Remington 788 - What do you have?

NAA said:
Mine's a 7mm-08 carbine. Acquired circa 1995'ish. Original stock was pretty beat up so I dropped it into a new Ramline, back when they came with a Pachmayr decelerator factory installed. Topped with an econo Tasco world class 3.5-10x42mm. Shot so well just as is I haven't changed a thing on 'er since.

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Forgot to mention is that I also had one in .308 Win in the past. But mostly regret selling the one I had in .30-30! :(

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NAA.
 
I planned on having one re-barreled in a fast twist 22-250 but that insanity subsided and just got a 700 223 instead.

Remington should have done one in 35 Remington instead of 44 Magnum and 30-30.
 
MilitaryCollectorMark said:
That sounds like a interesting one.

I have a LH 308 that I rebarreled to 243.
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Yes, I had Ron Smith rebore it to 6.5mm a couple months back. OMG, when I went to chamber it the barrel had a 1/10" runout, never seen a barrel wobble so much between centers, throat ended up with bias to one side. Didn't have high hopes for it and figured a new barrel was in order but what the hay, shot it a month ago with cold fingers using factory ammo first five shot group at 100m was 3/4", second 13/16" and then finished up with a fast 10 shot group that all went into 1 1/4", don't figure!
 
A&Shuntr said:
Yes, I had Ron Smith rebore it to 6.5mm a couple months back. OMG, when I went to chamber it the barrel had a 1/10" runout, never seen a barrel wobble so much between centers, throat ended up with bias to one side. Didn't have high hopes for it and figured a new barrel was in order but what the hay, shot it a month ago with cold fingers using factory ammo first five shot group at 100m was 3/4", second 13/16" and then finished up with a fast 10 shot group that all went into 1 1/4", don't figure!
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Is Ron Smith still around?!

I had him make a left hand 788 with a carbon six barrel for me.

That was a few years back and I’ve been wondering if he’s still around as he was 83 when I went out to his shop last. I think his son actually threaded that barrel, but Ron also rebore a 3006 to 9.3x62 on a Steyr.

I been afraid to ask but I hope he’s still around and doing ok. I’d recommend everyone to see his gain twist cutting machine if possible.
 
A&Shuntr said:
Yes, I had Ron Smith rebore it to 6.5mm a couple months back. OMG, when I went to chamber it the barrel had a 1/10" runout, never seen a barrel wobble so much between centers, throat ended up with bias to one side. Didn't have high hopes for it and figured a new barrel was in order but what the hay, shot it a month ago with cold fingers using factory ammo first five shot group at 100m was 3/4", second 13/16" and then finished up with a fast 10 shot group that all went into 1 1/4", don't figure!
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Wow ! that’s Pretty LUCKY considering how much Runout it has . RJ
 
cody c said:
Is Ron Smith still around?!

I had him make a left hand 788 with a carbon six barrel for me.

That was a few years back and I’ve been wondering if he’s still around as he was 83 when I went out to his shop last. I think his son actually threaded that barrel, but Ron also rebore a 3006 to 9.3x62 on a Steyr.

I been afraid to ask but I hope he’s still around and doing ok. I’d recommend everyone to see his gain twist cutting machine if possible.
Click to expand...

He most certainly is at the ripe old age of 89 now he is still on the tools! He did have a medical setback about a year ago (I won't say for privacy respect) but has mostly recovered and doing well.
 
I just picked one a few weeks ago. Sat in a cabinet for decades.
Had a ton of scratches and dents. Had the Frozen trigger issue from Grease never being cleaned out and re-oiled.
Got it home dismantled the trigger and freed it up, but the trigger spring and aluminum body were rusted out.
Put in a new TImney at 3lbs, cleaned the hell out of it. (32 years of crud and oil). Barrel and innards are excellent.
Took the bolt apart and cleaned it out. (yuk). Solvent worked great. Lightly oiled and put back together.
Cycles beautiful. (2 mags included).
Took the stock down to bare wood. WALNUT!
5 coats for true oil and she's looking great.
It had a Williams sight on a t some point and the guy kept the piece of wood cutout and epoxied it back in.
It is the light area under the scope. It was in a gun cab so it will darken over time to near match the rest of stock now that's in the light.
Not sure if the pics will show. I'll keep trying if they don't.
Out to the range in a few weeks.
I've got a cheap VisionKing 1.5-6x42 on it. This thing accumualtes light at dawn and dusk really well.
I have very dark woods in certain spots and an accumulation scope is required.
I have these on a couple rifles and they work great. The longest shot is 90yds so quality isn't critical. Light is.


It's a hunting rifle, not a museum piece. So perfection isn't required. It's now usable.
That is what is important for me.
 
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Quote Originally Posted by NAA View Post
Mine's a 7mm-08 carbine. Acquired circa 1995'ish. Original stock was pretty beat up so I dropped it into a new Ramline, back when they came with a Pachmayr decelerator factory installed. Topped with an econo Tasco world class 3.5-10x42mm. Shot so well just as is I haven't changed a thing on 'er since.

Attachment 758647

Attachment 758648
Forgot to mention is that I also had one in .308 Win in the past. But mostly regret selling the one I had in .30-30!

Nice. I'm on the hunt for a 30-30.
Might have to import one.
I have a World Class on a couple hunting rifles. Damn good scopes.
 
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Rango said:
You lucky duck! I've been looking for a 788 in 44mag forever. Post pictures?
I have a 788 action that was chambered in 22-250, I was thinking about rebarreling it in 45acp if I never find one in 44mag.
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Took 30 years to find one here. I'm not sure if they were ever imported here. Or maybe didn't sell much.
There in one guy on the 788 Facebook group that has one.
These are the only two I'm aware of. If you guys have one say so.
It would be interesting to see how many are actually out there.
 
Mogulrider said:
I just picked one a few weeks ago. Sat in a cabinet for decades.
Had a ton of scratches and dents. Had the Frozen trigger issue from Grease never being cleaned out and re-oiled.
Got it home dismantled the trigger and freed it up, but the trigger spring and aluminum body were rusted out.
Put in a new TImney at 3lbs, cleaned the hell out of it. (32 years of crud and oil). Barrel and innards are excellent.
Took the bolt apart and cleaned it out. (yuk). Solvent worked great. Lightly oiled and put back together.
Cycles beautiful. (2 mags included).
Took the stock down to bare wood. WALNUT!
5 coats for true oil and she's looking great.
It had a Williams sight on a t some point and the guy kept the piece of wood cutout and epoxied it back in.
It is the light area under the scope. It was in a gun cab so it will darken over time to near match the rest of stock now that's in the light.
Not sure if the pics will show. I'll keep trying if they don't.
Out to the range in a few weeks.
I've got a cheap VisionKing 1.5-6x42 on it. This thing accumualtes light at dawn and dusk really well.
I have very dark woods in certain spots and an accumulation scope is required.
I have these on a couple rifles and they work great. The longest shot is 90yds so quality isn't critical. Light is.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/S1qFhsNYPHSxwbwc7

It's a hunting rifle, not a museum piece. So perfection isn't required. It's now usable.
That is what is important for me.
Click to expand...

Thats a gem! Nice
Id love to find a 44 or 30-30, like hens teeth.
Have a marlin 44 and its a beautiful 100y deer gun with peep sight.
 
Its too bad Ramline didn't make them in the Ultra short Stocks. That's the 30-30 and 44 Mag
I'd love to flip mine into a Synthetic for the bush.
 
Have you used Winchester white box or Magtech soft points in your 44?
I've got a ton of that I'm gonna have a go at so see how it groups.
 
Speaking of .44s, many years ago I saw one in left hand. I suspect that would be pretty rare.
I've been working on a couple. Acquired a nice .308 estate rifle from which the bolt had been lost. Installed a bolt that I had repaired (detached handle). The other is a real bitser. Bought a barreled receiver in .22-.250, because I had a bolt and the rest of the parts including a magazine. In both cases, headspace is OK - can feel the NO GO.
Left over, I have a .22-.250 receiver and a repaired bolt. Handle had been broken off. I installed a handle for a 110 Savage. Instead of the handle being stuck in a hole on the side, the collar wraps around the rear of the bolt body. Someone mentioned a .45ACP. The slot on the bottom of the receiver clears a 1911 magazine. This would be a good action for such a project. I have a .45ACP reamer - should keep my eyes open for a barrel.
I've reinstalled handles on about 20 788 bolts. These things cannot be abused.
They are also not a good choice for hot loads. Not a matter of strength, but rather bolt compression and case stretching. Hot load = hard extraction = case stretching. If there is hard extraction, do not muscle the bolt handle...
I think there are at least 3 788 receivers. Short and long. Short in two versions for .222/.223 and .22-.250. Different width magazine openings. Long for .243 through .308. Don't know about .30-30 and .44 receivers. Did they use their own unique ones?
I think it is about time for someone to do a run of 788 magazines. Darn things aren't common and are expensive when found.
 
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