I picked up an old 722 in 300 Savage that had very rough stock at a gun show. I added an ebony tip and cap and give it an oil finish and a red decelerator and checkered it. Tell me what you think. I plan on having it engraved and reblued soon. Constructive critisism welcome.

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Tell me what you think.

Those old Remingtons are worth the sprucing up....and it looks good! They were good shooters and fine utilitarian pieces.....

I spruced up mine but it's a 721 in .300 H&H....Again....a fine shooter and worthy of any hunt!

I think that is some pretty fine looking checkering but I never did think much of the bottom metal on those older Remingtons.

You can always use the bottom metal from a short action Mod 700. I found a used set many years ago and used it on my 721. Only had to shorten the original magazine box a bit.

Jerry Liles

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Originally posted by Jerry Liles:
You can always use the bottom metal from a short action Mod 700. I found a used set many years ago and used it on my 721. Only had to shorten the original magazine box a bit.

Jerry Liles

That's what I would do.

Very nice - always amazing what a bit of TLC can accomplish...

First off I will say that is one of the nicest 722s I have seen.

But since you said:

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Originally posted by Shawn Massey:
Constructive critisism welcome.

I will say, to my eye the for end looks a bit long. I would like to see how it might look about and inch and a half shorter. Also, I think it might look better a but more rounded in the tip.

I like the checkering, but I would not have had it curve around the rear of the trigguard. Straight up to the point might have been better.

That scope just look "right" on your rifle. I love the scope and the red recoil pad.

Very nice.

I really like your 722, and will tell an interesting story about another one.

Back in the '60s when I was at Trinidad, the smithing students annually held a gong shoot out at the Izaak Walton League range upstream of the dam above the town. We had a steel gong at the 300-yd mark, it was somewhere between 8" and 12" diameter but I don't remember exactly. Standard gong shoot protocol, one shot each round and missers drop out but hitters get to shoot again, continue until only one shooter hits the gong.

To make a long story short, we eventually had to move back to about the 400-yd mark since 2 shooters kept on hitting the gong repeatedly. Finally, after about a dozen shots, the shooter (Rick Shay) of the pre-64 M70 220 Swift varminter with the 10X Weaver and Canjar single-set trigger failed to hit the gong. Tension was high as the only other remaining shooter (Pete Grisel) took his place behind the rolled-up sleeping bag being used as a rest. He calmly settled down behind his rifle, he fired the shot, he rang the gong, he won the match and he IMPRESSED THE HELL OUTA the rest of us!

Pete's rifle, that he shot to beat that much-vaunted M70 Swift varminter and all the rest of the rifles fired that day, was a factory 722 Remington in 243 Winchester with a 3X Weaver scope in Weaver mounts. Later, Pete let me look down the bore and it was so worn that it looked like a muddy road....

Those Remingtons sure do shoot!

Your rifle shows great workmanship and the only constructive criticism I can offer is a suggestion to examine some of Dale Goens' patterns as shown in Monte Kennedy's Checkering book, he shows several pleasing treatments of the borders around and behind the PG.
Regards, Joe

Thanks for all the compliments and advice! I shaped the fore arm tip to sorta look like a vintage english big game rifle. Also the chekering was just from the top of my head at the time, no pattern, just laid it out on one side and copied it on the other!

This was my first time to do a forend tip and the first time to use a power tool for the checkering. I recently purchased the checkering tool from Buckmountain Rifleworks in the classified a couple of weeks ago.

Looks like a Ruger#1 pattern to me, which BTW I find very appealing.

Terry

Excellent work Shawn. That forearm is too long by 2 or 3". It must be 12 or 13" long.

That is the original stock and I cut the tip off and added the same amount back with ebony. I know the English guns were shorter but I didn't think of that until later. I'll just have to do another one! I would like to do a 721 in 300H&H to match!

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I would like to do a 721 in 300H&H to match!

Mine is the longest stock in the rack.....except for the Mannlicher!!!

I did the same thing....maintained the original forend length....

If I was doing it again, I'd shorten it a couple inches......and the barrel too!!!

I am currently working on a stock for a mauser built .264 mag and also converting a Winchester model 12 from field stocks to deluxe. The model 12 is the beavertail design with grooved forend and I am taking the grooves off and checkering the stock and forearm to the deluxe pattern. I will post pics when I finish.

There is nothing more satisfying than a project that comes out like you planned it to!

I forgot to mention, that I am going to try Duane's method of Daly's and Alkenet root. So far it is really looking good!

I have been really inspired the last year or so by guy's like Duane and some of you others that so unselfishly share your work and offer advice and even picture tutorials of how to do it!

Forend length is OK by me.

My 2cents:

I think it looks perfect right now with the slightly worn metal (although I am somewhat odd in that I actually prefer the look of worn guns to nice shiney new-looking ones).