Black Friday: Remington 783, is it worth it?

[Racingjoe27]

I found a black friday deal on a Rem 783 and I'm wondering if anyone thinks they're worth it? Could they be made in to anything worthwhile?

It is a bridged action and therefore could be stiffer however, it has a large opening in the bottom for the detachable mag. There is quite a bit of aftermarket support for the 783 now too. PT&G has bolts, bolt heads, bottom metal, and scope rails and there are a few places offering stocks, basically everything you would change if you were doing say a 700 action. Only thing I haven't seen for the 783 yet is triggers.

If you were to upgrade/modify both, is the 783 a lesser action than a 700?

 

[Ggmac]

I've been doing 4 of these for testing . I'm very impressed . They are Reggie but more important 3 of the 4 were amazingly true , I mean they are bore center , threads , firing pin centr , rec face all are better than I've seen even in some custom actions .
They have an articulated , replaceable bolt head , guide on bolt head , 90 deg sear , cocking piece , very, very short FP fall ,easy bolt lift .
Same barrel threads as small Savage , Sav barrel nut .
Only down side so far is the bolt handle , it's non replaceable . Your stuck where Remington installed it , 2 had good , near great timing , extraction 2 receivers were acceptable .
The one action that needed to be trued is in the process of being converted to left feed right port eject . A throw thru .
In my opinion the 783 will be a savage contender IF remington makes the parts available . Dave Kiff has bolt heads listed .

 

[MOTORSPORTS55]

I bought two of these guns last year one for my son for Christmas in A 308 and one for myself . I just got them out this year before season to shoot them and I was very impressed with the accuracy using factory ammo . One gun had all three shots touching 100 yards. The main reason I bought these guns were for the clip system but overall I'm impressed with both guns for the price of under 300 dollars.

They were more guns and I expected for the price.

 

[jdh47]

They have a plastic trigger group. The rear tang is plastic. The front action screw is screwed into the barrel.

They are made to a price point to compete with the Ruger American and Savage Axis. I put a muzzle brake on a 783 300 WM and was not overly impressed with the engineering but that is just my opinion. For a cheap rifle the Marlin XS is a little more familiar to me at least.

Joe

 

[Racingjoe27]

I've been doing 4 of these for testing . I'm very impressed . They are Reggie but more important 3 of the 4 were amazingly true , I mean they are bore center , threads , firing pin centr , rec face all are better than I've seen even in some custom actions .
They have an articulated , replaceable bolt head , guide on bolt head , 90 deg sear , cocking piece , very, very short FP fall ,easy bolt lift .
Same barrel threads as small Savage , Sav barrel nut .
Only down side so far is the bolt handle , it's non replaceable . Your stuck where Remington installed it , 2 had good , near great timing , extraction 2 receivers were acceptable .
The one action that needed to be trued is in the process of being converted to left feed right port eject . A throw thru .
In my opinion the 783 will be a savage contender IF remington makes the parts available . Dave Kiff has bolt heads listed .

How was the truing process? As far as I can tell it would be no different than most others. Did you need to go to an oversize bolt?

I'd most likely get a .308 but doubt I'd shoot it with the stock barrel for long. Maybe just enough to get a baseline. I have a couple calibers I would like to play with and thought this could be an easy way to do it (even if I didn't use a barrel nut).

Would any of you compete with one?

 

[carlsbad]

I just bought the 700 ADL combo for $400 ish after rebate. (plus tax and my umteenth CA background check). I think that is a better deal for a donor action. --Jerry

 

[Ggmac]

Jdh47 I think your thinking of the 710 or 770 . The 783 is all steel , trig is alum housing , MIM parts inside .
I checked trueness using normal tools , lathe , mill , granite surface , barrel stub tool , and a few old Last Word Starrets .
I just ( today ) finished the milling on the one action that needed it's face squared , making it a left feed right eject . We had a short power outage while milling , messed up a rougher and did something to the motor . Need tocheck that out Friday . I hope the motor just needs a cap start relay .

 

[Ggmac]

Racing joe , yes I would compete with one , not as issued , but the receiver is much better than the old 700 . Just my opinion , based on years of actual working on the 700.
783 = more rigid
783= articulated , replaceable bolt head
783= 90 deg sear
783 = barrel nut
783= cocking angle , shorter FP fall
Easier bolt lift
783= easier extractor replacement , probably never needed but if you want to you can
Oh one more thing , the factory plastic stock has contoured aluminum pillars . They fit the rec contour nicely . But the stock still is plastic .
The throw thru is being chambered in 30 Bench Rest

 

[Ggmac]

Carlsbad , the sale price for these 783 is $240 out the door . The choice of Savage prefit barrels , not that I'd be using one , and the 4 shot det mag makes this a better choice in my book . Especially with all the FP issues , trig issues , bolt timing , primary extr issues with the current 700 .
Again just my opinion .

 

[Ggmac]

The receiver and tang are all one piece , steel . The front receiver screw is secured in the receiver , not barrel .
The bolt has no need to be larger , with a 90 degree sear and articulated bolt head it does not get pushed up inthe rear when cocked, like the angled sear on the 700 .
When Borden bumps were used , or a larger bolt body , it was to reduce the amount the bolt would be raised in the raceway , unloading the top lug when cocked .
Just my opinion while typing and having the 783 in my other non pecking hand .

 

[jdh47]

Sorry I could be wrong but I thought it was a 783. It was sort of a nightmare of a rifle. The rear screw was just screwed into a brass sleeve pressed into the plastic stock. If the 783 is better good on it.

Joe

 

[Racingjoe27]

Ggmac, you certainly are making some compelling points. Just curious, did you find them for $240 before the mail-in-rebate? I found them for 235 after MIR.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

 

[Ggmac]

Racing joe , it was at gander mtn 229 after $40 rebate .

 

[Riesel]

I'm on board. I looked a 783 short action over at Academy and plan to build a 6.5 creedmoor on this action.. I will most likely do away with the barrel nut and use a shoulder. The action looks and feels plenty stout and runs smoothly. I think it will make a real nice custom hunting rifle capable of one MOA and will probably put a Boyds stock on it. Just need someone to run a sale on this as I already have my Remington 40.00 rebate. 300.00 less 40.00. sell old stock and barrel 60.00, net action price 200.00. I believe it to be a worthwhile project.

 

[Ggmac]

Yes , I just finished my left load right eject conversion . I will be shooting it tomorrow to fire form some 30 br brass . It will be a 30 br with a 6.5 Lapua , easy change . I have a Boyd's stock on it and ordered another last thurs. it's already shipped and is due next thurs . They had the black pro varmint on sale for $75 , I couldn't pass it up .
Good luck on your project .
Gander had the non scoped on sale for $269 , $229 after the rebate .
Gary

 

[Riesel]

An update on the 783 with a 6.5 Creedmoor barrel. Using a Green Mountain barrel blank, a Boyds Stock and a reworked trigger, this rifle is a shooter. .4 or less MOA five shot groups using 123 grain A-Max and a good dose of IMR 4064 powder. If I do my part, it will do 3 shot groups less than 2" at 500 yards. Everything about the action is very smooth and was able to take the trigger down to a safe 20 ounces. Not benchrest caliber, but a real nice hunting rig. If you're building custom hunting rifles this is worth a look.

 

[Ggmac]

I've been working on these often . A left load right eject in 6 BR is smooth and accurate . Still a little confused as to remingtons marketing on these ?
Are they discounted because they are stopping production or wanting to compete with Savage . I know there original release was a low cost rifle to go head to head with Savage , but now they ( rem ) don't advertise or push the 783 ?

 

[Willoughby]

is there long and short actions , or are they all long actions on the 783 ?

 

[RockyMtnMan]

Does the 783 use the traditional 700/Savage recoil lug?

 

[Ggmac]

Yes , recoil lug and nut .
Both , long and short actions .