Remington 788

R

roy reali

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Who owns a Remington 788?

Who used to own one?

I don't have one now, but have owned two of them. One was chambered in .308 Winchester and the other in .243 Winchester. It seems like everyone used to own one but had to sell it. I wish I had kept at least one of them.

I would like to get one .44 magnum some day. That looks like an interesting combination.
 
When I had my gun shop in the 1970s it was a popular model. Local varmint and predator hunters used them in high vel calibers like 22-250. Strong lock up. I agree, puzzlement what happened to them. :confused:
 
I have a 788 .30-30. It is at present on loan to a friend whose hunting rifle was stolen. She calls it "Mr. 30 Something."

There are several theories as to why the 788 did not stay in production.
The conspiracy theory is that it shot so well as to take sales away from the more expensive 700 so they dropped it.
The economic theory is that once Remington had used it to defeat Mossberg's attempt at economy bolt actions and to reduce sales of sporterized surplus rifles, they dropped it to direct sales back to the more expensive 700.
The manufacturing theory is that the 788 cost more to make than its simple style and low selling price would support, so they dropped an unprofitable product.
The mechanical theory is that the 788 is not as strong and durable as its 9 (rear) locking lugs appear and that high volume shooters were learning that they did not hold up too well and sales were falling off. So they dropped a declining model.

Any way you look at it, the answer may be found at the bottom line, the 788 was not making as much money as they liked.
 
I traded for one a short time back. It's .308 and in pretty good shape- still thinking about putting a Lyman or Redfield type adjustable peep sight on it. I've found a front sight, haven't looked lately for a factory rear.

One more conspiracy theory about their demise: I remember hearing a son of a lawyer managed to shoot himself with one and the lawyer went after them with a heated vengence and Remington agreed to drop the model along with a healthy settlement/judgement. It would be neat if any old Remington employees (or anyone else in the know) would drop by to settle that discussion and tell us what really happened.
 
I have a 788 Carbine Synthetic in 308 that has the black Remington-Ramline plastic stock. My dad bought it for my brother, and he traded it to me for a Riuger 10/22. I've enjoyed it and I may keep it.
 
i love the 788!! I own one in a 22-250 great shooting gun. They made them to sell at a economy price, try to buy one now thats in good condition, not so economical . Good luck on getting that 44mag. its one of the hardest to find, but they are there if you want to pay the price. To jim watson, do you want to sell that 30-30?? Probably not , but dont hurt to ask:D
 
I had one in .308, dont miss it a bit. One of the few guns that I got rid of and never regretted it. If the bolt was not operated at the right speed, the empty casing would just flip around and lay in the ejection port. I like the Model 700 much better.
 
I've got two, a 308LH and a 223. Bought them both new @ just over $100. I love the 223 because it has a heavier 24" barrel. Got rid of those ugly birch stocks and put Ram-Lines on them.
 
I've had several and my springoff is still shooting one in 243. Every one was a tackdriver, and the one I wish I had back was a near new one in 222 I sold to a good friend for his nephew. I made a one shot kill on a whistlepig at a measured 440 yards with a witness about 20 years ago with my original 22-250. I wish Big Green would bring it back in every neat, tidy cartridge on the 308, 57mm Mauser and 222 mag boltface. Add in 6.5x55, 221 Fireball, 358, 35Rem, and 30/40 and I'll be happy.
 
I had one....

..... in .243. It was accurate. Low recoiling cartridge...... it worked well.

Sold it when I went into the military.

Strong lock up.
Click to expand...

:rolleyes: Really? It locked at the rear of the bolt, making the bolt "springy", like an Enfield's. That is not good on brass, no?
 
I have several -- 222, 223, 22-250 and 308. All were bought used in various states of disrepair. It has been interesting finding parts.
 
The Remington 788 in .243 Win was my very first centerfire rifle, bought with funds that I saved up from mowing yards. I (or rather, my father, using my funds) paid $82 for it at a Western Auto (yeah, they sold rifles, too). For my 14th birthday, my parents bought a 4X Redfield "Widefield" scope for it. It was an amazingly accurate rifle, accounted for a couple of Texas whitetail and any number of other critters and I will forever regret the day I had to trade it off to help buy my first duty revolver.
 
I have a .243 and .308. Both great shooters,irons or scope. Reading this thread had me reminiscing how I came to have the .308. Just out of the service fall 1977 ask the father in law for a rifle to use for deer season. Pulls out a unopened Rem box from under the bed. 129.00 Gambles price tag on it IIRC. Went to return it after season and was told to hold onto it so if anything happened at the house he would know were some of his rifles were. Needless to say I still have it. Sorry to ramble on so long.
 
I have a .308 Carbine model with the original iron sights in about 98% condition. One small spot on the stock left of the receiver. I fitted a Pachmayer pad (without refinishing the stock) and still have the original Remington butt plate and screws. It currently wears an old (US made) Redfield 3x9x40 in Redfield rings and a one piece Redfield base.

I bought it to play with for a while (I'm famous for that!!) worked up a one hole reload within the first 15 rounds and now I'm tired of it. Someone make me a decent offer and its yours......
 
My first centerfire rifle is a 788 .243, I still have it and use it regularly, it will punch 3 shot 1.17 holes at 200 yards all day with handloads and with winchester 95 gr factory loads it will shoot almost as good,
I Love This Gun!!
It isn't as pretty as most rifles but when it comes to shooting it is as good or better as rifles that cost a lot more!!!!
 
I still have mine! My 788 in 6mm was the first centerfire rifle I ever bought, shoots 95gr partitions wonderfully well and couldn't ask for more as a deer/antelope gun. Shoots 65gr vmax's as accurate as guns costing 4x as much, and is devastating on coyotes. It really does all I need, yet I've flanked it with prettier, fancier, more powerfull rifles that I guess I don't really need. You know, maybe I should take it back out soon...
 
+1 in .308. I think I paid $99 for it in the early 80's. It's real accurate and even though the bolt is crude, it works perfectly and allows a low profile scope to be mounted on it. Now that I am into reloading I am amazed at how immune this gun seems to be to the different loads I present to it. Whether a light load of 33g Varget (2200fps) or a stout factory load (2600+ fps), the groups all stay inside 1" @ 100 yds.
 
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