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The article in Gun Digest was one of the major factors in my decision to purchase the 722 which was originally chambered in Remington 244. At one time I had a set of Gun Digest annuals from 1970 to 1975.
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Because I have most editions of The Gun Digest in my inventory and because I had a little time on my hands (some people think "way too much"
), I did a little looking to see what I could come up with re the Remington Models 721 and 722 (and 700 where applicable), especially involving comments by Jack O'Connor. From 1970 through 1975, the only articles having any relevancy to the subject at hand that I could locate were in the the 1971 issue. In an article written by John T. Amber (the editor at the time) entitled "New Remingtons", Mr. Amber quoted Jack O'Connor's remarks concerning his test results of the Model 700: "...This (25-06) Remington 700 rifle has shot more accurately for me than any other I can remember..." Later, in the same edition, author Jon Sundra, in an article entitled "Varmint Rifle Variables", wrote, "...Two of my favorites are a Douglas-barreled 6mm Mauser action and a Remington 722 action. Both of these rifles deliver constant MOA groups or better, some of which measure as small as 1/8". That's excellent accuracy for any kind of rifle..." This is all I could find from 1970 to 1975 in The Gun Digest concerning Remington 721s and 722s.
However, a little more searching revealed a relatively lengthy article entitled "Remington's 721-722: The Story of a Success", written by Stuart Otteson, found in the 1982 edition of The Gun Digest. I found Mr. Otteson's article very informative for those interested in learning more regarding the development and marketing of this interesting rifle series. He extolled the virtues and decried the foibles of the Models 721 and 722 in his evaluation and research. I found it amusing that he echoed O'Connor's criticism of the 721/722's general aesthetics (see my earlier post in this thread for the O'Connor quote) when he made the following observation: "...But the rifle's engineering virtues could sustain this level of sales only so long. Very plain and unexciting lines limited its ultimate sales potential. While it certainly wasn't ugly, neither could anyone ever accuse it of winning any beauty contests against the Model 70..."
I stopped looking for any further information regarding the Models 721 and 722 rifles after finding the above article in the 1982 edition, but there could well be more, from 1983 to date. I'll leave it up to someone else to finish the Gun Digest treasure hunt...
