Remington 788/243, long or short action?

[David Bachelder]

I finally reached Boyd's. They say the Remington 788 chambered in .243 can be either long or short action, both styles are common.

So the answer is, some are short action and some are long action. The distance between the two outermost screws is how you tell.

6.75" = Short Action
7.0" = Long Action

 

[steveNChunter]

They say the Remington 788 chambered in .243 can be either long or short action, both styles are common.

Leave it to Remington... I thought they just went crazy in the last few years...

 

[David Bachelder]

My gun was manufactured in 1974. Geeze, I was 22 years old, just a pup. I guess Remington has been crazy a long time. I've owned three, all were fine firearms. The 788 is truly a tack driver, it even makes me look good.

 

[steveNChunter]

I'm only 25 years old, but I don't own any newer Remmy's. I have a 700 varmint special in 6mm made in 1976, a 660 in 6mm made in 1969, and a model 7 .243 made in the early '90s (haven't looked up date code on that one)

I've seen several intances and heard from owners that the newer rifles have dropped off in terms of accuracy and fit&finish, so I just stick to the used market for Remingtons. That was the reasoning behind my comment in case you were wondering.

788's are great rifles. They are said to be more accurate than a 700 but thats not always true. There are tack drivers and lemons in every model rifle, but the 788 does have a faster lock time to its advantage. There was one at a local gun shop a few months ago chambered 6mm for $400 and it looked like new. I picked it up off the shelf, held it a minute, thought about it, and put it back. A few days later after thinking on it I went back to get it... gone

I'm still kicking myself

 

[bamaranger]

I doubt it

Ahhh.......Boyds is likely missing the mark. I thinking a 788 is a 788, and the action "size" is 788 size, meaning, there is no long or short, just the dimension that the 788's were made to.

I'm betting that you got somebody at Boyd's that is a phone person and not a gun person.

I'm with 44AMP, a 788 is a 788, one kind. Long v. short doesn't apply.

 

[682bear]

Bamaranger, you would be wrong... Mcshooty is correct, there are 3 action lengths... I own one of each, a .44 mag, .223 (short action), and a .243(long action).

-Bear

 

[McShooty]

Thanks 682bear, and, not to belabor the point, but the magazines of the different calibers ARE DIFFERENT SIZES! (243 and 308 are the same) and the stock cutouts and bottom metal are made to fit them.

 

[brakeline]

Reminton 788 Action lengths

There are three Remington 788 actions lengths, and posters on this thread saying that it ain't so does not change that. The confusion comes from the way that Remington labelled them:

Short action: 44 Mag
Long Action: 222 Remington, 22-250 Remington, 30/30
Extra Long Action: 243 Winchester, 6mm Remington, 308 Winchester, left-hand actions

Short, Long, and Extra Long are NOT generic terms; their meaning is only relevant for the particular action that is being discussed, so the fact that some other long action handles 30-06 length cartridges has nothing to do with nothing about 788's.

 

[44 AMP]

The "extra long" 788 would be a short action Mauser in the same calibers.

Not that they would be identical length, just different makers names for different lengths.

 

[bamaranger]

wrong

I'll take my lickin'. Won't be the first time, I was mistaken, but I'll admit it freely.

But.......now I am confused. Are we saying (forget the long and short labels) that Remington made the 788 in 3 action sizes, to include not just the magazine, but action screw spacing and bolt lengths?

Finally, as a bit of an aside, I read somewhere that Remington introduced the 788 as a competitor for the Mossberg 800/810 series, and when Mossberg dropped their entry into the centerfire business, Rem nixed the 788 shortly thereafter.

 

[shootbrownelk]

Remington made a 788 in 30-30? Wow, here all this time I thought the Savage 170 was the one and only 30-30 bolt gun. Heck, now I'll have to keep my eyes open at the gun shows.

 

[Art Eatman]

Ah, the sweet aroma of necro-threadia!