Model 788 / .454 Casull Cast

[stephen perry]

I will have a chance next year to buy my friends 788 with an after-market Douglass barrel .454 Casull barrel. I have watched him shoot cast for a year mostly 50 yd with his 454. It lobs them in there about 1 1/2" best. I am buyng this as a cast only gun. Pleasant recoil load with 4198, Unique, and 2400 powder, more powders will work. I will get his dies, cast sizing/lube dies, and brass. I will get my LEE mold back from my other Bud to Cast for the Casull. Price don't know yet don't care much he's my Range Bud for 35 yrs.

Anybody shoot and cast for the 454 in a rifle.

Stephen Perry
Angeles BR :brokenima

[yondering]

I don't, but will be real interested to hear your results.

[dk17hmr]

That would be a heck of a rifle....I hunted with a 788 in 308 my first few years and loved the rifle accurate and light enough my skinny 130 pound body could carry it around all day up and down the hills without getting worn out.

I have a 454 revolver and shoot hot loads through it so cant really help you just wanted to comment on how cool that rifle would be.

[stephen perry]

Remington 788's out of the box aren't much to look at. The oversized sights look out of place and the usually light taper barrels don't appeal to me. But I have 2 both somewhat different than what I just explained. One of my 788's has been chambered 6X47 in a Hart SS barrel. Trigger is a Canjar set. My other 788 is a .223with a medium taper factory barrel sights removed trigger worked down to 37 oz. Didn't know Remington made a medium taper barrel for 788's. The guy I got the .223 from's brother did the stock in Tru-oil looks as good as any factory stock now. The 788 in 454 I am getting next year got the same treatment by the brother and the after market barrel is close to Varmint taper but still a hunting weight gun. I have 7 extra scopes to choose from for the 454. Considering using my Leupold Vari-X 3-9 or my Leupold 4X.

Stephen Perry
Angeles BR :brokenima

[Buckshot]

............An old buddy of mine had a Rem 788 that had originally been a 44 Mag but he'd had Pachmeyer (when they were in LA) convert to 454 Casull*. I'm afraid I wasn't much interested in his reloading data as I didn't figure I'd ever own anything in 454 Casull :-) I can tell you it was very accurate, and it's ballistics were pretty much similar to a 45-70 with 300 grain slugs. Like right at 2,000 fps.

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

* It may have originally been done by Pachmeyer in 45 Colt, or maybe Ken ran a Casull reamer in, or I don't even know if there is any difference? I just know he said it was 454 Casull and Pachmeyer had done it.

[stephen perry]

Seems to me as I watched my Bud shoot his 454 for a year to be an ideal big bore cast gun. I am fascinated by trying to get a Cast gun to shoot. My BR jacketed guns are straight forward. Cast was my first gun I made the bullets for. Rem 722 in .222 started back in 1962 with Cast 225415 and 225462 still Cast with these molds for the same gun. GI brass .223 sized to .222 CCI primers 4198 and 4895 powder. Guess you can say I have been there since I was 12 yr old.

Stephen Perry
Angeles BR :brokenima

[felix]

Stephen, it would be interesting to convert that gun into a 200 yard Hunter Class BR machine, while keeping the standard stock as a "switch" stock gun. I assume you can handle recoil; I cannot. ... felix

[yondering]

My other 788 is a .223with a medium taper factory barrel sights removed trigger worked down to 37 oz. Didn't know Remington made a medium taper barrel for 788's.

Mine is the same thing, with the medium taper barrel. Sure is a sweet shooter.

For any of you who do your own trigger work, this picture shows how to modify the 788 trigger to be adjustable. Mine worked out pretty nicely.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/zthang43/Misc/Rem788_Trigger.jpg

[454PB]

There's no magic to making a .454 Casull rifle shoot well. Mine is a Puma model 92, and the same loads I use in my three .454 revolvers work equally well in the rifle. The only difference is that COL has to be reduced for proper feeding.......in a bolt gun that shouldn't be a probem.

Using Lil'Gun, H-110, and WW296, 2000 fps. is achievable with the 320 gr. Lee FNGC or Lyman 452651. Faster powders like WC820 and Bluedot yield up to 1800 fps. with the same boolit. I'm curious about the use of a powder as slow burning as 4198, I run out of case capacity with H-110/WW296.

My rifle with the OEM sights shoots 2" groups at 50 yards, a scope or even better open sights would certainly do better.

[shotman]

dont mess with the trigger try It wont work for long . 1 1/2 in at 50yds? wow dont know how to shoot or loads are WAY too hot. 454 in a 44mag gun and 44mag bolt how? but anything can be done rick

[Mk42gunner]

I like 788's -- They are ugly; but I have never seen one that will not shoot. I had a 788 in .222 Remington that would put 5 rounds under a nickel at 150 yards; prone with a loop sling. Load was a 50 grain Hornady SX with a rather large amount of AA1680.

The rifle had been owned by a priest in San Diego who knew remington triggers.

Once again, I wish I still had that rifle.

Robert

[Three44s]

...................................

.........................."I wish I still had that rifle."

Robert

Wasn't there a song by that title????

Well, I have sung that blues rendition a time or four myself!!

Three 44s

[Cactus Farmer]

I had a 788 in 222 and it, too, would shoot 'em in a tiny wad at one hundred......ran low on Jword bullets once and stuck some 58grn Lovenins together with (I think?) 17 grns of reloader 7. Never shot paper just prarie dogs for a few days(while working:bigsmyl2:) The combo did the trick out past 200 yds if I got the wind drift right. Just a ball of furr and ground meat. Sometime later got a chance to chrono them......2200fps? if I remember? It had a factory 26 inch barrel too....
Alas a fellow offered me 6+ times what I had in it and things being what they were it went bye-bye.
Now I've got a 250 Savage Ackley Improved spotted on a 722 Remington action,SS 26" barrel, with all the dies and a couple hundred rounds of ammo and some emptys too.
$500.00 gets it all....my Christmas will be just one present but I will suffer thru it OK i think.
Anyone shooting .257s in a Savage that would give up some info on your loads? If that 222 liked lead what can a two bit bore do but make me smile a lot?:lovebooli

[yondering]

dont mess with the trigger try It wont work for long .

Huh? Explanation please?

[stephen perry]

In the Thread I said the 788 has been rebarreled for a .454 Casull. The trigger works fine at 37 oz for several years now. And the guy now shoots it cast bullets open sights averaging 1 1/2" for 50 yd. Can you do better I doubt it.

Stephen Perry
Angeles BR :brokenima