Remington 788 Opinions

[roc1]

I have one in 222 great little gun well worth 450. I got trigger tuned by gunsmith in our club helped lot. Only problem was cleaned it super clean wouldn't shoot till barrel fouled some now shoots great still clean it good no more problem. Bought new magazine Numrich has them if want or needed.
Hope helps little
Roc1

 

[dgludwig]

I once owned a Model 788 chambered in .243 Winchester and found it to be very accurate, having a decent trigger and a stock that fit me well. Remington did market the 788 as a more affordable alternative to their Model 700 (and other higher priced competitors) and the stamped parts and birch stocks (though early ones came with walnut stocks) evidenced the lower price point. The Model 788 shared the recessed bolt faces, extractors and ejection plungers with other Remington bolt-action rifles of the day.
Much has been made of supposed, excessive case-stretching caused by the rear locking lugs on the Model 788 but most committed users have pretty much discounted this allegation.
The asking price seems right to me for a Model 788 in the condition as described and I love the idea of having a rifle chambered in the once popular but still admired and useful (albeit not a round you will find on the shelves of Walmart-or anywhere else cheaply) .222 Remington cartridge.

 

[brianinca]

My oldest boy took his first buck last year on opening day with a 788 in .308. That's the nicest thing I can say about the rifle.

I got it cheap with a broken stock, I basically felt obligated to rescue it. With a synthetic replacement on it I have about $200 in it. I put an old Burris Fullfield II on it, got a great deal on it when the US made scopes were on closeout, the scope cost more than the rifle.

Terrible magazine design, poor trigger, cheap "saturday night special" bottom metal and a plastic safety - the bargain deer rifles we have today are MILES ahead. Speaking of which, oldest boy has a lefty Ruger American 308 for this year's deer season. 788 is back to the safe as a loaner rifle.

OP you're fixing to spend $600 on a rifle to shoot bugholes, step back and think about it again.

 

[azsixshooter]

I actually have decided to hold off on buying that rifle. Between all the feedback I got here, other googling and reading an article in a recent American Hunter on the .222 Rem I think a .223 would make more sense for me. I like everything I have read about the .222 Remington and if I came across one for a steal I would jump on it. But after careful consideration I don't think there are enough pros going for the .222 Remington for me to warrant choosing it over .223 Remington.

As far as the 788 goes it sounds like some guys have had problems with them but overall they are decent rifles. Again, if I ever have a chance to get one for a steal I wouldn't hesitate. I just don't consider $450 a steal. I ended up not going to look at this particular rifle but maybe the seller could have been persuaded to make a better deal.

I had it in my head that I could use this rifle to hunt varmints then also use it as a nice stepping stone for my 6 yr old daughter to make the move to centerfires with someday. As such, I think I will spend money now tricking out a 10/22 carbine I have since she will be shooting that much sooner, then save up for something nicer like a Savage BV12SS in .223 next year. And then maybe be able to afford a quality scope for it the year after that! I'm thinking a Trijicon 5 - 20x Accupoint with green mil-dot wout be sweet on coyotes in low light.

Anyway, thanks for all the great feedback. If I had followed through with buying that rifle I would have felt much more confident in my purchase with all the quick and thorough information you all so generously shared. Maybe someday I'll come into a .222 Remington or a model 788 yet, but I just can't pull the trigger on it right now.

 

[peggysue]

Don't forget the Remington recall http://xmprecall.remington.com/

 

[eastbank]

i bought a 788 carbine in 7mm08(4x leupold) for one of my sons for deer hunting and have never had any problems with it. my own deer rifle now is a left hand 700 in 7mm08(2.5x8 leupold) and my favorite load is 44grs of varget with the 120 nosler BT bullet. both rifles will shoot three shots into one inch groups at one hundred from a rest. and kill deer. eastbank.

 

[dgludwig]

QUOTE: "...Again, if I ever have a chance to get one for a steal I wouldn't hesitate. I just don't consider $450 a steal..."

I agree. But, if you ever see one going for $350.00, don't hesitate. Even one chambered in .222 Remington...

 

[sig220mwxxxx]

I have had 2 788s both were 308 winchester calibers. I have two friends that have one and they both love them. Their's were 243 and 7mm08. I have never heard anyone that had one say anything bad about them. They were chambered in short action calibers only. The rear locking lugs supposedly was what made them have really tight actions and great accuracy. They even made a 44 mag version and a 30-30 verision but these are hard to find. I have read and heard stories about them in 22-250 and 222 being extremely accurate in those calibers. My 308 that I kept was scary accurate. I did have the action bedded and barrel floated and the trigger lightened and it got better. Unless it has been abused and is not worn out I would get it. The price seems high considering that they sold when new for about $190.00 but they also quit making them in the early 80s if I am not mistaken so a dollar doesn't go as far now and you won't find any new ones now anyway.

 

[wachtelhund1]

I bought a 788 in 308 a number of years ago for $150.00. It looked like crap. I cleaned it up and took it to the range. I fire six 3 shot groups and all six were clover leaf, touching groups. I took the barrel off and put a used Krieger 22" heavy match barrel in .250AI on it. I re-worked the stock, adding to the forearm thickness and opening the barrel channel and added a cheek piece. Also added a Timmy trigger, I use it for shooting 300 and 600 yard matches. Very accurate! I call it my spare parts gun.