Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Remington 600 vs 788

Thanks. Which cartridges were they chambered for?

My vote is for the 788. If it's a big choice in your world just keep them both.

Keep both.

I have several 600s and 660s and there is a lot of family tradition with them. My uncle who as most people have explained was an exceptional man used it chambered in a 243 Winchester as his only rifle for a long time. He actually used it down in Valdez hunting sitka blacktails on Bly and Naked Islands for two years before being surprised by a large brown bear while he was hauling out a large buck. He went to a Weatherby Vanguard in 300 Winchester Mag.

I bought three of them for hunting up in Ambler Country. Garderner Gentleman was the owner of the Kobuk River Lodge and was an inveterate guncrank who had an ffl and time to chase rifles. I told him that I would like to have 1 in 243 Win as a good village snowgo rifle for everything and he found and purchased three of them. Two in 243 Win and 1 in 308 Win. They served well. The prettiest one was a wedding gift to my wife. The 660s and 600s are dainty little rifles that were favorites of the late Col. Charles Askins. They were not well liked by Jack O'Connor. However, people who had them knew. They were great rifles. You need a butter knife to get the bolt out but otherwise besides the weird plastic that warps over time they are great little rifles.

The 788 is a bit heavier and the barrel is heavier. People will tell you that they have those good triforce barrels and with a fast lock time are pretty accurate. I used one in 22-250 that had a cheap simmons 3-9 scope and a curtain string for its sling. It did everything I wanted and more. I shot even a grizzly and a moose with that rifle. My dad had purchased it initially and he wanted it back. When he passed it went to my sister and brother-in-law who sold it off for a trip to Jamaica. Still pissed about it.

Heimo Korth uses one in 22-250 for everything on the Colleen River. He has probably dumped more moose and caribou with that rifle than I will ever see after living up there for 50 years. He lives off of that rifle. The one thing that is a weakness with the 788 is that the magazines are a bitch to find.Otherwise both are great.

The 222 or triple deuce is one cartridge that you never hear of an inaccurate rifle. Sure, I am sure that some are out there but nobody talks about them. I have a 788 carbine 243 on layaway at one gunstore and a 660 remington in 222 with a weaver scope on layaway at another. You get a lot of gun for the money with both.

Ask myself almost the same question over 30 years ago at a
gun show. Was looking to buy a 788 in 308, found a 660 for
similar money.

Eventually that 660 found itself in a Brown Pounder.

There are a few things I don't care for, but it's the gun every new one
is measured against. And it has remained The One.

All 243. Each and every one

I remember seeing Heimo Korth on a tv show and remember seeing him shoot a caribou with his Remington 788. They never said what it was chambered in, so I am glad to know it. At the time when I saw the show I was not expecting to see a Remington 788 used as a true survival gun for someone living off the grid. I guess he never talked to one of the experts. Lol.

The 600 is the better looking of the two, but the prices they demand lately are very high. 788s seem to be easier to find, I saw one in 243 a few days ago for $450

And all he ever fed it were factory 55 grains. His daughter told me that

Varmint bullets too. I love it.

I had a 600 in 222 when I was trapping coyotes for a living. My truck was a Mazda B2600 standard can. The 600 was perfect for the truck and it got used frequently when I wanted to catch a quick calling stand. And it was a bug hole shooter.

However, in my quest for more velocity and longer range capabilities, it got traded off for a 788 in 22-250. Also a bug hole shooter but nowhere near as handy a truck gun in that small pickup.

So it boils down to application. I’d be inclined to choose the 600.

Something to think about - the Remington 600 (the original 600 with the vent rib) had a lighter contour barrel than the Remington Mohawk 600, I have had numerous examples of both 600 and 660 and the Mohawk 600's were always more accurate. The Mohawk's in 222 were near match grade accuracy, I won many turkeys and hams at local meat shoot matches with them.

I have also owned at least a half-dozen Rem 788's through the years and while they were accurate the handling qualities of them do not come near to the 600.

drover

Always thought the 660 is what they should’ve started with. The M7 was better yet; despite its shortcomings for other purposes, they’re nice hunting rifles. Everything isn’t about long-range. Still, if I were starting out, I’d look for another Alpine or if money weren’t an issue, another Fieldcraft or one of the new NULAs in 6.5 since they boogered the twist of the 7-08.

788's are Goat Fhuqks. Hint...............

I am leaning that way too.

Lucky for me this one is a Mohawk. I agree the 788 feels heavy and a bit clunky in comparison. I am also not crazy about the detachable magazine.

600's are horribly botched,due their bottom "metal",bolt handle and stocks. They wear the schittiest of Big Green fire control systems too. Hint..............

Another "chitty" Rem 600......




17 Mach IV














ya!

GWB

The 788 was a cheap rifle when introduced. Later loonies discovered they had a very fast lock time and could be quite accurate. Cast bullet shooters love them in 30/30. Of the 2 the 600 is a far more durable action.

geedubya,

That is a beautiful rifle. A maple stock, right? I have plans of possibly turning this into a 17 Fireball in the future. I tried some of 17 Fireball rounds in the magazine and it fed fine. Did you have any ejection issues?