The 721 (long action) and 722 (short action) rifles were the strongest made. They were the first fully-enclosed case head. Remington did some incredible pressure tests. For their test on the .30-'06, they put four 220-grain bullets ahead of a caseful of powder--and didn't blow up anything.
They were pretty much plain-vanilla, and never gained the popularity of the Model 70, but they're really well-made. Tell your buddy to do some improvement to the trigger, and enjoy!
Art
