Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Remington Model 788

I am looking at a Remington Model 788 in .243 for my son. What do you fellas think about this model Remington? I know it was discontinued in 1983. Is it a descent first hunting rifle for my 14 year old?

Wook

Excellent choice odds are huge it will be a shooter, one of the old guns that I totally love!

Mark D

Mark said it best they are a wonderful rifle. I own one in 243 and am in the process of converting it to a custom. Your son will surely love it. HAPPY HUNTING

Thanks for the responses fellas. The rifle is in good condition and comes with one magazine but It is missing a rear site and does come with scope rings. Will magazines be hard to find? Based on this limited information do you think $350 is a fair price?

Wook

That price isn't bad, if it was in good condition, i'd probably go for it. Those models are the easiest to find and everyone I've shot has been a great shooter, I would take one anyday over a M700 if I was going to keep it stock.

I have a 788 in 6mm and love it. I have the iron sights still on it under a set of Weaver Pivot Mount rings to mount the scope to it. Makes for sighting options and returns to zero. One heck of a deer gun. The clips for 243 are easy to find and you can use 308 clips as well. There are good quality new clips on the market now and used ones to be found at gun shows.
Suggest you get the gun.
My son has a LH one in 308 and he loves it.
Your son will surely like the gun.
mrk

These are great old guns, but they do have drawbacks. First they are heavy and kinda clunky. The magazine sticks out of the bottom right where you will hold the rifle as you are walking or stalk hunting with it. The action has a tinkertoy feel and sound to it.

Now after gettng all that out of the way, I can say that I've never fired one that wasn't a tack driver. I understand that a lot of bench rest rifles were built around the action because of the fast lock time and its inherent accuracy. They are also a good value because the prices keep going up. Three fifty sounds a little high for one but it has been a while since I priced them.

If your son will be mostly stand hunting, this will make an excellent choice for him. If he'll be stalk hunting or doing a lot of toting, you might want to let him handle the rifle a while to see if he likes the feel of it.

Or you can just buy it for him and hopes he doesn't like it so YOU can use it......

Ditto to all the above. I've had five 788's in .223, a couple of 22-250's, a 6mm LH and a .44 Magnum and there wasn't a bad shooter in the bunch.

$350 is within the going rate these days even for rifles in 80-90% condition. I've seen several at gun shows in less than stellar condition priced in the lower $400 range because 788's are "rare", but then that just exacerbates my continued un-fascination with gun shows these days.

Magazines are not all that hard to find but are also priced fairly high. But if you're careful you only need one - I never had any spares for mine and used that .223 for over 20 years.

Good rifle, you may as well get it as they aren't going to get cheaper.

Great rifles - simple and functional but very dependable and very accurate.

I'll agree with the others on the rifle. I've had one since new and love it. Only one concern I'd like to pass. Due to its age, the throat and bore might be very worn. If possible, get it bore scoped before you buy. If the barrel is shot out, the price can be adjusted down. Pac-Nor and others make good after market barrels.

Had one of the older "long-barreled" ones in .243. Was very, very accurate. Was particularly fond of 100-grain Hornadys. Had to have something else and thought that I should sell it to get some extra cash for the new acquistion. (I don't suppose anyone else has any cases like that to look back on with regret do they? If you don't, I have some extra cases to share since I seem to be extremely slow to learn.) Not meaning to be condescending if you already are aware of this, but be careful not to use lighter bullets that are constructed for varmints on deer. That seems to be a fairly common error in the 6MMs. Best, John

I have a left handed one in 308 Win with the 22" barrel that I bought in 1975 as my first deer rifle. It's clunky, ugly and an absolute tack driver and there is no reasonable offer that would make me sell it.

Smallest group I ever shot was with a 788 in 308. Great rifle.

I had one in 30-30 that was a mortal tack driver. The action is strong - it digested some blue pills loaded with 150 gr. bullets and 13 grs. RED DOT (don't ask!) without a hitch.

Wow, thanks for the input. Seems like its the real deal concerning accuracy. I believe the price is right on it and I need to get my son a hunting rifle; this is the only affordable one I've seen. Most .243's are going around $500, albeit, newer!

Thanks for the info,


Wook

I have been using a 788 in 22/250 to slay chucks since 1978. Its on its third barrel now but it was a tack driver right out of the box.
If the truth be known I'd bet there were more super accurate 788s right out of the box than there were 700s during the 788s production years.
I think a 788 would be a good choice for your son. I sure like mine. The fact that it never got traded away through many years of horsetrading says a lot.

I just stumbled across an older, "long barrel" 788 in .308. The wood has a couple of dings, the metal appears perfect, by looking at the bolt you would think it's never been fired. The bore looks perfect. Comes with:

Weaver K6 TV View micro trak scope
Redfield Jr mounts and rings
extra magazine
Pachmayr recoil pad

For $399 I couldn't resist and put it on layaway.

I have had one of these in 22-250, one in 223 and two in 6mmREM. All have been very accurate but I HAVE known of two of them that would occasionally fire when the safety was taken off. Probably the trigger had been pulled on before the safety was moved but I am not sure as they were not my rifles but I was present when this happened to a good friend and hunting buddy. Raising the rifle to sight on a deer and BOOM as he slipped the safety off. I say all of this to advise you to be extra cautious and to check safety function well before buying. All this being said when I was looking for a first deer rifle for my son and found one in 6mm I bought it and he still has it 13 years later. All of mine have been quite accurate.

I think I know the one your thinking about getting. I would go for it. Matt is a class act, I have shot with him several times before and he takes really good care of his rifles. The 222 that he is selling is a very accurate rifle, also 788. Those 788s are a great bargin in rifles.

I've owned a 788 in 6mm since the late 70's .My wife,two sons and me have all killed deer with it.It shoots very well,1 inch groups or less.
The factory stock finish is ulgy,so I stripped it and refinished it.It made it look 100% better.
It's a great gun.