one of my coworkers
bought one for her husband last year that she found in a
pawnshop. Most 721s and 722s that I have shot are very
accurate, they are plain jane, but most people dont mind
after they shoot them at the range. I have owned 2 722s in
222 Remington, and I wish I would have kept both of them.
The 257 Roberts is in big demand also in this model. Enjoy
your new rifle!

I own one in 300 Savage and another in .222 Remington. They are accurate rifles and are simply the predecessors to the 7/700 series rifles. They shoot good, are lightwieght and will serve the hunter well. Ryan

Mr. GA270:

First off, I�d like to extend a welcome here to you from north of the �medicine line�.

About 15 or so years ago a lady I worked with said that her husband�s hunting rifle had been pronounced �shot-out� by a local expert. Being curious about such things I said I�d give her a 2nd opinion if they wanted. Shortly afterward they brought a 722 .308 out to our place.

I had a quick look at it and it seemed like a solid rifle in need of a good cleaning and a bit of care. I asked if I could have it for a week, which they agreed to.

I gave the stock my standard glass bedding job, cleaned the trigger up a bit and gave the barrel a good scrub. I then threw together an �accuracy load� out of, I believe the old Lyman manual using a 165grain Speer and IMR4064. After a couple shots to zero it, I proceeded to put the next 5 shots into a nice �� cluster.

I gave the gun back to them with along with the target so that they could show their buddy he was still in the learning process, just like the rest of us �rifle loonies�.

Anyway I�ve kind of had a liking for 722�s since then and eventually built a .250AI on a 722 action for our youngest daughter. They have a bit of a different extractor, and the bolt angle means you will likely have to modify a stock made for a 700 at that point, but otherwise are quite similar to a 700 as far as I can tell.

Good luck on your rifle project and again welcome here.

Regards,
Dwayne

Those are awful. I'll give ya a couple of hundred for it.
Kidding!!!

I am somewhat of a 721/722 nut. I think they are great actions and have two 722 actions. One is a 22-250 and the other a 6mm Rem right now that has shot 1/2" 3 shot groups at 200 yds with a rebored barrel. I have changed barrels on them several times. Every tube I have put on them has been a sweet shooting rifle.

Believe me when I say that if there is anything wrong with the way they shoot, it is nothing that can't be improved. The barrel may be a little antiquated, but those are really fine actions and worth it.

Ga270-first off welcome to the Fire, tis a cool place to hang out and talk ballistic gack and the sort.

About your 722, what a cool lil rig, I feel that you've a keeper there!

I passed one up a couple of years back in 244 and kind of wished I hadn't...

Dober

I've had a 722 in .257 Roberts since 1982, and it continues to be a stellar shooter. I replaced the original stock (several times ) because it was made in 1951 and had way too much drop at heel for scope use.

The 722 is the direct ancestor of the 700 short action, and will drop into a Remington 700 SA stock with a very small amount of whittling.

No reason not to use it another 50 years...

DN

If you sell that 722, i would like to be firs in line for it!

Grandpa has passed down a remington 721 ( same gun, but long action) in 270 and that is my go to gun, as well as my most valued gun. it is a tack driver!

721/722's are great actions...the machining on them is better than the 700's..IMHO. I've owned at last count....5 of them...3 of them in 244, one in 257 Roberts and another in 308 that I bought as a barreled action for a project that never materialized...sold the action...here's a tip...one of the 244's had a broken extractor, I had a new extractor for a 700/223,....drilled the hole and installed the rivet and stretched it out a bit and it worked great.

My wife learned to shoot on that rifle, and killed her first big game animals with it. I don't believe I could sell it for enough to pay my divorce lawyer .

But I understand why you want it...

DN

I owned one many years ago. So long ago that I can't even remember what caliber it was. As I recall it wasn't especially accurate but then I never tried to accurize it. Probably traded it on something I wanted more. Bottom line, they are a plain, solid gun, if in good condition it should be worth some effort.

GA when you decide to sell that stock let ne first in line. powdr

I have four M720's. Two M722's in 257R and 300Sav. They are shooting "collectable's" for me--I grew up seeing lots of M720's and just have an interest in the old timey bolt actions. Mine are all original and range from very good to excellent condition, so I'm loath to change anything.

The safety levers drive me nuts, they are heavy (mostly the stock), and I haven't found them to be as accurate as later M700's, but plenty accurate enough for hunting. But I know some guys who have very good accuracy in some M720's.

In my dad's and my M721's in 30-06, the combination of the stock dimensions and steel/aluminum butt plates make recoil feel like a fullbore 300WM.....

I wish somebody would "give" me a M722 in a "308"


Casey

I had a 722 in 308 I used for a number of years. I put it in a Brown Precision Fiberglass Stock and mounted a Burris Mini 4X scope. I did have a smith turn the barrel down somewhat. This was back in 1977 or so. Burris had just come out with the Mini scope line and this was during the early years of the Browns fiberglass stock. It worked fine in a Rem 700 stock. Weighed about 6 1/2 # scoped & loaded. Shot real small groups. This is a purely personal preference on my part, but the 721/722 safety lever suits me way better than the one currently found on the 700. The rifle never missed a beat. I sold it only because the 700 ADL/BDL style stocks available then simply did not fit me to my satisfaction. If you like the gun go for it they're great rifles.

Steve

Really do not mean to hi jack this thread but,

I have a 722 that was originally 257 Roberts that has been rechambered to 257 AI. I also have a piece of wood (Black Walnut) for it that I picked up out of Fajens "going out of Business" sale way back when that would probably grade at least AAA if not for a very small knot hole that has been filled.

Question, what cartridge to re-barrel for a nice light rifle? .260 Rem.? other suggestions? Personally think magazine too short for current chamber. Purely a project gun as I shoot lefty and wife unable to use. Will likely be for sale when finished. Could even be now as is...

Kevin

I had one from 1966 to about 1989.I bought it used at a gun shop in NY
state. It was originally chambered for 300 Savage, but reworked to 308 when I bought it. I used it for deer hunting in the Catskills and Adirondacks. I was very successful. Most of the time was shooting 180 gr, Sierra round nose. I also loaded 150 Gr. boat tail .The areas I hunted were open hardwoods ,orchards, and very hilly. Most shot were
short,under 60 yds.,but I did have one in 1973 that was out in an open field at 140 yds. The deer dropped like it had been shot. I don't have my stuff to ref. the load,but I think it was 49.5 grns 4320 or maybe 4350. Hope that helps--Trapper

I was a little surprised to see this thread pop up after so long. Anyway, for anyone who might be interested, here's an update on the Model 722:

McWhorter Custom Rifles replaced the extractor with a Sako extractor.

Ken Donaldson in Oregon chopped the barrel to 21 inches, recrowned it, duracoated all metal, and bedded the barreled action into a Remington Model 700 ADL camo takeoff stock.

I mounted a Leupold VX-2 2-7 X 33 in a set of Talley lightweights (after shipping the scope back to Leupold to have the standard duplex reticle replaced with a heavy duplex reticle).

The gun shoots great (3-in-1 at 100 yards) and even looks good. What started out as a beater/loaner/truck/swamp rifle is now one of my favorites. And since the original rifle was a gift, I don't have much cash in the package. I do intend to sell the nice wood stock--as soon as my secretary figures out how to post pictures here. And thanks to all the posters who gave me good advice about the rifle when I first posted about it.