So, the 788 bolt handle is famous for "falling" off.
Would I be better ff finding somone to TIG it on now before it falls off, or wait and see if I get ham fisted with the gun and break it off?

LouisB

I like the 788 and I have never heard of the bolt handle falling off. Of course I have been wrong a couple of times before! derf

Been using a 788 for over twenty years. No parts have fallen off yet.

I keep hearing about this, and I have to say, the only Remington I have ever had the bolt come off on was a 700. I probably own 20 differant Remingtons, and that's going back 30 years, so FWIW - Dan

the handles are still on mine and if anyone is rougher on their gear than I am, they ought to be arrested.

I have two 788s bought new in 1973. One was my dad's. He did manage to knock the bolt handle off of his while trying to extract a hot load.
Remington fixed it in short order but that was back in the early 80s.

Two of the most accurate guns I own.

Brought home a lot of whitetails

My brother has one that the same thing happened to. And "Yes" they are known to have the bolt handle fall off. Because of the way it's attached it's almost impossible to weld. There is one company that fixes them. They bought all the Remington parts. It's $150.

I posted this under the Remington 788 post but I'll rehash some of the information. Remington used a soft solder on the 788 bolts and they have been a number of broken bolts over the years including mine. LeeRoy Wisner at www.gunpartsspecialist.com repairs these for $65 with a 90,000 Lb solder without heating the bolt lugs excessively. He also has on his website that he will be maufacturing new replacement bolts that are better than original equipment sometime this year. He repaired mine (1974 model) and did a beautiful job with a quick turnaround, including a headspace check.