788 vs 700 build

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matt bradley

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Just woundering whats the difference between the 788 and 700 is as I'm looking to build a bolt gun and have seen a couple of left hand 788 around and was woundering if the parts from a 700 will fit on them EX.. stocks, magazine kits, Barrels... any info would be great.
Thanks Matt
 
as stated above... totally different...

... plus there are no parts readily available for the 788 compared to the 700.
 
A pal of mine had some custom work done to a 788 .22-250. It ended up with a synthetic stock (perhaps PH Precision, but I don't remember for sure) a Canjar trigger, was converted to a single shot, with a medium weight Gaillard barrel. Dime size groups were the order of the day. Not bad for a rifle with multiple locking lugs that locked up at the wrong end of the bolt.
 
canuckhunter said:
The 788 is a nice stiff action, but rear locking lugs always promotes full length resizing. Great if you don't reload.
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I started deer hunting with a 788. I believe the ultra fast lock time, only aided me in the offhand shooting of big game.
I still have it around, and keep my reloads at factory pressures.
And I do not intend, to change it into anything else. (IE: a match rifle)
 
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Brutus said:
I started deer hunting with a 788. I believe the ultra fast lock time, only aided me in the offhand shooting of big game.
I still have it around, and keep my reloads at factory pressures.
And I do not intend, to change it into anything else. (IE: a match rifle)
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Brutus, respectfully I suggest your off hand shooting was successful due to practice rather than by the quick lock time. Practice leads to improvement, improvement leads to confidence.

The idea that a fast lock time can improve ones shooting makes my head hurt. Lock time, whether slow or fast is best measured in milliseconds, 1000 milliseconds equaling one second. I have shot rifles with what were said to have very fast lock times, such as the Kliengunther and the 788, and my scores never seemed to be any better with those rifles than with my M-17 Enfield which may have had the slowest lock time of any bolt gun in history. A good trigger, one that is neither too light nor too heavy, that is free of creep and over-travel, and is free of perceptible movement when it releases the sear, is far more important to the marksman than is the lock time.
 
Boomer said:
Brutus, respectfully I suggest your off hand shooting was successful due to practice rather than by the quick lock time. Practice leads to improvement, improvement leads to confidence.

The idea that a fast lock time can improve ones shooting makes my head hurt. Lock time, whether slow or fast is best measured in milliseconds, 1000 milliseconds equaling one second. I have shot rifles with what were said to have very fast lock times, such as the Kliengunther and the 788, and my scores never seemed to be any better with those rifles than with my M-17 Enfield which may have had the slowest lock time of any bolt gun in history. A good trigger, one that is neither too light nor too heavy, that is free of creep and over-travel, and is free of perceptible movement when it releases the sear, is far more important to the marksman than is the lock time.
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If whoever is reading this is a bad shooter, read it again! It's worth it! :sniper:
 
I have to agree. I own a half dozen 788s or so, in various calibers, including a couple that have been worked over a fair bit to make them more accurate. They are good shooters generally, but all benefit from a better trigger. Until recently your only options were Canjar (6 month wait or so) or modifying the issue trigger (not that hard with the right tools) so as to make it adjustable. Timney offers an option now. If memory serves, back in the day you could take the Remington 541 Target trigger and modify to fit the 788 as well (same basic design), although I never tried that personally. In terms of aftermarket parts and ease of modification, you really are better off with a 700 or even a Savage 10/110 variant. FWIW - dan
 
The 788 was Remington`s entry level bolt gun when introduced a good while back.I have only owned one in 22-250 and found it to be super accurate.This probably had more to do with the high quality Remington barrel it was made with than any other reason.The rear locking bolt is said to be stiffer than the Mod 700 type,but I found mine to have poor extraction/ejection function due to its inherent design.
 
The extraction/ejection problems arose from two sources. Extraction was hindered by the short bolt lift and extraction cam. Ejection problems from the ejection angle which caused the empty to hit the windage turret on the scope. Rotating the scope 90 degrees helped but often caused other problems. It was occasionally impossible to convince the shooter the windage adjustment was now the elevation and the elevation now windage.
I altered 788 triggers by installing adjustments and they were a passable trigger. Ultimately, the 788, as the basis of a match rifle, is a novelty item. Regards, Bill.
 
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