I am looking for pictures and descriptions of your 788s in what ever caliber you have that you use for varmint hunting. I know some of you (vapodog I think) have put new heavy barrels on theirs but I was curious as to any other modifications anyone may have done to theirs.

I have two of them both in .222 rem and one is a tack driver while the other wasn't. Surprisingly the tack driver had a rather interesting history of being pawned to my Grandfather decades ago and then being forgotten. In that time it was not hunted with, mostly stored in a closet in the basement, and even spent a summer laying outside from what I have been told. The other was purchased by me a couple years ago hoping for a repeat in performance, NOPE!

My Grandfather's (mine now) has only had a Ramline synthetic stock put on it. The one I purchased has had more than half it's worth put in to it with adding a timney trigger, boyd laminate stock, and having the the stock glass and pillar bedded. Right now I am Duracoating it myself in flat black and trying to finish the stock with just Formby's Tung oil. We'll see how it turns out before I see if I want try it again. I haven't taken the purchased one out yet to see if it shoots better. We'll see after I have the stock finished.

I bought mine new back when they first came out. A .223 Remington it is surprising accurate, sub-MOA. I modified the factory stock by routing out the forend, epoxying in an aluminum channel and filling it with Devcon Liquid Aluminum. The action was glass bedded and the barrel free floated. A Timney Trigger was added, a steel butt plate and one piece scope mount. I toyed with the idea of sending it to Greg Tannel at www.gretanrifles.com and having a new barrel installed, but the value of the rifle isn't worth the expense. Instead, I just shoot it occasionally when the mood to go retro strikes me. That little 788 is one nifty rifle, I think I paid around $160.00 for it new.

My brother in law had one in a 22-250 with a cheap 3x9 scope on it due to the fact that was all he could afford at the time.

He would shoot that rifle with one load he developed and that's all the rifles he had.

Very deadly and that thing was indeed a shooter.

I ended up with a 1967, first year run .22-250 that had a clean action and rusted barrel and and bottom metal (Like seriously rusted). The stock had no scratches or dings but the varnish was cracked to hell and more yellow than the snow around a fire-plug in a dog park, YUCK!
It sat around for a long time and one day in a fit of boredom I decided to refinish the stock. Imagine my surprise when I found a pretty decent piece of Walnut under all that cracked and yellowed varnish . I called Remington and finally got to a guy that said that a few of the real early ones actually used Walnut but not for long.
At that point I had what I considered a pretty decent looking Walnut stock and an action that was actually real clean (the barrel felt like a round bastard file!).
The wheels started spinning and having long been a fan I always had a hankering to really throw the kitchen sink at a 788 and see what it'd do so I set to er. Also I should add I had a "LARGE" number of 60 to 70 grain 6MM projectiles collecting dust on the shelf from a 1 in 14 twist 6MM BR 40XBR I had re-barreled into something entirely different.
Long story short I ordered a 1 in 12 twist Kreiger barrel finished to 26 inches and had it and the rifle shipped to my favorite gun-smith that lives in Rifle Colorado and had him turn loose on it! Single pointed the action, double sleeved and bushed the bolt, redid the trigger etc. etc. He chambered it for a tight necked 6X47Lapua with zero free-bore. It allows me to fit the 6X47 Lapua ammo into the .22-250 magazine and still touch the lands, feeds flawlessly. 65 grain V-Max's chrono 3,700ish FPS without leaning on it at all.
Here it is at the range during load development.
Right side.



Left side.



A couple of 5 shot 100 yard groups from the two working loads I initially settled on.



No, they ain't all that good but enough of em are to keep it interesting and if it puts 5 in over the low to mid .4's it's on me. Anyone thinks a full house 788 can't shoot with the best of em is a lot better shot than I am. That's probably most of ya but it is indeed a shooter!
Now before someone points it out I'll say it first. I now have about 15 times more $$$ tied up in that critter than it cost brand new but what the heck, ya can't take it with ya!

P.S.
Here's a closeup of that refinished stock, sure never expected that under all that cracked, yellow Varnish.



(I added a Pachmayer Decelerator for a little extra stock length). Sorry to get all carried away, it was just one a those "Gee I love it when a plan comes together" moments! It do mess up a rockchuck!

P.P.S.S.
John you musta been typing while I was or I overlooked your post, Greg did this one .

Hello there Doug.

Good to see you post here.

Always enjoy when you do.

Don't be a stranger!

Best

GWB

quote:

Originally posted by montdoug:
Single pointed the action, double sleeved and bushed the bolt

That is one fine looking 788, but could you elaborate if you can on what I quoted. I'm just not familiar with them.

I will try to get my own .222 posted tomorrow. I have duracoated the barreled action and have finished the stock. I do still need to install sling swivel studs and a recoil pad. I am thinking I will let a pro do them though.

Like yours, .222 Rem, Timney trigger, Boyd's blue/black laminated thumbhole stock, original barrel. Has been a great shooter since I bought it new at a Coast to Coast store in Iowa around 1979 for $180.

Go to this link and look up those terms, Greg Tannel is a fantastic smith and he can explain all the technical terms far better than I.

Gre'Tan Rifles

Go to "Services", then "Shop Services"click on "Action Work" then click on "Blueprint Action" or "Bolt Work" etc etc.
There are a lot of places to start and stop in accurizing any rifle, I did the full enchilada on this one and as I stated it probably didn't make a lot of sense financially but this rifle shoots with anything I have regardless of price. A guy has to just decide how far he wants to take it, the stock-work I did myself. The Pillar Bedding Greg did.

quote:

imagine my surprise when I found a pretty decent piece of Walnut under all that cracked and yellowed varnish

That stock certainly looks like walnut, but I thought that all of the Rem 788's used birch. Is the stock a replacement, or am I mistaken about the factory 788 stocks?

MontDoug

Says he called Rem and they said the very first 788's had walnut stock.

Hal

That's right Hal. The 788's first year of production was 1967 and unless done in a special production run for some company or another later I was told, it was the only year they produced the .22-250 as a standard chambering (which surprised me also).
I too thought all 788 stocks were made from basic "tree", that was why when I saw that stick naked I made the phone calls and did some research. My understanding is that by the end of 67 they were already using basic tree. Plus which 1967 was a real significant time in my life as I was a young man in the Corps at the time and a heck of a long way from home. The fact that rifle was made in that year probably had a lot to do with why I stepped up to the pump on it $$$, made no sense but it is what it is.

I was in a shop today that had a good looking one with a walnut stock and a sporter factory barrel in 22.250...

Howdy seafire. That stock there I just removed all the finish and sanded smooth. Then I did 7 or 8 coats of hand rubbed Tru-Oil, end of story. I have another 788 in .22-250 that I bought in about 1970 used but like new. It's on it's 3rd barrel now, used up the factory barrel, then a McGowan and it currently has a Weisman on it. This is gonna sound like hot air but that rifle musta had near 30,000 rounds through it by now and it still shoots half inch-ish groups, course I never loaded that rear locker hot. I refinished it's stock years ago and it "is" basic tree, beech I think. I wish I had all the money back that that rifle earned me shooting fur back in the 70's fur boom. On it I lapped the lugs ("BIG" PITA with 9 rear locking lugs) and bedded it. Neat old guns.

I killed several woodchucks with mine when I was 16-17 years old. It was in 243Win with a used Weaker K6 scope. I shot them off an uncles roof in Clarence, NY at ranges from 50-500 yards. The time frame was 1975-76. Good rifles and mine was box stock. Sold it to finish paying for my flying lessons.