788 Rem

[Minihuntur]

A friend of mine has a Remington Model 788 in .222 Rem with a Weaver KT4 scope on it. When I asked him how accurate it was all he said was," Very accurate." Who owns one and how accurate is it? What are they worth these days?
Minihuntur

[Classicvette63]

I have one in .22-250. It shoots better than I do and I ain't no slouch. Seriously, the 788 is one heck of a gun. Might not be the prettiest rifle around but it is an all time underated classic.

Don't have my blue book handy so I can't give you a price.

[Minihuntur]

Boy, that was specific . What groups do you get with it.
Minihuntur

[skeet]

Have had quite a few from 222 to 308. All were very accurate. One of the reasons that Rem discontinued it was it was embarrassing to them to have a 100 buck rifle that was more accurate than their 700 rifle. It does have a few probs though. The bolts are known to break off and mags can be a bit harder to find..but all in all a good rifle. My 222 will shoot under an inch any time and it's a pretty good coyote rifle. If it is really nice 250 to 300 bucks US

[PJgunner]

I never shot one cuz I thought they were just too butt ugly, and as they say, "Life's too short to hunt with an ungly gun."
Seriously though, the comment about the bolt has a lot of truth to it. When I lived in Nevada and was apprenticing to a gunsmith, we made a lot of money rebrazing those bolt handles back on after idiots shot too way hot loads in them and had to pound on the handle to open the bolt. Seems like most of the offenders were in the varmint caliber as I recall. Hunting coyotes was real popluar and the 788s would reach out and touch them. Part of the reason for their great accuracy was thet had an extremely short lock time.
Paul B.

[Classicvette63]

Mini, 1" groups in a 788 should be common. If you reload, I suspect you can do a lot better.

Never having worked up the best load for my .22-250 yet, I can still get groups in the 1/2"- 3/4" range with no problem.

[razmuz]

I had 308 L/H and it was super accurate. But, you folks are right, it had no altruistic appeal. Get rid of it quick, it will give you a Wall Mart complex.

[dakotah]

The real reason Remington stopped selling the 788 was it cost as much to build as the 700 -- machining costs were too high. People wouldn't pay the same price.

[skeet]

Saw one in 223 Saturday at the auction..was a bit rough..bore was ok had a cheap scope on it. Darn thing went for over 500 bucks. Sheesh..people are crazy at auctions..except me!

[dakotah]

I was at a gun show this week end. Most of the 788's there were 308 or 243. A very nice ??????? one was on the table $450. A scratched up one was on the table for $550. Neither sold over the weekend.

[gorilla10]

My father bought me my 788 back in 1968, I believe it was the year after it came out. It's a 22-250 and it seems to just keep shooting better and better! I just got it back from having the trigger lightened up. I can't wait to get out and shoot it now. that gun put a lot of woodchuck stew on the table, actually catchitori! On a calm day i've put quite a few chucks to sleep out to 400yds. Most of the shooting was done with factory ammo too. If a coyote stops long enough to get of a shot they're in trouble!

[Boarhunter]

I have one in 22-250 I bought about 5 years back on GA. Last time I brought her out with the local shooting club she got 1.25" groups @ 300 yards with Hornady 60 grainers, 2.50" with Core-lokt 55 grainers. As they said earlier, action by Remington, gunstock by Ugly Stick... while on the subject, anyone got an extra clip they want to sell?

-BH

[dakotah]

I have seen those magazines for sale in a recent gun show. They were on the tables for $60 to $80 each.

[Boarhunter]

So they do exist........

[skeet]

Are a bit hard to find. I pick them up occassionally but most I sell on ebay. Have a few at the present but not sure of the cals..except i know one is for 222 and a 22-250 one//May have a 243 but really don't remember. I do have one for 44 mag though...big bucks for certain. No it's not for sale yet!