Remington 783

Remington’s Model 783 rifle has enjoyed a generally good reputation since its introduction several years ago and seems to be a decent, inexpensive rifle. The 783 is more popular than the less expensive Model 770 but trouble does occur and sometimes repair and modifications are needed. While sending the firearm back to the factory is an option, it takes time and sometimes shipping is expensive. This tends to convince the shooter to bring the rifle to the gunsmith for repair.

A gunsmith with a good reputation and rapport with his customers will see many such rifles that are covered by a factory warranty. It’s possible the shooter has little confidence in the factory, sometimes deservedly so. A recurring problem seems to be related to the magazine and feed issues. For example, there is sometimes a bit of play in the rear of the magazine and it may wiggle as much as an eighth of an inch. As a result, the rifle does not feed properly.

The fix, since this is a relatively new gun, isn’t always well understood. Generally, the problem is that when the bolt is worked forward to move the cartridge from the magazine to the chamber, the nose of the cartridge takes a downward turn and butts the nose into the magazine body instead of rising into the chamber and chambering. This is evidently because of the play in the rear of the magazine.

However, I have examined a Remington 783 rifle with play in the front of the magazine but have never seen a rifle with play at both ends—I guess the magazine would just fall out! When a 783 chambered in .308 Winchester showed up at the shop Occasionally, a feed problem aggravates the owner but is easily fixed. All told, the 783 is a useful rifle worth its modest price and it may be improved by judicious modification. I looked over the problem first by asking a lot of questions and then by examining the rifle.

I loaded Winchester’s 147 grain FMJ load and experienced a number of failures to feed. The misfeed problem was the same with Hornady’s 168 grain A-Max. While this observation was made on a .308 783, other Remington 783 chamberings are equally vulnerable to this misfeed malfunction. After some reflection on past problems, I entered into a fix. First, I made certain that every piece on the rifle was tight. The stock was tightened to the receiver and the trigger group was checked.

After all, any slop in fitting would indicate that the magazine was not locking into place properly. After this tightening I examined the magazine. It appeared as new, in good shape, and in the correct dimensions. However, after making certain all was tight, the malfunction persisted. I looked at the rear tab that holds the magazine in the stock. It is located on the rear of the magazine body at the upper part of the magazine. After some thought I elected to experiment with the tab.

I was able to slightly bend this part—perhaps an eighth of an inch—and the result was a tight fit. After this fix the malfunctions abated. In another test of a different Remington 783 rifle I also encountered similar feed problems. However, this time I attempted a different fix because it appeared the cartridges were not releasing early enough. The magazine body was pinched just a little near the bottom of the magazine.

Punching the magazine body with a punch on each side, the feed lips were opened up just a bit, perhaps 1/32

It isn’t difficult to repair and modify. Sometimes considerable effort is needed to take the magazine apart, but the author hasn’t broken a floor plate yet. inch. Then I opened the area carefully and slightly with pliers before testing. I repeated this until after the third try I had good feeding. In another case, I purchased anew Remington 783 magazine and it had the same problem as the original. This seems to be a magazine issue and it is hit and miss.

Just the same, I do not know how many Remington 783 rifles were made in total but the issue doesn’t seem to be widespread, but none the less not uncommon. Three rifles in six years is what I have encountered and have heard of more. In other words, not every rifle will suffer but a few will. There is an excellent chance the newest production rifles do not have this defect as the 783s I have worked with were about five years old. However, shooters have also reported the problem as soon as their new rifle was loaded.

So, it doesn’t seem to an issue that pops up with wear. The rifle is delivered with the malfunction (if it occurs at all) and when fixed the problem does not repeat. Another 783 malfunction I encountered was that the cartridge would not feed at all and would not rise from the magazine. The solution for that proved simple. Remove the plastic floor plate from the sheet metal magazine and find two plastic tabs. There is one on each side of the bottom of the floor plate, exposed when the floor plate is removed.

Carefully pry these tabs from the magazine box. Sometimes only slide pressure is needed to release these tabs from the metal box magazine. The follower is inside the magazine along with the standard "accordion" type magazine spring. The end of the magazine spring lies against the back of the follower. Move the back of the spring up against the rear of the follower below the back where the cartridges rest. Insert a penny between the magazine follower and the magazine spring.

This increases the magazine pressure just to the point where the magazine will now function when properly put together. The penny will work loose with use, so it is wise to use Loctite or Super Glue to keep it in place. Do not allow any over flow or slop from the adhesive to affect spring and follower function. Only a drop applied exactly where the penny is bonded is needed.

Stock/Recoil Pad Fix As for disassembly and smoothing, the rifle doesn’t need any trigger work because it features the new Remington Cross Fire adjustable trigger. Five screws hold the action together—two in the stock, one in the trigger guard, and two holding the action and trigger together. The rifle is comprised of ten parts including five screws if the bolt isn’t disassembled. The bolt is a cylinder that measures 0.695 inches inside of a 1.355-inch action.

The receiver accepts either Remington 783 scope bases or two Remington 700 front scope bases. Be certain to keep this in mind when mounting a rifle scope. The barrel is fitted to the receiver in the proven Savage 110-type mount with a one-inch nut and 0.185" thick recoil lug. The lug is 1.1 inches wide with a half-inch recess in the stock. The stock features free floating pillars and the barrel is free floating.

While applying epoxy bedding to the rifle may help accuracy, the factory setup has proven quite accurate as issued. It isn’t unusual for these rifles to group three Hornady A-Max loads into 1.5 inches or less at 100 yards. The Remington Cross Fire adjustable trigger system is supposed to leave the factory set at 3.5 pounds. A single hex screw in the action aids in adjusting the trigger. I have tested trigger weights as high as 4.5 pounds from the factory.

A lever in the center of the trigger prevents lateral discharge and acts as a safety feature. Adjustment seems to run from 2.5 to 5.0 pounds. No work is

Far With a little polish it may be improved. The result is a smoother bolt throw and easier operation. needed on this trigger and no work should be attempted. When it comes to modern package guns, all of them, and especially the Remington 783, benefit from polishing the locking lugs for smother operation. There are several ways to do this, ranging from simple to more complicated depending on how rough the action operates. Some firearms benefit from a bit of grease coating on the bolt’s locking lugs.

This grease needs to be wiped away and replenished from time to time as it will accumulate unburned powder. The portion of the bolt head that rides against the horizontal planes of the action sometimes isn’t nicely polished and will benefit from a bit of slicking up. Applying grease and working the bolt helps but 1200 grit polishing compound is perhaps the best bet and this hand polish really helps modern mass produced actions.

When I work the bolt in the raceway I do not turn the bolt down to lock the action as when I am chambering a cartridge. The procedure is to polish the slide rails, not to polish the lugs at the rear. This rear lug area establishes headspace and should not be filed or polished. A three step polish is to strip the bolt and apply polishing or lapping compound. Then run the bolt into the bolt raceway until the movement is noticeably smoother.

The bolt locking lug interface may be polished but be certain that the bolt remains squared to the chamber when the action is done. You must strive for smoothness and not to change the angles. Finally, the bolt should be reassembled and the cocking piece cocked and released until it is well broken in and smooth. Mixing a polishing compound with Break-Free CLP works wonders when polishing the bolt and raceways.

The Remington 783 isn’t the roughest modern action and generally functions well but there is room for improvement. It is also an accurate rifle typically demonstrating well under two MOA in testing at 100 yards. As such, the rifle is worth a bit of attention to get it up and operating to be all it can be. A Neat Trick Not long ago a customer brought his Remington 783 Youth Model .308 into the shop.

While the length of pull was ideal for his teenage son when purchased, the skinny thirteen year old was nowa taller, lanky sixteen year old. I added a Butler Creek Slip-On Recoil Pad ($14.99 from Brownells) that was hanging on the wall. This added a total of 2.5 inches to the stock without any further work or adjustment. The folks thought I was pretty smart and the tall drink of water that owned the rifle admitted he did not mind less recoil. All in a day’s work. AG