thegreatmodel8.remingtonsociety.com

Today I picked up a Remington model 8 in 35 cal from my dealer. I bought it off gunbroker.com.
The serial number is 67,690.
I had noticed that the rifle had an model 81 fore end and I commented about it to the seller. The sellers reply was, "it does look like a model 81 fore end" .
Well when I checked the barrel jacket with the Henwood book it appears the whole front half is model 81.
The top of the barrel is stamped----Remington Arms Co. Inc. Ilion N.Y. Made in USA.
Browning's Pats. 659,507-659,786-701,288-853,483-984,263.
There are no letters or numbers stamped on the barrel jacket.
I'm guessing the whole front half, except perhaps the barrel, is a replacement .
Any ideas what I have here?? Why it happened?? How much less its worth than a matching rifle??
Thanks for ant comments.
Jim C

Hey Jim,

Welcome to the forum. It sounds like you have a Remington model 881! Just kidding. One of the things about the model 8 & 81 is the interchangeability of the two rifles and they will perform perfectly. You can't put a model 81 forend on a model 8 barrel because the forend screws have different mounting blocks on the barrel jackets. The same can be said for the stocks on both rifles.

It sounds as though you knew that there may be an issue and you questioned the seller. If you feel he misrepresented the rifle, you may have some recourse with Gun Broker and if there was an inspection period, send the rifle back to the seller.

You have a couple options available to you if you want a "complete" rifle and not a mixture. You can buy a barrel assembly for a model 8 with forend or you can buy a model 81 receiver and use your 81 barrel assembly. Which ever way you decide to go you will be looking at spending $250 and up for a barrel assembly and I would think you will have to shell out $350 or more for a model 81 receiver. The other issue that you may be facing would be how well the wood will match up.

Before you make a decision, I would say that if you are wanting a good shooting rifle, test fire the rifle and if it performs like you expected keep it as is. The 35 Remington in either the model 8 or 81 is a good shooting rifle and packs good knock down power.

Good luck and keep us posted on how you are proceeding.

Kindest Regards,

jack1653

Jack,
Thanks for the reply.
I plan on keeping the rifle. its a nice looking firearm and could come in handy if a griz should escape from the zoo.
I also don't plan on trying to match it up. Just want to learn what I can about it.
For instance,---since no letters or numbers were stamped on the barrel jacket can I assume the unit was not removed from an 81??
I imagine the original jacket was damaged and replaced while parts were still available. Does that make sense??
Is it possible to determine if Remington installed the jacket or done locally??
Any other ideas??
Thanks again
Jim C

Jim,
It's unusual for a 81 jacket to be Not date stamped. Look on the left side of the jacket head just above the wood. If you find 2-3 letters followed by a 3 there is a strong likelihood the jacket is a factory repair. I have 1908-9 grade D with a 81 sleeve that is correctly numbered for a 1950 repair, factory engraving and all. Check the barrel by pulling out against the springs, some were numbered with the last 3 digits of the serial #.
Records of these events are gone in a factory fire decades ago. We can only speculate at the true history of our ladies unless there are family records.

Phyebird,
No letters or numbers on jacket head.
Pulled the barrel back and found 'REP" surrounded by circle on right side and a 6 over 8 on bottom.
thanks for commenting.
Jim C

Jim,
I hope you enjoy your lady, with that high ser# it is possible the factory was out of 81 jackets. However, it's not likely. My rifle I mentioned definitely has an 81 jacket from the roll stamp. Oddly the fore-end screw is the Model 8 version; smaller than the M81 threads. And has the "sling" loop style screw. They had to braze the old screw base on the later jacket. I have not seen or heard of any other rifles with the same repair.
Has anyone else seen an 81 jacket fitted for the M8 fore-end screw?