Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires The Remington Model 581-S a Sleeper , But I Believe it will be a tack driver

Hello All
I have been on the Hunt for a decent priced .22 rim fire rifle to Hunt Fox squirrel's in my area with. last year I had a super nice Older bolt action Marlin Model 883 stainless chambered in .22 W.M.R. Cartridge but soon found out that the 22 Magnum explodes squirrel's. I am on the Hunt for a large Fox squirrel to mount to finish out my Large Bob-Cat Mount which is in the Pounce Position with him snarling and his paw's close together, of which I want to Place a Nice large Fox squirrel between is paw's. In using the Marlin Model 883 I Harvested some gray squirrel's with it and as I said it was far too much power and it destroyed the squirrel's.

I have a Remington Model 12-A Pump .22 rifle that I grew up with that is drop dead mint and shipped out of Remington in 1913. It came from a Great uncle of mine that had passed away and I never met, but it was left to me that I have had it for over 47 Years. There is no provision for a scope on the Remington Model 12-A and I just could not bring myself to Molest that rifle by drilling it and Tapping it's receiver to mount a scope, so that was not an Option. I have my Dad's first .22 rifle that is Branded as a Ranger Model that was sold through Sears-Roebuck's between 1935-1937 and Made by Marlin, which is a single shot rifle with a Buck horn sight that I can shoot decent with, but these old Eye's are failing and I want a gun with a scope mounted on it, so I did not desire to ruin this gun either as it was not set up to take a scope, so that was not an Option.



I was out hitting a few pawn shop's the other day looking for a new Squirrel eliminator rifle in .22 L.R. and Looked at some newer offerings out there one being the Savage Mark II in Stainless steel with an accu-trigger on it, but I must admit I did not like the black synthetic stock on it or the finish and quality of the gun seemed Lacking to me, compared to Older higher quality made .22 rifle's so I Passed on it. I then was in one of our Larger Pawn shop's and spotted a Plain Jane looking Remington .22 rifle so I asked to see it.


The store clerk handed it to me and I promptly removed the Bolt from it's action. I Noticed that it was a Remington Model 581-S and it had a Five shot Plastic Magazine. Once I removed it's bolt I saw that it had the same Lug design on the Bolt that my Remington model 788 has. That got me thinking that it must have been a No frills price gun made by Remington as the Model 788 was, as this gun had the same Basic walnut stock with no checking, grip cap or for end ebony Piece like the Higher Priced Remington's had. I looked at it's sticker price and it was marked at $199.00.


I went to work Haggling with the store clerk and was out of there with it for $160.00 which Included tax & back ground check. I was Pleased with the Purchase of it and stopped off at another local gun shop that I vist on the way home. I looked in the glass case and that was a classic Redfield Tracker scope sitting there so I asked to see it. I took off the Turret cap's and noticed that it was an early Redfield Tracker as the Turret's were aluminum Not Plastic and it was of 3-9 Power. It had a duplex recticle in it but when I looked through it the image's I focused on looked fuzzy. I asked the guy behind the counter why it looked that way, and he said I don't know but it'ss priced right at just $25.00, and did so in a Rather Cocky Way.

He went back to Talking to another guy in the store so I loosened the eye focal piece and began to play with it. It took about Six full Turns of it but it became crystal clear to anything that I put it on in any given power. I walked over the store clerk and asked if this price was the best he could do ? he said Give me 20 Buck's and it's Yours, That Scope is a Piece of Junk to me and I ceretainly was not going to Argue with his Wise Crack so I was out the door with a decent older Redfield 3-9 scope a few minute's later. I was Not real familiar with this Remington Model 581-S but by Judging that the rifle was made sometime in the late 1960's to Early 1970's time span I knew Remington was still putting out some Great Accurate barrels and actions so I felt it would make a good squirrel rifle.


Now after owning a few model 788's I know that the weak point was their Lousy trigger Pulls. I have Modified mine so that it Breaks clean at just two Pound's with zero creep and it only Involved some Sear Polishing as well as Trigger Polishing and Placing a reduced Trigger spring in it that I bought called The Patriot reduced Trigger Pull spring. The Fix of the cheap made trigger assemblies on a Model 788 is less than $10.00, so I was excited to see that this gun had the exact same trigger assembly in it that my model 788 has because it kept the cost of it down and other's from really wanting to fool with it at a cost that was attractive to me.

As soon as I got it home and Pulled the barrel & action out of the stock I noticed that it's trigger looked exact to the one in my 788, so I ordered a new reduced Trigger Pull spring for it and am awaiting that to come in at this point. In the mean time I mounted my scope and will be working on bedding the stock for the action as I feel once I modify it's trigger this Gun will be the little Brother to the Model 788 & I am certain that it will shoot every bit as accurate. If you have a Remington model 581-S I sure would cherish your Opinion on it. I will Post some picture's of mine as I progress with the work on it as soon as the reduced Trigger Pull spring show's up, she aint Pretty but then again it is hard to find and accurate .22 rifle these days for a Package price of $180.00. Regards, TheGeneral

Great rifles. We have had very good accuracy with the couple we have owned. Those old Remingtons are great rigs compared to some of the newer stuff.

Yes, those 581-S are very good shooting rifles. The only difference in the 788 and 581 trigger is the bolt stop and the safety lever. Bedding the action will help it since they only have one action screw. Adding a second action screw also helps.
The one I still own is not a factory stock 581-S anymore, but I do consider it a better setup for a Squirrel rifle.

I own the same rifle ,since new in. Late 70's maybe early 80's,super accurate,I'd like to know more about improving the trigger pull,besides being plain jane in looks that rifle gave me a lot of fun with informal target shooting and took many a gray squirrel

Never bedded a action or added a second action screw,easy enough for a kitchen table gun smith or no ?

i had a standard 581 and the tube-fed 582. both were very accurate. my boys used them for squirrel with cheap bushnell 3-9x40's. they liked the cheap federal ammo which was nice. my boys liked my 77/22 better for carrying though so i bought one for each of them and sold the rem's to make room in the safe and partially fund the rugers. while i liked the 58X guns, they were somewhat utilitarian for my tastes. very much like the 788. don't get me wrong. good, inexpensive guns but my tastes these days lead to form and function. but those 58X guns with cheap scopes and clicky triggers shot every bit as good as my rugers with good scopes and trigger jobs. and did it at less than half the price.

I bought one for my son when he was 14 (22 years ago) so he could hunt squirrels with me and learn some good shooting and handling technique before heading off into the wood with me. Once I shot it, I was quite surprised at the accuracy of such an inexpensive rifle. Too late, he has claimed it and I'm not getting it back for any amount of trade bait....
With just a cheap Bushnell 3 x 9 scope it will almost keep up with some of my more expensive rimfires at any range and puts down sage rats and squirrels easily at reasonable ranges.

These days, $160 is a steal on one of the 581 rifles. If you are looking for another great rimfire, keep any eye out for the earlier Remington teens- 510, 511, 512, 514, etc.... Great shooters, built extremely well, handle well, and hold their value pretty well. Saw a great looking 512 in the LGS for $250, which is a little high, but it was in pristine original condition.

Have fun with your rifle. Mine shoots Remington Golden bullets and Winchester power points about equally well.

Bob

I've owned several 58x series Remingtons; single shot 580s, clip-fed 581s, and tube-fed 582s. Currently have a 580 that was reworked and rebarreled to 5mm Mag, a 581 that was purchased with the aim of rebarreling it to 17HM2, and a couple of 582s.

I like the actions and have no complaints about the triggers, but find that the stocks are a little small for my frame. Since there aren't any good after-market stock options, these rifles don't leave home very often. I bought the 582s for my kids, but they like the Marlin 981TS better.

I have a few old Redfield Trackers in 2-7x32 and 3-9x40 and think that they are pretty good scopes. Ironsight, Inc., in Tulsa, OK, will rebuild the old Denver Redfield 3-9Xs for $85 and shipping/insurance. They do good work, I had two old 2-7x32s rebuilt, if you can tolerate the 12 to 18 month wait.

Jeff

PS - I had Ironsight, Inc., install their German (#1) reticle in my scopes and like them for short range hunting under low light conditions. They are really heavy/thick reticles.

If you find 22 Magnum ammo too destructive on squirrels, you might try shooting some slower 22 WRF ammo or shoot 22 Mag FMJ loads.

Jeff

I have a 541 THB which uses the same action dressed up a little fancier.It is an accurate rifle once it has been warmed up. The first shot out of a cold barrel is always a flyer from the subsequent shots. It can be fouled and will still do it after it cools down. I shot it in some local .22 benchrest matches years ago and it was good but had to shoot the first shot off the target. I've talked to others with similar experience. Bedding the action and free floating the barrel did not improve it. I then bought a Cooper 57M and it is the best shooting non-match rifle .22 I have ever shot. I would have recommended a scope designed for rimfire (but not the cheap 3/4" 4X $20 ones) that is parallax free at 50 yards or one with an adj objective. My backyard squirrel rifle is a Benjamin Maurauder .177 pellet rifle and it has an inexpensive Bushnell scope on it but it is parallax adjustable.

I have owned a half-dozen of the 581's throughout the years and have regretted selling them. I modified the triggers and bedded them and each and everyone was much more accurate than a $69.00 22 had any right to, until I stepped up to my Coopers and Anschutz 22's I never owned more accurate 22's.

Re: the resemblance to the 788's. Per Ottesons book Bolt Action Rifles, they were built on the same machinery/fixtures as the 788's.

drover

Hello All
Wow, Lot's of responses here on the Remington Model 581-S here and most as very Positive I see. I will be starting the work on it's stock this week it has a few Bruises to it so I am going to refurbish it as well as Bed the action portion of it. I see no real reason to fire the gun until the Trigger reduced spring arrive's and I get it in Place. I will be polishing the sear & trigger asembly as well when I Place the new reduced trigger spring in it, so I hope to report back with some very Positive Target result's when I am done. Regards, TheGeneral

Bedding would be easy enough, but the second action screw may be a bit daunting for a kitchen table gun smith. I bedded my 541-S without adding a second action screw and it did real well. Some years later I added the screw. One of the problems a 581 without bedding or a back action screw is; it can move left to right in the stock. Bedding the action and the first 1" or so of the barrel will eliminate that.

The 581 was discontinued for a while and when it came back it was dubbed the 581-S. I have a 581L from the original run. It shoots great with almost any ammo. Even as plain as it is, I would choose it over the higher priced guns. All I have ever done to mine is have a trigger job done on it the first week I owned it. It breaks clean at about 2#. I considered sending it off and having it restocked and rebarreled with a 541 barrel, but it simply shoots too well as is.

I have the tube fed version, 582, that I bought while in Jr High in the mid 60s. Always been real accurate, the trigger cleaned up easily and I'd hate to think of how many squirrels it's taken. For a few years there, I went through a brick of ammo a month plinking. Mostly Super-X but when I could find them the long gone Hodgdon branded ammo was it's favorite.

Hello All
I have been working for the past two day's on Improving my Remington Model 581-S. I Installed sling swivels and a used Basket weave pattern cushioned sling that I had. I then stripped it's Birch stock as it had some dent's and Bruises on it, and decided to leave it Natural Looking. I feel it compliment's the gun and add's some Good color contrast against it's bluing, Unlike the Fak Looking stain that it came from the factory with as to me it Looked Nothing Like Walnut to begin with. I Placed the 3-9 Redfiled Tracker scope on it and Bore sighted it. I did work over the factory Remington trigger spring and now it has just 3-pound's of trigger Pull, with no Creep . My reduced trigger spring should be here some time this week I will put it in the Trigger assembly when it arives but by working over this factory Trigger spring at least now it is decent enough to shoot some, as Prior to this it has a Horrid 7-1/2 Pound Trigger Pull from the factory. I hope to get on the Range with it this comiong week. Here is how it turned out. Regards, TheGeneral

VERY nice looking 581. You'll love it. I have a 582 (same rifle but tube magazine) and it's a tack driver. I need to refinish my stock also and even bought an ebony fore-end tip to add on. Great addition. Squirrels will fear you!

Hello
I got a chance to get my Remington Model 581-S on the Range today. I took with me several Brands of .22 LR ammo but I started off with some Winchester Target standard velocity ammo with Lead bullet's and saw no reason to try anything Else. I used two sheet's of cheap Computer Paper to start out sighting it in with it's freshly Mounted 3-9 Redfield Tracker. By the second five round Magazine I had it zero'd in and shooting fine. I then took a Redfield scope target out to the 50 Yard line and shot a five shot string at it. I walked down to see the result's and was Pleased at what I saw so I took down the target, loaded up my Gear and called it a day. Here are the target result's I am Very Pleased with this old Remington and it's Redfield scope, I have No Desire to buy one of the Newer Modern rifle's this Old Remy will do anything I need to do with it for Sure. Regards, Hammerdown

The blond Birch stock looks great, the tiny groups look so typical of 58X's

I've got a 581-S, with the iron sites the its a great tack driver. I put a Bushnell 3x-7x custom .22 scope on it and the ptarmigan,grouse, and snowshoe hares just don't think its fair. Great rifles!