Remington 788/243, long or short action?

Status
Not open for further replies.
D

David Bachelder

New member
I have a Remington 788 chambered in Winchester .243. I bought it at a pawn shop about a year ago. The action is in very good condition and the rifle is a tack driver. It even makes me look good. I can nail a golf ball at 100 yards. Very cool.

I have a question, the rifle's stock is in pretty bad shape. A previous owner hand checkered it with a file and added a portrait of a whitetail buck. It looks hand painted and I'll have to give the artist credit ..... it looks pretty good.

To make a long story short I'm going to replace the stock. I already have the style of stock, and the vendor picked out, Boyds Gun stocks. My question is, Is the Remington 788 chambered in Winchester in 243 a long action or a short action? I did a lot of searching and have see the question answered both ways. Some say it long and some say it's short. I need this info to order the new stock, I'd hate to order it and find out I picked the wrong one.

I suppose calling Boyds Gun stocks Monday will provide a the right answer, but now I'm curious and wondering which it is?

Anyone know?
 
S

steveNChunter

New member
Yea it's a short action. The .243 is in the .308 cartridge family so it would definitely be a short action. Long actions are typically for the .30-06 family and similar length cartridges.
 
E

emcon5

New member
Normally I would agree that a 243 is a short action, but in this case I would try and call them to be certain. Short and long action in the traditional definition may not apply in this case.

The 788 didn't come in any traditional long action loadings, the longest would be 6mm Remington, which is barely longer than a .308 (2.825" vs 2.800"). It also came in (for some reason) .44 mag, which uses a much shorter magazine than the .308 family.

On edit, looking at Boyds site, they list dimensions:
Short action: Center to Center of Action Screws: 6 3/4"
Long Action: Center to Center of Action Screws: 7"
 
Last edited:
O

Old Stony

New member
I agree with the previous poster, I don't believe it was made in a long action at all. Really nice shooting rifles....
 
B

big al hunter

New member
Measure the action screws center to center.
Long = 7 inches
Short = 6 3/4 inches

And it was made in both long and short action. Factory chambered 243 should be short. If someone changed a 30/06 rifle to 243 he could have a long action.
 
J

jmr40

New member
The .243 is in the .308 cartridge family so it would definitely be a short action. Long actions are typically for the .30-06 family and similar length cartridges.
Click to expand...

Up until fairly recently bolt rifles were all long action. Rifles made for shorter cartridges were simply made with modified magazines and bolt stops designed for them. You will find many older long action rifles chambered for short cartridges. And even then all things are not equal. Remington offers 2 different short actions, 700 and 7 which are very different. Savage short actions are virtually the same length as everyone else's long action.

But to the best of my knowledge the 788 was only made in one action length designed around the 243/308 family.
 
4

44 AMP

Staff
its a 788?

There was only one action length. Get a stock inletted for the 788 and it will be the right one. You will likely have to do some minor fitting of the wood, expect it. If you get a perfect drop in fit, and the gun shoots well, then don't "fix" it.:D

Short and long action lengths are useful to know, but only apply to certain rifles, and the 788 isn't one of them.
 
T

Tom Matiska

New member
In 788 speak your 243 should be the longer of the two actions offered.... the action screws(behind trigger to forward of magazine) should measure 7" center to center.

This is not to be confused with traditional long/short definition used in most other modern bolts..
 
M

McShooty

New member
The 788 was never offered in a chambering that would require a typical "long action," such as the .30-06. Nevertherless, the 788 came in at least three action lengths. Measured from the rear edge of the bridge to the front edge of the ring, the .44 Mag is 5-5/8", the .222, .22-250, and .30-30 are 6-5/16," and the 243 and 308 are 6-9/16." How's that for a "cheap" rifle? These measurements were taken on rifles in my collection. I think if you tell the folks at Boyd's you want one for a 243 they will send you the right one.
 
Last edited:
K

kahrguy

New member
Guess I still learn something new once in a while.

What was the rifle they chambered in 30-06 and 270 then. The model 78???

Guess I was thinking Remington just mucked up the 788 and stretched it.

Anyhow Boyds will help with any info needed with a stock. Good guys there.
 
P

Picher

New member
The 788 was discovered to be more accurate than the 700, due to its very short, strong action and very fast lock time. It was used for custom benchrest and sporting rifles in the sixties and seventies.
 
E

emcon5

New member
What was the rifle they chambered in 30-06 and 270 then. The model 78???
Click to expand...

The Model 700 was available a the same time. The 788 was supposed to be the "budget" rifle, but as it tended to outshoot it's more expensive big brother, it cut in to M700 sales, and was eventually dropped.

That is the story I heard anyway.
 
M

McShooty

New member
The Model 788, with its nine rear locking lugs, was a totally different action and was not simply a cheaped down Model 700. I am not real familiar with the Model 78, but I believe it was a cheaped down 700 and would have been offered as a "long action" in 270 and 30-06. The 788's tubular steel receiver, with cutouts for clip and ejection being no bigger than absolutely necessary, is very rigid. In my experience, a thick tubular steel receiver always makes fine accuracy a possibility, if everything else works out right. The practices of bench rest shooters support this idea. Put this characteristic together with a short cartridge, like the 44 Mag or 30-30 and you have a chance for outstanding accuracy. I have two Model 788s in 30-30, and either one is as accurate, after finding the right handloads, as any 308 or 30-06 I have ever worked with. Nevertheless, I am not sure I would categorically state that 788s are more accurate than 700s. It would take thousands of rounds on target paper to prove that.

Remington's marketing decisions have not always been the best, but as Emcon says, they probably did not want to compete with themselves. In a time when money is growing and sportsmen want to spend it, as in the later 20th century, and you have a fine rifle for $120, why would you want to give hunters the chance to get something just as accurate and effective for $90?

It is interesting that in the current economic situation the "plain rifle," as offered by Mossberg, Savage, Ruger, and Remington is again doing very well. Remington's offering is the Model 783. Haven't seen one, but it looks like it has a tubular receiver and it makes me smile to see that it has a barrel nut, a la Savage, for setting the barrel with proper headspace. Emulation, with no shame at all, is the sincerest form of flattery. Anybody have any experience with a 783?
 
Last edited:
D

David Bachelder

New member
I called Boyd's Gunstocks today. No answer and they did not call back.

However My Remington 788 chambered in Winchester .243 measures 7 inches between the two screws. By Boyd's definition this makes it a Long Action.

Maybe I can get them on the phone tomorrow.
 
D

dalegribble

New member
I have a 788 in 243 and it is a short action. I replaced the stock with a ramline years ago and it was the short action model. there were long action models in various long action calibers. they are remarkably accurate rifles, they one flaw is a weakness with the bolt handle sometimes breaking off with too hard of use.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top