Rem 788 in .44 mag question

[wmitty]

There's a barreled receiver on Gunbroker in this caliber - no bolt or clip. Anyone familiar enough with 788's to know if the length of the bolt is the same as the .30-30 bolt?

[flounderman]

I have a couple of 788s, but no 44 mag. My best guess would be the bolt is the same, except for the bolt face. I don't know where you would ever find a bolt for one.

[Themoose]

I have a 788 in 44 mag and would be glad to measure my bolt to help you... I'm not sure what or how to measure what you are looking for... perhaps you can send me a diagram marking what areas you need to measure and I will do my best to help you out...

TheMoose

[Texas by God]

If it helps- the 30-30 and .44 mag have two piece bolts. All the rimless bolts are one piece.

[Tripplebeards]

Its been on there for sale for a long rime.

[wmitty]

Themoose - If you could remove your bolt from the receiver and measure it's overall length from boltface to the bearing face of the back row of locking lugs and then from that bearing face to the rear end of the bolt I'll do the same on my .30-30 bolt and post the results.

.30-30 788 bolt dimensions:

bolt face to bearing face (rear lugs) = 4.095"

bearing face to rear of bolt = 2.190"

dia. of bolt face =.695"

Thanks for measuring the bolt!

[wmitty]

TBG - I was wondering if the .30-30 bolt might be the same as the .44 mag, but have my doubts; the .30-30 cartridge being so much longer that the .44 oal wise. I ran into a fella with a broken bolt face on a 788 in .243 and I, having a 788 in .22-250, thought surely they would be the same length and was about to make an offer for the damaged rifle when I thought I'd check the bolts... glad I did! The .22-250 bolt would not work in the .243 action! Don't remember now which was longer, but it did not fit.

[Themoose]

wmitty,

Just got home from work... will get measurements to you tomorrow...

[WALLNUTT]

I know that if you have a 788 30-30 or 44mag you better hope it don't break as parts are all but non-existent so I would imagine so are complete bolts. I think it would be easier to build a rifle around the bolt if you had one.

[Texas by God]

I know the 788 had two and possibly three action lengths. You can't put a ..222 stock on a 22-250 or the 22-250 stock on the .308. IIRC.

[Themoose]

wmitty,

I got the measurements, but not sure we are measuring the same thing... here are my measurements

Themoose - If you could remove your bolt from the receiver and measure it's overall length from boltface to the bearing face of the back row of locking lugs and then from that bearing face to the rear end of the bolt I'll do the same on my .30-30 bolt and post the results.

.30-30 788 bolt dimensions:

bolt face to bearing face (rear lugs) = 4.095" 3.442" Not sure we are measuring same thing.. only measurement I can get @ 4.090" is from bolt face to front(full diameter) edge of bolt handle

bearing face to rear of bolt = 2.190" 2.192"

dia. of bolt face =.695" .695"
I took a couple of other measuements
OAL (bolt face to rear of bolt) 5.610"
Bolt face to rear of bolt 4.510"


Thanks for measuring the bolt!

[wmitty]

Themoose

Thanks again for the measurments; it confirms what I suspected. Looks to me like the .44 bolt is about 1/2" shorter than the .30-30 bolt. Oh, well...

Congratulations on having a rare chambering of the 788!

[Themoose]

wmitty, sorry the sizes are different... I do enjoy my 788 and have taken several whitetails with it... met a young man on a morning hunt a few years back... after introductions, he took one look(from a distance) asked what caliber and said "adopt me, I want your rifle when you are gone.... "... the sad part is there is no one in my family that will appreciate it...

[Moleman-]

Couldn't the 30-30 bolt body be shortened 1/2" and the nose piece refitted? I'd think the back sections where the lugs are would be the same to simplify machining and parts interchangeability. If the barrel was pulled you could figure out how much shorter the bolt needs to be similar to how you can set headspace in a mauser with the barrel off of the action.

[wmitty]

Moleman - I can't answer your question but it sounds like it could be done. I ran into a problem with purchasing a barreled receiver in .22-250 which was in much better shape than my original 788 .22-250 bought new in '69. I thought I'd simply place my bolt in the "new" barreled receiver and be good to go. This was not the case, as the nine lugs seemed to need to be lapped into the new receiver and being in a hurry I pressed hard on the bolt handle to chamber a round made up for the old receiver and surprise! broken bolt handle!

[Moleman-]

That does sound familiar. I have a couple of the 581's and 582's with the rear lugs. The bolts look very similar to the 788 bolts only smaller. Many years ago I tried the bolt in a first run 581 in the other 581 which was a second run from the 80's. One would fit and the other wouldn't close. That's as far as I looked into it. Never owned a 788 but I can see how they would get a loyal following from how well my 581/582's shoot.

[Texas by God]

The 22-250's popularity skyrocketed thanks to the 788. Us mere mortals could own that lightning bolt and a bunch of us did!

[GBertolet]

I believe there are three action lengths in the 788. The lengths are determined by the center to center spacing of the two action screws. My 30-30 788 has a 7" spacing. Be aware of these three spacings if you ever replace the stock. These are fine shooting rifles. They were a victim of their own success. They outshot the flagship of the Remington line, the model 700, at 1/3 of the price, and of course 1/3 of the profit.