Remington 788 in .243Win

Hokus Grey

Hokus Grey

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I was recently gifted a Remington 788 in .243Win that is in need of some TLC. It was stored under the bed by a well meaning wife, so it's got a little bit of rust, but not too bad. The guy who gave it to me claimed the safety isn't totally reliable, but it does seem to do the job in testing it. The stock is cracked, looks like an all-the-way through type of thing. The barrel has seen a lot of rounds, the rifling looks pretty light on the muzzle end.

This thing took a lot of game in its day. I know that the person who it belonged to hunted for meat, so it served its intended purpose.

All in all, the lock up is tight. The trigger isn't bad. The sights look decent. I don't think a scope was ever mounted on it.

My question is; is it worth restoring? I think I can source most of the parts, but the stock might be tough to find.

Anyone have any experience with these that would care to offer their advice?


Yes, there will be pics coming. I just need time not at work to take some.



Thanks, all!
 
For the surface rust use a little gun oil on some #0000 steel wool. It will remove the rust and not the bluing. Depending on the break, a brass pin and some glass bedding will cure that.Shoot it before throwing the baby out with the bathwater so to speak.Unlikely a hunting .243 is shot out although improper use of a cleaning rod can damage things somewhat.Get some 2 piece weaver bases and scope it to see the real potential. They all shoot 1/2 to 1" at 100 yards even the rare .44 mag version.In g+ shape they run $450- $500 . Yours, without seeing it a little less perhaps.Trigger parts are not readily available unless you swap out the whole unit for a Timney. Hope that helps..........Harold
 
I have done a lot of bedding jobs on those Rem 788 rifles. Nearly all of them shot very well after doing that. One fellow had his 788 in .243 and it was a true 1/2 moa rifle after we bedded it and worked up some hand loads. A few years ago he had the rifle rebarrelled with a 22 inch Shilen barrel in sporter weight and is very happy with it to this day.

So yes it is worth some TLC. I would take it to a gunsmith and ask him to use a borescope on the barrel for you before spending any real $ on it however.
 
I have a dark bore Win 1895 in .303 British that shoots 3/4 groups at 100 yards inspite of appearances.Just shoot it unless you have easy access to the bore scope........Harold
 
There was a plastic stock for the 788 on the aftermarket. Ramline or Hogue I think, you might still find one.

I think people selling them these days ask too much money for them, considering what is available new, but if they are getting what they are asking, I'm wrong. I had a 788 in .22-250 that I got for a good price years ago and it worked very well, but I didn't care for that cartridge so I sold it. Probably the best gun I've ever sold.
 
I'm a big fan of the 788's. I own one in .222 Rem and I've restored one that was being used to kill cattle (also a .222) in a privately owned abattoir. The latter was in horrible condition, rusted, crown damaged and stock was cracked and covered with animal fat. I was horrified at the condition, told the owner and he asked that I restore it. Dura-Coated the metal after parkerizing, but a half inch off the muzzle and re-crowned it. Polished and jewelled the bolt body. Added a Timney trigger. Turned custom pillars on the lathe and glass bedded both of them. The hockey puck butt pad was cracked and missing a chunk. I replaced it with a hand carved piece of walnut. It looks absolutely gorgeous, shoots ticks off a buzzard.

The top one is that which I mention above.
The middle one is my 788 in .222 Rem\
Bottom one is my Brno Fox, #2 also in .222 Rem
Both of the 788's shoot on par with the Brno which is a far more expensive rifle.

 
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