Recently acquired a Remington 788 in .308 from a member here in a trade.

Brutus said:
They deliver the goods indeed!
In 11 years of living in Saskatchewan, I think mine took about 25-30 WT deer quite easily.
Get some 150 gr bullets, it's a DRT kind of thing IMO.
Magazine can get a little rattly, and don't get a target type scope with big long windage knobs as the angle of ejection is right in the way.
Other then that zero complaints here.

Great choice btw.
Click to expand...

I own two 788's in .308 (both with 22" barrels) and one in .222 with a 24" barrel. I found that I didn't like the muzzle blast with the carbines. One of the .308's prefers 150's, t'other likes 165's. Go figure .... The .222 is a tack driver. All of mine came with good triggers.

Find and stash mags.

There is a way to keep the mags from rattling ... chamber a round and then insert a full mag.

I have accidentally dropped a mag handling the rifle as the release button is too easily hit.

The safety is also prone to being pushed off easily with a gloved hand. I'm constantly checking mine.

Other than that, I think they're great.
 
Ty Sharps, I believe the trigger on mine is fairly good too. I said it earlier but I lucked out and got two mags with it, but yes will look for more. And yes H4831 Rick is a great mentor to learn from. I am always open to learn more and maybe eventually I will get into reloading when and if I have the money to but for now just buying factory rounds.
 
SHELL SHUCKER said:
...These are the rifles that Remington dropped because they consistently out-shot the Model 700 and hence, cut into profit margin. (Greed)...(
Click to expand...

The 788 was introduced as an economy rifle. That is why it had all the cheap features. Turned out that the 788 action became more expensive to manufacture than the 700's. It wasn't an economical alternative to the 700. Rework the design to do away with the cheap features, and it would have been more expensive to buy than the 700.

They do shoot well. The design has warts, some serious.
 
After the second time I dropped a mag, my partner handed me a small roll of Duct tape, urging me to make use of it.

I told him I had a spare in my pocket and he said - "Well, after you drop that one, you'll have a nice single shot." I used the tape.
 
I just used a strip of the tape to hold the mag in place. I lost the convenience of a quick unload and/or reload, but it meantt I wasn't dropping any more mags by accident with gloved hands.
That feature and the too easily offed safety are my only beefs with the design.

One of my range cronies has a 788 in .44 mag that shed one of the bolt's locking lugs. He shoots it regularly with impunity feeling that the remaining lugs offer all the security necessary. Probably no worse than shooting a Krag with one bolt lug by design.
 
tiriaq said:
The 788 was introduced as an economy rifle. That is why it had all the cheap features. Turned out that the 788 action became more expensive to manufacture than the 700's. It wasn't an economical alternative to the 700. Rework the design to do away with the cheap features, and it would have been more expensive to buy than the 700.

They do shoot well. The design has warts, some serious.
Click to expand...

With today's manufacturing methods, the 788 would be a viable & reliable rifle. Back in the day, these were made on screw machinery and not held to precise tolerances. What one got for less than a C-note in '69 was a bench rest action and good barrel, but cheapy magazine & bottom metal along with plain walnut stock plus a non-adjustable trigger. The safety was cheap-ass as well.

The 788 action has a faster lock-time than the 700 and many bench rest folks relied on the 788 for their builds and still do. Folks that think a rear locking action is weak are thinking of rifles like Krags & Lee Enfields, but even these older actions can & have been improved by heat treating (In the case of the Krags re-barreled in Austria for .308 Win.) or beefed up by makers such as AIA in the M10 version of the No.4 Enfield action.

Ever seen a front locking artillery piece? I think not....at least any that made it past trials.
 
Front locking artillery piece?
They seem to be either sliding block, or rotating interrupted thread. All front locking, so to speak.

No doubt a modernized and redesigned 788 style action could be made.

For years, I read the equipment lists of the top benchrest shooters published in Precision shooting. Never saw reference to any 788s.

Let's see - what less than optimum 788 design features should be addressed?
Silly little block brazed on the bottom to attach the trigger group. These are a pig to reattach.
Indifferent camming provisions.
The method of controlling bolt tracking could be addressed so that bolt cycling would be smooth.
Terrible bolt handle attachment system. Pegged onto the side with induction braze was inferior, even after the design was changed to use a smaller diameter bolt sleeve, so that the length of the bolt handle stump would be a bit longer. Had Remington used a collar like Winchester or Savage, detached bolt handles would not have been a problem. Detached 788 handles can be reattached, as long as some of the thin metal at the rear of the bolt body isn't torn away with the handle.
The growing length of fired cases can be addressed when reloading, so that isn't a biggie. But it comes with the rear locking.
 
Congrats on thje nice 788 rifle. I also have a 788 in 222, great little rifles although the used prices have gone a little nuts imo. Mags are also getting a little hard to find.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom