Which gun? Sell it or keep it? Varmint gun decisions

I have an older Remington 788 in .22-250, and a Ruger M77 Mark II in .223, and I'm trying to decide on what I should do for an all around varmint gun. Both guns are tack drivers. Most shots will be under 300 yards (likely around the 100-150 yard range). It will mostly be used for coyote hunting, with occasional hog duty if I happen to run across them. I might take it prairie dog hunting a handful of times, but not consistently at all.

My Grandpa gave me the 788, so I'll never sell it. The issues with the safety are concerning, but I'm not normally in a situation where I have a bullet chambered unless I'm getting ready to shoot something/be very mindful of muzzle direction. My only other concern is that with the slower twist rate I won't really be able to utilize heavier grain bullets. (I haven't experimented with this first hand, but just what I've read.)

I bought the M77 when I was 11 with report card money and money from odd jobs. I just went with my Dad's recommendations, but it's all stainless steal and shiny as all get out. Also, it's not a floated barrel and kind of heavy. I found a guy who will coat it with a flat dry earth coating for $120, but a new (lighter) stock that would float the barrel is about $250-$350. At what point do I just sell it, and buy something else?

What should I do?

Option A - Sell the M77 instead of sinking money into it, and just using the 788 as my varmint gun. BUT I'd really like to have a gun I could easily use heavier grain bullets with, and I'd hate not having a .223 of any kind. My Dad says I shouldn't sell the M77 or sink money into it which makes me think twice about doing either, but I'm not happy with how it's currently set up.

Option B - Should I just upgrade the M77 and keep the 788 as my safe queen?

Option C - Sell the M77 and buy a new .223? I'm not really interested in a .243 either.

Obviously this is splitting hairs and some serious first world problems, but I'd just like to hear other people's opinion. Thanks!

keep them both and save up and buy a new one. You won’t regret it in the long run.

X2^

Yeah, i'd keep both of them!

The safety concern should be taken care of by Remingtons recall. Give them a call and find out, or swap to a Timney or other aftermarket trigger.

The Ruger, leave alone! The barrel is not meant to be free floated! All warrenties go out the window if you free float the barrel. From what i understand, no Ruger contacts in the same place/pressure as another. I wouldn't Cerakote it either, as this may change how much pressure is exerted on the barrel where the stock does contact it.

You have sentimental attachment to both rifles, and would end up kicking yourself for the rest of your life about selling either of them! Ask me how i know...

788 trigger is nothing like the model 700 trigger. It's not part of the recalls, nor has it ever had issues that I'm aware of. Timney does make a replacement, if you want a better trigger.

marksjeep said:

788 trigger is nothing like the model 700 trigger. It's not part of the recalls, nor has it ever had issues that I'm aware of. Timney does make a replacement, if you want a better trigger.

Click to expand...

The 788 is well documented for having safety issues and bump firing. A new trigger could help solve it, but I've heard they are a pain to install. I'll probably end up going that route regardless what I do with the .223.

Keep them both, and buy a Ruger American predator.

I'm in the "keep both" crowd, but if you can't, I'd say upgrade the M77. I have a couple of rifles with similar sentimental value, but in need of practical upgrades. I can't bring myself to change their original configurations, so they've sat in the safe while I've explored other possibilities. Those 788s are cool, too.

I'm with the keep them both and save up for a new gun group. I use a .22-250 shooting 50 grain Hornady VMAX Superformance for coyotes. I like the .22-250 because it shoots fast and flat which is good for coyotes.

You said they’re both tack drivers. I see no reason at all to try to float that barrel or get a new stock. You can buy some camo tape/wrap for pretty cheap and wrap your barrel if you’re worried about it being shiny.

More guns is better then less guns. X2 on the Predator

I don't like selling anything unless it really doesn't shoot

I know I'm an odd ball when comes to this, but I don't like having more guns than I need. That being said I think I'm going to focus on getting my set up on the 788 really dialed in. I'm still in the air on the M77, but probably just keep it as is. I'm expecting my 1st kid in April, so maybe it will be his first center fire rifle. Thanks for the feedback!

Don't ever let go of that 788. I have one in .222 Remington. Bought new by family, and it will stay. Most accurate rifle I own too. Great rifles. mtmuley

I have rechambered a 14” twist .222 barrel to .223 AI and can assure that it will not stabilize 60gr Partitions or 64gr Solid Bases. The 788 would probably be limited to bullets under 60gr. The 64gr Solid Base has a slight boat tail, and flat based bullets don’t require quite as much stabilization. The 64gr Berger calculates to be about as stabile, but is a flat base, so it MIGHT work. I haven’t tried yet. I was looking for something with unusual penetration like the Partition or BSB. Also, the BSB didn’t give me keyholes, but gave 3-5” groups while just about any 55gr bullet would shoot around .5”-1”. The barrel was shot up, and while the rechambering kinda brought it back a little, it isn’t really up to p-dog standards won’t shoot the two pig bullets I was looking at.