My Model 81

Place your vintage Remington autoloader photo's here..
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ChopperDoc
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu May 14, 2009 1:53 pm

My Model 81

Post by ChopperDoc »

Guys, I just bought this gun. Did a little research and found one in good shape. I can post more pics if you like, but would like to get your opinion based on the auction at GB where I got it. Take a looksey and let me know if I overpaid, underpaid, etc. Based on others I have seen on auction I think I got a pretty good deal. There was one other I was looking at, it was a model up from the A, it had some checkering, but I decided to go with this one instead.

I have a thousand questions, and I will get around to asking them all eventually. Glad you have this information resource available.

I will do some reading here, but my biggest question is: On the .25, .30 and .35, where do I get ammo if I do not reload? I really want to get a couple of different Model 8/81's but I don't want to have them just collecting dust.



http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... =127697744
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81police
Posts: 2613
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 12:12 pm
Location: TEXAS

Re: My Model 81

Post by 81police »

chopper,

I think you did good. That model 81 is very clean and the blueing looks spectacular. It appears to have a factory sling swivel in the stock. If you can find a matching front, the hole for that is in the barrel jacket just forward of the forearm. The Williams block sight you have required the drilling of two additional holes in the back of your receiver. I bet if the bore looks half as good as the exterior, that'll be a superb shooter!

Also, checkering on these rifles needs a close observation to be determined if it's factory or not, many times the checkering you find is not original and even the existence of factory checkering does not necessarily denote a higher grade rifle. Standard "A" grade rifles could be ordered with factory checkering.

Great find chopper!
Cam Woodall
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ChopperDoc
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu May 14, 2009 1:53 pm

Re: My Model 81

Post by ChopperDoc »

Thanks 81Police!. I have been doing some superficial cleaning up. There is some surface corrosion on the barrel under the forearm grip. The wood is in fantastic shape, the bore is bright and the bolt is immaculate. Can't wait to shoot this baby.

Good info to know on the checkering. before I spend bigger bucks on any Model 8 collectors in higher grades I will be sure to research more about factory guns. I saw the post here where you guys warned about a Police Special that was advertised on GunBroker that was just a modified 81. Too bad someone had to spend nearly $2400 on that baby.

Thanks for the info. I will send a range report. Planning on going this weekend if the weather is good.
tbury
Posts: 21
Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2009 11:20 am

Re: My Model 81

Post by tbury »

Ammo can be purchased from a few sources for the 25, 30, and 32 rem. The best prices I have found is Reedsammo.com. The headstamp on the .30 rem will be correct. I am not sure about the .32 rem ammo. The last I checked Reeds was using .30 rem brass to load for .25 rem. This is pretty common as good .25 brass is hard to find and the 30 can be used to make either .25 or .32 loads. Beware of Jamison brass I bought a hundred in .25 rem and all have tight extractor grooves which cause jams in both Model 8s and Model 14s (pump).

Loaded ammo on auction sights is aimed at the collector market not shooters. Prices range from $35 to $100 on Gunbroker and other sites. Be sure and save your empties as they can be worth money even if you do not reload.

.35 Rem is still loaded and can be found at retail gun shops as well as online.
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