Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Remington 788

I have owned four, and still have three. Two each .308 and .223. Customized one of them into a .25-308 and gave one of the .223s to a friend. While they have their faults, I like them very much.

Bought the first one at a gun show back in the mid-70s. A .308 with a cheap scope and two magazines for $130. Never paid more than $200 for any of them, and always bought every magazine I stumbled across. My remaining .223 has a custom trigger, is ported, and sports a 6-24 Pentax scope. Prairie dog killer. The original .308 has claimed quite a few deer, pigs, and such. Built the .25 because I just had to have a .25. I don't load that one or the .308 as hot as I could because of the lugs, but both are accurate and deadly. All three will probably be in my safe when I die.

The Amish like 'em.

They may very well be worth those prices to the right person.

Offer $1,500 for the pair and see what happens.

I have the 44 & 30-30. No issues with either. 788’s are very accurate. BTW. Clips on both are tight. Neither rattles.

Strange, my 30-30 magazine does not rattle at all.. Must be because it hasn't been used much? Or maybe you are thinking of a different rifle???

You could buy 2 nice rifles for those prices

My Dad bought a 788 .243 for me for getting good grades when I was 14 or 15. Never shot any big game with it, but I have shot a truck load of groundhogs with it. 43 grains of IMR 4350 and a Sierra 85 grain spitzer. Can’t believe they’re asking around $1000 bones for one now.

Ron

Weird anyone would be asking that kind of money for a 243, but I've seen the 30-30's selling for over a grand. I sold a left hand 6mm rem about 5 years ago, that guys were getting into a bidding war over that damn thing. Sold for $700.00, which I thought was high..

Interesting guns but at those prices you better be a collector. The triggers suck bigly. They were usually good shooters though. For me, both would be a hard pass at those prices.

My 308 came from a gunshow because it had the most beautiful wood on it for a rifle that old. Got it home and cleaned it up and discovered pits in the bore from chamber to muzzle.
Still makes a one inch pattern at a hundred yards.

Rem90T: First of all - buy them BOTH! Worry about the prices next decade.
Second of all - worry about the prices next decade!
Third of all - welcome to the CampFire.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Had one in 22-250. No thanks.

I had one in 7mm-08, was a great shooter, one I regret letting go of.

I had a 6mm some yrs ago, sold it. Shouldn't have. Had plenty of marks on the stock but shot very well and killed a bunch of deer with it.

Now have a near mint 7mm-08 carbine picked up a few yrs ago, paid $600 even IIRC.

Yr or so back I picked up a nice 308 carbine. I'm into that one for $450. Both shoot very well as every 788 I've run into has.

I also had one in 22-250, even thought it was vey accurate, I never liked that rifle!

I gave my 7-08 Carbine to one of my nephews.
Accurate SOB. Still have my 6mm. Even more accurate, if that’s possible.

I had a .223 that I shot the tar out of before getting rid of it. It was a very good shooting gun after bedding it. I still have a 22-250 that I’ll never get rid of.

I think I paid $79 New at the local sporting goods store, for the last one I bought new about 1979 or 1980.

Had 7 of them at one time including the .308 carbine that was my first deer rifle. Lost it in a bad inlaw deal, but that's another story . Thinned the herd a few years back and kept these two. The bottom one I put together for my son when he turned 16, It's a .308, Fajen stock and Timney trigger. The carbine is a .243 and will go to my Grandson. Both are pillared & glassbedded by me and with a competent shooter on the trigger both will put the first two shots from a cold bore through the same hole at 100yds.

The 7-08 I put a scope on and got it on paper and promptly put 5 shots just under 3/4" on it's first trip to the range with a known good load in 2 other 7mm-08's. HEAVY trigger on that one, it's been sitting in the safe, gotta work on that. The 308 is easier to shoot, but only because the trigger is a lot better. They aren't the end all be all rifle, but they do seem to be consistently good shooters.