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Remington 788 in 22/250 cal.

I bought a new 788 Remington 22-250 and loved it from the beginning. I noticed right off it had a medium weigh barrel that measured 11/16" at the muzzle. I had several friends with 788's in different calibers from mine. The .243 Winchester, .222 Remington and .222 Remington Magnum. Theirs all measured 1/2" at the muzzle. I paid $78.00 for it new in 1968.
I experimented a lot with numerous hand loads for several years at 100 & 200 yards. Everything shot well in it. Based on what I was told about the 22-250, 1 inch groups were considered fairly good at that time. The worst groups I ever shot were with the 70 grain Speer which never went over an inch. I assumed it was because the 1-14 twist was not optimum for a 70 grain bullet. 90% of my shooting was at targets.
My best load was with 55 grain Sierra's & 35.7 grains 4064. Five shots outside to outside at 100 yards. Most other loads would shoot 1/2" - 3/4" at 100 yards. Sierra's were my favorite bullets to shoot, but I had good luck with Hornady also. At 200 yards with nearly everything I shot, would shoot smaller minute of angle groups than at 100 yards. All of my brass was head stamped Herter's .250 Savage, but was actually 22-250. I bought 40 boxes of this stuff at an excellent price and never regretted it. I always wanted to get a quality custom barrel put on it, but when I was younger I could never afford it.
I refinished the stock and stained it with a walnut stain which greatly improved the appearance. I also put a magnum Pachmyer recoil pad on it, but only for looks. Of all the guns I own, this one was my favorite. I always wonder how much better it would shoot with a premium barrel on it.
As a machinist, I could make most anything I wanted for my guns. All of my brass was sized, trimmed to length and all flash holes were reamed to the same size. They were then weighed and put in groups that varied no more than 1/10 grain in each box. I attribute these extra steps to the phenomenal accuracy I was getting. All 5-shot groups were shot with a minute between shots. The barrels & action were bedded with Brownell's fiberglass.Maybe I'll soon fit it with a SS barrel which should significantly increase the life of the barrel. The improved 22-250 sounds tempting along with a 1-10 or 1-12 twist.

If anyone out there has any experience with the 22-250 improved and an appropriate twist for 60 -63 grain bullets, please give me the benefit of your experiences.

Spence
 
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I bought a new 788 Remington 22-250 and loved it from the beginning. I noticed right off it had a medium weigh barrel that measured 11/16" at the muzzle. I had several friends with 788's in different calibers from mine. The .243 Winchester, .222 Remington and .222 Remington Magnum. Theirs all measured 1/2" at the muzzle. I paid $78.00 for it new in 1968.
I experimented a lot with numerous hand loads for several years at 100 & 200 yards. Everything shot well in it. Based on what I was told about the 22-250, 1 inch groups were considered fairly good at that time. The worst groups I ever shot were with the 70 grain Speer which never went over an inch. I assumed it was because the 1-14 twist was not optimum for a 70 grain bullet. 90% of my shooting was at targets.
My best load was with 55 grain Sierra's & 35.7 grains 4064. Five shots outside to outside at 100 yards. Most other loads would shoot 1/2" - 3/4" at 100 yards. Sierra's were my favorite bullets to shoot, but I had good luck with Hornady also. At 200 yards with nearly everything I shot, would shoot smaller minute of angle groups than at 100 yards. All of my brass was head stamped Herter's .250 Savage, but was actually 22-250. I bought 40 boxes of this stuff at an excellent price and never regretted it. I always wanted to get a quality custom barrel put on it, but when I was younger I could never afford it.
I refinished the stock and stained it with a walnut stain which greatly improved the appearance. I also put a magnum Pachmyer recoil pad on it, but only for looks. Of all the guns I own, this one was my favorite. I always wonder how much better it would shoot with a premium barrel on it.
As a machinist, I could make most anything I wanted for my guns. All of my brass was sized, trimmed to length and all flash holes were reamed to the same size. They were then weighed and put in groups that varied no more than 1/10 grain in each box. I attribute these extra steps to the phenomenal accuracy I was getting. All 5-shot groups were shot with a minute between shots. The barrels & action were bedded with Brownell's fiberglass.Maybe I'll soon fit it with a SS barrel which should significantly increase the life of the barrel. The improved 22-250 sounds tempting along with a 1-10 or 1-12 twist.

If anyone out there has any experience with the 22-250 improved and an appropriate twist for 60 - 63 grain bullets, please give me the benefit of your experiences.

Spence
 
You're correct about that 7mm/08, it was available in the 788. I had to look it up to be sure. I first thought you were referring to the 280 Remington, which was also called the 7mm/06.
I was pretty certain the 788 action was too short for the 7mm/06 cartridge and I was right. I didn't know there was a 7mm based on the .308 Winchester, so my first thought was wrong. Since the 788 was designed with a short action, anything from the .308 or shorter was possible.
I also considered at one time a 6mm Remington improved, but I've always been recoil sensitive and after shooting my friend's 243 Winchester, I decided to think about that a lot more.
I've read a number of people on the Internet mention that after about 1500 rounds in the 788, the accuracy started to drop off. If that's true, then mine probably will be suffering the same problem in the near future. I'd then look into purchasing a quality stainless steel barrel. Stainless steel should resist barrel erosion better since it melts at a higher temperature.
Shooting at a slower pace allowing the barrel to cool a minute or so between shots should also slow down erosion.

It's a shame Remington stopped producing the 788. Maybe there wasn't enough money to be made from it. It was perfect for me though, since it allowed me to afford my first centerfire rifle. I just never expected it to shoot as accurate as it did.

Spencer
 
I think remington quit making them due to they hurt 700 sales. My dad bought a 308 with a scope not sure what it was for $99.00 in 1971. I think the 700's at that time was around $150.00. The 788's shot well and hell you could even have a scope for 50 bucks less. At that time $50.00 wasen't pocket change it was probably a car payment. My dad now has alshimer ( however spelled ) i have the gun and will never part with it, means so much to me is only deer rifle that he took me hunting with before i was old enough for license. What was surprising the range of calibers offered in this gun. Someone correct me but didn't they even offer it in a 30-30 also? I know of 223, 243, 22-250, and 308 was there any others?
Mike

Mike,

According to Wikipedia the 788 was available in 9 different calibers (cartridges?).

222 Remington
.223 Remington
.22-250 Remington
.243 Winchester
6mm Remington
7mm-08 Remington
.308 Winchester
.30-30 Winchester
.44 Remington Magnum

I could understand the manufacture of all but the .44 Remington Magnum in the 788. Other than short range deer hunting, what else would someone want it for? I've never shot more than a few groundhogs or crows (which were legal when I bought mine), I never considered myself a real hunter. I never had stalking skills required for most game. I never even get closer than 100 yards to squirrels.
 
My father's 788 22-250 was passed down to me after his passing. It was given to me with a box of Remington core lokt's from the 1970's and a box of 50 hand loads labeled 40 gr ballistic tip w/38.0 varget. I will never shoot these due to the sentimental value.

I put an after market Timney trigger on it and Nikon 3x9 scope. The gun shoots lights out to 500 yds with 55 gr Remington high performance ammo. There is no telling how many rounds have been shot through this gun and it still shoots less than 1" with cheap factory ammo.

My youngest son killed a nice sow this summer with it at about 60 yds. It was DRT
 

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