Picked this one up this morning in 300 Savage. Just looking to see who is using one and to see what you might be having good luck with loading for it.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/galleries/17350834/remington-81-300-savage

That is a great looking rifle.

Thanks. Its been touched up but the price was right!!

I have a half dozen of those in 300 Savage, I find them to have a rather nasty kick due to poor stock design and the reciprocating barrel. This has been a complaint with the design since the first one rolled out of the shop.

To help cut down the recoil and help with wear and tear on the parts, I load them with 150 gr bullets and generally IMR 4064 powder. I picked 4064 mainly because I have a lot of it and it fills the case pretty well. I am happy with velocity a bit above 2500 fps. Varget is another I like a lot but it runs best at higher velocities than I wish. I use Varget in my Rem 700 and 760 as they are much stronger actions. Winchester 748 is another I've used but prefer it in the 223 as it doesn't bridge in the case neck.

The next batch I load up might incorporate 130 gr Barnes bullets to further ease recoil. i have 100 of them at the moment which would get me started in load development and a couple years of hunting.

Between the 8 and the 81 I have nearly two dozen of these rifles. They are fun to shoot and still do a job on game. One of these in 35 Rem is what I carry as a follow up gun for black bear hunting.

Joe, you crossed over to the dark side?

Lol. Only because its in 300 Savage.

Thanks Woodmaster. I load all my 300’s just like you said. 38gr of 4064 with 150gr sp. Nice mild load.

Joe

I have ALWAYS been intrigued by them. When I was a young hunter, seemed like MANY older hunters hunted with them. I saw FAR more of them in the deer woods than I ever have seen 99's TO THIS DAY. I keep looking at them and I "might" bite if I found one original and in great shape. I have a fairly large number of Remingtons in my group of guns. Congratulations. Joe.

I only have one in 35 rem and I mostly shoot cast bullets in it.

Ah, the infamous "Pogo Stick!"

When I was a young and tagging along with my father in the deer woods, many old timers carried these guns. They were very, very popular and very, very reliable. You could drop them in the mud, pick them up and shoot 5 times. Never jammed unlike the whole long series of single shot Jamingtons that followed them.

My father hunted with a Model 8 32 Remington for most of his life. I shot my first buck with a Model 8 35 Remington that my Grandfather's Uncle bought brand new in 1909. 4 digit serial number. I still have that gun.

Winchester 94s also had a large following. I saw very few 99s in the woods, but I was always fascinated with them. I remember asking my Grandfather once why he and his brothers never had any 99s. He said "Only doctors and lawyers can afford 99s".

Nice looking gun, Joe!!





I just picked one up this month also, in 300 Savage. Didn't mean to.. thought I put a lowball bid on it. Oops, won it!

Told the wife I accidentally bought a gun. She didn't think that was as funny as I did.

Yours is a good looking one! I need one of those peep sights.

Mine has been converted to have a removable magazine. It seems likely to be what's known as a "Krieger Conversion Model 81", meaning the magazine conversion was done by a company called Krieger & Sons in the early 50's. These are pretty sought after, apparently.

Kinda weird factoid: M14 stripper clips work for re-charging the magazines in Remington 81's. Original Remington stripper clips have attained "collector" status. The M14 clips worked for me when I had a short-lived fling with one of these.

I was wondering about that. Picked up a cheap 1920 in 250-3000 also, and obviously it can handle stripper clips also. Got a couple of those around for another 250-3000, all loaded up with cartridges.

have had more than a few 8's and 81's over the years. only rifle i know that kicks 4 ways! love them, just no room anymore for them.

I have one of these in 35 Rem; inherited from my late father. I haven’t shot it; don’t think he ever shot it (Dad purchased it from one of his uncles). I think mine might be an older model - does not have a model designation stamped into the metal. Should make a good brush gun for deer. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the gun is a takedown design.

The early Remington autoloading rifles didn't have a model designation, but in 1911 they became the Model 8. (I also owned one of the early ones for a while, chambered in .35 Remington.)

M1903 Springfield stripper clips are correct for M1920 Savages.

Woodmaster, mine has a bunch of different stampings on it. Would you know what they are or mean? I will try to post a couple pictures of them. I know there are 3 different ones stamped on the bottom of the receiver.

Mine has 3 on the bottom also. Think they are assembly stamps?

Never seen one of those, pretty cool. If pick one up it I ever see one for a decent price.

Here are the stampings on it. Not sure if they mean anything or not.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/galleries/17352347/rem-81-stampings

http://thegreatmodel8.remingtonsociety.com/?page_id=450


See if any of this info helps?

https://www.remingtonsociety.org/manufacture-dates/

I got the date code but not sure of these stampings. Thanks

Joe,
Google.....‘Leroy’s Ramblings, Remington Barrel Date Codes’. They’re inspector stamps and assembly codes.

Ooh.. November, 1945. Cool!

Not sure how you came up with 45 Rory. Mine is stamped DTT. I thought that was September 1948?

I love mine. I have killed several deer and 2 antelope with it.

I load it with 180 grain bullets because for me at my age, the open sights (BIG bead and U notch) limit my range to about 150 yards. So I use the heavier bullet because the difference in trajectory is unimportant out to that range.
But so far I have no had problems turning deer and antelope into meals with it.
Maybe someday I'll go after elk with it, but I have not tried it with this rifle yet.

Sorry.. Mine is November, 1945. RPP.

When I was a little kid in the late 1940s in Northern California about 65 miles north of SFO, everyone who was anyone had a Winchester 1894 or 94 in .30-30. Nothing else would kill deer. There were a few guys who hunted deer with surplus rifles from WWII like Japanese 7.7s rechambered to .30-06, a few Krags, and that was about it. I knew a "City Guy" who had brought 336 "Sporting Carbine" in .35 Rem out with him from New Jersey, but never killed anything with it. Probably couldn't find ammo.

And then there was the local "cattle baron" who actually made his living doing precision dirt surgery with a Cat, saved his money and bought land and breeding stock (he ended up one of the Board of Trustees of the California Land Bank) and an 81 in .300 Savage. He'd got used to autoloaders as a sergeant in a Combat Engineer Battalion w/Patton and could afford what he wanted. He took one day off every deer season, shot his blacktail, and went back to carving and buying dirt and putting cows on it. We all thought it was a Death Ray!

Aside from sporterized Krags and Arisakas, the only bolt action I ever saw in the field until I was a senior in high school was a guy I met on a trail so far back in the boonies behind Fort Hunter Liggett (anybody serve there?) that even the Army didn't know where he was. He had a Winchester Model 70 (SCOPED!) in .270 and a nice buck. I'd only thought that happened in Sports Afield.

99s only began to catch on up there in the late 1950s when ordinary country people got jobs "in town" and had enough extra to actually buy outdoor magazines and do what all the wonderful Savage ads were telling them to do!

My kid memory doesn't recall 99's, or Remington 8/81's. Mainly Winchester 94's, Remington 760's, and a whole lotta milsurps. Now and then a Marlin 336. Of course that was in PA where then as now autoloaders weren't legal for deer hunting, so the odds of somebody owning a 8/81 was slim to none. Guys with a little jingle in their pockets aspired to M70's. The only 722's I saw were a few .222's in the hands of groundhog hunters.

I remember one frosty morning in Western Maryland my Dad and I stumbled onto a yokel dressed in a flannel shirt, bib overalls, and sneakers, hunched down behind a tree stump with some sort of Russian looking automatic rifle, bipod, flash hider and all. I was intrigued (naturally) but the Old Man herded me along. I thought "man-o-man, he sure had the capability to really mow down the deer". Sure enough later that morning I heard that gun roaring way down below from where we were. Pop steered us waaaay out around when we headed back out.

Man, all I recall are mostly Remington M700s mainly in 243, very few Winchester M70s in 270 and the newbie having to shoot a M94 in 30-30(first gun and caliber I was made to shoot my first whitetail with).

The Kreiger Conversion is fairly rare and sought after. The Model 81's run was from 1936-1950.
Kind of cheaper less fancier version of the previous Model 8 but the Model 8 was never chambered in 300 Savage. I don't know the manufacturing numbers by caliber, but I do know that I have never seen a Model 81 that wasn't a 300 Savage, although I know there were at least a few manufactured in the other Rem caliber family (30,32,35). Don't think there were any 25s made.

Rory, could this be the opening to another rabbit hole? Possibly another book?

Oh heck no! I've been intrigued with them ever since I saw Les and Don joking about the "pogo sticks" way back on my early days here. But I think one will be enough.

Les and Don's bantering about the 81 prompted me to snag one, at a small gunshow wherein there was nothing else that really caught my fancy. The price was downright cheap, so why not. It didn't take long for its downsides to outweigh its upsides, so away it went. Downside: Heavy in a weird kind of way, poor balance. Awful trigger. Weird recoil pulse. Not particularly accurate. Upside: Pretty neat.

Very nice find, most of them I've seen in the wild are pretty beat up, usually with cracked wood.

They're a neat looking thing, but I shot one in 30 and found it downright unpleasant for such a small cartridge. I can't imagine 300 being very much fun at all. If I ever came across an 8 in 25 for the right price I'd probably snag it, but the odds of that are slim to none with rifle prices being what they are these days.

I've been told, by the fellow who owned a .25 Remington, that it is impossible to find recoil springs for them. His needed replacing and none was to be had.

They are fairly heavy, but I find that makes them a steady platform for off hand shooting, similar to the M1 Garand.

You have to remember the context in which they were used during their day. They were a very useful tool for hunting the eastern forests, where the shooting was not particularly far, most likely offhand and usually at running game via the deer drive. Really their best asset to the men that used them in that time in my view was their durability, their reliability and their ability to get 5 shots downrange quickly.

My first buck that I killed with my old Model 8 came boiling out of a deer drive jumping as high and running as fast as any deer can go. I swung on him like a quail and dumped him with the 3rd shot. That is what deer hunting was back then and the Model 8 fit in that role very nicely.

I recall the first time I saw Dad with his model 8, I thought to myself that it was an ugly gun. And it is! Only a mother could love something so ugly with such a fat barrel. Not at all graceful like the early 99’s. But I started developing an appreciation once I learned that it was a Browning design with its unique recoil system.

had one. it wasn't accurate (about 3 or 4" groups). It went down the road.
There were two old guys who drove the clay roads in a new Oldsmobile during hunting season when I was a kid. They had pogo sticks, don't know which model or caliber. I thought they had shotguns till they stopped to talk to my Dad one day and I could see the tiny (relatively) hole in the barrels. My Dad explained what they were after they drove off. Never saw them out of the Olds.

The model 8/81s also had a following in law enforcement in their day.

Ahhhhh!!! The lovely Remington 8/81 rifles!!! I have a love affair with them as I do the Savage 99. My 'kid' memories with the 8/81 are similar as to why I love the 99. AS a kid in the late fifties and teen years in the 60's, all the outdoor, hunting, and gun magazines always displayed full page ads of the 8/81's and showed deer camp pictures with guys holding 99's, 8/81's, and Win 94's. Always dreamed of being one of those guys. The ads intrigued me. Didn't buy a 81 until around five years or so ago, same with a 99. Never did have a Win 94 lever gun, but have two Marlin 94's and a Uberti Model 66 (Yellowboy). If deer were allowed to be hunted in Iowa with bottle neck cartridges, I'd probably have bought a 99 or 8/81 sooner, but what is, Is, and I enjoy just being able to paper punch and shoot milk jugs full of water.

Regarding to what was posted earlier, the Model 81 isn't a cheaper Model 8. In 1936 Remington wanted to 'modernize' the Model 8, so they gave the stock a pistol grip and did a few things back and forth with the forearm. Basically the 81 is nothing but a 8 with a pistol grip stock, which actually makes for a stronger stock. Most everything between the two models is interchangeable as far as parts. The 25 Remington caliber was dropped in 1936 when the 81 was introduced and the 300 Savage was introduced. Most popular caliber for the 8 was the 35 Remington and for the Model 81 it is the 35 Rem and 300 Savage, although I see alot more 300 Savages for sale on GunBroker and Guns International. The 30 and 32 Remington's lasted for a while after the 81 came out, but they to were dropped after WW2 I believe. Remington just prior to WW2 was considering a Model 82, a advanced version of the 81 with a crossbolt safety and a few other refinements, but it dropped for lack of a second and WW2. A few rare Remington 81's in 25 Rem caliber are around that were produced in and a bit after 1936, but they are very rare.

The stampings on the barrel/receiver, and trigger assembly as indicated are fitters and assemblers marks. If you see duplicate stampings say on the receiver and trigger assembly, those are fitters stamps. Single ones are assemblers. Out of sequence stampings on the barrel jacket and/or the barrel jacket housing are usually from the rifle being sent back to Remington for work and stamped by gunsmiths at the plant. There is a whole list of marks depending on the employee and year of production. A great book on the 8/81 rifles is John Henwoods "The Great Remington 8 and Model 81 Autoloading Rifles". Out of print, can be pricey, but at times I see them reasonable. I paid around $65 and I thought it was pricey, but I've seen them push $200 here and there. Great informative book, just like Davids 99 book giving history, details and such. Not forgetting your book Rory, I did see that 81 you bought on GB with the Krieger mag capability. Those models usually are highly sot after and the Krieger magazines are much sot after also if they can be found for sale. I too bid on a firearm once, bidding what I thought was a soft bid that would be out bided. No one else bid and I bought the gun. Glad it turned out that way, the gun is a favorite now and worth more than I bid. Did learn my lesson there.

I have two post WW2 81's, both in 300 Savage and this spring I found a really nice, great shape 81 in 35 Remington. I've had great results reloading Varget, 3031, IMR and H4895, and have done some with IMR 4064 in the 300 Savages. Didn't have as good of results with Win 748. Varget and 3031 are my favorites for the 300 Savage. Can't get 1" MOA with the guns, but anywhere from 40-100 yards I can cover 5 shoots with the palm of one hand, some of the shots touching. Good enough if I were deer hunting. I'm just getting into cast bullet loading with Lee's 30 caliber 150 FT and 160 grain RN. Most of my bullet use has been Speers 150 grain 30 cal Hot Cores, both Spitzer and Flat Point's. Great accuracy. Using the info from load manuals, I'm confident of the fps and the ability if used for huntin, they'd drop a deer. One thing that is needed with the 'Pogo Sticks' recoil operated 8/81's is enough energy to operate the rifle, so downloading can be finicky if a person wanted to reload for just target without the recoil. Not having any 35 Reminton pior to getting the 1938 DOB 81 Rem, I'm just in the process of casting 200 grain bullets for it and had to replace the magazine spring. Some former owner replaced the original with some other zip-zag spring and I had a dickens of a time getting one. One of the hazards of online gun buying.

The recoil of my two 300 Savage 81's isn't bad, but I read and am a member of the Remington 8/81 forum and a 8/81 shooter there put me on to 'Limbsaver' brand slip on recoil pads. These things are a wonder. I bought two at a local store (a medium and large sizes) and tried them. The medium works best as far as fit on my 81's. In fact that size works great on my M1 Garands, collection of WW1/2 military bolt guns from four countries). Took the large size back and exchanged it for another medium. I'm no 'weany' when it comes to recoil, but don't enjoy it either. The Limbsaver really took the bite out of the 300 Savage as it did out of my military collection. The Russian WW2 Mosin/Nagant 7.62x54 is probably the biggest 'mule kicker' I have and a LimbSaver really tamed that beast down. The Limbsaver is around $30 retail and worth every dollar. Their 'AirTec' model is better than the 'Classic' model. Nice thing about the slip-on's is that they don't detract from original lines and lessen value vs adding a permanent recoil pad.

Enjoy the nostalgia of the Remington's as I do my three Savage 99's. I even donned my red/black wool jacket at times and take a 99 or 81 for an afternoon stroll along a river and/or timbers playing a hunter from yesteryear plinking at targets of opportunity. Enjoyable outings. Wish deer hunting was allowed with my 99's and 81's. I don't know how this post got so long, but gives ya all some reading time. All take care.

Thanks for that!

The model 81 is a much uglier clunky cumbersome version of the model 8. There were many model 8's made with pistol grips. I wouldn't trade one model 8 for a dump truck load of 81's. The only good thing you can say about the 81's is they were chambered in 300 Savage and the model 8s were not.

At least to me, and I have handled and owned dozens of these guns in my life, in our 99 language comparing a model 8 to an 81 is like comparing a pre war G to a post mil E.

I appreciate all the comments and feedback. Hopefully this weekend i will be able to get to the range and give it a whirl! If it wasnt for it being chambered in 300 Savage i probably wouldnt even have traded for it. Will keep ya’s posted on how it shoots.

Joe

These rifles belong to one of our members and thought I would add them to this thread for him. I swear, he has examples of almost everything you could imagine. Speaking of 8's and 81's here's a few and a new one on me. Almost in the center partially hidden is a Remington lever action.

Sorry, I kind of forgot about this thread.

Those numbers are fitter, assembler, and inspector marks. They occur on numerous places on the gun.

The best resource for these guns is John Henwood's "The Great Remington 8 and 81 Autoloading Rifles". The Remington website is a treasure trove of knowledgable people on these guns. Your "Krieger" conversion looks like mine which I don't believe is a Krieger. Another posted a similar gun on the site a while back which is how I came to think mine is not a Krieger. It feeds well and the mag is secure in the well so it was well done. There is a guide to help identify a Krieger gun on the website.

Model 8s came in 25, 30, and 32 calibers to go with the original 35 caliber. The former are literally rimless versions of the Winchester 25/35, 30/30, and 32 Special rounds. The dies for the latter can make useable ammunition with the right she'll holder. If necessary, one can turn the rim off any of the Winchester cases and then cut an extractor groove to make cases for the Remington cartridges. The 35 Rem is on its own unique case head size.

The 81 originally came in 30, 32, and 35 calibers with 25 caliber being listed but few made. The 32 was replaced by the 300 Savage in 1940 or thereabouts. In the short time the 300 was available, it became the #2 seller over both models.

I need to find another 8 in 32 caliber and an 81 in 30. I foolishly sold the ones I had thinking I could pick up new ones. Since I did this I haven't found a gun nice enough to replace them. At least not reasonably priced.

Pretty sure I know those guns! Beautiful rifles. If I remember, there's an extended mag police version that's not in the picture.

I still own a model 81 in 300 Savage that came out of my family tree.

I remember one gentleman from my youth that hunted with my family's clan that carried one of these for as long as I knew him. He told me he had bought it new right after the war ended. He was still hunting with it when he was an old man probably up until the year 2000ish. If you showed him hair, he would show you meat. It was good enough for him that he never saw the need to own another rifle. He shot 180 grain Remington round nose bullets out of it. Swore by them. That gun killed a lot of deer.

If you look closely the extended mag police version gun is the top gun in the picture (model 81) with the extended mag out of the gun.

Looks like a former Los Angeles County version.

Look at the bottom gun in the picture. A model 8. A much more handsome specimen, at least to my eye and touch...

https://www.morphyauctions.com/jame...fle-used-to-kill-bonnie-and-clyde-57943/

For those that are interested in such thing this makes excellent reading. I wonder where this gun is now and what it would bring?

Prentis Oakley was known as a deadly marksman and that is why it is said Frank Hamer put him on the posse.

Guess it's up to the individual to determine what looks nice and what isn't. To me, the Model 8 looks as it is missing something without the pistol grip, sort of a starved Model 81. In my eye they are neither ugly or clunky. Of course the Remington 8/81's sort or have the reputation as a 'ugly' rifle anyway to some when comparing them with sleek lever or bolt rifles. I've always preferred the 81, but I'd take a 8 ifin it was in good shape and didn't have scope mount holes drilled into the receiver and/or a recoil pad added to the stock.

As far as Model 8's having pistol grip stocks, never happened, at least from the factory. The only exception were the Fabrique Nationale d'Armes Model 1900 (FN 1900) made in Belgium before WW1 and some say a few after. These were clones of Remington's Model 8, but most had a solid rib on top of the barrel, a checkered forearm, and a checkered round knob pistol grip. They bring big dollars if in good to excellent condition. I've seen what are described as Model 8's with a Model 81 stock that was fabricated to it and Model 81's with straight Model 8 stocks added. These are rifles that had some gunsmith do add-on's. The receiver serial number gives them away as to if they are 8's or 81's. The stocks aren't just able to switch from one model to another as the Model 81 has the rear of the trigger group's tang bent to accommodate the wooden pistol grip.

In 1936 when Remington switched over to the Model 81 from the 8, they did have a heavier, thicker forearm, but by around 1939 or so, they slimmed it down and shortened it. It wasn't an exact duplicate of the Model 8 forearm, but not as thick as the original Model 81. Saw a Model 8 with a serial number that dated it pre-WW1 not long ago for sale online that the seller described it as all original that had a pistol grip stock. Another seller had a post WW2 81 with a Model 8 style straight stock that the seller claimed was original and rare. NOT!!!!!! 99guy---Check out Henwood's book and the 8/81 forum as far as when straight vs pistol grips were produced on 8/81's. As far as looks, "Eye of the Beholder"! I don't care for the looks of Savage 99 PerchBelly stocks, some like em. I don't care for over engraved firearms, some droll at em., but hey---enjoy your posts, you take care.

Haha. Check your sources. I personally currently own 2 of them myself, the gun in the Morphy auction link above has a pistol grip. Hell, the gun listed on the opening page of thegreatmodel8.remington society website has a pistol grip. Was an option.

Ah yeah, should have looked at the forearm. Still new to these. Knew there was one around, tho.

Information on the gun, at least what I can read is POLICE GUN Sheriff Dept. ( I can't make out what is here)
Los Angeles County

Not to belabor this point but this is a quote taken directly from the The Great Model 8 Remington Society Website:


"The majority of Model 8’s are the “A” grade; it is the basic, most common grade found. The Model 8A came with an ordinary American walnut stock and forearm. The buttstock could be had in either a straight grip, round knob semi-pistol grip, or flat knob semi-pistol grip (late production rifles). The metalwork was plain with no engraving on the receiver or barrel jacket"

GREAT THREAD!

I knew there were multiple styles available, appreciate that.

Just to add to everyone's collective old gun knowledge check out the link below. Because almost all 99 gekes are really old gun gekes.

Lots of very old, very cool pictures. You can see many very old model 8's with the round knob pistol grips. I own one of these versions myself serial number 949x, Grade A manufactured in 1908, 35 Remington and bought brand spanking new in 1909 by my Grandfather's uncle. Uncle Nick. I also own my father's 1928 version Grade C with checkered wood and a capped pistol grip. 32 Remington. My Grandfather told me he bought it from a civil war veteran's widow and gave it to my father on his 16th birthday.

http://thegreatmodel8.remingtonsoci...-gallery-page/vintage-pics?page_id=2661.

A few examples:

Didn't Frank Hamer use a Model 8 to gun down Bonnie and Clyde?

His son once said he did, but the gun he provided was made several years later than Bonnie and Clyde being gunned down. I'm thinking Hamer used a BAR..

One of the deputies did have one, it's in the Morphy's link above. There are pictures of guns atop B&C's car that show a model 8.

I have an 8 in .25Rem and a 81 in .300Sav. About 20 years ago a local GS had a FN 1900 with removable mag in .35Rem for $425. I bought it and had fun shooting it and checking the history on the 8/81 forum, then our great gun registration came in and turned out it had been stolen in a home break in back in 1985 so had to surrender it.

Looking at these pictures only does one thing for me. It cements the fact that we have REALLY f u c k e d up the way we live and think. Most of the guys in these pictures more than likely owned 1 or 2 guns and those guns were extensions of themselves. They were dressed in the very latest hunting fashions and more often than not were holding the only deer rifle they owned. Thank you, Randy for sharing this link. It DID bring back a ton of memories. Do you think in the back of their minds they were thinking of that guy 75-100 years down the road who would call them a moron for modifying their rifle?

True, on the face of it. But remember that the average working stiff 80-130 years ago enjoyed a pretty dismal standard of living, and not conceived of a life in which there was discretionary income for incidental toys that would rarely if ever actually get used. I doubt a single one of those guys would've declined a chance to own a few more guns just for the heck of it. The overseers of those working stiffs did have the money/time/inclination to jump from one gun to the next in search of The One Ideal Rifle. Now, we moderns who are the working stiffs, enjoy a standard of living that rivals those guy's overseers.

Would I willingly go back and live in 1920? Not on your life, but I wouldn't mind visiting for a couple weeks.

Yeah, my Mom grew up in a house that didn't have electricity or running water. At the time that was fairly commonplace around here for people who didn't live in town.

As much as I wax nostalgic for the "old days" I think I'd take a hard pass on ever wanting to live in them, too.

Longbeardking / gnoahhh / zcm82,

Good posts - thank you - these reflect why I enjoy coming to this forum every day. The discussion is civil and respectful (almost always) with thoughtfully expressed perspectives. Sometimes the posts challenge my opinions. Thank all of you in this forum for your contributions.

As for the old days, I do suspect that people were more appreciative of the blessings in their lives. I could use a dose of that.

I remember my Grandparents and that whole generation that survived the great depression and the second world war. They didn't have hardly anything, and they never complained. If they had a job, a roof over their head and car to drive to town and church on Sunday they were happy. I know that generation was happier than my generation or my children's generation who have everything and all they do is complain, and are just generally miserable.

We hunted with poor orange grove workers in the 1950's and 60's. They had electricity but no running water in the houses. They had a well with an electric water pump outside and that was it. My Father often remarked how happy they were. Their lives were much simpler than ours. My life is way too complicated now and I wish it was simpler.

I don't get the lamenting for the "old" days/ways. You can still live without modern convinces if you want to, nothing is stopping anyone from doing so.

My Dad used to tell me how they had the first flushing toilet in the neighborhood. Years later he took me by the “Ranch”. He pointed out what was left of the stone spring house where they kept butter, milk, anything that needed to be kept cool. Then the foundation of the house that burnt down. He found two melted silver dollars that still had dates on them. Then he pointed and said, “that’s where the outhouse was”. I said, “you said you had a flushing toilet?” He said, “we did, it was in the outhouse.”

One of my friends actually lives right across the road from the property where Mom did. The house burned down 25 years ago or so, but the remnants of the barn and the chicken coop are still out there.

My grandparents sold thier stake of the farm to my great uncle and moved into town in 1960 when Mom was in high school, but my great uncle lived there until the late 70s when he retired, sold the land, and bought a house a bit closer to town that had power and water. Some city people own the land now as a deer hunting plot.

I grew up in a really impoverished area of northern MN until I was 10 or so, and there were still a few people with outhouses then, and that was into the late 80s/early 90s. As a kid I didn't realize how poor we were until we had moved to a different state and suddenly there was a phone, cable tv, etc. We had electricity and plumbing, but there was no phone line. I remember the folks having to drive to a gas station in town to use a pay phone when I was little.

Well i took it up in the woods this morning. Had to make sure it functions properly and safely before i head to the range with it. Lets just say its……… definitely different. Lol. It actually shot flawlessly and has a great trigger! Hopefully tomorrow i can see how it is on paper. Thanks for all the great stories and responses.

Joe

Glad to hear it's functional, hopefully it's a shooter, too 👍

With 75 posts it turned out to be a great thread.

Hope you enjoy the gun Joe.

Great! Thanks for starting what turned out to be a very fun and educational thread.

Great thread, did kill one 8 point buck with my 81 300 about ten years ago, still carry it now and then, but shoot it quite a bit off season. Talking about the old days, my grandfather and father had a plumbing business togeather, and one day in 1946 they went to a farm that had a dug well and outhouses to put in plumbing, toilet,and septic system. There were three girls digging a trench for the pipe, the oldest was 16. Four years later my dad married her, and I was born two years later. People always got a kick out of how they met.

I picked up one in 300 Savage a year ago since I also have a 99EG and 1920/26 in that caliber. Honestly I don't find the M81 recoil to be any worse than the other two and probably if I HAD to say, would say the 1920 kicks more. Now, there's a big difference in recoil in all models when using 180 rather than 150 grain 300Sav. I would call 200gr/35 Rem about the same as 150gr/300Sav which I think are comfortable. Love 300 Savage because its got enough power/velocity/performance for whitetails and gives very good terminal performance without heavy recoil. It's in the same class as 7x57, 30-40 Krag, 303 British... just about perfect.

If I'm not mistaken the addition of the 300 Savage was the reason for redesigning the Model 8 to the Model 81. Can you imagine the 300 Savage with a crescent buttplate and straight grip?

Several years ago, I bought a very clean Model 81 chambered for 300 Savage. I enjoy shooting it. I purchased a set of RCBS dies for it, but haven't loaded for it yet. Factory Federal 150s function fine and accuracy is very good.

Here are my three. The 81s are in 300 Savage and the 8 is in 35 Rem. The eight was the first commercially successful semi-auto offered to the civilian population. Winchester had their WSL (Winchester Self Loader) but the cartridges offered were no match for the Remington rounds. They were underpowered for the most part. The 351 SL and 401 SL were ok within modest distances but nothing like the Remingtons.

I used to have a full set of the Winchester self-loaders including the 22 auto which is not the same as the 22 LRs, but I had to downsize during a divorce and sold them all. Recently, I picked up a very nice 351 WSL which is probably the best of the WSLs. I found dies, brass and bullets so I will be playing with the otherwise obsolete 351 WSL.

https://imgur.com/wwIdMTs

Have owned several 8s and 81s. There is a Model 8 and 81 Forum on the net that has a member who sells the takedown tool.

Always looking for an 81 in 25 Rem as rare as as an EG Highpower.

FYI easy to mount a scout scope using the rear sight holes

It's Alive... This Thread. Missed it first time around. I have one late Model 81 rifle, c. 1949, in 300 Savage. Never on my 'acquisition radar', but spotted of a walk around at gun show decades ago. Super overall condition and excellent price; not to resist.

A decades long love affair with the Rem Model 14 & mid-thirties successor Model 141, high power pump actions. Never offered in 300 Savage chambering. Partial to the 35 Rem chambering. Wish my Model 81 also 35 Rem. That said, the 300 Savage a great round without apologies or qualifications.

The historic high power pump design, quality achieved as complexity reigned! Much factory hand fitting/adjustment of these rifles during production. Amazingly so, until 'postwar years', as quality reputedly took a nosedive. Maybe my 81 of that era also. it a safe queen, never fired under my watch!

My take!
John

I have one in 300 savage. Interesting rifle. A bit heavy but cool.