thegreatmodel8.remingtonsociety.com

"P K" date code on the barrel extension in front of the receiver. For a Model 81 this would be June 1941.

Jim

Absolutely what 81police said: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." The Model 8 and 81 are extremely forgiving as far as still functioning perfectly with a receiver full of accumulated dirt, dried oil, unburnt powder, and whatever else may find it's way in there. I used to give my Model 8 a ...

It sounds like the tail end of the Magazine Indicator Spring is out of place. There is a small "ear" on the spring that fits into an equally small slot on the left inside of the receiver. If it isn't properly in it's slot, the "ear" can find it's way into the raceway where the bo...

From a 1924 Marble's catalog:

No Model 141 here, but there is a .30 Model 14 from 1929 that I carry hunting every year.

Jim

I happened upon one of these fine old shotguns back in the late 1980s; a 12 gauge "Ranger Model 30", with the safety in the trigger guard (known as a "suicide safety"). My first impression was "Wow, a pump that looks like the Auto-5", and then I noticed the "Browni...

Your rear sight is a Marble's No.95R Adjustable Leaf Sight, cataloged by Marble's from 1906 until 1959. With Remington's policy of providing their rifles with whatever sight the customer wanted, it is entirely possible that yours is original to your rifle.

Jim

I have been a reloader and a bullet caster since the early 1970s: thirty rifle cartridges; fourteen pistol and revolver cartridges; two shotshell gauges.
I think that's all, but I've probably missed one or two.

Jim

Very nice job on the refinish!
I'm most curious about your rifle having a slotted screw in the forearm, rather than the usual 'swivel-loop' type, though. A later replacement, perhaps?

Jim

Remington did not start stamping arms with month/year production codes until 1921. For arms manufactured prior to this, the best that can be done is to compare the serial number to the list of final serial numbers to be shipped. Even this will yield only an approximate year for shipping, as arms wer...

A most interesting comparison of early and late parts!
Thanks for sharing this.

Jim

Can't really call what I do "hunting", either, but I'll be in the woods again this year with my 1909-vintage .35, dividing my time equally with a Winchester Model 1895 in .30-'03.

Jim

Technically, the rifle in the photos is a No.6, or "Premier", grade. The last serial number shipped in 1910 was 21889, and the last serial number shipped in 1911 was 26489. With a serial number of 21973, this rifle's implied approximate year of manufacture would have been 1911. Prior to 19...

It occurs to me that if someone has tried to pry the extractor out of the bolt carrier, this is exactly the sort of chipping/cracking I would expect. If the bolt head is out of alignment when the bolt is released, the locking lugs will stop the bolt against the barrel extension, while the extractor ...

I've been a Model 8 owner since 1987, and its reliability never ceases to amaze me. My 1909-vintage .35 has never failed or faltered, and over 20 years later it remains my number-one choice when hunting. One hundred years, still going strong, no signs of slowing!

Jim

http://www.jwidle.com/browning.html I've got a hardcover book that I picked up at a gunshow years ago called "John M Browning - American Gunmaker" (witten by John Browning Jr. and Curt Gentry, Doubleday 1964). It is a fantastic, historical account of JMB's life and has lists of every pate...

My first Model 8: a straight-grip of 1909-vintage, chambered for .35 Remington, that I purchased back in 1987. The owner of the shop I got it from told me he'd had it since the early '50s when he opened. Now passing the century mark and the years are beginning to show, but it still holds better than...