Remington 799 mini mauser

[SmokinJoe]

Anyone have experiences you'd like to share regarding these rifles? Looks like it would be a great poor man's Sako. Are they accurate? Are the triggers any good, or are there good replacement triggers available? Inquiring minds wanta know!

 

[sdneil]

I KNOW I would spend my money elswhere. Neil

 

[CJ6]

Any thing that aplies to an Interarms MK X or Charles Daly also aplies to the Rem 798-799 family good or bad

 

[1000yardstare]

Don`t see the 798/799 rifles on the Remington web site or in their 2009 catalogue. Looks like they are discontinued. Believe they were made in Serbia or some such place.

 

[placek59]

I have a 799 in .222 and I really like it. I bought in on sale at Cabela's last year for 329 or so. I also put a cheap cabela's 3x9 scope on it and it shoots right around 1 moa with the factory ammo I bought. I haven't worked up a reload for it yet so not sure if that could be improved. With that being said, I wouldn't pay 500+ for it like they are asking on gunbroker, but for 350 or so I think they are pretty good. The trigger is not very good and I haven't really found an aftermarket for it, if I remember right I got it adjusted down to about 3.5 lbs. I use it as a 'walking varminter' as it is really light and handles good. As everyone else has said they are the same as the Interarms, CD, etc... and are made by Zastava in Serbia.

 

[Laurie]

I would prefer a Czech CZ to the Serbian Zastava (which is what these Remys are/were - but stocked in the USA I believe) any day, but don't know how the Cz527 mini-Mauser compares to the Remy price-wise on your side of the Atlantic.

Since our Remington importer is also our (very longstanding) Brno-which-became-CZ importer, we never saw any 798/799 rifles here - not too surprising I suppose! We have seen the occasional Zastava make it here over the years and people weren't too impressed.

Laurie,
York, England

 

[shootsanything]

I looked at this, the Charles Dailey and the CZ. I spent the extra money and bought the CZ and have never regretted it for a moment. 1/4MOA, doesn't copper to bad and P-dogs at 600 yards.

 

[SmokinJoe]

Thanks for the replies. I have a 799 in 22 Hornet coming, so I'll eventually comment on my experience with it. My goal was to get a 22 Hornet with front locking lugs that could be loaded single shot, and it sounded like the 799 would fit that description pretty well. I think the CZ is probably a better rifle, but since it is a controlled feed setup, I wasn't sure about single loading it (seems like the best handloads are way longer than magazine length). Any comments on this issue would be appreciated also.

 

[Laurie]

I've had experience of three or four Cz527s over the years in .222, .223, and 7.62X39mm. All of these would single-load happily - the Mauser type extractor claw slips into the case groove with only a little extra pressure on the bolt.

Laurie

 

[rifleman700]

The determining factor will be the barrel and or trigger. The receivers are excellent and with a little gunsmithing can be even better. The Mausers are probably the most copied receiver around. Look at the M70, pure mauser. And the 798/799 are new manufacture. Don't let their age fool you.

 

[cliffy]

As I recall, Remington 798 had a mauser design bolt, but the 799 did NOT! The 799 was more Remington 700 in bolt design. Serbia probably makes high-quality products, but to me Remington is an American-Made company, albeit BOUGHT-OUT by a Corporation of unbeknowst-to-me origin. Hopefully, still a Corporation on Earth. Since Japan will soon own America, it may be all academic in logic. Cliffy

 

[SmokinJoe]

Thanks, Cliffy, for jogging my memory. I need to add a little to this thread. The 799 is a little rough as far as fit goes, but finish is pretty good. Even with the lawyer trigger, I was able to shoot some 3/4 moa groups, and the barrel borescoped pretty well. Almost looked lightly lapped and machine work was smoothe. I did end up buying a CZ527 American also, and it had been shot quite a bit, I think. The action was as slick as owl grease and it single loads easily. When I scoped the barrel (before shooting it), I was disappointed to find light pitting almost throughout, but it looked as though it had been lightly lapped over, still don't understand what I saw there, never seen anything like that before. However, it shoots like a house afire, close to 1/4 moa with the same handload used in the 799 (at 50 yds). Didn't seem to want to copper, either. Very surprising little rifle.
Since then a guy in our gun club was looking for a light weight walk-around rifle for a friend, and thought the 799 might be just the ticket. I let him take it out & try it and they both liked it pretty well, except for the trigger. I had an evening coming up that I wasn't going to be busy, so I had my friend bring the rifle back so I could work on the trigger, if possible. Took the rifle apart and found that it is semi glass bedded at the front lug & barrel is floated, or it's supposed to be floated. Trigger is very similar to a Sako with a couple of extra adjustments. I was able to get most all the creep out and cut the pull weight about in half. Banged the bolt around a bit to try & make sure it was still safe & it seemed OK. Took it back to my friend Saturday, and he tried it & smiled, so I think we have a winner there.
In conclusion, I would say that the 799 is an OK little rifle, but there is no doubt that the CZ is considerably superior, and since they single load OK, that is where I would spend my money in the future. BTW, James Calhoun has selected the CZ527 to build semi custom varmint rifles in his .19 calibers & others, so I think he has looked around and decided that the CZ is the best value out there, too. Hope this helps someone in their rifle purchase decision.

PS - There is a Calhoun version in 204 Ruger on GunBroker right now & when I last looked, it was at a bargain price.

 

[cliffy]

Wow Joe, you really knocked the knail on its head regarding Model 799 Rems, not made in America. Similar to, but not prezactly a model 700 Rem in many ways! Thanks for your keen insight . . . Cliffy