Affordable, accurate and versatile, the Remington Model 783 is an all-purpose bolt-action rifle can handle everything from varmints to big-game hunting.
If there’s been a silver lining in these hard economic times, it’s the attention gun makers have paid to producing firearms that nearly anyone can afford. Remington climbed on the bandwagon in 2013 by developing the low-cost Model 783 to round out its range.
We should remember that Remington established its reputation on building good guns at a reasonable price. The budgetary Model 783 confirms it can still do that under the restructuring and rebranding of the Remington gun-making business as RemArms, which has also brought a return of the quality we used to expect.
The 783 incorporates all of the many features that shooters have come to demand at any price point — a superb trigger, a quality, free-floated barrel with a target crown and a pillar-bedded stock.
The 783, which is an understudy to the company’s stalwart Model 700, is RemArms’ answer to competing models such as the Ruger American, Savage Axis and Bergara B-14 — guns that are living proof that inexpensive rifles don’t have to be inaccurate.
Outwardly, it has a funereal appearance; the metalwork is entirely matte black to match the stock.
The receiver bears little resemblance to its Model 700 ancestors; it has a heavy one-piece cylindrical receiver which is enclosed except for a small ejection port. This results in increased rigidity, something conducive to stability and accuracy. Made in one piece, it is round-topped and drilled and tapped to take two Model 700 front bases.
The bolt body is also cylindrical and has a separate bolt head with dual-opposed locking lugs, attached by a large pin. The bolt face is recessed to house an AR-15-type extractor and a plunger ejector. The 783 doesn’t have the Model 700’s counterbored breech, the barrel instead being faced-off square and located within a fraction of a millimetre of the bolt face, leaving very little of the cartridge head unsupported.
In addition, the bolt face abuts the end of the barrel inside a receiver ring collar. While it may still lack some of the shrouding advantage of the Model 700’s double-counterbore, it is nevertheless a strong and efficient design that seats the cartridge deeply into the barrel with only 3mm (1/8”) protrusion. The cocking and extraction cams are simply an angle machined into the roof of the bridge.
There are advantages to this type of construction besides lower cost. Identically dimensioned locking lugs provide equal bearing in the receiver ring. The right lug, however, is hollowed out inside for the extractor, thus losing some of its shear strength compared to the solid left lug.
A keyway in the bolt head formed by a flange under the right locking lug engages a matching rib in the receiver to form an effective monorail-type system during the entire bolt travel, even as the bolt head passes under the ejection port. This also acts as an anti-bind device, ensuring that operation is virtually jam-proof, regardless of how the bolt handle is pressured or misaligned.
The bolt knob is easy to grasp and curved to allow plenty of clearance for a low-mounted scope, something necessary since the 783 has a 90-degree bolt lift. The bolt shroud is enclosed, with a small cocking indicator in the centre.
The two-position trigger-block safety copies the one on the Model 700 by being located along the right side of the bolt shroud. The bolt release is an unobtrusive spring-loaded lever at the left rear of the receiver, tensioned by a wire spring in the trigger housing.
Two additional aids to accuracy are a good barrel and a light, clean trigger.
Remington didn’t short-change the 783, giving it a magnum contour, 56cm, button-rifled barrel with 1:10 twist in .308. Formed without a shoulder, it is fixed in place by a large threaded locknut, a design first used in the Savage Model 340, allowing headspace to be set quickly and precisely upon assembly.
The Model 783 also incorporates Remington’s Crossfire trigger, a blade-style model that is user adjustable and factory set at 1.8kg (4lb). The trigger shoe has a rearward cant and breaks cleanly.
The 783 has a detachable box magazine holding four rounds with a release button utilising a bent spring and metal casing. It’s sturdy and easy to load. You simply insert it in the bottom of the rifle, give it a slap and you’re ready to go.
The injection-moulded stock is conservatively styled to be functional and has a high nylon-fibre content for superior strength and rigidity. Instead of following the current trend to outlandish avant-garde designs that many find impractical, it is basically an American classic.
The comb is straight, sloping upwards slightly toward the rear. The pistol grip is closely curved and has a cap bearing the Remington logo. The forend sports sloping finger grooves to help the shooter grip and point the rifle.
Gripping surfaces are impressed stippled panels and Remington fitted its SuperCell butt pad to soften recoil. Rather than having traditional sling swivel studs, they are moulded into the stock.
Aesthetically, I don’t care for the appearance of the square-shaped polymer trigger guard which is a seperate unit attached the stock with a screw in front and, at the back, by the rear action screw. But this is a personal opinion. It serves its intended purpose.
Fit and finish of the 783 are about what you would expect on a rifle in this price range and it’s an excellent choice for the hunter on a budget.
With an average weight of 3.3kg (7⅜lb), the 783 is no ultralight but a scoped 783 is no burden to carry even in hilly country. It is ruggedly constructed to withstand being hauled through brush and rocky terrain without being afraid of breaking something.
It mounts, points and balances well and swings smoothly enough to be a fast-handling woods rifle for running game, yet is accurate enough for long cross-gully shots and open-country shooting.
My sample was chambered in .308 Win, but the 783 is available in a choice of seven other calibres ranging from .243 to .300 Win Mag.
The rifle came with a Bushnell Trophy XLT 3-9×40 scope attached using quick-release rings and Weaver-style cross-slot bases. Field ready, the outfit weighed just 3.6kg (8lb) — just about ideal.
The first group, shot with Federal’s 165gn Fusion, made my day. When I looked through my ancient Tasco spotting scope and saw three holes forming a tight cloverleaf, I told myself this was a good sign.
The 783 turned in some impressive groups with all the loads tested. The results are listed in the table.
Mechanically, the 783 was reliable and there were no malfunctions of any kind with feeding, extraction or ejection. The bolt isn’t as smooth as the Model 700, but that’s not an issue considering the kind of accuracy it showed.
Remington has a well-earned reputation for quality, accuracy and value in its extensive line of firearms, and the Model 783 certainly carries on that tradition.
It doesn’t pretend to be anything other than an affordable factory rifle, but like its predecessor, the Model 788, it proved to be a surprise package.
SPECIFICATIONS
- Type: Turnbolt centrefire
- Calibres: .243 Win, 6.5 Creedmoor, 7mm-08, .308 Win (tested), .30-06, 7mm Rem Mag, .300 Win Mag
- Magazine: 4-shot detachable; magnum, 3 rounds
- Barrel: 56cm (22”), button-rifled, magnum contour; Compact model, 51cm (20”); optional heavy barrel.
- Overall length: 109cm (42¾”); Compact model, 104cm (40¾”)
- Stock: Black synthetic, pillar-bedded; also camo and brown
- Drop at comb: 25mm (1”); drop at heel 41mm (1⅝”); LOP, 34cm (13⅜”)
- Finish: Matte black
- Trigger: Crossfire, 1.8kg (4lb) adjustable
- Sights: None; receiver drilled and tapped; two bases included
- Price: Around $1000. Scoped packages available for around $1200
- Distributor: NIOA
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