Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Remington 722 Are they that bad?

Ive read thru this forum on threads lokking for the Rem 722 and if it has warts.. Some say unsafe. Some say a piece of junk, some say the extractor will break and another cannot be sourced. Really, what is the truth, isnt it basically an Rem 700?

Personally im not into Remington bolt rifles but i came across an old 722 with an new barrel in 257 Roberts and this rifle has an laid up synthetic stock that looks like a Brown precision. Its pretty light but i was thinking about a rebore job or a rebarrel. If i were to rebarrel id just go 308 win and be simple. As is the thing is all there in fine condition for $325. Im tempted but im reading lots of negitivity about the 722 in general. Tough call. But conditiin is great on this lightweight thing and the trigger action is outstanding and definately not stock. Someone put some effort into this one for sure.

So is the 722 going to kill me? What could that 257 chamber be rebored out to? Or should i run away?

For $325 you shouldn't have to ask.

MD's granny gun is a .257, 722. I doubt wild horses could separate him from it.

I've had two; sold a .300 Savage that I should have kept; a very accurate rifle. I have one in .222 that I bought fifteen or so years ago. It's probably more accurate than my three Sako .222s. I know the 700 was an improvement over the 722, but I can't really see a difference. I'd buy another 722 if it was in good shape at a reasonable price. Nothing wrong with 722s. I also had a 721; same rifle with a long action.

oldpinecricker,

Dunno who is posting that BS, but yes, 722s (and 721s, the long-action version) are basically 700s. Have owned several aside from my grandmother's .257 Roberts, which is still working fine and shooting very accurately after my wife and I have put well over 1000 rounds through it AFTER it got fairly heavy use from others in the family. The others have been in calibers ranging from the .222 Remington to .300 Savage, and never had any problems with them in any way, though they generally shoot more accurately if the barrel is free-floated--just like 700s.

I would not even consider passing on it nor rebarreling it. That is a steal and a fantastic cartridge. Like MD, I have a 722 in .257 Roberts and I like it very much. Hunted with it exclusively for a decade (just deer and pronghorn) and it never let me down.

Buy it, and keep it a .257!
Rex

The price is low enough and im thinking its a decent canvas to work with. Just wondering what could one bore that 257 roberts out to. Is a 358 win or 338 Federal chamber too short, if it can be set back that far?

This^^^^

I also have a M722 257R, with a late 50's or early 60's B&L and Balvar mounts.

I have a 722 in 222 Remington made in 1953. It is the most accurate rifled I’ve ever owned even edging out my 788 in the same caliber.
I’d love to have one in a Roberts.

If you are gonna change it yank the 257 barrel and sell it to one of us. Lol

May well do that.

It's also BS that the extractors break frequently--and that they're not available. The design is very similar to the 700s extractor, though not an exact match. I purchased a couple of 722/721 extractors for cartridges with the .30-06-sized rim maybe 3 years ago, from a gunsmith who advertised them on the Campfire Classifieds--just in case the extractor breaks on my .257 722.

But I have probably fired 100,000 rounds from Remington 700s, along with a few thousand from 722/721s. Have never had an extractor break, perhaps because I tend to keep the bolt-face of those rifles clean. Dunno, but that's what's happened over several decades. Have also never had a 700/722/721 trigger malfunction that I adjusted and maintained.

I believe its mostly not true on the extractors either. Ive got older Rem 700 rifles without issues but ive had 3 new out of box Rem rifles that featured broken extractors after a few outings. I attribute that to bad qyality control at the tail end of Remingtons history most likely bad heat treat control.

That's a good point. I haven't purchased a new 700 since 2010.

But that has nothing to do with 722/721s.

Let me guess: Did one of the people who trashed 722s (and 700s) have the Campfire handle jorgeI?

I have several 722’s B’s in .222 Rem and 222 Mag and without much work they’ve all been less than 1” for five shots. A couple, even as old as they are, are good for 1/2-5/8”. A couple of 721’s in 270 do almost as well with 150 Ballistic Tips and H-4831. All of them cost a good bit more than you’re looking at. Buy it.

No different than a 700, just shorter. Shot one for years in that exact caliber. I have had several Remingtons through my lifetime, including a 721, all have been fine rifles

Have owned or own multiple M700's and M721's/722's from every decade since they were introduced. My chrono notebooks alone have roughly 20k rounds recorded with M700's. I've never had a bolt handle fall off, extractor break, or an AD--as JB mentioned the operative phrase would be "well maintained" trigger.

The M700's from the late 90's until about 2010 are probably the worst as far as fit, finish, and pieces not functioning properly, or falling off. I have a G prefix from 2003 that the bolt handle wasn't precisely clocked and was just barely hitting the receiver when opened. Filed off a thou from the receiver and it's good. Bought a new 2005 BDL/synthetic and while I was looking at it noticed there was no ejector. Pulled the bolt and showed it to the gun shop owner/gunsmith and he says, "I'll be damned". Takes the bolt, disappears into the back of the shop, and 10 minutes later comes out with the ejector/spring/pin installed.

Recent vintage M700's seem to be quite accurate in my experience.

Ok, Remington 700ish action and a decent glass stock for basically lunch money. I vote yes!!!

The only 722 I’ve owned was a 222 and I wish I still had it.
Buy the 257 and leave it unmolested.

I had a model 721 in 3006 for about a decade. It was one of the most reliable rifles I have ever owned. It was not free floated but the walnut was stable and once sighted in it never changed its point of impact in over 10 years. and its was accurate one minute or less. no problems whatsoever. However I listened to the internet BS and sold it. What a mistake. I bought three new 700's ( Yes you read that right sell one buy three) and I had three broken extractors in as little as 200 rounds on each rifle. Since the extractors have been replaced I have had no trouble.