Remington Model 81 Woodsmaster?

[Wayne02]

This is a rifle that I inherited from my grandfather and is a fixed magazine semi-auto chambered in .35 rem. It has some sort of spring action deal around the barrel and seems to be a pretty hefty rifle. I cleaned the barrel and action as best I could without breaking the gun down, but the first and last time I tried to shoot the gun it would chamber and fire round number one but would jam when trying to eject the spent case. This was repeated 4 or 5 times with the same result. After that I wiped it down, oiled it up, and it has sat in the back of the safe for the last 25 years.

I'm wondering if it just needs a good break-down and cleaning but would prefer to have a diagram for reference before doing this.

Does anybody have information on these rifles?

Thanks

 

[Smithhound]

Get a copy of 'The Gun Digest Book of Firearms Assembly/Dissasembly' part IV, it details the complete process. It's probably gummed up. It is also a very complicated rifle to work on so study, take pics and notes and go slow.
Hope this helps.
RD

 

[sigp220.45]

Check this out:

The Gun Digest Book of firearms ... - Google Books

I think it is a seriously cool looking gun.

 

[Joe Kent]

There was a time when every field office of any size had some. I spent an evening with a long retired agent who regaled me with stories of his early days with the FBI as he looked at various 8's and 81's from my collection. I am on the lookout for one of the FBI models but they are few and far between. The main difference is how the receiver sight is mounted and the placement of the lettering on the left hand side of the rec.

 

[2152hq]

It may be that the recoil spring case installed in the front of the barrel housing is in backwards. The part is a spring retainer that encircles the barrel inside the barrel jacket. One end of it is slightly smaller in diameter than the other. That smaller diameter end goes in first, towards the breech in reassembly and retains one of the two recoil springs within it.
The smaller diameter end being the same diameter as the barrel is often assembled the wrong way with the small diameter out as it appears to be a simple spacer to be placed over the end of the barrel.

Assembled incorrectly, the rifle will fire, but the action will not be allowed to recoil far enough for the bolt to unlock and open so you get a failure to eject.

Manual operation of the bolt with the part incorrectly assembled will give no hint of a problem.

You can see if it is assembled wrong by pushing a cleaning rod down the bore and aginst the bolt by hand.
If it is assembled incorrectly, you should only be able to push the bolt and barrel assembly backward a little more than an inch. It will take some force to do so.

If assembled correctly you should (with some muscle!) be able to push the bolt/barrel back almost to the full rear of the receiver ejection port. The bolt wont unlatch doing this manually, but you can get it to by holding the bolt/barrel at that full rearward position and then pushing the bolt handle backwards about an additional 1/4" to unlatch it and the barrel will recoil forward,,the bolt continueing back.

If the barrel does not fly forward of it's own spring power when the bolt is unlatched in the above exercise,,a worn or broken bolt lock may be the problem. It can cause maulfunctions in extraction and ejection.

Other things to look at are the extractor itself. They are sometimes brittle and can break the hook off the tip causeing extraction problems. The top of the bolt where the extractor is secured into in a groove sometimes cracks and gives the extractor excess room to move around and not get a secure hold on rounds upon extraction.

Sometimes the wrong caliber extractor has been replaced in a rifle. They are different and will cause problems.

Lastly, a chamber that is rusted or damaged will cause problems in extraction. A stuck caseing that is removed with primitive tools sometimes leaves gouges and nicks in the metal that the new rounds cling onto when fired and won't extract smoothly.

Don't attempt to dissassemble the barrel jacket assembly w/o some detailed instructions & pics. A couple of specialized tools or at least some very carefully made ones are best used to get the barrel nut and jacket bushing apart. The springs are under heavy compression inside. Be very carefull when disassembling.

The Model 8 and 81 are great rifles in my opinion. Out dated for sure but they have a certain class about them. I have a late (1933 mfg) Model 8 in 32Rem that I'm currently putting back in shape and upgrading the wood. An FN Mod 1900 would be nice find!

 

[Joe Kent]

2152hq, watch Simpson's Collector firearms in Galesburg, Il. They import a lot of guns from Europe. I bought some FN 1900's from them not too long ago. They normally will post those type of items on their webb sight.

 

[ACP230]

I believe Mr. Kalashnikov stole some design features from the Remington M8/81 when he designed the AK47. Look at the back of the receiver and the safety lever, for instance.

I have always liked the look of these guns and came close to buying one a time or two.

 

[Wyatt Burp]

I have an 81 .300 Savage from 1949. Alll orig. with lotsa finish wear. I's one of my two fav. rifles. I think it kicks more than my Savage 99 in .300, maybe due to that barrel clanging around. I love the sound of all that action going on when I shoot it. I carried it hunting up here in the Sierras in a much wooded area. Very apprpriate for a "Woodsmaster". Didn't see anything, though. It's easy to break down. Someone probably mentioned this already, but use a dime to remove forearm screw and forearm and there's a cool lever in there that unscrews. Then the rifle breaks right in half. It goes back together easy. I hope you get it working.

 

[35Rem]

Post you question on the site link in my signature. I haven't spent a lot of time tearing these things down, but others there have. My model 8 works fine, luckily. They are very cool John Browning designs.

 

[2152hq]

2152hq, watch Simpson's Collector firearms in Galesburg, Il. They import a lot of guns from Europe. I bought some FN 1900's from them not too long ago. They normally will post those type of items on their webb sight.

Thanks Joe for the heads up. I will definetly keep a watch on their web site.

 

[Wyatt Burp]

There was a time when every field office of any size had some. I spent an evening with a long retired agent who regaled me with stories of his early days with the FBI as he looked at various 8's and 81's from my collection. I am on the lookout for one of the FBI models but they are few and far between. The main difference is how the receiver sight is mounted and the placement of the lettering on the left hand side of the rec.

Hey, Joe. Out here in Ca. in the 90's I was looking for a good Model 8. One shop had a guys collection for sale. About twenty of them. 8's and 81's. $200 to $350. One Model 8 was in 308 (not an 81 300 Sav. converted) and kinda scared me. I passed but almost got a custom 8 with rounded pistol grip. Then they were all gone and prices went through the roof. Just when I thought I missed the boat I found an original 81 from '49 in 300 Savage. $200 which was rediculous. It's a caliber still made and I shoot anyway. Lots of field use but perfect bore and mechanics.I love it. What was the cause of instant interest in these guns that made the price increase so quick? Maybe it was all guns since Savage 99's got pricey fast, too.

 

[35Rem]

The MAIN difference with the FBI model is the load it was designed for. It was a lighter load than the standard 30 Remington. It used 25 Remington springs (117 grain bullet v/s 150 grain in the 30 Rem).

Don't really know why a surge in price. I think everything got more expensive for a time. They are classics.

 

[Wayne02]

Thanks for the replies. Once again this forum proves to have a wealth of helpful people on a large variety of subjects. I did not even realize the rifle had the take-down option. I'll read through the book and get started on it this week.

Can you still buy commercial .35 rem ammo? If I recall there is only a half box left of the old stuff that came with the gun. I reload but don't know if this gun will get shot enough to warrant obtaining the dies and such.

 

[35Rem]

All of the Big 3 make 35 Remington ammo. Remington makes 150 and 200 grain loads, the others 200 only. I like the 200 grain loads myself.
Personally, I would stay away from the Hornady LeveRevolution stuff for the model 8 and 81. It's a recoil operated gun and while this load doesn't generate more pressure, it does generate more recoil. There really is no need for the Model 8 or 81 to use them. I like Remington's 200 grain CoreLokt load. The original and best.

 

[Joe Kent]

One of the things that has caused the prices to rise is John Henwood's book. Those of us who are in the Remington Collectors Society have been collecting them for some time and you could reach a decent level without "breaking" the bank. Way cheaper than the the same vintage Winchesters. With the book more widely available ,more people are becoming more knowledgable and the prices are rising fast. Another sleeper in this catagory is the Winchester's 1905,1907 and1910.