Shot a 788 yesterday...

[Uncle R.]

At our club Sight-In shoot for deer hunters. Being one of the old-timers and <Ahem!> a respected expert for a few years now I've held a post of shooting and zeroing rifles for those customers who prefer to let us adjust their sights. There are more than you might suppose.
Yesterday I shot a 788 in .30-30 with a cheap Tasco scope on it. The rifle was in excellent condition and was very accurate. It even had a fair-to-middlin' trigger. I've read many complaints about 'em but most of the 788s I've shot had at least fairly decent triggers. I managed to zero the scope and return the rifle without drooling too much.
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When I talked to the customer he said he'd bought it used a couple of years ago at a local gun shop. He said he had paid $275 for it.
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Sigh...
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Uncle R.

[Buckshot]

...............The 788 series were a kind of an embarassment for Remington, as they performed at least as well and in some cases better then the M700 flagship series. There are some really devout M788 folks out there too. A friend of mine who is long since passed on owned at least one of each M788 in it's various chamberings. He also had one of the 44 Mag versions rebarreled and chambered for the 454 Casull.

The first centerfire rifle I ever paid my own money for was a used one in 243. This was in 1978, and I'll tell a story on myself. My cousin Johnny who was a career Marine and happened to be currently stationed handily at 29 Palms found out I had a 243. At the the time I thought he owned more guns then God We'd driven out there for a visit and he mentioned I could easily make 243 brass out of 308, and he just happened to have a ton of once fired range pickup stuff I could have.

He said all I had to do was to run it up into my 243 dies. Okay, great! All this brass came in a large plastic laundry soap pail, mixed up with a large quantity of the disintegrating links they'd been issued with. At the time I had an RCBS JR press and it sure seemed they resized hard. Especially dragging them back out over the expander button. However the vast majority I decided to turn into 243 DID in fact become 243 shaped. I didn't resize them all as I'd created this really long linked belt of empty cases, which I thought was cool as heck.

I don't recall now what the load was I'd used but it WAS a book load. My folks owned a bunch of citrus acreage kinda out in the country, and since it was close I figured I'd go there and fire a couple rounds. I fired one cartridge and couldn't get the bolt open. My dad had a hardwood chisel mallet and with that I was able to rotate the bolthandle. After that I was also successfull in breaking the bolt handle off trying to OPEN the bolt.

I contacted Remington and was told to send it to them, which I did (including the loose bolt handle). After awile I got it back and the only thing I recall them saying on the paperwork was that they'd replaced the trigger assembly. Nothing about being a real idiot for not turning the altered casenecks down, or even doing what I'd done in the first place.

..............Buckshot

[shotman]

most bolts were broke for the bolt freezing in cold weather If snow got in the locking lugs and melted then froze you couldnt open the bolt.
Last year buddy called and ask me if I wanted to buy a 308. He said it was remington "plain jane type" I asked what model and he said didnt know would ask the guy that had it. He called about 2 hrs later said have I heard of a 788 said looks like a pine stock. He said guy wanted $150 I said where can I meet him?
Met him in about 20 min"couldnt get there faster" He said is 150 ok with me I said well I guess the scope is good "Redfield 3x9
Took it out and shot it was 3in left and 2in hi at 50yds scope wouldnt adjust. pulled scope and replaced sighted in was doing 1 hole at 50 and one bigger hole at 100
sent scope back to redfield its back on the gun.
Buddy called few days later said the guy felt bad that he sold me a gun that was junk. . said he would give money back
I still have gun and he still feels bad I guess

[missionary5155]

Good morning
Most accurate .243 I have ever owned (still have it) is a 788 I bought in Cattanooga Tenn. in 1979 used. I have popped coyotes at 250 yards across the flat Illinois fields with no trouble if I can get my wiggles out sitting down.

[gnoahhh]

The closest I ever came to getting shot while hunting was by a guy (idiot) with a 788 in 6mm. How do I know? I read the barrel info after I yanked it out of his hands.

The 788 in .30/30 was a sleeper back then. A lot of guys shot them in CBA Production Class back in the early days. I guess they never caught on with the public in that caliber because anybody who wanted a .30/30 wanted it in a lever action.

[Blammer]

my first center fire rifle was a Rem 788 in 223.

I still have it. It wears a leupold straight 8x fine cross hairs. Havn't moved it since I put it on the gun. that was 26 yrs ago. I've killed a ton of prarie dogs, ground hogs and a few coyote's with it. It's my go to gun when somethin needs killin.

[Calamity Jake]

I've had one in 222 for more years than I care to remember. It's a tack driver for sure.

[sargenv]

I had a borrowed 788 in 308 Win for a few years.. it was a fun rifle and was a tack driver for me with factory or handloaded ammo.. I mistakenly shot what we later determined was MG ammo (a bit over pressure) and I also broke the bolt handle off of it.. I sent it to Remington and for about $100 they replaced it with a tighter than before bolt assembly. Unfortunately the guy who I had borrowed it from wanted it back.. so back to him it went..

[TCFAN]

I have a 788 in 222 cal. Bought it new from wal-Mart in the early 70's I think for 89.00 dollars. Did the trigger mod. from the Rifle magazine article back then and it has been a tack driver ever since. It has a 12X Burris scope with target knobs.
Shoots cast good with 225415 and 225462 .................Terry

[atr]

Had a 788 in 22-250 Remington....
a true tack driver and the trigger was crisp and clean....
sometimes I wish I hadn't sold it

[Artful]

Wonder if there could be a business for making guns like the 788 that have a following but no longer available. With the prices of used going so high on some of these, I'd think you could make new cheaper in quantity.

[Rocky Raab]

I'm not a collector - but I have four of them. In fact, I've never owned a 700, only 788s.

I have a pair of .223s and a pair of .308s, one of which I had re-barreled to .25-308 by Mike Bellm (he no longer does rifle work). I looked for a .30-30 for a few years but never found one at less than collector prices, so settled for a Savage 340 as my cast bullet, bolt-action 30-30.

The real collector models are the few left-handed rifles and the .44 Mag models. The 6mm ones are nice, but prices for replacement magazines will cause you to gulp. Twice.

[AZ-Stew]

Looks like the 788s in my safe would make most of you drool. The two I don't have are the .308 (I've seen a bunch of beaters, but none I'd like to own) and the 7mm-08 (can't find one). I've picked up the rest at gun shows, except for the .30-30, which I got through an ad in the local paper. The first one I bought was a .223. I paid retail ($135.00) for it in the late 70s. I have another .223, and the .222 and .22-250 I have are both are old enough to have walnut stocks. I think the .222 is a 5-digit S/N. I got the .22-250 in a trade. I attended the Phoenix Boat Show a number of years ago and tossed my name in the "hat" at each of the vendor's booths. Monday afternoon I got a call from Sports Authority saying I had won a $100 gift certificate. I put $100 of my own with it and bought a Remington 870 Express 12ga. to take to the gun show the next weekend as trading material. Traded the shotgun, even-up for the 788 .22-250. Out of pocket cost was $100 + the boat show tickets. Great rifles.

Rocky, What's the difference between the .25-308 and Warren Page's .25 Souper? Thanks.

Regards,

Stew

[casey]

I have a .308 carbine. Bought it used, looked as if it was unfired. Guy also gave me the first and only box of Remington, 180grn. ammo he bought with the gun. It still had 12 rounds in the box! He said it kicked so he never used it. BTW, I gave $125.00 for the gun and the guy asked if that was okay. Just about dislocated my shoulder reaching for the wallet. Gun is a solid, one holer!

[rockrat]

Picked up a nearly new 788 in 308 a couple of weeks ago and then lucked into an ever newer 30-30 a few days later. Both look like safe queens. Shot the 308 a few times but haven't had a chance to wring it out yet.
Not shot the 30-30 yet, but soon.
Anyone have any good loads for the 30-30 and with what boolit? Thanks

[Mk42gunner]

I had one of the early long barreled .222's that would shoot an honest five round group that would fit under a nickel at 150 yards, prone with sling. The .223 that I had wouldn't do quite that good.

I have never seen a 788 that didn't shoot decently at the least, (I am sure there were a few though).

Looking back, I remember when the Matco store was closing here in town; they were selling 788's for $69.99 at the last. Wish I'd been smart enough to buy a few.

Robert

[dale2242]

Stew, No difference between the 25-08 and the 25 Souper. Check this link:
http://ammoguide.com/cgi-bin/ai.cgi?...IFgv&catid=548
dale

[Rocky Raab]

The 25-308/Souper is a great little round. It has exactly the ballistics of the 250 Savage AI, but it is much easier to form and uses dead-common parent brass.

But it isn't Warren Page's baby. The fairly rare Speer Reloading Manual #4 for Wildcat rounds credits P.F. Lambert with its development. The round generally credited to Page is the 243.

Either way, the 25-308 is great, but unlikely to be commercialized because the gap it fills is just too narrow. I built mine well before the 260 came out, but even then the difference between the 243 and the 25 Souper was slim. Present, to be sure, but slim.

No matter. I can still grin and claim to be the only kid on my block who owns one!

[AZ-Stew]

Rocky and Dale,

Thanks for the info. I have three gun-related "collections". Two I consider complete. They are Speer reloading manuals (so I have the #4, I'll have to look up the Souper), and Remington 5XX series .22 RF rifles. I think I have examples of all of them. The collection that's incomplete is the 788s, as noted in my previous post.

I've often thought of having a Remington XP-100 set up in .25 Souper for the handgun metallic silhouette game. The trajectory of a 100 grain bullet should be flat enough so sight settings can remain the same for all distances. Many years ago someone wrote an article, may have been in The American Rifleman, titled, "What makes the steel fall?", or something similar. According to that article, the same load would have adequate power for the rams. It's one of those "round tuit" projects that I never got.

By the way, Rocky, I read your article in the December Handloader this morning. I was surprised that none of the bullets you tested had crimp grooves. I have some plated ones around the shop that do. I'll have to photograph a few and post them here. Anyway, I enjoyed the article.

Regards,

Stew

[Rocky Raab]

Thanks for the kind words, Stew. Both Berry's and Rainier tell me that they could roll cannelures into their bullets, but that would add to the cost - and hence the price. As price-point is one of their major selling points, they feel that would be counter-productive.

Both of them will also tell you the Lee FCD is the answer if you feel the need for hard crimping.