Saw a 788 at the fun show

[Jack Stanley]

Chambered for 30-30 , nice walnut stock , overall in good to very good condition . Nearly choked when I saw the asking price of seven ninety-five for it . As nice as they shoot , I just don't think I could spend that kind of money for one . I guess there's a price for everybody and that one ain't mine for sure . If that is the now going price for the 788's I sold a forture when I good rid of the two leftie .308's and the six millimeter with the bolt on the left :roll: I coulda almost retired [smilie=1:

Jack

[versifier]

They go for between $350-400 around here, when you can find one, not often. I have been advertising for a .243 and a .223 - no luck so far.

[JudgeBAC]

Fortunately, I have two that I have held on to. The first started off as a .22-250 my father gave me when I was a teenager. That was back in the day when we hunted groundhogs once a week during the warm weather. After killing a bunch of groundhogs with Hornaday 55gr. SX and a healthy dose of 4320, the .220 swift became the rage and I rebarreled it with a heavy douglas barrel in .220 swift with a Canjar single set trigger all bedded in a Fajan laminated stock. Not a lightweight by any means but it still shoots great. Unfortunately our groundhog hunting territory is covered with XMas trees. Seems like all the farmers where we used to hunt groundhogs have gone into the XMas tree business. My second 788 is a 7-08 with an 18.5 inch barrel. It shoots 140 gr. balistic tips in front of Hogdon Varget. My dad gave this one to me also. Needless to say, I wont let go of either of these guns.

[buster]

I saw a 22/250 at a local show last December, ask how much he said 895.0. I thought NO WAY, went by 15 min. latter GONE! I have 3 two 30/30s and a 243, wouldn't sell any of them.

[tommag]

I have one that has been bbled for .223 AI with a hart bbl. It will shoot much better than I can. I would love to have one in 30-30, but can't justify the asking price.
I gave 375 for mine and thought about having a lighter bbl installed for a walking around rifle, but it shoots so nice, I guess it'll stay a varminter until I wear out the bbl.

[Four Fingers of Death]

Fun show? $795? That ain't fun!!

[NVcurmudgeon]

I had a 788 in .223 that was a very reliable 3/4 MOA shooter. A friend begged me to sell it to him, and he is still having a ball controlling the vicious ground squirrels on his place in Montana. I find it ironic that the "economy" 788 is now selling used for more than a new 700 brings!

[Mallard57]

I saw a 788 in .223 I believe at a gunshop today, they wanted $395.00. Nothing against the .223(I've got five of them), but I wish it would have been a different caliber.

[C A Plater]

Wow, the sure have gone up. I used to consider them for donor rifle for some project but now the "collector" value has ended that.

[Four Fingers of Death]

Maybe I should reconsider the mint 22/250 that I saw recently for $AU425. Trouble is I have a real purty post 64 Win Mod 70 in XTR trim. Mick.

[versifier]

I had a 788 in .223 that was a very reliable 3/4 MOA shooter. A friend begged me to sell it to him, and he is still having a ball controlling the vicious ground squirrels on his place in Montana. I find it ironic that the "economy" 788 is now selling used for more than a new 700 brings!

In my admittedly biased opinion :) , in many ways, the 788 is a much better designed rifle than the 700. It has some limitations, true, among them a short receiver, rear locking lugs, and a 3shot mag, but out of the box, it was about the most accurate rifle Remington has ever made. They weren't designed to handle big, high pressure cases, but rather to be an affordable, accurate, and reliable hunting rifle for anything from varmints to moose. And it still does that job very well.

Mick,
Buy it before someone else does, you'll be kicking yourself later if you don't. [smilie=1:

[lovedogs]

Yes, it's amazing. What was supposed to be a "cheap" rifle turned out to be one of the most inherently accurate rifles ever produced by anyone. An old friend gave me his favorite old coyote rifle when he thought he was dying, a 788 in .22-.250. It was beat up pretty badly and neglected. I changed the trigger spring and wound up with a perfect 3# crisp trigger. After a thorough cleaning the old $89 rifle (orig. cost) shoots Speer 52 gr. HP's into a ragged hole and is one of my most reliably accurate rifles. The stock was really scarred up so I stripped it and shaped it a little slimmer then finished it with an epoxy paint from Brownell's in a light gray gritty texture. It's one great coyote rifle! I've tried to give it back to my friend since he didn't actually die but he's 85 now and insists that he can't shoot anymore so I might as well keep it. He ain't gettin' no argument from me!

[Crash_Corrigan]

I had one of those........alas I also lusted for a Ruger OM BH in 357 that needed funds. I sold the 788 and a 1948 winnie 32 spcl to finance my pistol. Big mistake. I love the new/old Ruger but the way prices have increased lately I should have scrounged the funds somewhere else and kept those two. Who could have predicted that Winchester would discontinue the 94 and that the cheapo 788 with the plain jane stock would be so valued? I will reconsider and reconsider and reconsider any further sale of my firearms. They are like old friends. Just touching one brings back happy memories and those are the things we all cherish and will tomorrow. Now we have a reason to keep all these old molds and shooters no matter how dinged, scratched and experienced they get.....they mirror us....dinged, scratched, experienced and valued friends are hard to find and should not be discarded just to buy the newest and fanciest stuff that is around. :coffee:

[dk17hmr]

I hunted with a 308 788 for my first 2 years of deer hunting. It sits in the back of the safe now and only sees daylight when we get it out to confirm zero then goes in a case for a back up rifle at camp, then sits in the safe until zero is confirmed again.

I would really love to have a 788 in 44 mag which I have never seen in person, but there was one listed on gunbroker a few years ago.

Actually right now there is a number of 6mm left handed and right handed 30-30's on gunbroker, as well as a 222 with a buy it now of $185 needs a bolt and mag. Seems like a steal of a deal still.

[Four Fingers of Death]

I don't know about the mags, but I have heard that getting bolts was nigh impossible a few years back. I believe there is a guy on this board who owns or works for a gunshop that manafactures parts for the 788. I'd check it out brfoe plunging in on an incomplete rifle (unless it was realllllllllllllllllllllllll cheap and I could recover costs by breaking it up if necessary), you might end up stuck with it.


DayyuuuuuMMMMMMMMMMMM! You guys are going to talk me into buying another rifle. I have so many at the moment, the safe won't shut, so I have sent 4-5 away for small repairs and they are screaming for me to come pick them up :D, Cain't, ain't got room :(

[Scrounger]

I don't know about the mags, but I have heard that getting bolts was nigh impossible a few years back. I believe there is a guy on this board who owns or works for a gunshop that manafactures parts for the 788. I'd check it out brfoe plunging in on an incomplete rifle (unless it was realllllllllllllllllllllllll cheap and I could recover costs by breaking it up if necessary), you might end up stuck with it.


DayyuuuuuMMMMMMMMMMMM! You guys are going to talk me into buying another rifle. I have so many at the moment, the safe won't shut, so I have sent 4-5 away for small repairs and they are screaming for me to come pick them up :D, Cain't, ain't got room :(

That would be James Wisner; here's his website: http://www.wisnersinc.com/
I know one guy who solved this problem by using one bolt in two different rifles. He had a gunsmith friend set up the correct headspace in both rifles. He just put the bolt in whichever one he wanted to shoot that day. Rifles without bolts can be picked up fairly cheap.

[carpetman]

Neighbor has a 788 missing a bolt and he has been looking for a bolt for several years---hasn't found one.

[joatmon]

Tell your neighbor I can spare him a bolt! Fine thread-course thread? What size?
PM me his shipping info. Glad I can help.

[rugerdude]

Whenever I hunt a place where my .44 mag falls short in the range category, I borrow my cousins 788 in .308. I'll have to say that it isn't a beautiful rifle, but it sure makes beautiful groups! With Winchester 165's, I wouldn't hesitate to take a shot waaaay out there. 'Course where we hunt most times 250-300 yards is about it, so I feel sure that when ole' hoss walks into the field, he's gonna ride out in my truck!

[Jack Stanley]

The "fun" of this show is not the driving more than a hundred miles to get there . It's more the anticipation of what one might find and some strange stuff has turned up at reasonable price . The other thing is listening to the "experts" try to hustle........... er I mean sell an "excellent" item at an outreageous price :roll:

I've got one 30-30 and a .223 , both shoot well and I can highly recommend Wisners . I bought some extra ejectors for the 30-30 just in case .

Jack

[Four Fingers of Death]

"I know one guy who solved this problem by using one bolt in two different rifles. He had a gunsmith friend set up the correct headspace in both rifles. He just put the bolt in whichever one he wanted to shoot that day. Rifles without bolts can be picked up fairly cheap."

That is sooooooooooo simple! What a brilliant idea!

788s without bolts go for a song.

[hydraulic]

Back in the '70's I used to sell a few guns in my gas station, when an FFl was $10, and it seems to me I was buying 788's from a wholesaler in Omaha for around $50. Could have been more---memory's getting bad. I do remember, though, and I'm sure about this, the time the salesman called me at inventory time and said he would sell me AR 15's for $99 but I would have to take ten of them. I passed.

[John Taylor]

Bought my 788 in 243 when it was on sale for $114 with scope. One of the best shooters I ever owned. Got 19 deer out of a box of ammo ( one shot at a target to make sure it was sighted in ). I used the rifle for a down payment on a new shop when money was tight.

[carpetman]

John Taylor---Got 19 deer out of a box of ammo. I never have found one in the box--heck I don't recall even seeing any droppings in the box. What brand was that?