Opinions on the Remington 783 ?

[Denigan]

I think you got a great deal. The 783 is a good entry rifle in my opinion.

I bought a Remington 770 in 3006 for $50. Had a scope and sling. The 770 is not half the rifle of the 783.

For $50, it was a good buy...

 

[Overkill338]

It's an odd thread pattern and the threads are "rough". I thought I was going to cross thread it when putting the barrel on but it turned out OK. That's why not a ton of pre-fits are made for them but Criterion (best price), Pac Nor and one or two other do offer pre-fits.

I picked up another 783 in '06 that's been sitting around for a long time. Was thinking I'd make something like a beater backcountry horse hunting rifle. Like I need another project!

I was explaining to my son, why it has the barrel nut. He now wants to rebarrel it to .338 Federal, and use a 20" the same profile as the SPS Tactical.

He is a tad-bit recoil shy. I've never gotten the chance to fire a 338 Fed, but it seems like recoil wouldn't be much different than a .308.
He has no experience behind a rifle, so I won't let him shoot my 300 WM. I don't want him developing a flinch for life. I think I will just get some surplus FMJ and let him put some hours behind it first. If it doesn't shoot well, then we can talk about a new barrel.

 

[Frog4aday]

I really like the .338 Federal, but you won't hear much about it on here as it isn't really an LRH-type round. Reload it with the 160grain Barnes TTSX and the recoil will be essentially like a stout .308 Win. If the barrel you put on the gun is heavier profile, the added weight should cut recoil a bit, too.

 

[B23]

I know the 783's have button rifled barrels, unlike the hammer forged barrels that come on the Rem 700, and from what I've been told, the 783 actually has a pretty decent barrel on them which would explain why they seem to shoot pretty well.

 

[Ross1147]

I bought a 783 in 308 a couple weeks ago to use as a donor action. It was my first barrel swap and it wasn't bad at all. Gun is a little rough, not sure how good the factory barrel shot, I took it off before sending a round down it.

If you do swap the barrel make sure you get the correct recoil lug alignment tool. I kept searching and Remington 700 tools kept popping up so I assumed they were the same. They are not the same and I had to modify the one I bought by drilling another hole in it and filing some of the edges off. I turned mine into a 6 Dasher. No feeding or extracting issues.

 

[Mike 338]

I was explaining to my son, why it has the barrel nut. He now wants to rebarrel it to .338 Federal, and use a 20" the same profile as the SPS Tactical.

He is a tad-bit recoil shy. I've never gotten the chance to fire a 338 Fed, but it seems like recoil wouldn't be much different than a .308.
He has no experience behind a rifle, so I won't let him shoot my 300 WM. I don't want him developing a flinch for life. I think I will just get some surplus FMJ and let him put some hours behind it first. If it doesn't shoot well, then we can talk about a new barrel.

Sounds like a good plan. The 308 is a great cartridge and it has plenty of steam for a fella who hasn't shot much and could benifit from a whole bunch of rounds downrange with plenty of successes and misses. That's how we end up knowing things. 338 Federal is said to be a great round. I haven't fired that one but shot plenty of 338 Marlin Express which is supposed to be about the same. Recoil is something like an '06. Back in the day, we all though the '06 was a cannon so I'm with you in that, he has his whole life to bang away with magnums. No need indoctrinate a young person to flinching right off. I bet the 783 will be just perfect for him. They actually have a fairly good trigger for a budget gun.

 

[RevJim]

Entry level to learn on, gain experience. HS Graduation gift....buy him a really nice rifle that he can shoot tiny groups with, kill big beasts and show off at camp! After he masters the .308, then help "him" use his money to buy a 338 Federal barrel and help "him" rebarrel it. Teach him, encourage him, and take him to the range/shootin a lot, right now...before girls and video games get his attention!

 

[villagelightsmith]

I think you got a great deal. The 783 is a good entry rifle in my opinion.

I bought a Remington 770 in 3006 for $50. Had a scope and sling. The 770 is not half the rifle of the 783.

For $50, it was a good buy...

 

[Dirtrax]

Those scopes have a short eye relief on them-- ok for lighter recoiling guns but not so nice on magnums.

Remington actually sells that scope with rings on their website for $75...non branded "made in China"

Remington also sells a scope base/ring 1pc combo mount (like a talley) that is quite a bit better than the 2 PC short rail sections and rings that come with it. I would only buy those if the rifle shoots well.

The issue with magazines was the feed lips/angle iirc, I never had any issues with feeding in the 7rm.

I'm not saying they are horrible guns, I'm just saying to shoot it-- if it shoots good then it's a keeper, if it doesnt- then get rid of it and try something else (that's the way I feel about entry level rifles)

I guess my opinion on entry rifles is they are just that- entry level. Some can be extremely accurate, others arent but I feel they arent worth spending $ or upgrades on of they dont shoot well right off the bat. If you are going to upgrade stocks, triggers, barrels, optics, mounts etc it is often better to start with a better known platform with lots of aftermarket support.

The thing I see about entry level rifles is that if they only shoot 2moa, then as the new shooter progresses and learns you now dont know if its shooter problems or rifle problems... if you have a rifle capable of 3/4moa but the shooter cant do better than 2moa, you know you still need to work on shooter skills.

I understand that this is a high falutin' LR shootin' site, but for crying out loud, I started out with plain Jane equipment and LEARNED how to shoot. So did my boy. I get a little bit tired of those professing that if it ain't "all that " throw it in the trash.
The rifle sounds like a great place to start to me.
I don't know if cohunt has kids, but I sincerely hope if you do your little snowflakes learn the value of building their skills rather than buying them.

 

[cohunt]

I understand that this is a high falutin' LR shootin' site, but for crying out loud, I started out with plain Jane equipment and LEARNED how to shoot. So did my boy. I get a little bit tired of those professing that if it ain't "all that " throw it in the trash.
The rifle sounds like a great place to start to me.
I don't know if cohunt has kids, but I sincerely hope if you do your little snowflakes learn the value of building their skills rather than buying them.

Maybe I didn't convey my thoughts through my posts correctly or maybe you read them in a different "tone"
I did not intent to appear "lofty", it's just my personal experiance with 1 rifle (a 7 rm 783) but personally I would not pay for another one, the op got one through a cheep trade so it may be worth it to him.
I do have kids, my daughter just recently started shooting larger centerfire bolt rifles and I did buy her an entry level rifle (less than $200 after rebate) to learn on--- I shot it first and it will hold 3/4 moa with cheep factory ammo so I know that the rifle wont hold her back as she learns. It builds confidence to know that a rifle is a capable shooter .

 

[Mike 338]

Maybe I didn't convey my thoughts through my posts correctly or maybe you read them in a different "tone"
I did not intent to appear "lofty", it's just my personal experiance with 1 rifle (a 7 rm 783) but personally I would not pay for another one, the op got one through a cheep trade so it may be worth it to him.
I do have kids, my daughter just recently started shooting larger centerfire bolt rifles and I did buy her an entry level rifle (less than $200 after rebate) to learn on--- I shot it first and it will hold 3/4 moa with cheep factory ammo so I know that the rifle wont hold her back as she learns. It builds confidence to know that a rifle is a capable shooter .

Ha ha, I didn't get any elitist vibe from your post. Personally, I've come to expect anything from Remington not to shoot well and if it does, I'm pleasantly surprised. The 783 in 308 that I got was predictably underwhelming. Remington seems to have absolutely no problem with making claims that far exceed reality. That said, I've never tried their 5R's. I did enjoy fixing up that little 783 in a host of upgraded parts much the same way a guy will take a rusty axe with a broken handle and fix it up. It was anything but cost effective though. Even a budget rifle off the shelf should shoot well and if it doesn't the shooter will lose interest in it.

I get where Dirtrax is coming from. I see these threads where a dude say's his daughter, 11 years old, wants a gun to hunt with Dad so he wants advice on building her a $5000 custom. Dude... just get her a Savage Axis with a pink stock. By 13 she'll discover boys and that custom rifle will find a corner of the house, never to be seen again. You can upgrade that little Savage later if she's still interested and I'll bet somebody else you know can make good use of that pink Savage.

 

[436]

Ha ha, I didn't get any elitist vibe from your post. Personally, I've come to expect anything from Remington not to shoot well and if it does, I'm pleasantly surprised. The 783 in 308 that I got was predictably underwhelming. Remington seems to have absolutely no problem with making claims that far exceed reality. That said, I've never tried their 5R's. I did enjoy fixing up that little 783 in a host of upgraded parts much the same way a guy will take a rusty axe with a broken handle and fix it up. It was anything but cost effective though. Even a budget rifle off the shelf should shoot well and if it doesn't the shooter will lose interest in it.

I get where Dirtrax is coming from. I see these threads where a dude say's his daughter, 11 years old, wants a gun to hunt with Dad so he wants advice on building her a $5000 custom. Dude... just get her a Savage Axis with a pink stock. By 13 she'll discover boys and that custom rifle will find a corner of the house, never to be seen again. You can upgrade that little Savage later if she's still interested and I'll bet somebody else you know can make good use of that pink Savage.

I agree the days of the budget guns from Remington shooting well are "long over", the last ones were rifles like the M721-720 ( I understand that the M700 replaced this model 721/722 in 1962 but some considered it a budget model as the M725 was around then)-M788-M770 and yes, even the M700 ADL and a few more based on Mauser actions. Anyway, Remington can make and they do make some good rifles, but at a price and like all rifles you can get a lemon, and some times just a lime needing a little work rather than a complete overhaul. I would add one caveat here; the 721 & 722 ( could be externally accurate, I actually liked building on them over the M700 model because they had the cut out for a stripper clip. As for the M788 another real sleeper, add a Sako extractor and new barrel and you have a real LR rifle for the money. Ok... just my .02

 

[Overkill338]

I agree the days of the budget guns from Remington shooting well are "long over", the last ones were rifles like the M721-720 ( I understand that the M700 replaced this model 721/722 in 1962 but some considered it a budget model as the M725 was around then)-M788-M770 and yes, even the M700 ADL and a few more based on Mauser actions. Anyway, Remington can make and they do make some good rifles, but at a price and like all rifles you can get a lemon, and some times just a lime needing a little work rather than a complete overhaul. I would add one caveat here; the 721 & 722 ( could be externally accurate, I actually liked building on them over the M700 model because they had the cut out for a stripper clip. As for the M788 another real sleeper, add a Sako extractor and new barrel and you have a real LR rifle for the money. Ok... just my .02

I had a Sendero that you needed a mallet to close the bolt on factory ammo. If someone can get a lemon, it will always be me.

 

[Dosh]

Was using the search for info on the 783. Just won the 783 Varmint in .308 from a raffle and was trying to decide whether I keep it or sell it. I've found some great reviews, hope they're accurate.