The Remington Models 8 & 81 semiauto rifles...

Hamer didn’t use an extended magazine version. He did own 2 Model 8’s, one in 25 Rem and a high grade presented to him by Remington in 30 Rem.

Those were 15 round magazines, by the way.

The Great Model 8 & 81 >> Frank Hamer’s Rifle

A few years back I got mine for free from a neighbor I was helping out with a few repairs around her place. It had been her father's and when he passed no one in the family wanted it. He had always kept it in a family cabin in Northern MI. I never knew she had it, but when she asked me how to tell if a shotgun was loaded because she want to send it to her Son in Law I asked if she had any other guns. She said she had an old rifle. When I was first pulling it out of the sheepskin case it was in I thought it was a A5, then as it came out more it became obvious what it was. She was happy to give it to me and wouldn't accept a cent. It is a model 81 in .35 and dates from '37.

The Great Model 8! I find them very interesting though i couldn't see myself owning one. A wonderful piece of firearm history

...model 8 in slow motion...

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k30_pNPQT4[/ame]

Another one of the many rifles I wanted but never got around to buying.

This week's "Gun Stories" on the Outdoor Channel actually featured this rifle.

Great post! Just enjoyed watching “Highwaymen.”
I still, on occasion, carry afield my great grandfather’s Model 8 in .30 Rem. Well made and a testament to great craftsman, but I’ve never got used to it’s muzzle heaviness. I also still carry his Model 11 20 ga, which in my hands is a real death day.

I wish someone would clear up what gun and caliber Hammer used in ambush. What he personally owned may not have been ambush gun.

Interesting thread.

I remember when I was a kid my best friend's father had one of these rifles. I don't know whether it was a Mod. 8 or a Mod. 81. I just remember it was kept hanging on the wall in their den. I thought it looked peculiar because of the tube around the barrel and the bulk of the action.

A current friend has a Mod. 8 in .25 Remington and another in .35. I had the opportunity to shoot both of them last summer - my only experience firing one of these rifles. It was a lot of fun.

If a man was to go looking for one, what is considered the most desirable caliber? What about ammo availability?

It should be easy to see that these are outside my normal path!

Curl

For ammo availability, 300 Savage, or .35 Remington is the only way to go. Both or still widely available.

The .25 and .32 Remington's are long gone, though you can still find old factory ammo, or go to reloading if you obtained a rifle in one of those calibers.

I like the .300 Savage over the .35 Remington as a personal preference.

CptCurl said:

Interesting thread.


If a man was to go looking for one, what is considered the most desirable caliber? What about ammo availability?

It should be easy to see that these are outside my normal path!

Curl

Click to expand...

I'm no expert, but .300 Savage (model 81) and .35 Rem are the only two calibers that I'm aware of that are still being produced. The others would need to be reloaded. I heard you can use 30-30 Win. recipes to load .30 Rem.

Also, the nicer the better. As parts are becoming obsolete.

And if you really want to learn more about these, check out this website.
The Great Model 8 & 81

The 25, 30 and 32 Remington Auto cartridges can use 25-35wcf, 30-30wcf and 32 Spcl load data with no problems.
30Rem brass is about the only one of the bunch that is still made but it's an every once in a while thing. I still see it in bulk bags at gunshows now and again offered by reloading supply dealers.
With it you can make 25 and 32 Rem from it.
Dies for any of the 3 are not the cheapest to buy. One SH fits them all and it was always an odd one of course.Now the 30AR (?) uses the same case head IIRC so I think that should be no problem.

32Rem I just load w/ 170gr FN bullets intended for the 32SP.
The Mod 8 can handle pointed stuff of course but the lever action component intended for the 32Spec is easy to come by and works just fine. An uncomplicated way to solve the bullet source problem.

35Rem and 300Sav reloading dies and components are much easier to come by. 35Rem brass is sometimes tough to find lately I've noticed.

Model 8 bbls are supposed to run small in dia as far as groove dia goes.
The 30Rem bbl is factory listed as .306d IIRC
The 32Rem @ .320

I've never had any problems reloading and using 308dia in the 30Rem and the 32spcl bullets which usually measure .321d in my 32Rem Model8.
..and I never bothered to slug the bbls either.
My 25Rem I just use .257d jacketed bullets for reloading.
I use minimum or near that loads from the manual and they have always operated the actions just fine.
With that, the 32 has take deer out to 125yrds or so a couple times in the hands of a family member, so there's plenty of power there.
I don't like to push the older guns for no reason.
I just shoot paper now and I've never had one run off to die after being hit.

Parts aren't to hard to find for the 8 & 81. Realize that there are a lot of variation and changes to the rifles over the years and some of the parts are caliber specific too.
Ebay is a pretty good place for parts. People seem to enjoy stripping these out and selling the odd looking parts. Many are way over priced but they sit unloved by buyers. There are enough at decent prices to supply most needs.
Most gunshows won't supply you with much unless you just happen upon a trove of parts from a shop or 'smith that has gone out of the repair biz. Even better when the seller doesn't recognize what they are.

I have a 1909 autoloader,in 30 Remington, marked as 30-30 Remington on barrel, old rifle is plain and has seen a lot of use but still functions flawless and shoots to point of aim.

I get it out every now and again to show the black rifle,and ak47 kids

I recollect a friend at a shooting range one time had a Remington X-100, I think that's what it was called, in .35 Remington. He offered to let me shoot it. I opted against the experience.

That's an interesting historical tidbit about Deputy Oakley firing that first round and instantly killing Clyde. I'm semi-into the history of the gangsters of that period and I never read that before so I checked it out. Sure enough; Oakley didn't waste a second, he just got right to it. I also discovered, and this makes total sense to me considering the reputation of the two and considering the obvious adrenaline flow in the police, that Oakley's shot triggered (no pun intended but I like it) the rest of the officers to open fire. Makes total sense.