Home Forums Hunting & Shooting The Lefty Forum Factory Remington 788 in 243

I’ve always thought that lefty 788s were only available in 308 and 6mm; today the guy that owns the local gun shop tells me that they were made in 243 as well, and that he has one at home. Said he knows 2 other guys who have them as well. I have never seen one anywhere; can anyone confirm this?

I'm not an expert on this topic but based on everything I've seen & know, your initial thought that LH models were only available in 308 & 6mm appears to be correct based on information that is available about that rifle. I couldn't find a single documented example of a LH 788 in 243 anywhere. And I looked because I'm thinking of acquiring a LH 243 at some point. So what makes this strange is a single person claiming to be aware of three of these unicorns. Without additional information (rebore? rebarrel? special undocumented run?, etc.), I am unable to give you hope that you'll be the owner of the equally rare 4th copy of a LH 788 243. But I hope you prove me wrong & are able to pull that rabbit out of a hat.

Never heard of such a critter, very suspicious of his statements.

LH models were only made in 6MM & 308. If he has one it is likely the product of a barrel swap with a RH 243.

never heard of a lefty .243, but I would think it would be very easy to do a barrel swap.

He’s the type that gets very blustery if you call him out on anything; I just told him I’d like to see his. I’m assuming they’re re-barrels. I just had my 788 308 re-barreled with a 243 barrel from a 700, gonna shoot it tomorrow.

If I remember correctly you can date the barrel. It should match up to the receiver date. That would be something that would likely be overlooked in a rebarrel. Does anyone know when the lefties were available? I have never even seen one in person and only know the .308 and 6mm were available for sure. My wife is a South paw and I've been watching for a long time, but have yet to see one.

1969 ~ 1980 for both calibers.

Gunbroker is gonna be your best bet; they’ve gotten spendy the last few years, but they show up there fairly frequently and it beats hitting endless gun shops and pawn shops for a needle in a haystack.

Tell him hes a liar. If any of them have one they have been rebarrelled

If he's that way he may well be hiding something. It may be best to avoid him.

I would be hesitant to mess with an original 788. Should have some collector value which will likely only grow. Putting a different barrel on an original 788 would decrease it's value I assume.