Remington 788, in 6mm Remington rebarrel. General questions.

[Xerothermic]

Sorry but, I NEVER liked, the Rear locking Lug's for "Support" NOR, the POOR accuracy from, My 788, in 6 Rem.
Sold it years ago and I Only buy, L-H, Rem 700's or Tikka factory Rifles, Today !
And YES, the 6 XC is the "Easy Button" for, Feeding and, great LR, accuracy with,.. GOOD Barrel Life.
But, I'm opinionated and,.. "Spoiled" !
I'd be, a selling that, 788 in, a New York, Minute to.., a close range, Deer "hunter"

My 6mm 788 is a lefty and shoots really well for two shots. At 100.

 

[Idaho-Lefty]

The 6 XC "Easy Button" = Tubb Version One, chamber, 1-7.5, 1-8 or, 1-9 Twist ( bullet dependent for, free bore & twist ), Norma Brass and, Forster Dies.
My Rem 700, SS "Lefty" W/ 24" Criterion bbl, puts 5 shots, into One Hole, in the 2's and 3's with, 107 gr. SMK's

 

[Knotwild]

I had one as a young man. 22-250. I didn't care for the rear locking lugs. I sold it and I never missed it.

 

[Tommie]

Sorry but, I NEVER liked, the Rear locking Lug's for "Support" NOR, the POOR accuracy from, My 788, in 6 Rem.
Sold it years ago and I Only buy, L-H, Rem 700's or Tikka factory Rifles, Today !
And YES, the 6 XC is the "Easy Button" for, Feeding and, great LR, accuracy with,.. GOOD Barrel Life.
But, I'm opinionated and,.. "Spoiled" !
I'd be, a selling that, 788 in, a New York, Minute to.., a close range, Deer "hunter"

Someone’s gotta do a video just reading Idaho’s posts as written.

 

[Idaho-Lefty]

Someone’s gotta do a video just reading Idaho’s posts as written.

You'll be old too,. someday !

 

[TaperPin]

Sorry but, I NEVER liked, the Rear locking Lug's for "Support" NOR, the POOR accuracy from, My 788, in 6 Rem.
Sold it years ago and I Only buy, L-H, Rem 700's or Tikka factory Rifles, Today !
And YES, the 6 XC is the "Easy Button" for, Feeding and, great LR, accuracy with,.. GOOD Barrel Life.
But, I'm opinionated and,.. "Spoiled" !
I'd be, a selling that, 788 in, a New York, Minute to.., a close range, Deer "hunter"

I will gladly buy any and all 788’s for scrap price from anyone who doesn’t like how they shoot.

The few I’ve been around shot every bit as good as a 700. Nowadays they have even kept their value better than a 700.

 

[Plumsask]

Sorry but, I NEVER liked, the Rear locking Lug's for "Support" NOR, the POOR accuracy from, My 788, in 6 Rem.
Sold it years ago and I Only buy, L-H, Rem 700's or Tikka factory Rifles, Today !
And YES, the 6 XC is the "Easy Button" for, Feeding and, great LR, accuracy with,.. GOOD Barrel Life.
But, I'm opinionated and,.. "Spoiled" !
I'd be, a selling that, 788 in, a New York, Minute to.., a close range, Deer

I'm not doubting your experience, I just find it odd. I own two 788's in 6mm Rem, both shoot very well. It seems most people viewed the 788's as a economical and accurate alternative to the 700's back in the day. Mine still run the factory barrels Nd don't see much action anymore since I built a 6 AI.

 

[bguinn]

FYI - Pac Nor does NOT make ready to screw on barrels for Remington's 788 - ask them. They will tell you they can't (nor can anyone) guarantee that since the remington tolerances are not that uniform. Since they don't use a barrel nut like a Savage it's not a simple swap. And you'll need a barrel vise and headspace gauges to properly remove and fit a barrel, and you may still need some lathe work if your particular gun is too far from nominal.

I have personally rebarreled 4 788s. They are accurate guns albeit more crude than a 700. The triggers are not too good, Timney makes one that is better, and the actions are not smooth. A common plaint is the bolt compresses under firing since its a rear lug action, causing cases to stretch which means more frequent full length resizing, trimming, and shorter case life overall. I guess due to nestalgia, and now rarity, 788 command a good price so I suggest you ask yourself if its worth rebarreling. A new rifle can be bought for what you'll most likely spend on a rebarreling job all in. Your choice of course.

 

[Xerothermic]

FYI - Pac Nor does NOT make ready to screw on barrels for Remington's 788 - ask them. They will tell you they can't (nor can anyone) guarantee that since the remington tolerances are not that uniform. Since they don't use a barrel nut like a Savage it's not a simple swap. And you'll need a barrel vise and headspace gauges to properly remove and fit a barrel, and you may still need some lathe work if your particular gun is too far from nominal.

I have personally rebarreled 4 788s. They are accurate guns albeit more crude than a 700. The triggers are not too good, Timney makes one that is better, and the actions are not smooth. A common plaint is the bolt compresses under firing since its a rear lug action, causing cases to stretch which means more frequent full length resizing, trimming, and shorter case life overall. I guess due to nestalgia, and now rarity, 788 command a good price so I suggest you ask yourself if its worth rebarreling. A new rifle can be bought for what you'll most likely spend on a rebarreling job all in. Your choice of course.

I don't know what to tell you, other than PAC-NOR responded to me on 12/14 that they do a pre-fits for a Remington 788. The responders were Kathy or Jay (info@pac-nor.com) in response to my query. I assume they would know what services they provide.

Lee

 

[Markman]

Per PacNor description of their prefit barrels “the threads are left short for proper fitting to your action. Lathe work maybe required.

 

[AlNyhus]

Per PacNor description of their prefit barrels “the threads are left short for proper fitting to your action. Lathe work maybe required.

Exactly correct.

The glut of nutted Savage style barrels for many different receivers has derailed what the barrel industry for decades termed a 'pre fit'. Shilen sold them, Douglas sold them....and many others.

I would encourage the O.P. to send his action to PacNor and have them fit and chamber a new barrel to it. They do very good work, have reasonable turn around times and their barrels are extremely good. A 6BR Norma chamber with a no turn (.273-.274) neck and a free bore and twist appropriate for the bullets to be used would be like hitting the Easy Button.

Good shootin' -Al

 

[Xerothermic]

Exactly correct.

The glut of nutted Savage style barrels for many different receivers has derailed what the barrel industry for decades termed a 'pre fit'. Shilen sold them, Douglas sold them....and many others.

I would encourage the O.P. to send his action to PacNor and have them fit and chamber a new barrel to it. They do very good work, have reasonable turn around times and their barrels are extremely good. A 6BR Norma chamber with a no turn (.273-.274) neck and a free bore and twist appropriate for the bullets to be used would be like hitting the Easy Button.

Good shootin' -Al

Thank you for the post. I knew 788 P-N's would require a fitting, somewhat like a shouldered barrel I guess. P-N called it a pre-fit, not me, because I haven't a clue and that's why I ask questions.

Beguinn made a valid point about is rebarreling worth the cost vs. selling and maybe buying a LH Tikka or the like. I can't honestly answer that question. Still thinking on it. There is a LH, replicated wood stock sitting in front of me that was butchered by the person doing the final inletting. It was saved by a local smith who made it functional.
They both cost me money. I'm hanging on, by my finger-tips to this rabbit hole. Whomever said ignorance is bliss couldn't have been more wrong.

I really like this 788. It's old like me and still functional.

 

[snert]

Thank you for the post. I knew 788 P-N's would require a fitting, somewhat like a shouldered barrel I guess. P-N called it a pre-fit, not me, because I haven't a clue and that's why I ask questions.

Beguinn made a valid point about is rebarreling worth the cost vs. selling and maybe buying a LH Tikka or the like. I can't honestly answer that question. Still thinking on it. There is a LH, replicated wood stock sitting in front of me that was butchered by the person doing the final inletting. It was saved by a local smith who made it functional.
They both cost me money. I'm hanging on, by my finger-tips to this rabbit hole. Whomever said ignorance is bliss couldn't have been more wrong.

I really like this 788. It's old like me and still functional.

When you give up, send it my way. I am all about lost causes.

 

[AlNyhus]

I really like this 788. It's old like me and still functional.

It would be an odd 788 that couldn't be made to shoot honest 1/2"-5/8" groups with the factory barrel...provided the barrel was in decent shape. The exception would be those chambered in 44Magnum.

The factory barrels are .650 at the muzzle and have a stiffer taper than a 700 Magnum Sporter contour. The recievers are stiff and the recoil lug is fully .312 thick. With a well done stress free pillar bedding job and a good scope mounting job and a good scope, you should be good to go. I'd sure suggest that approach before rebarreling.

There's a factory 788 on my work bench getting pillar bedded right now.

Good shootin' -Al