YES it does
The rifle with no respect. The Remington 81 (and model 8)
- Thread starter Wyatt Burp
- Start date
olskool
Member
i have killed 20 or so with my 444 marlin which is much more gun than a 35 or 32 rem. they died no deader or quicker, dead is dead my friend....................
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My Model 81
A cousin called me one day and said his deceased father's lifelong hunting partner gave my cousin his gun as a keepsake. When the hunting partner passed away, my cousin offered it to me, since my cousin is not a shooter. It's a 1949 Model 81 .300 Savage Standard model. The scope on it is a 4x Texan made by Norman-Ford & Co., which is ironic since these guys were Texans and hunted in Texas. I understand it took many local deer over the years. The one flaw that concerns me is the cracking of the rear stock behind the trigger(see 4th picture). Otherwise, it shoots great. To share with everybody, I located some very impressive ammo for it. I found it at Natchez Ammunition and it's made by Double Tap. It's a 125 grain Nosler Partioned Boat Tail with ballistics of 3050 fps and 2582 ft. lbs at the muzzle. If you Google this ammo, you'll see trajectories and ballistics at various yardage. I haven't tried it yet, but anxious to do so.
A cousin called me one day and said his deceased father's lifelong hunting partner gave my cousin his gun as a keepsake. When the hunting partner passed away, my cousin offered it to me, since my cousin is not a shooter. It's a 1949 Model 81 .300 Savage Standard model. The scope on it is a 4x Texan made by Norman-Ford & Co., which is ironic since these guys were Texans and hunted in Texas. I understand it took many local deer over the years. The one flaw that concerns me is the cracking of the rear stock behind the trigger(see 4th picture). Otherwise, it shoots great. To share with everybody, I located some very impressive ammo for it. I found it at Natchez Ammunition and it's made by Double Tap. It's a 125 grain Nosler Partioned Boat Tail with ballistics of 3050 fps and 2582 ft. lbs at the muzzle. If you Google this ammo, you'll see trajectories and ballistics at various yardage. I haven't tried it yet, but anxious to do so.
Attachments
The 81 in .300 Savage is a kicking beast. I'd recommend that you find a good stock man and have it pinned and glued before shooting it too much. Ford scopes were quality products in the day and the Stith mount is a classic. Very cool package! 
Nice 81. Almost bought one in 300Sav not too long ago.
The stock looks like it has been repaired in that area w/a slice. A piece added and matched well with the grain but you can see the verticle joint.
The top edge of the stock doesn't mate well with the receiver. The bottom edge is taking all the recoil with every shot.
It may have some bigger repair inside and needs a bit of re-inletting to reseat the rece'vr to the wood for a good fit. Fixing the crack at the same time will complete the job. Otherwise the crack will just return as the stock gets beaten hard on the lower edges again.
I like the Stith mounts on an 8 or 81. I'm not a fan of 'scopes in particular but if one shows up on one of these,,those old mounts seem to fit in for some reason.
The stock looks like it has been repaired in that area w/a slice. A piece added and matched well with the grain but you can see the verticle joint.
The top edge of the stock doesn't mate well with the receiver. The bottom edge is taking all the recoil with every shot.
It may have some bigger repair inside and needs a bit of re-inletting to reseat the rece'vr to the wood for a good fit. Fixing the crack at the same time will complete the job. Otherwise the crack will just return as the stock gets beaten hard on the lower edges again.
I like the Stith mounts on an 8 or 81. I'm not a fan of 'scopes in particular but if one shows up on one of these,,those old mounts seem to fit in for some reason.
OP
Wyatt Burp
Member
You didn't say but you must be referring to sirguinnesses model 81. Even I just noticed that gap in the upper part of the stock, but didn't associate it with your great observation. Like when the dentist leaves a high spot on a tooth and that one tooth gets all the pressure. My 81 in .300 Savage is from 1949, too (pretty sure anyway) and that heavy a-- buttstock might have been made like a tree trunk on purpose. I prefer to get beat up by a steel butt plate on mine than have rubber on it, though. I love that scope setup on that rifle, though I'm left handed.
Cracked stock
Thanks for all the quick responses. It sounds like I should track down a good smith to fix the stock. I had been thinking about refinishing with a walnut Tru-oil kit and was already picturing myself blending in on the top. Considering the gap up there, a professional repair would be the best plan. I intend to shoot it and would like to try the Double Tap ammo I described. This may or may not produce more recoil and this stock doesn't need any more abuse until it's fixed.
Other guns I've been fortunate enough to receive are a Thompson Center .45 cal Hawkin from a deceased uncle and a .30 cal DWM Luger from my brother as a thank you gift for taking care of our 91 year old mother.
My neighbor said it best. Guns are all about family. There's nothing better than passing a gun on to a family member when you're done with it. Unless you do it for the investment and return, it's not about the money, but the legacy.
Thanks for all the quick responses. It sounds like I should track down a good smith to fix the stock. I had been thinking about refinishing with a walnut Tru-oil kit and was already picturing myself blending in on the top. Considering the gap up there, a professional repair would be the best plan. I intend to shoot it and would like to try the Double Tap ammo I described. This may or may not produce more recoil and this stock doesn't need any more abuse until it's fixed.
Other guns I've been fortunate enough to receive are a Thompson Center .45 cal Hawkin from a deceased uncle and a .30 cal DWM Luger from my brother as a thank you gift for taking care of our 91 year old mother.
My neighbor said it best. Guns are all about family. There's nothing better than passing a gun on to a family member when you're done with it. Unless you do it for the investment and return, it's not about the money, but the legacy.
Yes, sorry I was refering to sirguinnesses model 81.
You can pull the butt stock off yourself to take a peek in there and see whats up.
Can't do any harm and nothing will go flying accross the room!
On the bottom receiver tang, there are two screws.
Remove the rear screw,,the one right at the very end of the tang closest to the wood.
That holds the stock to the receiver.
(Don't take the other screw out, that holds the trigger spring and the hammer spring in place inside)
Once the rear screw is out,,pull the stock itself backwards off of the rec'vr.
There's a long recoil return spring housing just under the comb notch of the stock that will come out with the recv'r,,so pull the stock & recv'r straight apart from each other.
Check the inletting for repairs, cracks. There might even be something in there keeping the two from going back together properly.
I've seen things like cardboard shims, papermatches, toothpicks and all sorts of things used as 'adjusters' to the inletting thinking it would help things out.
Even extra glue from the repair may have oozed out, hardened and is blocking full seating of the receiver to the wood.
Keep it in the family! Great rifle..
..A 300Savcal M81 would be a nice match up w/my 99Savage.
You can pull the butt stock off yourself to take a peek in there and see whats up.
Can't do any harm and nothing will go flying accross the room!
On the bottom receiver tang, there are two screws.
Remove the rear screw,,the one right at the very end of the tang closest to the wood.
That holds the stock to the receiver.
(Don't take the other screw out, that holds the trigger spring and the hammer spring in place inside)
Once the rear screw is out,,pull the stock itself backwards off of the rec'vr.
There's a long recoil return spring housing just under the comb notch of the stock that will come out with the recv'r,,so pull the stock & recv'r straight apart from each other.
Check the inletting for repairs, cracks. There might even be something in there keeping the two from going back together properly.
I've seen things like cardboard shims, papermatches, toothpicks and all sorts of things used as 'adjusters' to the inletting thinking it would help things out.
Even extra glue from the repair may have oozed out, hardened and is blocking full seating of the receiver to the wood.
Keep it in the family! Great rifle..
..A 300Savcal M81 would be a nice match up w/my 99Savage.
cracked stock
Thanks, I'll do that before turning it over to someone else.
If I do go with a professional repair, does anybody have any recommendations? We have a Cabela's nearby and they should have resources that are reliable.
Thanks, I'll do that before turning it over to someone else.
If I do go with a professional repair, does anybody have any recommendations? We have a Cabela's nearby and they should have resources that are reliable.
olskool
Member
i just bought two more, a model 81 in 35 and a model 8 in 25-35 the 81 was made in 1940 and the 8 was made in 1908 the 8 is tight but it has a dent in the barrel jacket and no bluing on the jacket. i will do a restoration this winter on it. the wood is perfect and the bore is great. the 35 just needs to go huntin.
Accobradave
Member
Wow..who woulda thought i would find a thread about this gun on the S&W site!!...I came into possession of a Model 8 today in .35 Rem..My wife brought it home for me from behind her fathers bedroom door..he said its been there for 50 yrs..Needs a good cleaning and someone varnished the stock at some point the metal is 80% id say...stock refinish and a good cleaning and it will be a nice pc..and the price was right!!
I think you are right, the animals aren't too hot but he sure was good on the scrolls and whorls. That's some good looking work.
Accobradave
Member
here are a couple of pics of my Mod 8..Built 1936
Last year I bought an 81 in 35 Rem. Loved the way it shot Rem. 200 gr CoreLoks. Bought the necessary tools to take it down & reassemble it.
Just bought the 35 Rem dies & loaded some 190 gr WFN. Ought to be the berries for hogs in thick timber like I hunt in East Texas. A little heavy so it'll be relegated to the blind & I'll still use the Winchester Trapper in 30/30 w/ Barnes bullets for timber cruising. Great little rifle!
Frank Hamer liked it as well.
Beruisis
Just bought the 35 Rem dies & loaded some 190 gr WFN. Ought to be the berries for hogs in thick timber like I hunt in East Texas. A little heavy so it'll be relegated to the blind & I'll still use the Winchester Trapper in 30/30 w/ Barnes bullets for timber cruising. Great little rifle!
Frank Hamer liked it as well.
Beruisis
I picked up an early mfg Model 8 in 35 not long ago. Nice bore,,but not so good wood and the top of the rec'vr is pitted badly.
Someone decided the original forend 'loop' used to attach&detach the wood was better served with a battered brass screw of some odd size.
Original rear sight missing...but it shoots OK!
Another project gun I'm afraid,,,I've thoughts of converting it to the Model 8 style pistol grip and restocking it.
I wish I could have gotten the FN 1900, but he was too in love with it & it had more problems than it's sister Model 8..
Someone decided the original forend 'loop' used to attach&detach the wood was better served with a battered brass screw of some odd size.
Original rear sight missing...but it shoots OK!
Another project gun I'm afraid,,,I've thoughts of converting it to the Model 8 style pistol grip and restocking it.
I wish I could have gotten the FN 1900, but he was too in love with it & it had more problems than it's sister Model 8..
1945 Model 81 in .300 Savage
Here, after its teardown cleaning and reassembly, is the new Remington 81 I mentioned in a couple of recent threads.
Bore is shiny bright, and the blue finish is about 97% preserved. The wood is in good shape. It does not appear to have been shot much in the first six decades of its life.
A previous owner did a couple of silly things to deal with what he considered problems. One involved putting some kind of glue around the shaft of a mounting screw in hopes of stabilizing the slightly loose fore-end. I cleaned that off, then fixed the looseness with a thin shim in the U-shaped channel at the rear end of the piece. His other odd fix, if that's the term, involved beveling off the top of the long screw that retains the shoulder stock. I guess it hurt his little finger or something. I'll find a replacement for that one. It's still just barely possible to back the screw out with the half-slot left on its head.
The rifle was pretty dry inside, and the action was understandably stiff and draggy. The rotation of the bolt face was affected, so half the time the open/release sequence couldn't even be completed because the improperly aligned bolt couldn't slide all the way forward to the close-and-lock position. Now that everything is cleaned and reinstalled, I haven't had a cycle failure.
I regard the .300 Savage round as a kind of poor-man's .308 Winchester, or maybe .30-06 Lite.
When researching this model and its predecessor, I was surprised to find that Remington made more of the Model 8 (the original Browning design) than of the Model 81 (the slightly revised version that was the first gun's successor). Production of the Model 8, introduced in 1906 and taken out of production in 1936, ran to some 80,000 units. Production of the 81, introduced in 1936 and made until 1950, amounted to about 55,000 units. Note, however, that the 81 was available in the market for only half the time of the 8, and WWII certainly held back production for some of those years. So despite lower total sales, the 81 actually sold at a faster rate than the 8 had in its production lifetime.
I am considering getting a tang sight for this one. I know Marble and Lyman sights were made for this model. Is one to be preferred over another, or is there even another choice that some of you prefer?
Very interesting rifle -- and my first semi-auto long gun. I won't tell you how long it took me to get the action back together after pulling it apart. Many ill-tempered vocal explosions and numerous breaks for pacifying moments of deep breathing were involved in the process, but now I am familiar with how to do it. I'm looking forward to getting some ammo and trying it out. I understand these rifles can be real shoulder punishers. That's a lot of steel slamming around between getting off the first shot and finding yourself ready to deliver the next.
Here, after its teardown cleaning and reassembly, is the new Remington 81 I mentioned in a couple of recent threads.
Bore is shiny bright, and the blue finish is about 97% preserved. The wood is in good shape. It does not appear to have been shot much in the first six decades of its life.
A previous owner did a couple of silly things to deal with what he considered problems. One involved putting some kind of glue around the shaft of a mounting screw in hopes of stabilizing the slightly loose fore-end. I cleaned that off, then fixed the looseness with a thin shim in the U-shaped channel at the rear end of the piece. His other odd fix, if that's the term, involved beveling off the top of the long screw that retains the shoulder stock. I guess it hurt his little finger or something. I'll find a replacement for that one. It's still just barely possible to back the screw out with the half-slot left on its head.
The rifle was pretty dry inside, and the action was understandably stiff and draggy. The rotation of the bolt face was affected, so half the time the open/release sequence couldn't even be completed because the improperly aligned bolt couldn't slide all the way forward to the close-and-lock position. Now that everything is cleaned and reinstalled, I haven't had a cycle failure.
I regard the .300 Savage round as a kind of poor-man's .308 Winchester, or maybe .30-06 Lite.
When researching this model and its predecessor, I was surprised to find that Remington made more of the Model 8 (the original Browning design) than of the Model 81 (the slightly revised version that was the first gun's successor). Production of the Model 8, introduced in 1906 and taken out of production in 1936, ran to some 80,000 units. Production of the 81, introduced in 1936 and made until 1950, amounted to about 55,000 units. Note, however, that the 81 was available in the market for only half the time of the 8, and WWII certainly held back production for some of those years. So despite lower total sales, the 81 actually sold at a faster rate than the 8 had in its production lifetime.
I am considering getting a tang sight for this one. I know Marble and Lyman sights were made for this model. Is one to be preferred over another, or is there even another choice that some of you prefer?
Very interesting rifle -- and my first semi-auto long gun. I won't tell you how long it took me to get the action back together after pulling it apart. Many ill-tempered vocal explosions and numerous breaks for pacifying moments of deep breathing were involved in the process, but now I am familiar with how to do it. I'm looking forward to getting some ammo and trying it out. I understand these rifles can be real shoulder punishers. That's a lot of steel slamming around between getting off the first shot and finding yourself ready to deliver the next.
Nice looking 81..
Besides the Lyman & Marbles folding tang sights that fit using the single factory drilled and tapped hole in the top tang,,Redfield and Williams made a rear 'peep' sight for these too.
These both require the rear face of the receiver to be drilled and tapped for installation,,3 screws for the Redfield IIRC.
They don't make use of the factory mounting hole.
The Redfield is a steel unit,,The Williams is aluminum and neither is micro adjustable if I remember right.
They are simple 'loosen the knob/screw,move the slide,,tighten the knob/screw' style of adjustments.
They are usually cheaper than the tang sights,,but the extra holes drilled don't pay dividends in the rifles value either.
Watch FleaBay for the tang sights,,they come up often. Sometimes you can snag one for under $100 which is a pretty good price. They usually go for $125/150.
Get the mount screw for it too,,It's an odd size (3/16x36 (?) and there's nothing in the mayo jar full of 'good for somethin' even if I never use them' screws down in the basement that'll fit.
Somebody else makes just the screw itself for these and also the plug screw. They cost $5 alone I think. But if you need one, you need one!
The Redfield and Williams use regular scope mt 6x48 screws to mount them.
You'll end up taking the open rear sight off the bbl most likely or else you will be looking through the notch while looking thru the aperture of the tang sight.
They used to sell a blank base to take it's place on the bbl cover using the same screws. Those can be found on EvilBay too.
In the very least , put the screws back in so the small threaded block inside the bbl cover doesn't become loose and falls inside with the 2 springs.
Besides the Lyman & Marbles folding tang sights that fit using the single factory drilled and tapped hole in the top tang,,Redfield and Williams made a rear 'peep' sight for these too.
These both require the rear face of the receiver to be drilled and tapped for installation,,3 screws for the Redfield IIRC.
They don't make use of the factory mounting hole.
The Redfield is a steel unit,,The Williams is aluminum and neither is micro adjustable if I remember right.
They are simple 'loosen the knob/screw,move the slide,,tighten the knob/screw' style of adjustments.
They are usually cheaper than the tang sights,,but the extra holes drilled don't pay dividends in the rifles value either.
Watch FleaBay for the tang sights,,they come up often. Sometimes you can snag one for under $100 which is a pretty good price. They usually go for $125/150.
Get the mount screw for it too,,It's an odd size (3/16x36 (?) and there's nothing in the mayo jar full of 'good for somethin' even if I never use them' screws down in the basement that'll fit.
Somebody else makes just the screw itself for these and also the plug screw. They cost $5 alone I think. But if you need one, you need one!
The Redfield and Williams use regular scope mt 6x48 screws to mount them.
You'll end up taking the open rear sight off the bbl most likely or else you will be looking through the notch while looking thru the aperture of the tang sight.
They used to sell a blank base to take it's place on the bbl cover using the same screws. Those can be found on EvilBay too.
In the very least , put the screws back in so the small threaded block inside the bbl cover doesn't become loose and falls inside with the 2 springs.
Good info; thank you.
I had already noticed that Ebay had a few applicable sights, but I was going to watch for a while and see how prices and quality ran over time. Cheap sights looked pretty rough, and a really nice in the box sight was kind of expensive.
I had already noticed that Ebay had a few applicable sights, but I was going to watch for a while and see how prices and quality ran over time. Cheap sights looked pretty rough, and a really nice in the box sight was kind of expensive.
That's not exactly the case with the Redfield 102N. The one that was on my rifle was attached with a single screw in the factory hole. There are three holes in the sight base section, but the center hole is where the elevation slide attaches. The top hole is for an optional mounting screw that does require drilling and tapping, but fortunately they didn't make use of it. My sight was very stable and secure with just the one screw, but I removed the sight because it covered too much engraving.
You are correct about the binder screw adjustments being less precise than the micrometer style, but the sight is graduated for both windage and elevation and include an adjustable stop screw for the elevation slide. It's actually a pretty good sight and has a lot less play than the fold down micrometer type.
That's one of the other peep sites I had thought of.
I had it in my frazzled mind that it took a couple extra D&T's holes to mount that one. Good to know you can get away w/o doing that.
I have seen those Redfields at gunshows for decent prices when compared to the Lyman & Marbles tang sights.
Shouldn't have been passing them by I guess,,
I had one of the simple 100 series on a Springfield '03 sporter at one time and once set, it never gave any problems and was rock solid even after a couple of falls with the rifle. Everyone wants the Lyman 47 though.
The extra anchor hole is optional then on the M8 mounting,,,but I sure wouldn't on that High Grade!
Thanks for the info,,I appreciate it.
I had it in my frazzled mind that it took a couple extra D&T's holes to mount that one. Good to know you can get away w/o doing that.
I have seen those Redfields at gunshows for decent prices when compared to the Lyman & Marbles tang sights.
Shouldn't have been passing them by I guess,,
I had one of the simple 100 series on a Springfield '03 sporter at one time and once set, it never gave any problems and was rock solid even after a couple of falls with the rifle. Everyone wants the Lyman 47 though.
The extra anchor hole is optional then on the M8 mounting,,,but I sure wouldn't on that High Grade!
Thanks for the info,,I appreciate it.
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