Attached is a link concerning the Model 788 Remington. It discusses both the good and the bad of the 788 design. For a prospective buyer, it’s worth reading to become familiar with the rifle design if you're not already a loyal follower. Some of what he has to say I can buy from personal experience and the experience of others I have known.
In the past 15-20 years the 788 has taken on almost a cult following and some go for rather hefty prices in comparison to what they sold new for. They generally exhibit great accuracy, but they do posses some flaws for someone who shoots a rifle a great deal.
My first ever purchased varmint/predator rifle was a 788 Remington in 22-250. I bought it as part of a rifle/4X scope package for $119. It was what I cut my teeth on in reloading and varmint/predator hunting. I shot it a great deal, and over several years it developed the headspace issue mentioned in the link which is sometimes associated with .473" bolt face 788's. The load I shot in it was not a particularly hot load for the day and ran along the mid range in reloading manuals. Since that time I have owned numerous other bolt rifles in 22-250 and I have never experienced a similar problem.
Based on my experience and the experience of others, I feel that the 788 makes a great rifle for someone who is more of a hunter than a shooter, ie. the rifle gets carried a lot more than it gets shot. For a .473" bolt face cartridge, head space issues may be a problem with a well used rifle due to the rear bolt lock up. In the small bolt face cartridges, the 788 will probably not ever have a problem, especially in 222 Remington caliber.
To show the cult following part of the 788, about a year ago I went into a local gun shop that caters to the para-military crowd and found a used 788 in 6MM Rem complete with magazine for sale for $325. It looked in good shape and obviously had not been fired a great deal, so I plunked down my money. Almost as an afterthought while doing the paper work, the shop owner mentioned there was an extra magazines for the rifle and pulled out a still in the wrapper 6MM Rem mag that was part of the deal. It still had an original price sticker of $7.95 on the packaging.
I never shot it, and several months later I took the entire package to a large gun show and was quite popular when folks heard it was a 6MM. I sold the rifle alone for a good profit and then took the magazine still in the original wrapper to a magazine vendor at the show and he quickly tossed out $110 for the spare magazine which is very rare in 6MM caliber. He did not have the 6MM magazine about three months later.
So, I guess the moral of my story is that the 788 is a good rifle with a few flaws, but there are folks who see them as something worth plunking really good money down on. For myself, I would not own one with a .473” bolt face, if I planned to shoot it a great deal, based on my experience. Others will have varying opinions, I’m sure.
Also, I doubt I will ever see a deal again like the one I got on the 6MM 788. I still go into the shop regularly looking at his assault type weapons, but he hasn't had any 788's since then. For the record, as we were completing the deal, I told the gun shop owner that the extra magazine was alone worth a good chunk of the price he had on the rifle. He told me he traded for the rifle and extra magazine on terms that he and the previous owner were both happy with, he wanted to get it moved, and he wished me good luck on selling it all if I did. As a side note, I've received some decent deals on a few para-military type rifles I've bought from him, but never a deal like that one. Probably if the rifle had been in a gun shop more geared toward hunting rifles, it might have been a whole ‘nuther story. - BCB
http://www.charm.net/~kmarsh/788.html
