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I have a new to me Model 788 Remington, .22-250. It's a first year production rifle (1967) which has a real walnut stock and a bit nicer bluing than what's normally seen on 788s. Came with two stocks, it's wearing a replacement Ramline (glass bedded). Also came with a Cabela's scope, 4-16x, one of the cheaper ones, and a Timney trigger. I expected it to shoot like a typical 788 - under an inch at 100. It won't do that, it's 1.5 to 2 inches mostly, with 50 to 55 gr. Hornady handloads. The barrel seemed very dirty so I've put a lot of patches down it, and some brushing, using copper solvent, as well as other solvents and cleaners. Patches still come out fairly dirty, but the bore looks good (don't have a borescope though). One thing I've noticed is I can feel a definite "bump" in the same spot in the barrel with a tight patch - about 5 inches from the muzzle. It feels like there is a slight expansion or "ring" in the barrel right there, causing the patch to suddenly go a bit loose for maybe half an inch. Nothing is visible to the naked eye, but I can definitely feel it. Possibly it was fired by a previous owner with a slight obstruction.

My question is, would it be worth re-barreling a model 788? If so, who makes barrels that fit and what twist rate would you recommend? The magazine doesn't seem to have a lot of room for long bullets, so I'm thinking 1-12 probably. Stock barrels are 1-14. Thanks!

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Quote

My question is, would it be worth re-barreling a model 788?


You will get a lot of different responses so here's just one opinion......NO.....I'd sell the 788 and find a good Remington ADL in .22-250 and if necessary re-barrel that.

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Yep rebarrel it - if you have a loose spot in the middle of the barrel it’s toast.

You will have to have it done by a gunsmith to make sure the new barrel is headspaced correctly, matching threads, and tenon length is what a gunsmith does.

Twist rate depends on what bullet weight you want to shoot for your application, If you varmint hunt I’d recommend a fast twist..

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Rebarreled a .222 Remington 788 with a toasted factory barrel replaced by Shaw with a faster-twist .223 Remington stainless barrel. It shot VERY well, and didn't cost a vast amount either. Dunno what they charge these days, but it was well worth the price.


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I have a 788_action in a McMillan stock with a bartlein 8 twist barrel in 243. It shoots between 1\2 and 3\4 inch at 200 yds. Those actions have a very fast lock time and are well worth rebarelling. Can't go wrong with a bartlein barrel.

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Originally Posted by fortymile

My question is, would it be worth re-barreling a model 788? If so, who makes barrels that fit and what twist rate would you recommend? The magazine doesn't seem to have a lot of room for long bullets, so I'm thinking 1-12 probably. Stock barrels are 1-14. Thanks!


Ask yourself if the 788 is worth spending $400-$600 dollars on for a rebarrel, even after the rebarrel it is still a $400 rifle.
Sell or trade the 788 and buy yourself a Rem 700 or Ruger American or any other of a slew of rifles ready to shoot without putting a pile of money into them.
The 788 was a great $69.00 rifle but they have a lousy trigger, the bolt is clunky, the bolt handles have a habit of falling off and parts are becoming difficult to find for them.

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If you end up selling the rifle for scrap let me know so I can take it off your hands.

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If she shoots good leave it and kill shiit with 50-55's...


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fortymile, you asked otherwise I wouldn’t comment.

Obviously some like the 788.

I had one and it didn’t impress me. Drover ^^^^ said in general the same things
I think.

Only you can decide how much you want to put in a $400. Rifle.

Good luck

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Thanks for the replies. A pard has a 788 in .22-250 and it shoots exceptionally well, so I had high hopes for this one. Based on the feedback so far I think I will spring for a new barrel, but I need to look into the cost. I paid $575 for the rifle with scope and both stocks. Not a good deal in hindsight, but I don't want to peddle a problem rifle to someone else, and I'd like to make a good shooter out of it. I think all the ingredients are there (Timney trigger is amazing, the action seems solid, original stock is in great shape) it just needs a better barrel. Anybody know what an early 788 Walnut stock is worth? I may sell that to help pay for the barrel.

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I appreciate your thot process there.

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I’d go 8 twist on it no matter the mag length myself. Nothing to be lost with the extra twist and they’ll shoot the normal 50-55’s just fine as well. Some good intermediate sorta bullets that would work fine in the confines of a short mag box like the 77 TMK and 75 Swift’s.


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I would barrel it in 6BR with a 7.5 inch twist. GD

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Originally Posted by greydog
I would barrel it in 6BR with a 7.5 inch twist. GD



6BR may not feed as a repeater.......

788 re barrel ? nah......

Just buy a Tikka........ grin


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Fwiw 788 magazines are pretty long when compared to many of today's magazine es. This allows for shooting longer heavier bullets if desired. I shoot 105 Berger out of my 243 magazine.

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788's were nice budget priced rifles, but tend to be case stretchers if you loaded very warmly. Small base brass rounds ( .222 ) or of moderate pressure (30-30 or .44 mag) were not so bad.. Trading for a .222 or a 700 may be your best move. Shortening the barrel if you can and stay legal might be an economical solution.

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If it is the 24 inch barrel it would be a no brainier for me to cut it back to 18 - 19 inches and have a carbine model. I would clean more using JB and a copper solvent then shoot for groups again. If it was still not to your liking I would have the barrel accurately gauged to see if a circumcision would fix it. I would also be tempted to shoot the whole batch of Tubbs final finish bullets since you may replace it any way. This will not do anything if the barrel is ringed but it may smooth out the transition enough to improve accuracy and if the rifle has a high round count you most likely have some throat erosion which it may improve..

Re-barrelling depends on how much you like the rifle. They can be very accurate, you already have a trigger upgrade, and other people are willing to spend a fair amount of money on the 580 series 22 RF version to customize them. Also before re barreling check head space, if the previous owner shot a lot of hot loaded ammo it is possible to get setback. Setback could also throw off accuracy. If this is the case a new barrel is in order or at least a new chamber.

Like others have posted I would go ahead and get a faster twist barrel at least a 1 in 8, then you can shoot most of the bullets available between 40 & 80 grains.

I have friends who have cobbled up rifles with bargain barrels like the S&B or Green Mountain and they ended up with very accurate rifles for under a grand. But that still puts you into Rem 700 or Tikka territory. It exceeds the RAR and others.


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Thanks for all the suggestions. Huaqvarna and Tejano, I kinda like your idea of cutting the barrel back (it is 24). Might be a bit loud but if I got the barrel threaded and put a can on it (I'll be back in Utah soon where such things are legal) that would be perfect. Something to think about for sure.

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Late seeing this thread, but here goes. First, a .22-250 barrel is one of the two 788 barrels I would be leery of (.243 is the other). They can be shot out pretty easily if used for varmints. As stated above, the 788 can eat cases because of the rear locking lugs allowing bolt compression. I sold mine because it was a right hand action and I am a lefty. I think before I rebarreled I would have the barrel borescoped and if the throat was burned out, I would have a smith cut the barrel back to 22 inches or so if possible.

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Like all rear locking actions the 788 bolt will compress but it is not as bad as some with longer bolts. Shot one quite a bit in 6PPC which was loaded pretty hot and did not find stretching to be all that bad. Remington claimed the bolt would compress roughly .001" per 1000lbs of bolt thrust (about 5 or 6 times that of a 700). Other rear locking actions are somewhat worse in this regard. The Steyr Mannlicher and colt Sauer are considerably worse because the bolts are longer. Practically speaking, the amount of stretch in the 788 means, in a 22-250, fl sizing would be required about every fourth firing. My ppc needed to have the shoulders bumped about every fifth loading. GD

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Fortymile,

Have a gunsmith slug the barrel, and inspect it with a borescope before you do anything to it - Frankly a good smith will do that before he works on it anyway, and then tell you the options.

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Honestly, I think I would send it down the road.


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If you like the rifle then get it re barreled.

If not you could sell it as is.

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Originally Posted by drover
Originally Posted by fortymile

My question is, would it be worth re-barreling a model 788? If so, who makes barrels that fit and what twist rate would you recommend? The magazine doesn't seem to have a lot of room for long bullets, so I'm thinking 1-12 probably. Stock barrels are 1-14. Thanks!


Ask yourself if the 788 is worth spending $400-$600 dollars on for a rebarrel, even after the rebarrel it is still a $400 rifle.
Sell or trade the 788 and buy yourself a Rem 700 or Ruger American or any other of a slew of rifles ready to shoot without putting a pile of money into them.
The 788 was a great $69.00 rifle but they have a lousy trigger, the bolt is clunky, the bolt handles have a habit of falling off and parts are becoming difficult to find for them.

drover
do this X2


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Maybe just rebarrel with a take off barrel?

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Dennis Erhardt
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You ain't shipped it yet?

He likes Douglas barrels, my collection of 4 shoot lights out. He repaired a broke ADL for me, threw the .22-250 barrel in the trash, replacing it with a XX barrel chambered in .250 Savage. 1/4" with Partitions it does.

He also did the metal work on my .416 Rigby. It only shoots MOA with any load. If you can hang with it.

Sigh- I sold all my guns though so the Gestopo won't come banging on the door.

You ain't shipped it yet?


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I almost had myself talked out of it, then read Dan's post. Think I will contact Dennis to see what his rates are. Thanks Dan!

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You do that. My "Savage" doin' what it does. Boringest rifle ever. Top target is 10 shots. Bottom pair was 85 BTs on top and 100 gr Partitions on the bottom.

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That's an accurate rifle!

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I shot the rifle again today, after doing a lot more barrel cleaning (I've never had a rifle that was this hard to get the fouling out of - patches still come out dark and dirty after a ton of patching, brushing, etc. and many different solvents). Anyway it shot a couple of 1 inch, 5 shot groups today at 100 yards, which is quite a bit better than it was doing before. So maybe it has some life left in it. It's certainly good enough to use as is, for coyotes and such. If I can ever get it down to bare metal I might try to dyna borecoat it and see if that helps at all. I have another 788 in .222. I haven't shot it in a while, but I took it to the range along with the .22-250 today. The .222 shot about a 5/8 inch 5 shot group, with 40 gr Federal Premium factory ammo. I would love to get the .22-250 shooting that well, but it isn't far off at the moment.

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Does anyone even make aftermarket barrels for Remington 788s?

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Try some JB Bore Paste if you haven't done so.


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Originally Posted by Jericho
Does anyone even make aftermarket barrels for Remington 788s?


All barrelmakers make aftermarket barrels for 788's. They just have to be threaded and chambered and there you have it; a 788 barrel. If you want a barrel nut on it, it just has to be fitted with a nut and there you have it; a barrel with a nut. GD

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I have run multiple patches with the JB Bore Paste, Dan. It's cleaning up finally I think. I used some foaming Break Free copper solvent on it after shooting today. I only put about 10 rounds downrange but those first few patches came out very blue.

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Fortymile - I had a rifle like yours that wouldn’t group or clean up - I finally ended up using the outer s foul out kit (reverse plating) to remove it. Unfortunately they were discontinued a few years back.

Aside from fouling, I would make sure to check how eroded the thread is... simply enough you can just test where the bullet touches the lands, depth wise and see how far out it is.

I have a bore scope, the foul out kit, ... wish you were closer I’d loan the foul out kit to you.

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Thanks Spot, I will do the bullet test to see where it touches. I know I can seat bullets (55 grain plastic tipped) that will chamber easily but won't fit in the magazine.

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I loaded 70 gr Speer semi-spitzers just barely inside a partially neck-sized empty case. Measured overall length before and after chambering and the bullet didn't move. I don't have another .22-250 to compare to, but I'm guessing the throat is eroded quite a bit. Definitely time for a re-barrel, although apparently even an eroded throat barrel can produce one inch groups on a good day.

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I'd only upgrade it if you had some kind of attachment to it.

I rebarreled mine, on account of it was my first rifle, given to me by Dad for Christmas in 1981, or thereabouts. It always shot poorly, but I could never part with it.

Mickey Coleman, upon hearing the story behind it, screwed on a Douglas barrel at a gift of a price, and it instantly became the most accurate rifle I own. I think it was still 3x the 1981 price. Even so, I had Karnis work over the stock, too, to make it less of a caveman club.

No$talgia at its finest, methinks.

Had it been a pawn shop rifle, I'd have sent it down the road immediately.

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I would go 1:9 anyway. 65-70 grain bullets should fit in it. Use a dense powder and seat the longer bullets like factory stuff and you will still get plenty of MV out of it. I recommend this not so you can compete in long range competition but so you can use it on deer and other larger game reliably.


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Man I'd get it. I had one in .223Remington that I bought brand new in 1979. It would shoot 3 55 grain FMJs into 1/2 inch. With a .22-250 it may set the bolt head back but If you get a new barrel I think it would take quite a few rounds to cause a real problem. Just FL resize if you hand load and watch your cases for signs of stretching that could cause Incipiate Case Head Separation, which can be dangerous. Get a 26 inch barrel and later if it shows to have developed excessive head space just have it set back. That's the case for a 26 inch barrel, you got more to use. Just don't hot rod it too bad. A .22-250 is fast enough aleady. Also, I wouldn't try to use it on something like prairie dogs where you shoot a large volume at each session. A .223 would be a better choice for high volume because it's much easier on barrel throats.You could conceivably burn out the throat in as few as 8 to 10 prairie dog hunts with a .22-250. I use mine for deer, turkey, coyote, and yes ev en hogs and whatever else I need it for. Many a deer around here has fallen to a .22-250 with a 55 grain bullet and a head or neck shot. They do have their following in deer camps in Texas.

But I do have a soft spot (and I don't mean on my head) for a 788. They are accurate beyond all expectations. And you already have a nice stock and a Timney Trigger so in my humble opinion it would be worth it.


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Thanks Filaman. Your thinking mirrors mine - it has all the ingredients except a good barrel. It may not be worth it to some, and even though there's no sentimental attachment to this rifle, I think it will be fun to turn it into a tack-driver, and I'm confident a new barrel will do that. Plus it gives me the opportunity to choose any 308-length caliber/cartridge/twist I want. I'm thinking 6mm Creedmore, 7.5 twist.

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That ain't happining. The .222 is one of the most inherently accurate cartridges in the world. In the 50s and 60s it was the Bench rest darling. The .222 Remington is just sweet. The .22-250 is a bit more versatile being it will shoot heavier bullets farther with more energy and you can use it on larger game more reliably but it just can't compete with the .222 in the accuracy department.


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Rebore not an option here? With a walnut stock, nice bluing and a Timney I think I'd try saving as much as possible and just sell the Ramline.

I have one in .22-250 and my son a .222. Mine was the old man's, my son's a gift from a friend of my dad's. I've been following this for future reference.

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Originally Posted by fortymile
Thanks Filaman. Your thinking mirrors mine - it has all the ingredients except a good barrel. It may not be worth it to some, and even though there's no sentimental attachment to this rifle, I think it will be fun to turn it into a tack-driver, and I'm confident a new barrel will do that. Plus it gives me the opportunity to choose any 308-length caliber/cartridge/twist I want. I'm thinking 6mm Creedmore, 7.5 twist.


I don't know if I'd chamber a 788 in the CM. I think I'd stick with shorter rounds. While the CM works wonders in a 700 action you might lose any advantage a CM will give you.Also you will be moving up in pressure I think. Now the parent cartridge of the .22-250, the .250-300 might be perfect for it. Or a wildcat the bench rest shooters used back in the day alot was the 6mm International. made by necking down the .250-3000 case to 6mm would be a great choice for it too.

Last edited by Filaman; 08/12/19.

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You already showed your colors.
And, for once, that is a positive statement.

You could (dishonestly) trip it, and walk away ok.

But....

If you disclose the junk barrel, it's not worth much.
So, give Shaw a call.
And then enjoy your $900 788 with the barrel you got to choose.

And, enjoy your good sleep and clear conscience.
If doing what's right came easy, and was profitable, more would do it.


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A friend "shot out" his long owned 788 22-250.
A gift from his family, he didn't want to alter it,
So he had a bit turned off the chamber end, and remembered it.
Shoots as good as ever. Cheap enough.

But, you may have more tgan throat issues.


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Originally Posted by fortymile
I have run multiple patches with the JB Bore Paste, Dan. It's cleaning up finally I think. I used some foaming Break Free copper solvent on it after shooting today. I only put about 10 rounds downrange but those first few patches came out very blue.


I wish my buddy Carl Deaton still made his Deaton's Deep Clean. Best damn Copper Cleaner I ever used. He tried to market it but people didn't have faith in him because he was only a roofer by trade and they they didn't have confidence in him to make such a product and they didn't give his product a chance.

He told me to take my dirtiest most coppered rifle barrel and use my favorite copper cleaner on it. I did. After I used it and shoved three or four patches down the barrel the patches came out white. Absolutely clean, or so I thought. Then he said soak a patch in Deep Clean and run it down the barrel, Leave it for two minutes and run a clean patch through. I did and it came out cobalt blue which is a good indication of copper. It was still full of copper.

I used this when I broke in my .250 Savage. It took about 40 rounds and it almost quit picking up copper altogether. That rifle today when I do my part will shoot inside MOA and sometimes when I'm on my game will shoot 1/2 MOA. Of course it has a Krieger SS 26" heavy sporter barrel with 1:9 twist. I attribute a portion of that to Deaton's Deep Clean. It helped me with barrel break in by removing all copper from the rough spots in the throat and caused it to smooth out fast. If you don't get all the copper out of the rough spots it will make smoothing out the barrel take longer.

This area is a very small part of the barrel and is where the chamber was throated. So even with a lapped barrel it needs a certain amount of breakin to smooth this area out. This area is relatively rather rough in relation to the rest of the smooth finished hand lapped barrel and picks up copper. The copper it picks up will make smoothing it out take longer and may cause it to be relatively rough for the barrel's life if not broken in properly.
That's why barrel makers give you a breakin procedure when you buy a barrel from them.

I wish I had the money to help this guy get it going again. He still has a patented recipe for it locked away but he ran out of funds before he got it off the ground. However, I think if your gun smith will hand lap the whole barrel once it's been chambered and head spaced you probably wouldn't need as much of a break in. I've heard tell some do it like that, hand lap the barrel after chambering it and call it broke in after 5 or 10 shots of cleaning after each shot. I think factory rifles are smoothed out before they put them on the market. Anyway, good copper solvent makes accuracy a lot easier.

Last edited by Filaman; 08/12/19.

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Don’t give up one the 788 use jb bore paste or Remington 40x. There is no substitute for the abrasive cleaners. Read this article http://coyotestuff.com/carbon-fouling-removal/

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Forty mile,

The 788 has a 16 thread per inch barrel tenon, meaning every “thread” a gunsmith turns it back moves the barrel / throat back ~ .062 inches... Provided there is a decent amount of metal left (the thick part of the barrel before the profile starts thinning down) it should be relatively easy to evaluate how far you need to set the barrel back to get into good (non eroded lands).

If you have a Hornady OAL gauge that pushes the bullet up to meet the lands you can get an idea of how far they are eroded by comparing where it hits to a max OAL with the same bullet..

It’s a bit of work to do gunsmith wise (set the should on the tenon back, then cut the tenon down so the bolt nose clears, then simply run the reamer down the setback amount to get it into good rifling, possibly adjusting the throat to where you want it with a throat reamer)...

BUT it leaves you in good shape with not having to order a new barrel.

If you have a smith do it makes sure to ask him to slug the barrel first to find out if it has any other issues... he’ll likely scope it anyway to see the throat erosion.

Other than that - JB bore paste is your friend.


Last edited by Spotshooter; 09/05/19.
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Pretty sure the 788 is twenty tpi. GD

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Spec I looked up said 16 TPI, either way each thread gives a good amount of setback so unless he’s REALLY burned the throat out it should be doable.

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Originally Posted by Spotshooter
Spec I looked up said 16 TPI, either way each thread gives a good amount of setback so unless he’s REALLY burned the throat out it should be doable.



IIRC, the 788 barrel threads are 20 TPI and the barrel shank diameter is only slightly smaller than the small shank Savage 110 series, 1.000" for the Remington 788 and 1.055" for the small shank Savage 110 series. I have heard of people installing reworked Savage barrels on Remington 788 actions, but I don't recall having seen this conversion and I don't know how they installed a recoil lug.

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In the world of setbacks to restore accuracy via a fresh throat, 1/16 or 1/20 is squat. Half inch or so and now you're talkin'. Any barrel can be fitted with a Savage-style nut. GD

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True - but I was hoping the guy got lucky vs. a pdog rifle...

I asked him to see how far a bullet goes to hit the lands, he said out of the case, so it’s very likely it’s going to do the 3/8th to 1/2 setback like you said.

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I thought I would resurrect this old thread and post an update. I decided against all logic and conventional wisdom to have my 788 re-barreled. A gunsmith in Twin Falls, ID, who is a friend of a friend, did the work. He installed a Benchmark stainless barrel, finished at 24 inches, with the same contour as the original 788 barrel. I decided to try something a little different and went with .22-250 Ackley Improved. 8 twist. I had him glass bed the original walnut stock. I got it back and it looks great. Bought 100 rounds of Lapua brass, and put together a fire forming load using 55 grain Hornady V-max bullets, Varget powder. Just what I had on hand. I followed Benchmark's barrel break in procedure, which is cleaning with copper solvent after each round for 8 shots, then after 3 or 5 shot strings for a few strings. I'm pretty happy with the results. This is the best 5 shot group (first shot with a clean barrel) at 100 yards, two others were just a little bigger. Pretty good for a fire forming load. Can't wait to see what it will do with formed brass. I plan to get some Redding competition dies. It may be one of the most expensive 788s out there, but if it consistently shoots like this (sub 1/2 inch) I will be happy. Anybody have good .22-250 AI loads to share, with high BC bullets?
[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

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