788 Rem

[RagingBullPa]

ugly gun but shoots great its a Remington , but in reality they never should have dropped the old 660 remington that was the first rifle i bought withmy own money had it in a .308 wichester loved the gun, but i loved my wife more sold it to by the diamond and still going strong after 36years

[Ridge Runner]

I can still buy the 243/7/08/308 mags accross the counter, I got 2 new manufacture 6mm mags a lil over a year ago from numrich, so someone is making them.
RR

[Larryjk]

I know that all of the 788s I see are loved by their owners, including the one I own. The one I have is in .222 Rem and I bought it for my grandsons to start in centerfire use. They love it because they can always hit with it.
I think the reason the 788 is so accurate is because they have an abnormally long barrel shank sticking back into a stiff action. No one has ever said a 788 is a light rifle. Look at a 788 action and then look at a benchrest action. Very similar.

[Minihuntur]

Call me blind or stupid or both, but I think the 788 is pretty. I also found it quite light, but thats because my normal hunting rifle is a 10 pound .243.
Minihuntur

[RagingBullPa]

now my 700lss with the grey laminated stock thats pretty , a 788 is a plain jane but functional, my700 mtn rifle in 280 rem with a synthetic stock weighs in at just a tad over 6 lbs thats sweet, my BSA CF2 in 7mm mag is a load weighs in at just over 10lbs , thats a stand gun along with the Lss both are heavy my model 700bdlss synthethic7mmmag comes in at just under 8 lbs thats my pet gun , like the farmer said who kissed the cow to each their own tastes

[skeet]

the beauty of a rifle is mostly in how it shoots. I have had a couple of Weatherby rifles. Supposed to be pretty things. I guess in the minds of many they are. One of the reasons they sold so well was pretty. Weatherby wasn't a fool. He was a GOOD marketer. He knew how to reel in the bucks. Were the rifles good. Just as in other rifles..some shot great..others not so great. The calibers were innovative for the time and created a market in and of themselves. Were the velocities as stated in the ads etc?...probably not any more so than the major manufacturers velocities. Now as to the 788. It is a functional rifle. Beautiful?? Not hardly..but the beauty in my eyes is in how they shoot. And almost every one I have had shot great. The one exception was easily fixed as it had a little bedding problem. But it was an 80 buck rifle. It was an embarrasment to Remington to have an 80 dollar rifle out performing the flagship 700 and in some cases the semi custom 40X target rifle they made. I had(have) some ties to Remington...shot with some of their reps and a couple of VP's of the company. When the cost to produce the rifle got up high enough that it wasn't profitable they dropped it...thankfully. The profit margin was wayyy higher with the 700. But the 788 was and still is a good rifle. Wish they still made 'em. Buy all you can find in every caliber. If ya find one in 44 mag...I have a magazine for it..30-30 too

[Larryjk]

Skeet, There is a fellow down here who is a 788 collector; not too serious but persistent. He has all but two of the calibers they were mad in. I will have to call him to find out which two calibers those were. When that is done I will pass the information along to you in the event you can help him with that quest.

[dakotah]

The machining costs were way to high. The cost to produce was about the same as a 700. Remington could not sell the 788 at the price of the 700 due to ugly. The often quoted Remington dropped it cause they were embarrassed was not quite correct. They dropped it cause of money. However, they probably were embarrassed cause it was supposed to be a cheap rifle, and it was except for the machining costs.

[skeet]

According to one of the former remington VP's.. at the end of production the cost to produce the 788 was approx 40 percent of the cost to produce the 700. The powers that be in the company knew they were competing against their own product. One or the other had to go. The profit margin was much higher on the 700 so they quit making the 788. When they started producing the 788 it was for a very good reason. Cost. It was so much cheaper to make the 788 it was thught to be a good money saving exercise. This was the era of the big cuts in production costs by Winchester in the middle to late 60's -early 70's....remember the post 64 M-70? Remington had started to make the 700 with pressed checkering etc. They were looking for cost cutting measures too. When they quit making the 788 the 700 was fancied up at the same time to make it more appealing. Wonder why? Sure money was a deciding factor...but it always is even if not the only factor. It is really true that they had made an ugly gun that was wayyy too good for their profit margin

[Larryjk]

The 788 wasn't the fanciest rifle around and that is why it sold for less. But its performance was not lacking. Never had one "yet" that lost the bolt handle but I will probably get one tomorrow. I got one in today in 6mm Rem that has a completely cratered extractor. They want it fixed because it is their good coyote rifle.
They wouldn't consider selling it. Darn

[skeet]

Can ya still find parts? Is the extractor the same one as the 700?? You work on guns?? Ain't it a great money maker? Oh...bet they want it back tomorrow

[Larryjk]

Skeet, Yah, I am getting rich. I hope I can make a 700 extractor work because I think I am out of original 788 extractor. I used to stock up on them. The same fellow also brought in for appraisal a Sako Finnbear in 270 (L61R action) NIB. I figure a grand. Another is a Southgate Weatherby 300 WBY in pristine condition, SN61xx. I'm not sure, $1500 plus. I used to have one, wish I was rich. A S&W Model 14 in very nice shape and three others I am scared to open the cases and see what they are. I would like to beat them out of the Weatherby but, dammit, I am poor but honest.

[skeet]

Teh model 14 I would ber interested in. Have a German Weatherby. Nasty kicking rifle. A friend has it in Alaska. I did buy a 224 weatherby from a lady back east. About like a 22-250 but with ammo that costs 3 times the price.

[dakotah]

Skeet

Your former VP probably wasn't working there in the 60's. I was. He has his facts wrong.

[skeet]

Whatever..he was there in the 70's 80;s and 90's. He was one of the ones who helped to make the decision to stop production of the 788. It was still a good shootin gun. The first one I had was given to me at the old Remington Farms complex in Md. It was the only one I wish I still had.... a 44 mag. For about 10 yrs we hosted the National Hunting and fishing Day at RF. It was really neat. I helped run the trap shooting field. Those kids rreally went through the shells(20 ga) and I got to keep alll the empties That was fun times and Remington really believed in spending money to advance the hunting and shooting sports. Those kids got to shoot 4 shells each at those clay targets but they could come back thjrough the line as many times as they wanted. And they did. We were busy shootin and cleanin those 1100's till we closed it down. A real shame that Dupont sold the Comapny. The Farm didn't go with the sale and Remington Farms was no more