I am happy with the factory bolt handle and so far it has held up, but would it be worth it to have someone TIG it on while there are no problems, or should I leave well enough alone?

Leave it alone. I owned a few 788s from when the first one came out in the mid 70s; never had a handle come off and I bent some of them back. It probably is not used for DG.

They are copper brazed in place.
Two versions, the old style with a 5/8" bolt plug thread and the new style with a 9/16" bolt plug thread.
The old style is more prone to breakage, thus the change to the smaler thread to increase the strength

If you have one that has the factory bent back handle ( very last ones ) that is always the new style bolt plug threads.

Most of the calibers we have seen over the years with broken handles are the 22-250, people reloading it like a 220 Swift, then the 243, 6mm and some 308's. Funny part is I have never seen a broken handle on a 222 or 223, but have seen my share of blown bolt heads.

The action can take the higher pressure BUT the bolt handle joint can not take the leverage needed to get a case out from a rough, or rusty chamber or over pressure load. Also NEVER HIT the bolt handle with anything harder than your hand. Seems a sharp rap with a hammer will break them very fast.

I have several 788 rifles that I got from my father and I shoot a lot of cast bullets thru the 30-30, and 308's.
Stay to factory ammo or mid range reloads and they will serve you well.

JW

I agree. Keep it clean. Virtually 100% of 788's we get in with broke handles or stuck cases are due to neglect and/or lack of maintenance. Now 700's are a different issue. Almost 70% are due to rough machined chambers. The rest to neglect or hot handloads. The last stuck bolt we had was a .25-06 that had a .308 fired in it. But we fixed it!

Curious as to just what happens when you fire a 308 in a 25-06. Rather than try it myself, just tell me.

I had a customer bring me a M-77 Ruger that was chambered in 25-06 that he had fired a 308 round in. Stock was splintered. Bottom metal blown part way out. Bolt would not open of course. Extractor retaining ring was sticking straight up from the loading port. I had to pull the barrel to get the bolt to let go. There was a piece of the brass cartridge head wedged under the bolt stop.
I told him to box it up, send it to Ruger with a letter telling the truth about what happened.
He did so and Ruger replaced his rifle a factory cost. The rifle had been re-barreled by a well respected barrel maker. Ruger had no problem with that as the barrel was not the problem.
I always wanted to find that 150 Gr. Ballistic Tip after it went through that 257 bore. I wonder how long it was?
Sure removed any doubt I may have ever had about the strength of a Ruger action being as they are investment cast.

I have a lot of removed damaged 788 bolt heads yet, I just keep them in a butter tub, if anyone one wants to see pics of what they look like.
My father and I worked out a system where we could remove the damaged bolt head and replace it.

Also still have a few pics of the last two broken 788 bolt handles I had to repair.

Sorry I am not able to post but if someone wants the pics just drop me a PM.

JW

Rem 788 bolt handles are induction Silver Brazed w/cadmium alloy.

The only copper brazed Rem handles that I've witnessed were 40X rimfire bolt handles of which are 1/8" pinned to the bolt body for location purposes.

quote:

Originally posted by J Wisner:
I have a lot of removed damaged 788 bolt heads yet, I just keep them in a butter tub, if anyone one wants to see pics of what they look like.
My father and I worked out a system where we could remove the damaged bolt head and replace it.

Also still have a few pics of the last two broken 788 bolt handles I had to repair.

Sorry I am not able to post but if someone wants the pics just drop me a PM.

JW

Jim,

I don't know if you remember it but about 10-15 years ago you repaired my left handed 788's bolt handle when it broke and took part of the wall of the bolt with it. You had a hell of a time fixing it but it still works, although it hasn't been shot much since then.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Curious as to just what happens when you fire a 308 in a 25-06. Rather than try it myself, just tell me.

We hammered the bolt open with a rawhide mallet. Case head had separated. A rounded wedge point mandrel was fabricated and driven between the broken case edge and the chamber to loosen the case. The case head was flowed into the boltface and had to be pried out. Fortunately it still bore the .308 headstamp for proof. Ejector had to be drilled out. Extractor was trashed. Fortunately the boltface had not expanded or was damaged. We replaced the extractor and ejector/spring and brought the gun back to function. It still sits in the shop 12 months later because the owner won't pay for the repairs. Such is the plight of the gunsmith.

Thanks to all.

It is 222, I am not a +MAX+ load person, so I will leave well enough alone

Bobster
Sounds like repair costs must be approaching the guns value.

Clean the bolt root and make sure you see an even line of brazing metal around the joint with no gaps. Usually those are good to go. The most important thing to monitor is the condition of the chamber. Keep it clean and oiled. 90% of the broken bolts we repair are due to hammering the bolt open from firing factory rounds in a rusty chamber. You can keep your chamber polished by wrapping 00 steel wool around an old bore brush and spin it in the chamber with an electric drill motor. Just attach the brush to a section of cleaning rod. Blow out the residue and oil.

Before I retired when I got a 788 in with a stuck bolt, instead of trying to get the bolt open I would pull the barrel. Then it was easy to remove the stuck cartridge . No stress or damage on the bolt handle end.