Remington Model 721

The Remington Model 721 is a bolt-action sporting rifle that Remington Arms built in Ilion, New York, from 1948 until production ended in 1961, together with its short-action sibling the Model 722 and the later Model 725 variant. It replaced the short-lived Model 720 and was designed with Mike Walker and Homer Young playing key roles. The rifle was an attempt to keep the strength of the Mauser 98 action while making it cheaper to produce, with a round receiver that could be turned on a lathe, a simple recoil lug plate and a multi-piece encased bolt head. It was offered in many sporting cartridges, among them the .222 Remington in the 722 version, and roughly 118,000 Model 721 and 722 rifles were made along with about 17,000 Model 725 rifles. The page presents it as a civilian sporting arm known for accuracy, and its design carried straight into the Remington Model 700 that replaced it in 1962. It was not a military issue weapon, though the same page notes that complaints about a firing mechanism defect came from civilian and military customers alike.