I know I'am not the only one on here that loves these little rifles but I'am in the market for a 25-06, 7mmo8 and a 336 35 remy when i find a good one but I think I may have to add a 788 in 243! A freind of mine has one up for sale and I'am trying to get him to sale it to me and I guess I'll have to make room for it in the cabinet. I just like the fell of the 788, its stock fits me just right and everyone that I have shot is a great shooter and like I said nothing special about them, but I know people who will swear that the reason the 788 was discontinued was because they were a better rifle than the 700!!

I started out with a 788 carbine in 308 at ager 14 that was as heavy as a fence post and I sold it after one season! Now I miss the rifle and would like a 243 long barrel version, but I have a hard time paying the high used prices for them when better rifles are around for similar price. Paying a good price for a sentimental gun isn't a big deal to me, but they have those bad bolt issues too.

I spotted a 243 at a shop that I may go look at now that it is the lean sales season and dealing may be better now... Darn you for reminding me about that rifle of my youth.
Humdinger

??? Care to illuminate?

I have several 788s in 243 and I love em all. Just got my custom 243 back with a Broughton #6.5 and a McMillian stock on it and it shoots very very well. As for bolt problems my handle came off but that was operator error. I have never had an issue as of yet and I have had some of my 788s for some time. HAPPY HUNTING

i have one in a 22-250 and its a pure shooter love that rifle, in fact most of my inlaws have one too, im tempted to look for another in the triple duce if can find one.

Biggest bear I have ever seen killed was with a 788 in 7mm-08, date was 1985.

I have seen a few bolts break off over the years. Never seen one not shoot but 9 rear locking lugs and removable mag doesn't do much for me.

Why everyone loves the 788 is because they are, for the most part, scary accurate. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

Pyro - A dear friend of mine passed away last summer. He had a 788 in 222Rem. If his widow does not have it, than His son in law does.

My Dad bought a new 788 .243 with a 4X Weaver scope for me as a reward for all A's on my report card my 8th Grade year. With 43 grains of IMR4350 and an 85 grain Sierra Softpoint it shoots 5 shots at 100yds. that you can cover with a dime. I bet I have killed a dumptruck load of groundhogs with that rifle. It now has a 6X Weaver old style scope on it.

Ron

Had one in .308, never really liked it. I didn't like the clanky magazine hanging down or the safety lever.

Mike

I just got one in .223, but haven't got to shooting it yet. It's the first one I've owned and was surprised at how heavy it is.



.

Were wonderfully accurate for a factory rifle in their day. 60 degree bolt lift was nice and quick but lacked the camming power to easily open the bolt handle on too stout reloads. Some guys say that the rear locking allow a bit of reciever flex on overly stout handloads contributing to the problem. I don't know about that, but a gunsmith friend of mine welded a few bolt handles on the things when reloaders got overly ambitious. He never saw that with the 222 base cartridges, so maybe they did flex a little. Can't talk negative about the little rifles when loaded correctly, other than they were plain to look at and the trigger wasn't adjustable, but thats why they were priced good. My dad has one in 222 that is wonderful to shoot prairie dogs with.
dan

Despite the looks and such ... They did the most important thing a rifle should do (shoot straight, over and over) at a very good price for the day.

Back in there day many a 788 could show up at a range and shoot right with some of the best of the bench crowd.

Just imagine a fellow with a full custom route paper puncher with handloads and then there is this newbie shooting right up there with him with his UGLY, cheap factory thing, and many a time 'green' box factory ammo

Not all but many of the 788's were quite accurate and when they came in 7mm-08 those especially seemed 'scary' accurate, and the working stiff could buy it and a box of ammo without breaking the budget.

Just for reference, the 788 at one time was chambered in 30-30 and 44 mag. If I ever came across either I would seriously be tempted to buy.

I have heard of guys rebarreling 788s to 358 Win, but
have never handled one. I saw a custom 6x45MM on a 788
action a few years ago, wish I would have bought it.

There's a lefthanded one in 260Rem coming up on Guns America one day soon.

When my Dad bought mine in 1975, I think he paid $110 for it. He bought my older brother one in .308 in 1973 and paid $80 for it. We both still have them (he's 50 and I'm 48) although we don't shoot them much anymore. Fond memories of a Father who bought us guns, taught us to reload, and took us hunting and fishing.

Ron

Many didn't like the rear lock up on the action, I heard criticism that the action flexed a bit because of the rear locking lugs, cases stretched more than normal. Same criticism for the old Schultz and Larsen (usually chambered in the 7x61 S&H; hardly see them anymore).

I never had one, can't confirm.

I have several M788s, going back to the late 70s. All are very accurate and still work fine. Only issue has been a broken bolt stop pin in the original one bought new (22-250). My fault, learned not to let the bolt "slam" back against that little pin so often.

Have seen some of them at ridiculous prices over the past few years, but found one in 243 and in pretty nice shape, for $300 last year. All it really needed was a new stock, Midway had a Ramline on sale for $69, problem solved.

Even had a new spare mag for it on hand. Picked up a brand new 308 mag from an ol' boy's shop a few years back, for someone that needed one. By the time I got the mag, he'd already found one so I kept it. Still in the original blister pack, $20.

As for stretched cases, none of my loads were ever near max, so case life has been fine.

tikka are the new 788's they are also even clip fed,

Somebody in Washington state probably has mine. I let it go for $300.00 on a new Ruger Varmit Model 22.250.

The 788 was a .22-250 also, with a Canjar trigger, some kind of high power scope and a really nice, new, Fajen stock. I don't think it ever shot any of my loads over an inch at 100 yds. Most were way less than that.

I used to shoot a lot and just couldn't stand fumbling around with that magazine situation or the rear lugs. The Ruger with the benchrest magazine follower is slicker than bug juice. It does not shoot better than the 788 but I believe the axiom:

"Life is too short to hunt with an ugly gun."

YMMV

I bought one new in '78. With the origional barrel, it still shots bug holes with Vit N120 and 40g BT's, chrono's at 3800 fps.

I bought a used .243 for my middle son about 6 years ago. Paid 150.00 for it. Very accurate. He decided about 4 years ago to buy a new Tikka 270 wsm. Well, he still hunts with the 788 and the new Tikka sits in the gun cabinet. Can anyone tell me if the 700 barrel will fit these? I don't want to rebarrel this one but I always keep my eyes open to see if I could find a fixxer upper.

No rifle is truly ugly, that consistantly puts bullets into very tiny groups year after year.

I once insulted a guy that brought his then-new Golden Eagle into a buddy's gas station one night and pronounced it to be the most beautiful rifle ever made. He was on a roll, until I had the temerity to ask him, "How's it shoot?"

I own rifles that are even harder on the eyes than M788s, but the only reason I still have them, is because they shoot very well. I can be fairly flexible about looks, if something delivers.

Am a tad fussier about wimmin and trucks, tho.;O)

I know a guy who has two 788's he is pondering selling, a 308 carbine and a .223, both appear to have never been fired, I could pass on anyone interested, I believe he wants around 400 each

$400 is a pretty good price, i gave $525 for my 22-250

...The most accurate rifle , straight stock from the box, I've ever owned was a truly rare bird! The rifle was bench rest accurate with Winchester and Hornady ammo, a Remington varmint weight 788 in 22/250, it shot numerous 5 shot groups that could easily be covered by a DIME! I had no use for it, other than paper punching, and traded it off here on our forum for a new in the box CZ550FS in 7X57 Mauser. The CZ turned out to be exceptionally accurate as well, so I'm very happy to have a deer gun in such a vintage caliber.
....The Remington 788, especially the carbine models are great handling guns and tend to be supremely accurate pieces.Those found with Walnut stocks are uncommon but far more desirable to me.A carbine opened up to .358 Winchester would be a great all around big game hunting companion!

Below is a picture of my wife with her 788 in 22-250 and a coyote she shoot a while back. I bought the gun new sometime in the late 70's and let her shoot it. She confiscated it for her own use and I had to go buy me another 22-250. Hate it when that happens. The good thing was, I'm lefthanded, I found a lefthanded 700 in 22-250 but the bad thing was it took a lot of dinking to make it shoot as well as the old 788.
Doc

I doubt that there has ever been another mass produced rifle of the lower price end that has had as high a percentage of incredible shooters, although Savage would probably come the closest. I just traded off a 243 788 that would go under half inch regularly if I did my part. Hated to see it go but I traded it for a LH 788 in 6mm Remington. Haven't shot it yet but the former owner claimed it is a shooter as well.

I have heard that one thing that helps the accuracy is that the 788 has a very fast lock time and that the receiver itself is quite stiff. Don't know if those are facts but the proof is in the bug hole groups!

The quick lock time is probably the single biggest reason for good accuracy, that and pretty darn good barrels for a rifle that cost less than $100 when introduced.

I have two of them in 22-250 and for whatever reason, those bbls are substantially heavier than either the M788 222 or 243 barrels are.

Was tempted to buy a new one in 7mm-08 back when they came out, but never did get around to it. Liked the idea of that stubby barrel for a handy deer rifle.

...The rear lock up and ultra fast lock time do contribute to the 788's reputation for accuracy. It would seem that the rear lock up might auger for poorer accuracy, but if that be so ,why have I found that every 22RF that Remington put out with the same lock up as the 788 have been tack drivers too! I've owned an example of every 22RF model (580-581-582-541) that Remington has produced and every one of them has been superbly accurate! I still own a 541T and a 580 single shot, either of which will tick off a line up of 22 shell casings at 50 yds without a miss if I do my part. Either print one hole groups at 50 yds with quality ammo. There is something about the old Remington 788 design that engenders a pride of ownership that far exceeds the beauty of it's wood and metal, that something is what makes all rifles most interesting, ACCURACY!

Forgot about the quick lock time, that certainly contributes to the "shootability" part of the accuracy. Remington also has (or at least had) the reputation for making some of the best factory barrels.

I'd guess that the receiver configuration is what contributes the most to it's mechanical accuracy. Big tubular receiver with only a small bit of metal removed for an ejection port and magazine inlet makes for a very stiff platform to hang a barrel from. Didn't the bench rest guys try to accomplish the same thing by sleeving certain actions? Also the Tikka is known for very consistent accuracy from factory rifles and it has the same general configuration of receiver - small ejection port and mag opening.

Can't prove it but that would be my take on it.

My 7mm-08 is by far my most accurate rifle. Half inch groups are the usual for most loads. Yep, it's ugly though!!!

Same with my 6mm. Loves light Ballistic Tips and IMR 4350.

Check it out:

http://www.charm.net/~kmarsh/788.html

I worked for a manager that divorced a woman who was supposedly a real looker. During my time at the store he wound up marrying a gal that would charitably be described as plain. I was nearby when someone asked him about this and he said some women may look like a million bucks but f*%k like a nickel, others look like a nickel but .........

I can verify part of that "silent recall" bidness mentioned in the link.

When the bolt stop broke on the 22-250 (perhaps around the early to mid 80s?), called Rem to see if they had any replacements. They had none. The offer was for me to ship them the "defective" M788 and in return, I'd get a coupon for X number of dollars off for a new M700. I declined the offer. Already had enough M700s.

Heaps of verity in that million bucks vs the nickel analogy. I got divorced on the cusp of the Women's Liberation movement and still have lots of great memories from that era, especially of the assorted nickels that I was lucky enough to encounter.

A buddy of mine that dawdled a bit before he got divorced, was initially annoyed at the prospect of a woman buying him a beer at the local tavern. Told him he'd get used to it, if'n he knew what was good for him.

A couple years ago, I inherited my Dad's 788 in .22-250. My
brother and I shot it a lot when we were teenagers in the pdog
towns of SW Nebraska. It was my Dad's one and only deer rifle
and not one mulie did he ever lose with that rifle.

My brother and I learned to reload for that rifle. Dad would not
buy ammo for pdog shooting but did furnish powder, primers and
bullets. Each of us also got a deer with that rifle. After all,
after shooting pdogs all summer, a pinpoint shot on a deer was
nothing....not even a challenge.

On a recommendation from one of his neighbors, Dad never
cleaned the barrel after removing the factory crud. The
neighbor convinced him it was the worst thing he could do and
would ruin the accuracy (I feel the neighbor ruined the crown
on his .30-06 with his cleaning methods). After bringing it
home and inspecting the bulged cases, I saw a barrel cleaning
was long, long past due. Ever try to get 35 years worth of
powder/copper residue out of a barrel? It took me over a month.

I'm going to have to recall what loads we all used in it. With
IMR4320, 55gr Hornady SP's pushed around 3600fps (as I recall)
a dime would cover 3-shot groups. Loads I have tried with 55gr
bullets with a couple of other powders won't hold inch groups.
However, 40 VMax's and 36gr Varmint Grenades do give 1/2"
groups. She's still a shooter when given fodder she likes.

I have two 788's; a .222 Rem. that is a dream to shoot and a 7mm-08. I love them both, but I never got used to the 18.5" barrel of the 7-08. It was a very good shooter, but very loud and seemed a little out of balance. Guess that's why I sold it last week!