I have a chance to pick up a "hunted with" Model 88 in 243. The serial number dates it to 1957. The owner seems to feel the 243 is a rare caliber in the 88. I am not a collector. Although I see many more 88's in 308 the 243 is not in the 284/358 class for rare. So my question how many pre '64 M88's in 243 were produced? I know there is a site with this info I have just not been able to track it down. Thanks for any input! PS: I'm picking this up reguardless I love 88's....

An online source shows the following production figures:

.308 Win. Pre-'64: 74,556 Post '64: 35,733 Total: 110,289

.243 Win. Pre-'64: 38,561 Post '64: 35,733 Total: 74,294

These totals don't include the carbine models made 1968-'73

This is a rather late response and you've probably bought the rifle already but perhaps you might still find the information useful.

I like the model 88 myself. When I was a kid in the early 1960s the model 88 was the choice of the locals most enthusiastic about hunting. I recall a friend of my dad's who had two, in .243 and .308, and being amazed at the concept of owning more than one hunting rifle.

Currently I have just one but it is a good one, a post-'64 in .284, very accurate and reliable. Unlike the models 70 and 94 the post-'64 88s were at least as good as the pre-'64s, in fact some say there were minor mechanical improvements. The acorn-leaf basket stamping of the post-'64s is no thing of great beauty but the checkering on pre-'64 models was pretty bad in the last two or three years of production.

I love my 1956 edition '88 in .308 and can only imagine that one in .243 would be just as great.