I bought one to play with, thinking . . . hmm . . . a new 788. Cool thing is the 783 is a Remington knock off of the Savage, using an action similar to the Savage Precision Varminter. Not only that, the one I bought, a .30-06, fired 10 shot break-in groups that bettered MOA, with clusters in the 0.75" area! I was surprised to say the least, given that Tupperware stock with miniscule bedding pillars. Not only that, I had loaded up some Privi brass with guess-o-matic loads of IMR 4064 and Barnes 150 grain MPG bullets. The barrel cleaned up easily, not as quickly as a Pac-Nor or Hart barrel that cost twice what the entire 783 cost, but better than many factory rifles.
Just don't count on great accuracy from mounting a bipod on the factory stock, use a separate rest.
Now for the cool factor. Remington included a floating bolt head, just like the Savage. Lo and behold, Pacific Tool and Gauge is already offering interchangeable bolt heads to facilitate caliber changes. Not only that they offer detachable magazine bottom metal and magazines for short actions, .308 Winchester and long actions up to .300 Winchester and 338 Lapua Magnum. There are one piece bolts, two piece bolts (still won't solve the bolt head appearance issue), and some scope mounting stuff pending.
http://www.pacifictoolandgauge.com/remington783performance.htm Boyds has a couple of cool stocks, so I ordered a Featherweight Thumbhole laminate stock. Looks good and is more rigid than the OEM stock and at $100 finished it is a bargain. Doubtless other stock suppliers will jump on the bandwagon as time passes. Since I bought mine Boyds has added a bull barrel contour as a selection for fitting to barrels up to 1.25" dia.
http://www.boydsgunstocks.com/product.htm?pid=54367&cat=1220Now the other great thing is that this rifle is perfect for swapping barrels as is any with a barrel nut to set headspace. I ordered a Criterion barrel in .25-06 with a contour similar to the OEM barrel. Never owned a .25-06 and felt the urge to try one. Barrels and tools to swap them are available from:
http://northlandshooterssupply.com/Give Jim Briggs a call to order your stuff, I don't like talking on the phone but this was a fun and productive call.
So there you have it, if you can get one of these rifles cheap as the thread claims, get one today. It's just like the '51 Studebaker I bought thinking it would be a fantastic project. Only the Remington 783 is a bit more realistic.
