The Remington 783

 

For the most part, I'm a Remington 700 kind of guy. I don't buy into the notion that a control round feed rifle is better, or more reliable, than a push feed rifle. I also like my firearms made in America. My first center-fire rifle was a Remington 700. That was almost 35 years ago and, if I remember correctly, it cost about $400. It was a $400 rifle that would knock the white off a golf ball at 100 yards every time. 
 
Remington's newest bolt-action rifle is the Model 783. The "7" in the model designation comes from the 700 line of rifles, the "8" is kind of a throwback to the affordable but reliable model 788, which was discontinued 20 years ago, and the "3" is for the three in 2013. The suggested retail price is $451, but you can expect street prices to be closer to $400.

Anytime a firearms manufacturer offers a bargain-priced rifle with claims that it will perform like a higher-priced model, shooters are skeptical. I'm no different. I've heard the same sales pitch numerous times, and there's always a catch or some sort of gimmick to the greatness. The 783 was no different; I needed proof.

In September 2012, I had an opportunity to be the first non-Remington guy to see and shoot the 783. Two Remington employees were preparing for a New Mexico Elk hunt with the 783, and we got together in a big West Virginia cow pasture to see how well this new rifle worked. We set up steel targets from 100 to 500 yards, and after zeroing four 783s we proceeded to burn through about a case of 7 mm Rem. Mag. ammunition.

The first thing I noticed was how easy the rifles were to sight in. I've sighted in enough rifles to know those that are not consistently capable of shooting sub two-inch, five-shot groups at 100 yards can become a nightmare. We did not have that problem. We zeroed four rifles with only one box of ammunition. 

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