A 788 in .222 was the first centerfire I ever used with any regularity. It belonged to my uncle who was more like a brother to me...we would hunt the alfalfa fields on the farms downriver from El Paso. At first, we'd just shoot jackrabbits with .22 semiautos using the headlights. Then we started using a cheap handheld spotlight. Then a much better spotlight when halogen incandescents came out, and we found that our rimfires were outclassed by the spotlights...so in came some .22 centerfires. We would hunt alfalfa fields, the mesquite dunes up out of the valley, and even the local airport runway (we knew the guy who ran it). I shot the 788 and my uncle would shoot 700s in .22-250 or .220 Swift. Anything we could see, we could hit. We killed thousands of jackrabbits over a few years time and I loved that 788, but he up and sold it. That was before I could afford to buy a lot, but when I finally could afford stuff a 788 in .222 was on my shopping list, and I bought the first nice one I found. Now that I think about it, mine is the oldest resident centerfire rifle in my safe.

I understand your outlook but once I get them, they never leave unless I give one to somebody like a grandkid.

My safe has a 222, 243, 30-30, 30-06, an ancient winchester yellow boy, several rimfires, a couple of foreign something or another’s, some shoguns, and pistols.

Then there is a whole bunch of silver rolls and Whitman folders from coin collecting that I started as a teenager. I’m now 80. Oughta sell this stuff with silver at 17 times face since I don’t need the coins but also don’t need the money.

A big stack of folders with paperwork and family heirloom letters and ancestor pictures of various kinds. A stack of letters (VMail) from my dad to my mom when he was fighting in WW2 in Europe and Africa.

Also our wills.

No room for more guns or more junk. A hoarder? Yeah, I guess so.

I had a record of my dad singing to my mom, but it got too degraded to make it out and/or transfer it to something digital. 'Real shame. He was in the south Pacific (WWII). They'd set up little booths, like phone booths, and you could pay to cut a record. Funny how facing possible death everyday tends to make you a little more romantic.

If you still have that, you may be able to restore it digitally. They can do all kinds of crazy things with software and processors these days. It may be expensive but I'm sure that you'd be willing to shell out a considerable sum to have that back.

Thanks, I'll ask my son-in-law. He had it and was gonna try, but gave up. They've moved several times since, so who knows.

My first varmint rifle was a 222 built on a Mohawk action and had a 24” Shilen barrel. I used that gun for everything. Killed a whitetail and mule deer with it back in the 80’s. I was a deputy at Van Horn and it road many miles. Traded it off many years ago, just never shot it anymore. Had my Swifts and 223’ s that I would grab instead. Been wanting another the past few years and have fixed that itch.

My 1st deuce

There's a good chance you know people who I know (or knew).

Very likely, spent 8 years out that way

Shot this mule deer out of Van Horn/Sierra Blanca. Going into to town to eat Mexican food to celebrate. we got stopped by Border Patrol for bypassing their check point. Good Times for several years while hunting that great part of Texas. Was that you Revoman?

For all you 788 shooters, Is your bolt hard to close ? I have one in 22-250, The bolt is what I would call a little north of firm,'
Extraction is easy. I need to have it checked with go/no go gauges, just never got around to it,

MO

No, my 308 bolt is not hard to close.

Sounds like you may have a carbon ring that needs removal.

Mine is smooth

Something not right, carbon ring like RR said possible. I have read that some have some lugs making more contact than others. Has it always been harder to close or something that popped up over time?

I bought this one around 1970, I think it has gradually gotten worse , The carbon ring might be the answer ,

What is the best way to remove it ?

Thanks

Mo

I have not had a carbon ring build up (probably due to my cleaning habits) but if I did I might soak a tight fitting patch in Sea Foam and run it into the bore then unscrew the rod from the jag, then leave it overnight. Or, I might do the same using Hoppe's No.9. Another thing to try might be be Kroil...it is said that it will get itself under anything at all.

Personally, I am not afraid to use a bronze brush...I think the chances of harming the bore with one is less than winning a billion dollar Lotto.

If necessary, a mild abrasive like JB Bore Paste might work. I have a bottle of Witches Brew that accompanied a rebarreled action I got back from Pac-Nor a few years ago. It seems like it might be just right for such chores but I haven't had the need to try it yet.

Possibly the type of OEM ammo used back in the day contributed as I have an inherited Savage in .222 REM that suffered mightily from a bad carbon ring I could not see. I have not updated the topic on that rifle because I have yet to test the ammo I built for it but the difficult extraction was fixed by a deep cleaning. I have a few loads ready to test.

Look here ---> J. G. and me talk .222 and Savage 340C

I used several different cleaners I had on hand. Everyone has his favorite.

GG did you ever get a load worked up? I developed a load with my 1st 222 and this one loves it too. 23gr H322 topped with Hornady 50gr SPSX.

Back in the day, my go to in my .222 was the Sierra 52gr. MatchKing. Started with Ball C-2. Can't remember the powder I ended with. Many moons ago

I've used H322 and H4198 and they both worked very well. In more recent times I tried LT-32 with 50-grain V-Max and it was better yet. I found what appeared to be best accuracy at a little under 3000 fps, so I gave up some speed, but the accuracy---wow.

I have three loads to test. H335 at 22.6 23.2 23.6 with a 55gr Midway bulk Hornady gummy tip.

I bought my 22-250 in 1968 and i've never had a problem with the bolt closing hard. I used Sierra 52g hp or psp bullets and IMR 3031 with great results. If I can find the load chart I will list the grains of powder I used but it has been a great rifle to me but havn't shot it in many years.