Fast14riot
Gold $$ Contributor
I'll try, after the photobucket thing I'm going to have to download a lot of my gun photos.
Remington 788 fans: Step out of the shadows
- Thread starter Tommie
- Start date
I'll try, after the photobucket thing I'm going to have to download a lot of my gun photos.
Fast14riot
Gold $$ Contributor
Here's the stock when I refinished it several years ago. There is a good debate in the remington rimfire circles about these stocks. Remington listed them just as "American hardwood" which meant whatever they could get cheap. It's not walnut, it's not birch, I have a birch stock for this gun too, and I have owned many walnut stocks as well.
Imagine my surprise when I stripped that ugly tinted varnish they used and saw this wood! Gun and stock are dated 8/'71
I bought one when I was 18yrs old. It cost a whopping $88.00 + Tax... It was in 6mm Rem.. I was not handloading quite yet. There was "Browning" ammo back then and it shot 80gr soft-points very well. I used them for woodchuck hunting. The bedding was so bad that when you sighted-in in the morning, by the afternoon's warm sun, it swelled the stock and put pressure on the barrel. You had to re-sight it in! LOL!!! There was NO MONEY in my budget for getting a 'smith to glass bed and free-float it. I understood the value of good optics and the scope I put on there was more than the rifle. It was a Bushnell Scopechief (top of the line Bushnell) 3-9. Ultra clear and never broke! That is one rifle, in a string of rifles, I wish I never got rid of! Excellent rifle, especially for the light dollars invested!
These are two pictures of my 788 6mm and my 581, both have custom walnut stocks and both wear 4-12x Bushnell 3200 Elite Scopes.
bobm
Silver $$ Contributor
Here is a pair of early 70's rifles in .222 and 7-08. Weaver T 16X on the .222, older Leupold 12X on the 7-08.
Confused by the early 7-08? Well, it was a .308 with 5000 rounds on the odometer. I (me) fitted it ten years ago with a new Remington 700 factory takeoff 24" blue 7-08 barrel. It has a Timney trigger with a stainless shoe I also made. Both are tack drivers. Many PD's expired prematurely by the .222
Confused by the early 7-08? Well, it was a .308 with 5000 rounds on the odometer. I (me) fitted it ten years ago with a new Remington 700 factory takeoff 24" blue 7-08 barrel. It has a Timney trigger with a stainless shoe I also made. Both are tack drivers. Many PD's expired prematurely by the .222
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My Dad bought me one(22-250) in 1974 when I was a sophomore. When I left home it sat in his closet for 30 yrs, before he passed he had me clear the house of all the guns he had.
At his funeral I met a young boy who had befriended my Dad, he recited something at the service. I had the barrel reblued, refinished the stock, thank God no checkering, put a nice Leupold scope on it and gave to the kid.
Gun could not have had 200 rds down it, and I had found a couple boxes of circa 1975 Federal 55gr soft points, red and white box with the red plastic holders. It still shot 32 yrs later.
Felt good doing so.
At his funeral I met a young boy who had befriended my Dad, he recited something at the service. I had the barrel reblued, refinished the stock, thank God no checkering, put a nice Leupold scope on it and gave to the kid.
Gun could not have had 200 rds down it, and I had found a couple boxes of circa 1975 Federal 55gr soft points, red and white box with the red plastic holders. It still shot 32 yrs later.
Felt good doing so.
I have 4 ,two are 30 30 ,7 08 and one a 222 mag I rechambered
Riesel
Gold $$ Contributor
Did some work on a fella's 788 that he was going to give to his son, chambered in .243. Bedded and floated the barrel and parkerized (what he wanted) the whole thing. Did a slight bit of lug lapping and reworked the factory trigger. Took it out for a test drive and didn't really want to give it back to him, an honest three shot half inch shooter. Sooooooooooooooooooo.........I find me one on gunbroker at a reasonable price in .308. Rebarreled with a Shilen to .243 9 twist added a Timney trigger and did all the other rituals on it. Shoots like a laser and loves the 100 grain Hornady Round Nose.
Missed being a 6.5 Creed by a whisker
. You will not be able to pry it out of my hands.
Missed being a 6.5 Creed by a whisker
. You will not be able to pry it out of my hands.snert
Silver $$ Contributor
I ran into a 222 at a gun shop. While looking it over I opened and closed the bolt. The trigger let go. I pointed it out to the GS owner (gun on consignment) and offered $100 less. Likely could have been fixed with aftermarket trigger or even a dose of lighter fluid.
Backfired. He called the consigner who decided not to sell for liability reasons, despite my bonafides. That dumb stick called Remington who blew smoke in his butt, told him to return it (ya, this was about 5 years ago) They gave him a coupon for something off one of those gawd awful 780 whatisits they were selling back then. I still get cramps when I think of it. Probably in the truck of a Remington worker now.
Backfired. He called the consigner who decided not to sell for liability reasons, despite my bonafides. That dumb stick called Remington who blew smoke in his butt, told him to return it (ya, this was about 5 years ago) They gave him a coupon for something off one of those gawd awful 780 whatisits they were selling back then. I still get cramps when I think of it. Probably in the truck of a Remington worker now.
bobm
Silver $$ Contributor
Oh yeah, plenty case stretching with my 7-08 with normal loads. Best max case life I can get is about seven reloads with most any new brass. It is not the lugs per se, it is bolt compression. A few thousandths of unrestricted rearward movement of the bolt body.
I got a little better case life when it was a .308
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After 14 reloads; I stopped counting... Yup, brass life in 222 must be shortened...
The friend who turned me on to 788's is a leftie. Remington gave left-handers a rare treat with that LBRP configuration.
Fast14riot
Gold $$ Contributor
Thanks, yeah it's a good looking gun! They were never intentially produced in mahogany, and there are no records of such, as it was only "American Hardwood" but all the examples I have seen have been late '71 and into '72, at least a couple dozen.
Trying to find one will be difficult, here is what they look like with the factory tinted varnish...
This gun was my first real rifle about 25 years ago. I also jewelled the bolt. I cut the gloss back on the stock to match the metal work a bit better, and it is a hunting gun so best not to try and keep it high gloss.
The one I had was the reddish color, when I refinished it and sanded it down, no longer that color phase, I think it was stain and not actual mahogany. Speaking from being an amateur woodworker and messing around with a lot of hardwoods.
The first few years of 788 production came with walnut stocks. Both my 30-30's are walnut.
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