I picked one of these up in .243. Is this basically the same gun as the Model 788? Are they as accurate as the 788? Mine has been sitting in a gun cabinet forever and I was told there was less than a box of shells through it, which I believe looking at it, all for $275.00 dollars!
Nope. Yours is a bargain-priced 700. 788 was a multi-lug, rear locking design. Accuracy just depends. You got a decent deal. Make a good donor, loaner, or rough-use rifle.
So my next question is: Is the 78 Sportsman any better quality wise than the current bargain priced Remington?
I had one in 30-06. Like said, a bargain 700. Hardwood stock instead of walnut, matte finish barrel instead of polished. It had a 22" barrel instead of a 24". That said it was more accurate than both of the 700's I owned. good luck with it and enjoy it.
It is better quality than the last SPS I owned.
We've got an old 78 here in 30-06 that has killed a pickup load of game and stays on a 3" dot at 200 yards, with boring regularity. I used another 78 years ago, in 270 Winchester, that was just as good as this one.
They are rebranded Model 700's made between about 1984 to 1991 when Remington was turning out "some of the best factory barrels in the business" to quote a writer of that time. It is not surprising they shoot since Model 700's of that period and earlier were consistently some of the best out of the box shooters on the market.