Second M81 Today

[DWalt]

I bought another M81 today at the local gun show. This one is in .300 Savage, seems to be a 1949 model from the SN and UU date code. My other 81 is a 1950 in .30 Rem. Metal is in pretty good condition (a few rust freckles, but not too bad), but the stock and fore end need refinishing as they are pretty badly scratched and abraded, but not much in the way of dents that I can see. Buttplate is original. The only thing wrong with it is some rust and pitting at the end of the barrel and tube, maybe like it has been sitting muzzle down in water. Also some pitting inside the bore to match near the muzzle. The rest of the rifling looks pretty good. I'll try to polish this exterior pitting off and cold blue it. I may try to counter-bore the muzzle somewhat (less than an inch), but I'll see how it shoots first. I've done that with my M1 Garand (bore near the muzzle was wallowed out by cleaning rod wear) and it worked out OK. Has anyone tried that trick with a M8/81?

No ammo yet. At $30/box, I'll form cases and make my own, but I need a set of .300 Savage dies first to do that. I'm ordering those today. "Official" recommendation is to start with .30-'06 brass, but dimensionally it seems that .308 brass would work OK after a pass through the FL sizing die plus trimming to length, and the shoulder angle would fire-form at first firing. Has anyone done that? This will be my first time for loading the .300 Savage, as this is the first rifle I've had in .300 Savage.

[sighthound]

Might try your local shooting range for pickup brass, some shooters leave it lie. Some ranges let others pick it up, some salvage it and sell and have seen some just sweep it up and throw in trash. Jerry

[imfuncity]

Congrats on the newest member of your fam.

Might suggest you take a look at the barrel inside the tube. I didn't on one of mine but fortunately 45Guy did! We got him and her rifles from the same seller and he had apparently stored his muzzle down letting the moisture collect inside the barrel tube/shroud = the springs & barrel were almost rusted into one piece. Fortunately both rifles cleaned up fine and shot well, don't know what would have happened if we had tried to shoot them first.

Everything is higher out here behind enemy lines but I have yet to see 300Sav at $30/box - guess I've been lucky so far.

[DWalt]

Virtually the only significant dimensional differences between the .300 and the .308 cases is a more acute shoulder slope with the .300, and also a shorter case neck, vs. the .308. Actually, the .300 Savage was the original inspiration for the 7.62 X 51mm NATO, aka .308 Winchester. The main problem with the .300 Savage was that the Army felt the neck was too short to hold the bullet properly concentric to the case, thence the .308 design having a different shoulder angle and a longer case neck to better hold the bullet in position under the rigors of full automatic fire and combat conditions. As I said, I see no reason that a pass of a .308 case through a FL .300 die, and trimming the neck back shouldn't work OK. But only doing it will determine if I am right. I am an OLD hand at doing cartridge case conversions, but this is one I have not done previously. If someone reading this has done it this way, or has a set of .300 Savage dies and wants to give it a try on a .308 empty, I'd like to know the results. I always use STP motor oil additive as a case lubricant any time I FL resize or form one case from another. It works better than anything else I have used. It is an excellent high film strength lubricant.

Functionally, the new rifle seems to be OK, and the barrel moves as it should. I'll probably fabricate the tooling to remove the barrel, so I can see if there is any significant corrosion present inside, and also to remove the components at the end of the tube to clean off the pitting. Also, I would have to remove the barrel from the tube so I can chuck it in a lathe for counter-boring the muzzle (if need be) and also polish out the pitting at the muzzle end of the tube. Counter-boring involves only running a 11/32" drill bit a little ways into the bore. An end mill would also work, but I don't have one in that diameter.

$30 (plus tax) per box was the best ammunition price I could find at the gun show (only one guy there had some), or at two of the larger local gun shops. Not something you can get at Wal-Mart. I don't remember ever picking up (or even seeing) a .300 Savage case at any range anywhere. Cases might have been more plentiful as range pickups at one time, but not here and not now.

[Sarge756]

Congradulations on the new acquisition.Hope it cleans up and shoots well. I see 300 Sav brass on one of the other forums I`m on .Some on there now 54 pieces once fired for $14 shipped.If interested let me know. If you do the conversion with 308 and it works I`d be interested in how you did it.Have a pile of .308. Joe

[DWalt]

I think I'll try it with the .308 brass before buying any .300. I have, literally, thousands of .308 cases at present, both commercial and military. If it doesn't work with .308, I'll buy some new .300 Savage brass as a last resort.

The various cartridge conversion manuals say to start with.30-'06 brass (I have many of those also), but the brass in the neck area would be worked much less if .308 brass can be used, as you would not be extruding the case shoulder metal into the neck very much, if at all. Neck annealing should not be necessary.

[Sarge756]

I went back and read your post .Good description.Think you are correct it is worth a try.I`m sure you will let us know how it works.

[DWalt]

An update - from one of the reloading websites, I found that it is apparently practical to form .300 Savage cases from .308 brass. The only complaint stated is that considerable neck shortening is required after forming. That's not really a problem, as most case conversions require neck trimming, some more so than others. I do pretty well with using a Dremel tool and an abrasive cutoff disc for rough shortening, followed by a conventional neck trimmer. It has to be done but once this way. After that, just conventional neck trimming using a tool for that purpose when necessary is all that's required.

I note the internet ammo sellers are also asking in the neighborhood of $30/box, not including shipping. $1.50 per bang is just way too much. That's why I reload for almost every gun I have (except .22s).

I just bid on a .300 die set on Gunbroker, will probably win it tonight. If not, there are lots of other sets listed.

In one of my early postings here I describe making .30 Rem cases from .30-30 brass. Not difficult, but a lathe (and a little experience using it) is almost necessary.

[DWalt]

PS- I did get the .300 Savage FL die set on GunBroker.com. Described as complete in original box and hardly used. $20 + $7 shipping, cheaper than a box of new ammunition. There were no other bidders, and I guess I'm not surprised at that. Can't be a whole lot of reloaders who would be interested, as there were a dozen or so other .300 Savage die sets on GB, also with no bids. GB is becoming my go-to site for odd stuff like this.

I'll post after I get the die set about how the case conversion went. That will be awhile as I have other things to do.

[81police]

Nice find Dwalt! Can't wait to see the end results of the reloading. I'd be interested in the time involved to make 1 complete box once you get the process down.

[DWalt]

I started on the restoration of my new 1949 M81 today. After stripping off the old stock and fore end finish, I found the wood damage was somewhat more than I first expected (heavily abraded, with some deep puncture holes), and I will have to do some hole filling and sanding, which I wished to avoid. Just part of the game I guess.

Was it typical for the aluminum buttplate to have the serial number stamped on the back side? Mine has it. I refinished it with one of the baked-on black teflon coatings, and it now looks like new. Most of the original black finish at the toe and heel was worn off.

My real problem - I soaked the barrel assembly muzzle-down in a container of penetrating oil overnight. A few minutes ago, I attempted to unscrew the barrel nut. It took relatively little torque to do that, and I did it by wrapping several turns of duct tape around the barrel nut and using a large pair of vise-grip pliers. The bushing also came out easily using a thin flat piece of metal that fit into the bushing slots, after the nut was removed. HOWEVER there was no washer between the spring and the barrel nut. It wasn't that I lost it, it just wasn't there, probably removed and not replaced by some previous owner. I thought it suspicious there was no ratchet sound when I unscrewed the nut. Everything else is present.

My question is does someone here have such a washer I could buy? I am reasonably certain I can easily make a workable washer myself if absolutely necessary (but without the little anti-rotation tab for the barrel slot). Therefore, I would probably use a dab of super glue on the barrel threads to keep the nut in place. I wouldn't want to use Locktite as it's too permanent. I guess I could also drill another hole in the nut, thread it, and use a small set screw. But a proper washer would be preferable to these improvisations.

[81police]

Dwalt,

Should someone be using a reproduction spanner wrench the barrel nut should be loosened but not removed. The barrel nut acts as a guide for the spanner end as you loosen the bushing. If you removed the barrel nut completely then started in on the bushing you would have no guide and the spanner could easily slip out boogering up your bushing slots (or the spanner wrench itself). I think this was Bob's intent for that portion of the video.

If you make a tool similar to his barrel jacket bushing Pro Tool then you don't need the nut to be on the barrel as a guide. Meaning you can just remove the barrel nut, then remove the bushing. There's not really a right or wrong way, just one is safer when using a spanner wrench. Does that make sense?

[DWalt]

Cam, see my edited previous post. I'm missing the washer between the barrel nut and spring.
I'm going to chuck the barrel nut and bushing in my lathe to try to machine or polish off the rust pitting on them. Not absolutely necessary, but it would look a lot better. Also I think some amateur had his turn on the nut and bushing before me, as there are what appears to be plier marks on both. That's why I used the vise grip method of nut removal, as it would have not been possible to make the nut look much worse than it is, given the rust pitting and plier marks. I guess I could get a new bushing and nut, and I may do that if I can't clean them up to look better.

Aside from the condition at the muzzle, the metal finish is very good. I will probably go ahead and counterbore the barrel muzzle due to the rust pitting in the bore there, as I now have the barrel out, making it a simple 2 minute job. Can't hurt, might help.

[imfuncity]

'preciate your keeping us posted on your progress. As is my custom (perhaps I should change my handle) pictures...! Please. Before and after barrel nut, barrel, stock, butt plate, etc. could be helpful to us all.

[81police]

I'll have a peek in my parts stash. Keep in mind if you do find a replacement ideally you need one with notches that match the number of teeth on your barrel nut. There were several barrel nuts and washers made. You can interchange them but they will not hold the nut tight indefinitely as they were designed unless the number of teeth and grooves match.

I'd recommend one of Bob's takedown tools or if you're on a budget a Winchester Winchoke spanner wrench will work for the barrel nut (wood handled version works best).

[Sarge756]

Dewalt e-gunparts Numrich has them for 25,30 and 32 Rem for $6.20.Sold out of 300Sav and 35 Rem. Just wondering what the difference would be.Smaller hole? Anyone know? If so would think it could be opened up with a dremel to fit.

[DWalt]

I have no idea as to what the rationale would be to having different washer sizes and numbers of detent teeth. But I can say the same thing about auto oil filters. Why on earth are there so many different oil filters, when they all do the same thing the same way?

Thanks for the input. I'll take some pictures when I progress further. That may be a little while. Regarding before and after pictures, I can do that for the bushing and nut, and maybe the rusty end of the outer tube. I've already stripped the wood and removed most of the rust freckles with 0000 steel wool and Hoppe's #9. The muzzle end of the tube has a couple of major rust pits in it, and there's not a lot I can do about hiding them due to their depth. I'll probably use a few drops of hydrochloric acid on the pits to remove the rust far down in them, then polish them as nicely as I can and apply some cold blue. The pits could probably be filled in by welding and then shaping, but that's too much for me to attempt as I don't have any welding equipment. The front sight insert is also fairly rusty and pitted, but it's not such a big job to replace it, or maybe I'll also give it the acid treatment and paint or blue it, just for the sake of originality. I really have to wonder what caused all that localized muzzle-area rusting when the rest of the finish is in pretty good condition. I understand that blood causes pitting on steel.

I do notice that the barrel nut has pretty much the same OD as the spring, so I imagine the last owner probably fired it that way, i.e., without a washer. I don't really know what would be wrong with that.

Regarding a tool to remove the nut, I was going to make up an 11/16" or 18mm socket with a hole drilled through the side and put a drill shank through it into the hole in the nut. As the nut was not that tight, the vise grip worked fine, and I did no additional damage. If I get the barrel assembly back together and working, I doubt it will ever again be disassembled in my lifetime. The inside of the tube, spring assembly, and barrel exterior look pretty much perfect (except for rusting inside the bore at the muzzle).

[DWalt]

Just have been thinking about things - wouldn't it have been better for Remington (or John Browning) to have put a couple of flats, or a hex head, on the barrel nut instead of that goofy hole?

I've made up an appropriately-sized washer, but without the detents, even though I am not entirely certain that any washer is needed for what I plan to do. I think I will drill and thread another hole in the nut 90 degrees back from the original pin hole, and fix it to the barrel with a set screw (using a lead shot under the set screw to avoid the possibility of damaging the barrel threads) over the longitudinal slot in the barrel threads. The local hardware store carries a wide variety of Allen head set screws, and a short one with 6-40 threads looks about right. Only problem is that I do not have a 6-40 tap, so I'll have to get, or borrow, one first. I probably won't be getting back to this project for a couple of more weeks.

[81police]

a wild guess of mine is that the barrel nut shape might have to do with aesthetics of the gun. A hex shape would probably look funky against a long round barrel jacket.

The barrel nut is just like a lot of other things, it's fine as long as you got the right tool for the job. Again a $13 Winchoke wrench will get it done (http://www.midwestgunworks.com/page/mgw ... es/6130018). Circle B Ranch's reproduction spanner wrench is better made for someone planning on working on a few of them.

The sad thing is how many of us have seen an 8 or 81 with a marred or chewed up barrel nuts? Hence one of the reasons for this site so that guys can read up on these guns and have the resources to properly maintain them. Hope you get yours worked out Dwalt, it sounds like you got a solution.

[DWalt]

I got my .300 Savage reloading dies this afternoon, and proceeded to test my idea of forming .300 Savage brass from .308 Winchester brass. Actually, I started with fired GI 7.62X51mm NATO brass (Lake City), as I have a LOT of it. It wouldn't be much different to use commercial .308 brass, in fact, slightly simpler, as the 7.62 NATO brass has a crimped-in primer, and the crimp needs to be reamed out after depriming. This operation takes only a few seconds to do, but it wouldn't need to be done at all with commercial brass.

Just to make things a little smoother, I decided to resize all of the brass first in a .308 FL resizing die. Not absolutely necessary, but I would recommend it. I then installed the .300 Savage FL die, and adjusted it until the die base was in contact with the shell holder, and locked the die nut. I removed the decapping pin-neck sizing assembly. I always do this in the event a case gets stuck in the die while being formed, as it is then possible to easily drive the case out with a metal rod and hammer. You don't want that to happen, and it seldom does, but with the decapping-neck sizing rod in place it becomes a far more difficult job to remove the stuck case. Believe me, I've had to do it.

I always use STP motor oil additive as a lubricant for resizing and case forming, as it is the best. Just don't put it on heavily or you can get case shoulder dents if you do.

With the .300 Savage die in place, I backed it off about two turns, performed the partial forming, withdrew the case, screwed down the .300 Savage FL die all the way to the stop nut, and did a final forming stroke. That seems to work better for me than doing the forming in one stroke. I did that for each case.

After re-forming, I re-installed the decapping pin-neck sizing assembly. With case neck interiors lubricated with powdered graphite, I ran the cases up and over the neck sizer button.

At this point, the actual case forming is complete, but the neck is overly long. Lyman's manual recommends trimming the case length to 1.865", so that's what I did next. I started by making a rough trim by using a copper tubing cutter, but that was a little too slow. You need to cut off about 1/8" to 3/16", and I ended up by doing just what I usually do, just making a freehand cut with a Dremel tool and abrasive cutoff disc. After you do a couple, you can eyeball the proper amount to cut off OK. Then I make a final trim with my Forster crank-type case trimmer to reach a CL of 1.865" and ream the burrs off the inside and outside of the case neck.

This may sound like a lot of work, and it took me about an hour to do my 11-round "Educational" run. I could do it in about half that time now, as I am all set up with my equipment and an established procedure. Much of this work needs to be done only once, as I won't have to do anything with these formed cases other than perform normal reloading practices from now on, with occasional trimming only if needed (Lyman gives maximum case length as 1.871").

The cases slid right into the chamber and the bolt closed on them and extracted them properly. Therefore, I have no reason to think they won't work in my M81 properly. Tomorrow, I'll probably make up 10 more cases and load them all. I haven't decided what load to use yet, may make up 4 different loads of 5 rounds each just to see which shoots the best. None will be Magnumized, and I will stick to loads on the mild side. I think the best loads are those that are just adequate to function the action.

[imfuncity]

As a non-reloader (so far), I appreciate your details for that day when I crossover. Speaking thereof, how does one come across "a lot of .308 or 7.62x51 brass"?

[Sarge756]

Dewalt...Thanks! That`s a complete description of the process. Looks like a `Northeaster`coming with wind and rain all weekend.Great chance for me to spend some time at the reload bench and try this out. The whirrrr of the Dremel hard at work. I sold my Mod 70 target rifle and a converted Mauser so am down to a 1895 Savage commemorative to use up the 308 brass. I agree with the minumum loading for function.No sense beating yourself or the rifle up trying to get a few more fps.The paper target usually doesn`t care.I have some 100 and 110 gr plinkers I`m going to try.
Mitch, commercial 308 and military brass is now thankfully plentiful and fairly reasonable.For a time this wasn`t the case due to ramped up production for the Wars in the Mideast and a ridiculous decision(later rescinded) to shred all military small arms brass rather than sell to reloaders and resellers and a bit of hoarding by the public(I won`t go into the political aspects).
The price of brass and loaded ammunition spiked a few tears ago but has now leveled off.For now, the savings on using once fired processed 308 to make 300 Sav ammo would amount to about a $.30 saving per round. To see what and where available just do a search for 308 bulk brass.
If you have not taken the leap to reload it isn`t too late. Good way to spend an evening and you will save some bucks.Think you see already that there is plenty of help here to get you started. Joe

[DWalt]

GI brass is available over the internet and at gun shows. Mine came from years ago when my job involved performing ammunition testing. Last night after my posting, I formed 10 more cases, it took maybe 30 minutes to do, did it during TV commercial breaks. I think what I will do is make up 7 groups of three, each with different loads (bullet weights and propellants) and see how each functions and groups and go from there. I'll then make up some more cases, as I like to have at least 50 rounds available.

My other M81 in .30 Rem has not proved to be an accuracy champ with any load, maybe my new one will be better. Due to its sloppy barrel support, I doubt the design is capable of tight grouping.

If anyone has a good performing .300 load in the M81, let me know, as I don't have any prior loading experience with the .300. I usually start off with what the Lyman manual suggests as an accuracy load for each bullet weight. and vary the charge around that. Lyman says their best performing loads all used 150 grain bullets, but weights of 110 grains through 180 grains can be used. I like heavy bullets, but with the 1:12 twist in the M81, 180 is about the heaviest that would probably stabilize well.

[imfuncity]

Oh my, this way too good to pass up...
So, when the wife returns from her business trip and fines a reloading bench set up in front of her TV in the living room… I say, “Good way to spend an evening and will save some bucks.”
Likely I’d find sleeping on the couch (or under the bench) the least of my problems. Whoa, wait…. I don’t even do TV. And what are commercials?

[DWalt]

You don't need a reloading bench. At a minimum, all you need can fit into a shoebox, namely a Lee Loader, hammer, primers, bullets, and a can of powder. You can't form cases or do things like that, but you can neck size, deprime/prime, load, and seat bullets. It's much slower than using a press, but slow is better than not at all. That's how I started in 1964, a Lee Loader in .44 Magnum. A Lyman 310 tong tool is a little more historically authentic for the M8/81 but a little more costly also, and still fairly slow. There are some high-end hand tools that some bench rest shooters use, but they are expensive, and won't do any more than a Lee Loader, just more precisely. Look at Lee's website.

I got back to the "new" .300 M81 tonight. I chucked the barrel nut and barrel bushing into my lathe, and machined out the rust pits and plier jaw marks. A little of the deeper pits remain, but I did not want to remove any more metal than absolutely necessary. Both look OK, even if not quite like new. I'm not going to counterbore the barrel until I shoot it and see how bad (or good) the grouping is. If I can get 3"-4" groups at 100 yards, I'll leave it alone. Much worse, and I'll counterbore a little. I still have the deep rust pitting on the tube near the muzzle, but that's a task for another day.

[imfuncity]

Think most of us would be more than pleased with a 3-4" group at a 100yds with a pristine barrel. As you noted they were not built for match accuracy.

[imfuncity]

OK, confession time - I got the stuff for reloading and several dies ('cept some important ones: 25Rem, 300sav, etc.). Came by a big box of stuff from an estate clean-out. Bought a good scale, a few more dies, and added a current reloading manual to those dated from the 50's. Now it is a matter of getting started since after the kidney stone removal I can actually lean forward for a bit! Still there is the issue of no big screen or John Wayne on blu-ray at the shop.

[DWalt]

I have 5 or 6 newer manuals, but I still use, mainly, my old and tattered Lyman handbook from the mid-1960s. I also have a couple of older Lyman handbooks even earlier than that, and they are occasionally valuable as they provide data for powders that are now obsolete, such as one of my favorites, Hercules HiVel #2 (I have a lot of that), and some of the old duPont powders. I occasionally find cans of old powders,and like to use them if I can. There's a lot of reloading data also on the internet, and all of the bullet and propellant manufacturers' websites have about all the reloading data you'd ever need. For really old and obsolete US calibers (in addition to current calibers) and foreign calibers, "Cartridges of the World" is invaluable for general information and also has some reloading data.

I polished the barrel nut and barrel bushing this morning, and applied some cold blue. They look very good if you don't look too closely due to the presence of some deeper rust pits. I did the best I could with the muzzle end of the tube, but the proliferation of deep rust pits there precludes doing much besides polishing and applying cold blue. Still, from more than a couple of feet away, it looks OK, as the pits are also blued. I also applied the first coat of tung oil to the stock and fore end this morning. I sanded the wood some, and earlier had to fill in some deep damage, but I kept the sanding minimal, just enough to remove the shallow abrasions and dings. I left the deeper dents and gouges alone, and with the first coat on, they are not too objectionable. I was thinking it would be nice if someone made black plastic stocks for the M8/81, but there is probably not a big enough market to make that possible. I should have it complete and ready to shoot before the next trip to my range. It's been way too hot here to shoot much all summer, but by the end of September it should be more tolerable.
------
I mentioned the plastic stock because about 6 weeks ago, Academy had the El Cheapo Mossberg Maverick bolt action rifle on sale for $180, I couldn't resist, and bought one in .30-'06 (like I need another .30-'06). It has a black plastic stock, and strongly resembles a Remington 700, except the metal finish looks like black spray paint. However, beauty is as beauty does, and this one really surprised me, as with one of my good 165 grain loads, I was shooting 5 shot groups of consistently just over 1" at 100 yards. Trigger is terrible, hard and gritty, but maybe I can fix that. I attribute the performance to the plastic stock.

[Wildgoose]

If anyone has a good performing .300 load in the M81, let me know, as I don't have any prior loading experience with the .300. I usually start off with what the Lyman manual suggests as an accuracy load for each bullet weight. and vary the charge around that. Lyman says their best performing loads all used 150 grain bullets, but weights of 110 grains through 180 grains can be used. I like heavy bullets, but with the 1:12 twist in the M81, 180 is about the heaviest that would probably stabilize well.

Hello, realy enjoying your posts about the new/old M81. I shoot the Hornady 150 grain .308" RN over 39.5 Grains of H4895, CCI 200 LRP and Winchester brass. It runs 2520 fps average over my Crony. I can hold around 2.5 inches at 100 with the Lyman tang sights. Benched of course.

[DWalt]

That load is sort of toward the upper end of Lyman's IMR4895 load range for a generic 150 grain bullet. I usually use the IMR flavor rather than the H flavor for 4895, but I have some of both. Lyman's recommended .300 S accuracy load for 150 grain bullets is 42.0 grains of IMR 4320.

I have found that the brand of the brass used makes little difference in grouping performance, but I do not mix headstamps. I sometimes weigh cases and segregate them into "light" and "heavy" groups vs. average weight, but that's not likely to produce any discernible accuracy effect when used in a M81.

What I plan to do is start off with IMR 4895, IMR 4320, and HiVel #2 (much like IMR 3031) with 150 grain bullets (Sierra SP Spitzer). If I get good performance from one load, I'll stop. If not, I will try other combinations of propellant and bullet weight later. I'll start off using M2 ball bullets over 4895 to get on target, then switch to Sierras. No sense in wasting good bullets.

[imfuncity]

Wildgoose,
Looks like a surprising tight group without the flyer, was it first, last, middle, shooter error,...?
Thxs

[Wildgoose]

Wildgoose,
Looks like a surprising tight group without the flyer, was it first, last, middle, shooter error,...?
Thxs

Usually shows up one the fourth or fifth shot. Most likely me getting a bit impatient.

[Wildgoose]

DWalt,
Sounds like a good plan to me. I will be looking forward to hearing about how it goes.

[Pcunningham42]

I bought another M81 today at the local gun show. This one is in .300 Savage, seems to be a 1949 model from the SN and UU date code. My other 81 is a 1950 in .30 Rem. Metal is in pretty good condition (a few rust freckles, but not too bad), but the stock and fore end need refinishing as they are pretty badly scratched and abraded, but not much in the way of dents that I can see. Buttplate is original. The only thing wrong with it is some rust and pitting at the end of the barrel and tube, maybe like it has been sitting muzzle down in water. Also some pitting inside the bore to match near the muzzle. The rest of the rifling looks pretty good. I'll try to polish this exterior pitting off and cold blue it. I may try to counter-bore the muzzle somewhat (less than an inch), but I'll see how it shoots first. I've done that with my M1 Garand (bore near the muzzle was wallowed out by cleaning rod wear) and it worked out OK. Has anyone tried that trick with a M8/81?

No ammo yet. At $30/box, I'll form cases and make my own, but I need a set of .300 Savage dies first to do that. I'm ordering those today. "Official" recommendation is to start with .30-'06 brass, but dimensionally it seems that .308 brass would work OK after a pass through the FL sizing die plus trimming to length, and the shoulder angle would fire-form at first firing. Has anyone done that? This will be my first time for loading the .300 Savage, as this is the first rifle I've had in .300 Savage.

I have a an 81 in .300 Savage as well. I found ammo on ammoengine for 22 a box , + shipping (Bitterroot Valley). I will be putting the brass up on GB eventually. I'm trying to find .25 and .30 Rem for my other two Model 8's

[Sarge756]

Pcunningham.........If you are going to sell the 300 brass it would seem likely that you are not a reloader.....If that is the case 30 Rem loaded ammo is available at Buffaloarms.com ,Price on 5 boxes or more is $35 a box.25 Rem is listed also, for $29.80 5 boxes or more but is on backorder. You should be able to recover your outlay with offering the once fired brass for sale.Hope you will keep those of us that are reloaders here in mind when/if you do.
Joe

[DWalt]

I got my M81 barrel/tube assembly back together today with no problems at all. I made a replacement washer (between the spring and the barrel nut) as the original washer was missing, and I also put in a small setscrew to hold the barrel nut firmly in place. It seats in the barrel slot near the muzzle. I had to shorten the setscrew carefully with a Dremel tool, but it turned out OK, and you can barely see the setscrew.

I decided to go ahead and counterbore the muzzle about 1/4" before reassembly, as it was a very simple job to perform as long as the barrel was already out.

It will be another three or four days to completion, as I am still working on finishing the stock with Tung oil. Plan is to testfire it in about ten days.

[DWalt]

I finally got the M81 back together this afternoon, as the stock finish has cured. I also attached a couple of other pictures. The rust pitting on the muzzle end of the tube is shown, but there was very little I could do about it other than remove the rust as best I could with a wire brush on a Dremel tool and cold blue it. The barrel nut and bushing were just as bad,but I was able to machine most of the pits out of the surface before cold bluing them. Note the hex head set screw, as I made a replacement washer that goes between the spring and barrel nut. Not also the approximate 1/4" muzzle counterbore (I used an 11/32" drill) i did in my lathe. It was rusty just inside the muzzle. Will test-fire next weekend.