remington 788

[bigrich]

hey fellas, just wondering if anyone is playing with one of these. supposedly they are VERY accurate and have been used for super accurate builds and target rifles in the past . opinions

[Bugman]

I had one many moons ago in 222. I managed to get an SSAA gold and silver award at the 100m mark at my local range. The only thing I had done before this was to have the barrell floated and bedded by a guy called Dick Tunney. I now wish I had not sold it, all those years ago. It was bloody accurate.

[mickb]

Nice gun, wish I could find one in 44mag. Its what the ruger 77/44 mag should have been. The 788 is a rear locking masterpiece that can be accurized, the ruger has a POS split bolt and is lucky if it can outshoot a lever action.

[bigrich]

Nice gun, wish I could find one in 44mag. Its what the ruger 77/44 mag should have been. The 788 is a rear locking masterpiece that can be accurized, the ruger has a POS split bolt and is lucky if it can outshoot a lever action.

Also rare is a 788 in 30-30win . Stronger action and spitzer bullets make the old Winchester round into different animal apparently . Might even be very accurate…..

[bigrich]

I had one many moons ago in 222. I managed to get an SSAA gold and silver award at the 100m mark at my local range. The only thing I had done before this was to have the barrell floated and bedded by a guy called Dick Tunney. I now wish I had not sold it, all those years ago. It was bloody accurate.

Yeah I’ve heard they can really shoot, but they need a better trigger. I reckon you won your competition cause you had triple deuce magic on your side. It’s an easy cartridge to find great accuracy easily. Which is why I own one….

[No1Mk3]

I have a 788 in 22-250 that is very sturdy, reliable and accurate rifle. It was my Brother in laws when he worked at Paraburdoo and he at took lots of pigs on days off. Since I've had it it has dealt with fallow, pigs and goats with ease, and I wouldn't sell it for quids.

[bladeracer]

hey fellas, just wondering if anyone is playing with one of these. supposedly they are VERY accurate and have been used for super accurate builds and target rifles in the past . opinions

My first centrefire, in .222Rem and spoiled me badly making me think all rifles were as accurate as it was. I really wanted to get another one in 7mm-08 but couldn't find one at the time. Went back to WA in 1985 to study and work and sold it.

[Wyliecoyote]

As has been already stated the 788 action can be a basis for a super accurate build. I built my first Fly rifle in 284 Win on one of these actions back in 91 where it was very accurate with 168 SMKs but not without its problems.
There are a few issues like the bolt handles have a really bad rep for tearing off when trying to extract sticky cases. I recommend full length sizing every time with 308, 7/08 and 243. The other thing is the trigger. The housing is made of a casting that is rather weak and held in with a pin and set screw that if over tightened bends and eventually cracks the weak alloy. It takes a bit to get the stock trigger down to a reasonable let off but fortunately there are good aftermarket triggers from Canjar and Timney. The exact same base trigger unit was used in 541Ts and THBs and the old 591 and 592s in Remington 5mm Magnum and not one of them was what one would call a quality trigger. They are crisp but not exactly light.

There are two action lengths. One for 222/223 and 22/250 but 22/250s could also be found in the longer action. The longer action housed the 308 family. The only synthetic stock available for the 788s was Ramline, now long defunct but surprisingly there is still some floating around. With the long action the action screw spacing is that of a long action 700 so with a bit of Devcon and creativity in a mill the 788 can fit into a Rem 700 stock. May look a bit of a cut and shut around the floor plate area but it works very nicely.

The good thing about the 788 that lent itself to great accuracy potential was the long tenon of 1"x 20 TPI, thick recoil lug that was locked into the action face and the super fast lock time of a firing pin stamped from plate that looks like something an apprentice made. There is the bedding area that is long enough and wide enough front and rear to give support for the heaviest of barrels.

The one issue that is a real bug bear is that these actions do not like high pressure. The rear locking lugs and bolt, while not ideal, are not the reason. The loading port and magazine port take too much metal out leaving thin rails that stretch on firing then contract after firing, like a spring, which is the cause of stiff bolt opening. Not such an issue with small cases but is with the 308 family and bigger. So as i said, full length sizing for each firing is a must when running higher pressures on the bigger cases.

[bigpete]

I've owned 2, a 222 and a 223 that I inherited from dad. Both were fantastically accurate,the 223 had been used by dad to pay off his first house in fox skins and was still shooting ½" groups when he gave it to me. However the trigger became unsafe due to his lightening of it so I got rid of it. They also have a tendency to have a weak extractor and are heavy

[Jorlcrin]

We wore out our 788 .223.
Might have bothered to get it re-built if we had easy access to a gunsmith, but simpler/easier to replace it with a Howa 1500.

And not sure our overseer would be prepared to swap it back, if I had the option to re-build the 788; he loves the Howa.

Our 788 was bought 2nd-hand in the late 1980's, and I didnt think much of it(or the calibre), until I spent some months using it.
A change in scope and a few other tweaks, and it redeemed itself, in my eyes.
We found we had ongoing issues with the firing pin punching holes through the primers, and while changing firing pin and changing primers helped, the issue never went away.
Had a gunsmith replace the failed ejector circlip thingey, with a sako-style one, and never had further issues with it.
Also occasionally had firing pin issues(2 parts?), but a good clean usually got everything back working.

Also found a Timney trigger vastly improved it.

It was a pretty decent reliable no-frills rifle, and paid it's dues many times over.
It handled a LOT of crappy, dusty conditions, in the time we had it.

But in the 4-5 years since we got the Howa, I cant say it's given any reason to regret the changeover.

[Wyliecoyote]

The firing pin in a 788 is one piece, not two.

[bigrich]

The firing pin in a 788 is one piece, not two.

unless it's broken maybe ........

[Jorlcrin]

The firing pin in a 788 is one piece, not two.

unless it's broken maybe ........

I cant remember exactly the setup, and a quick search suggests I never thought to take any pics of it when I last had it apart.
I thought the pin itself had a couple of individual parts that looked to have been machined.

I know the issue of the pin perforating primers(and the discs getting blown back into the bolt) had come up a number of times, so we had the bolt apart to clean it out regularly, or they would jam the pin.
I think this first appeared not long after Dad bought the rifle 2nd hand in 1988.

Makes me wonder if the gunsmith who worked on it for Dad(Kingston Bros), had tried to address the primer issue in some way.

Anyway; all long gone now.

[CA Dude]

I have four of them in my safe. All of them have been re-barreled and all of them shoot very well. One was a 308 now it is a 6XC. One was a 243 now it is a 250 Savage Ackley Improved. One was a 30-30 but it has a 25-35 barrel now. I don't know who re-barreled it but, that is why I bought it. The last one is my sons'. It was a 30-30 when he bought, and he had his gunsmith re-barrel it to 219 Donaldson Wasp.

They do have a reputation of being very accurate. The bolt handle on my sons' rifle broke off and had to be welded back on. While that is uncommon, I have read about it happening to other 788s. Additionally, the trigger mounting stud is easy to break off when re-installing the trigger after you have taken it off. Yes, I did that. It's easy fix but not cheap. Unlike the bolt handle it cannot be welded back on because it is so close to the bolt locking lugs in the receiver.

In closing, I'm always looking for another one. I find them to be fine rifles.

[Wapiti]

A mate had one in 222, way back. He bought it second hand from A-Mart Allsports at Slacks Creek, those of you who can remember a free Australia.
He used a Lee Loader and PMC 50gn projectiles. The damn thing, even with bullets that wobbled as you rolled the loaded cartridges along the table, shot one-hole groups. We were amazed.
I think it was a combination of a completely straight aligned action, and the cartridge itself being a freak design.

It was way back when I was culling pigs with a Garand 30-06, he'd come out and pop them between the eyes with this tiny beauty.
Makes me laugh at all these new marketing-in-action whizzbangs nowadays, that promise to make up for every of man's failings.

[bigrich]

A mate had one in 222, way back. He bought it second hand from A-Mart Allsports at Slacks Creek,

crikey ! that's my old stamping ground where i grew up . your thinking of the one at underwood , just down from the "big gun" fruit market . for those that don't know , it's got a 155mm yank "long tom" long range artillery piece mounted on the roof . google it . a -mart all sports closed and the site became a night club , rough joint with strippers. it was called rogues , very apt name . i spent a bit of time there....
i bought my first firearm at a-mart before '96 , a mint husky 6.5x55 for $69 . took out the bolt and put the bolt and ammo in a plastic bag and walked home down kingston road . nobody really cared . different times

[Cape_Yorkee]

I was only talking with a workmate this week about 223's/222's and he had a 788 in 222 and reckons it was his most favourite rifle he has ever owned, as well as the most accurate.

Gets me thinking... I'm in the market for something in that range. What would one pay for a good to very good cond 7888 in 222?

[bladeracer]

I was only talking with a workmate this week about 223's/222's and he had a 788 in 222 and reckons it was his most favourite rifle he has ever owned, as well as the most accurate.

Gets me thinking... I'm in the market for something in that range. What would one pay for a good to very good cond 7888 in 222?

I would agree with him, my Ruger American Predator in .204 is probably my most accurate and I wish I still had my old 788 just to pair them up to see which is better.

[Oldbloke]

They were well known to be good shooters.


I almost bought one about 30 years ago. And I was keen.
It's a sad story, but in the end I never got it.

Beware of the black dog. Don't let it bite.

[bigrich]

I was only talking with a workmate this week about 223's/222's and he had a 788 in 222 and reckons it was his most favourite rifle he has ever owned, as well as the most accurate.

Gets me thinking... I'm in the market for something in that range. What would one pay for a good to very good cond 7888 in 222?

Second hand they’re not overly expensive, you’d get a good one for $500 or a bit less. I’ve read that some got built into target rifles and were inherently accurate. What’s put me of the idea they can be hard to get parts for if you break it . Still, it’d be a interesting project. my local GS browns plains firearms has a few in 222 . check them out on ozgunsales . they got one listed as VG $625, and a couple cheaper ones . there's probably room to move on price i reckon . give them a ring and tell them richard sent you . i'll help you spend money on a new toy you know you want too........

[Cape_Yorkee]

I was only talking with a workmate this week about 223's/222's and he had a 788 in 222 and reckons it was his most favourite rifle he has ever owned, as well as the most accurate.

Gets me thinking... I'm in the market for something in that range. What would one pay for a good to very good cond 7888 in 222?

Second hand they’re not overly expensive, you’d get a good one for $500 or a bit less. I’ve read that some got built into target rifles and were inherently accurate. What’s put me of the idea they can be hard to get parts for if you break it . Still, it’d be a interesting project. my local GS browns plains firearms has a few in 222 . check them out on ozgunsales . they got one listed as VG $625, and a couple cheaper ones . there's probably room to move on price i reckon . give them a ring and tell them richard sent you . i'll help you spend money on a new toy you know you want too........

Are you on commission here or something?
I appreciate the help on spending my money but it's not me who needs the help - it's the other half who needs convincing. Then again... she doesn't know what's in the safe

[bigrich]

I was only talking with a workmate this week about 223's/222's and he had a 788 in 222 and reckons it was his most favourite rifle he has ever owned, as well as the most accurate.

Gets me thinking... I'm in the market for something in that range. What would one pay for a good to very good cond 7888 in 222?

Second hand they’re not overly expensive, you’d get a good one for $500 or a bit less. I’ve read that some got built into target rifles and were inherently accurate. What’s put me of the idea they can be hard to get parts for if you break it . Still, it’d be a interesting project. my local GS browns plains firearms has a few in 222 . check them out on ozgunsales . they got one listed as VG $625, and a couple cheaper ones . there's probably room to move on price i reckon . give them a ring and tell them richard sent you . i'll help you spend money on a new toy you know you want too........

Are you on commission here or something?
I appreciate the help on spending my money but it's not me who needs the help - it's the other half who needs convincing. Then again... she doesn't know what's in the safe

nah, no commission

[Cape_Yorkee]

There's a nice BSA in 222 up at the moment too. Don't know alot about BSA but it's a nice looking bit of tree

[Oldbloke]

If they could make a cheap 788 shoot so we'll in the '70s, why the hell can't manufactures make them all shoot well now. I mean cnc machines and modern production techniques, even the cheapest & nastiest should do as good as an old 788.

[bigrich]

If they could make a cheap 788 shoot so we'll in the '70s, why the hell can't manufactures make them all shoot well now. I mean cnc machines and modern production techniques, even the cheapest & nastiest should do as good as an old 788.

Yeah , modern manufactured firearm's can be made to much tighter tolerances than earlier hand made stuff . it's the level of QC and production line assembly that lets things down . the most consistent value for money centrefires i've owned have been tikka . i've bought half dozen new tikkas and not one dud in the lot . i bought a new production rem 700 in 270 a while ago , from the new management . the big cosmetic fault of a very obvious line from when the machine spraying the stock ran out of stain should've been a QC red flag . but the "half moon" of contact on the bolt face indicating the chamber being out of square to the bolt was the last straw . it didn't shoot well at all ,so it went before i got suckered into fixing a new rifle . the distributor wasn't interested at all in any warranty fixes . apparently 1 1/2 MOA is fine for a new Remington .mine only got that through handloads . all from a company with new owners that was trying to reinvent itself from a reputation of dodgy build quality i'll happily buy another tikka

[bigrich]

There's a nice BSA in 222 up at the moment too. Don't know alot about BSA but it's a nice looking bit of tree

they are a good well made rifle . heavy though , they used the win 70 ,tikka t3 trick of using a long action for all chamberings with the bolt stop and mag box changed to suit specific calibres. early bsa "hunter" series had different action lengths are were a better build qaulity than the cf2 . but the 222 hunter is a bit to light and dainty for a big boofhead like me early bsa are controlled round feed with a mauser style extractor and adjustable trigger on most as well

[TuskerOrd]

Good actions, just one thing I always check before I purchase a 788 - and that will be primary extraction.

I've had two in the past with the primary extraction non existent. It's easy to test, test fire the rifle and if extraction is difficult the PE is off and will have to be repaired by a gunsmith.

Other than that, these rifles are generally quite accurate and good value for money..