Remington 788 Carbine in 7mm08 or Savage Axis/edge

Go used midlevel, if you look a little harder you might find a nice Remington 700, or Howa M-1500, maybe a Tikka if you look hard enough.

I'd buy the Remington.

The 788 is a sweet shootin' rifle. I have a 308 carbine version and its killed alot of whitetails. That's a good price even if it didn't have a scope.

788

I have a 788 carbine in 7mm-08 in my safe right now, belongs to my friend. She's put 3 elk in the freezer with it 3 years straight! I've heard that they have some issues, but it sure has a lot more character than an Edge.. If the bore & the mechanicals are good, I'd say the 788.

Although the 7mm-08 is not my flavor I can say that if you can get it for that price buy it immediately before the owner changes his mind.
It's worth much more than the asking price cause they simply did not produce that many of them in that caliber or carbine configuration.

Remington.

788.
700 action on a poor man's stock = awsome gun. I love my lefty in .308.

I've heard you shouldn't load the 788 too hot since the lugs are at the rear of the bolt (in the back of the action), just food for thought. Factory loads should be GTG.

Go with the 788! I've got one in .223, the most accurate rifle I own, bar none!! Like was mentioned earlier, stay with fac. ammo.

heeler, no they quit making them when they started making the 700 series, no more to be made.

788, they are way better looking than the edge and that one is worth more than the asking price.

Those are in 18 inch barrel s , right ? Wonder what velocity they go at the muzzle end.

Why ?

If your saving for a AK hunt. And need a rifle I would not limit my choices to a new budget 7MM/08.
I really like the 7mm-08, but if you have to low ball everything for this hunt look at used guns. You will find many more choices in common 308, 7MM Mag, 30/06, 270.
Factor in the cost of ammo. Common stuff cost much less.
Only you will know the differance when you pull the trigger. The meat will taste the same.

littlelefty said:

788.
700 action on a poor man's stock = awsome gun. I love my lefty in .308.

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I agree that the 788 is an awesome gun, but it has a completely different action than a 700. The only thing they have in common is "Remington" stamped on the side.

I lean towards the Remmy with the weaver scope. Those package deal scopes are usually pretty crappy. My only concern on the Remmy is it is used so check the crown real close for abuse

Ham,you have your facts wrong.
The 700 Remington was produced from 1962 to present.
The 788's production started in 1967 thru about 1980-81.
The carbine version was produced in 1980 at the end of the 788's day.
In the carbine version it was offered in .308,243,and not so many 7mm-08 as that cartridge was making it's onstage debut.
I suspect since the barrels on the carbine version is the same length(18.5") as the 600 Mohawk,which ceased production in 1979,I would not be surprised if Remington just used up the remaining 600 barrels by making a carbine version of the 788.
No doubt about it the 788's are renown for their accuracy.

I would buy that 788 in a heartbeat.

I would buy that 788 in a heartbeat

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. as would I....wouldn't even consider the savage a fair comparison!!

I go along with the vote for the 788. I own a Savage Edge in 7-08 and am not happy with it at all. The reason they quit making the 788 is it proved to be too much competition for the 700. Every 788 I have owned over the years proved to be very accurate. I had to work at making the Edge shoot the way I thought that it should.

The 788 was ahead of its time in how well it fit a market segment price point, and how well it performed. It does have some issues with a safety that is not very positive in detent and can be brush OFF inadvertantly. The bolt handle can also break off if the action is roughly cycled.

The 788 is the way to go but I will say that 7mm-08 ammo is kind of pricey unless you reload

Had a 788 for 35 years and has been one heck of a rifle. Kinda a ungly but will out shoot most other rifles costing way more money.

I still have a 788 in 308. About the only bad thing I've heard is that the bolt handle is brazed onto the bolt body and will break if you use hot handloads then use a hammer to get the bolt open. Used 788 bolts are scarce!
A few observations:
You can improve the trigger by drilling & tapping the trigger housing for a couple of set screws (sear engagement and overtravel.)
The magazine does tend to dig into your back when you're slinging the rifle.
Some people are turned off by the wobble when working the bolt.
You can still get molded synthetic Ramline NOS stocks too.

Grab the 788 and move on. Put a good 2X7 on it, and shoot, shoot, shoot. 7mm-08 will kill 90% of all we hunt with one shot, has great ballistics, and fairly mild recoil.

Wonderful, wonderful rifle the 788.