Actually, the 788 was a wonderful mistake. It embarrased Rem because it outshot their premium actions out of the box and its trigger had faster lock time. They might be homely looking, but in their heart they are a LION!
I have a 788 243 Win that the bolt handle has broken off of; do you know of anyone repairing them professionally; it's already been brazed once. Or do you know of any precision machine shops making new one piece 788 bolts to eliminate that weakness?
Having built many rifles on the 788 action, I feel i know the strong points and the weak points so I will share what I know about the 788 Remington.
First a little history.
The 788 was designed to be an economical rifle to compete with other manufactures cheaper offerings. It was never intended/designed for a long action cartridge. Materials are the same and machine cost are greatly reduced because the requirements of the bolt abutments and the lack of broach cuts to control alignment of the bolt recoil lugs are eliminated, this design not only added action strength, it also added weight. Also they don't have a bolt recess that is really not necessary unless a cartridge is overloaded and spews gas out where it should not come from. (It is a nice safety feature for those occasions where pressure exceeded the cartridge case strength)
The reason they were removed from there action line was simple, they were hurting the 700 sales,
the same reason they removed the 721 and 722 models. And went with a standard short action and a standard long action. the manufacturing could concentrate on one design and one trigger design. this saves cost and improves production.
The recoil lugs location was also a design requirement because an interrupted thread is much more precision to machine it is also much less expensive saving cost of manufacturing. (The original goal), The strength issue is non existent. If this design is good enough for Weatherby Mark 5's , big artillery and navel guns, it is certainly strong enough for any rifle cartridge. they also allow a 60o bolt lift that makes them fast and gives a lot of clearance for scope and mounts
Another design advantage of the 788 was a center feed removable magazine. something we all seem to gravitate to now days. Having a straight bolt bore and bolt, tolerances can be closer.
The heavy bolt lift is a case of higher pressure and a more aggressive came angle that makes it harder to break the round lose (extract). A simple change to correct this is to add a tactical bolt knob to effectively improve the maniacal advantage of the bolt. Only 1/2 '' to 3/4'' longer seams to correct this negative. the only other negative I have encountered was the flat firing pin, and Remington remedied that soon after they came out with the 788.
There will always be lots of opinions about different actions, but most of this is based on hearsay
not actual experience. If they are not any good, why does a used one run anywhere from $500.00 to $900.00 dollars. Just because an action is designed for cheaper manufacturing cost, doesn't make it a weak or cheep action/rifle.
Like everything else, it is a great design if used the way it was designed.
J E CUSTOM
You mentioned that it's a longer (Med) action? Maybe a 6.5 PRC or a 6.5-284 w/Hart bbl and a Boyds stock.Ive had a remington 788 ( longer action in 308) sitting in the safe for years now and i keep going through the rounds of tuning it up to hunt with. My real question is would to be worth getting a mcmillan and a stainless proof or comparable type barrel to change it to a 7mm-08 for a little light weight rig? Or would it best to just go with a wood boyds and a shillen as a cheaper tune up as just a truck gun to shoot the occasional coyote? Thoughts?
Yes, JE Custom was a wealth of knowledge, and with the forum archive he still is, in a way.I sure do miss J E Custom's posts. A wealth of information and gracious demeanor.
I sure do miss J E Custom's posts. A wealth of information and gracious demeanor.