.300 Savage 81 not cycling properly

[.300Rem81]

Hello all, I am new to this forum and I figured that here would be a great place to get some info on an issue that I have been having. I have purchased a Remington model 81 in 300 savage and I'm having a hard time getting it to work properly. About 90% of the time this gun will not eject the spent casing causing either a stovepipe jam or it will just shove the spent case against the spot just above the chamber while trying to chamber the next round. I have been shooting reloads through it so I initially thought that my reloads were not powerful enough to cycle the action but after increasing my load, I am still having the same problem. I have never taken one of these guns apart before and was just curious what you folks think could be the issue before I try to tackle it. I'm hoping its nothing to do with that barrel shroud full of springs. Thanks!

[Hcompton79]

The Remington 8 and 81 have a plunger style ejector in the bolt face, much like an AR-15 or M1 Garand. That ejector will kick out the spent case as soon as the neck clears the barrel extension, but the 8 and 81 are known for weak ejection in general.

Failure to eject the case far enough to clear the receiver would be an indication to check the ejector plunger and its spring in the bolt face, they may just be stuck from dirt or rust, or the ejector spring may need replacement.

This symptom would also manifest if the ejector cannot hold the case securely in the bolt face long enough for the it to clear the receiver and allow the ejector would work on it. I would only expect this though if there were visible damage to the extractor or it were excessively loose in the bolt carrier.

[Roger]

Sir, I once had an 81 in 300 savage that wouldn’t eject properly. It ended up that the small end of the link was bent. I changed the link and the problem disappeared. It’s been too long ago for me to remember how I figured it out. Just an observation from my many years of shooting M8/81s.
Thanks for your time
Roger

[.300Rem81]

Thanks for your replies, I will definitely be looking into both of these possibilities. I have a photo of what my jam looks like but when I try to post it, it says that my file is too large. I will post it if I figure it out. I'm still looking for other ideas as to what's wrong if anyone has any.
Thanks!

[Rifleman]

My first 81 (300 Sav) was giving me fits as far as bolt not locking back, stovepipes, poor ejection. Found most of the cause my own fault as before firing and not following my own rules, I partially disassembled and cleaned the very dirty interior and parts, not fully understanding how a 8/81 works and parts relate to each other. Didn't get everything just right and the bolt lock and spring were not functioning as designed. Replaced the lock and spring as both were damaged due to my stupidity and trying to operate the 81 with parts not functioning as Ol' John had designed. Working on that 81 disassembling, assembling, and reading a ton of info on the 8/81 'smithing' sure gave me a working knowledge of the models. Only good thing that came of my impatience to fire the 81.

After putting things together 'right', I was still getting some stovepipes. Found the cause to be a very dirty and gritty ejector and spring channel. When previously cleaning I didn't take the bolt apart. That channel and the spring and ejector were filled with you name it. Cleaned and the 81 worked as designed. Have read reports here on the forum besides dirty channel and/or worn ejector, bad spring, believe I read one report of a very dirty chamber that made it difficult for the fired brass to be withdrawn. Roger's bent link is the first I've heard of that, can see it causing a problem. I did get a new spring and ejector from eBay or Numrich that I was going to install but haven't as of yet. Do a search on the forum if you haven't already, there's alot of info about troublesome chambering and ejection.

[.300Rem81]

Hello again, I have just disassembled my Model 81 and I see that I have a slight upward bend in the rear small end of my bolt link. This sounds like the issue that Roger said he had with his Remington. I'm just curious if this is normal or if it is in fact the same issue that he is speaking of. Also, since I'm posting, I am wanting to get my ejector out to see if the spring is all good and I'm wondering how to do that. I see a small pin that goes cross ways through the bolt head and I'm assuming that this is how you remove it. It doesn't want to move easily and I figured that I'd check before I break something. Thanks!

[Hibby83]

Lots of YouTube videos showing everything about the rifle

There is some good videos there. There isn’t any that I’ve seen that show the individual removing the ejector.

I’m not sure which way the pin should move. I haven’t hade any issues yet with that part on any of mine.
-What I can say is make sure it has a good soak in a penetrant or oil. Use a good block or surface so the energy transfers to the pin.

Good luck .300rem81

[Roger]

Sir, this is just my opinion,but I’ve got to wonder if the increased pounding that the link is subject to,over time is too much pressure on a part that wasn’t designed for it. Maybe Remington strengthened it after a while in the M81. 300 savage is a cartridge with more recoil than the original 4calibers. Just a thought, but I’m sure if yours is bent, it’s a major part of your problem.
Thanks for your time
Roger

[.300Rem81]

Sorry for the late response. Thank you all for your thoughts and time. I am planning on trying to straighten the link and I will post my results after I have done so. If anyone has any more ideas they would be very welcome.

[.300Rem81]

Update: I have changed out the bolt link in my model 81 to a new one that I purchased from Numrich. Fired 3 rounds out of it and it jammed on every shot with the same stovepiping issue. Just curious if anyone has any more ideas. I'm starting to get quite frustrated with this rifle. I don't want to give up on it though because it's very accurate and is a really interesting piece of firearm history. If anyone has more suggestions keep them coming. Thanks!

[Roger]

Sir, I only have limited experience with jamming or not cycling correctly in the m8@81s. I do have one rule that I can share. You can’t use too much oil lubricant in long recoil firearms. In other words,lube the heck out of all surfaces that can cause friction. This probably won’t help you with your problem, but it can’t hurt. Unless you’re worried about getting oil all over yourself . I’ve hunted with Auto 5s and REM. 8@81s for40 years and I ve had only a few failures. Long recoil is made up of many parts that must all work together perfectly. Lots of oil only helps that process. And yes, it does attract dirt etc. But resonable care with cleanup is all that’s necessary. Once again, that’s probably not your only problem,but it’s all I can help you out with.Good luck with your project.
Roger

[.300Rem81]

Thanks Roger, I appreciate you taking the time to reply and help me out. I don't know of any gunsmith that I could take this rifle to that knows much about these firearms. I'll have to dig around and see of I can find someone up here in Canada. It seems that anyone who knows a lot about the model 8 and 81s is south of the border.

[chas1949]

First a question, can you manually unload a mag full of shells without issue.
If you can then I would suggest cleaning the chamber with a brass bore brush in a cordless drill.
I have twice in the past run into your issue and found the chamber to be dirty. This caused the fired case that was heated and expanded to stick in the chamber and be prematurely pulled from the extractor and away from ejector when barrel unlocked from bolt and returned to battery position.

[.300Rem81]

Thanks for your replies, I definitely should try cleaning out the chamber with a cordless drill. I scrubbed it manually with a wire brush but I'm sure the drill would work 1000 times better. I'll also try the slow motion video idea. That's something that I never thought about. It would be interesting to see if I would be able to tell from that where my problem is occurring. I also have not taken the barrel shroud apart yet. I have pushed the barrel in manually and it feels very smooth. I will be pulling the barrel shroud apart at some point here soon to try and get to the bottom of this. Thanks guys!

[Phyrbird]

Just for the record there is a video of Cam getting a stovepipe jam. It just flipped up out of the rifle & landed right back in ejection port.
Not that your problem is similar, just saying....

[chas1949]

300Rem81,
Has your issue been resolved?

[.300Rem81]

Hello, I have not resolved the issue with this rifle yet. I have been quite busy lately and have not taken the time to try any of the newer suggestions. I will be taking a look at it one of these days here soon. Any more suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again to everyone who is helping me with this!

[MinnesotaDan]

Are you shooting handloads or factory ammo?

[.300Rem81]

Hello, I've been shooting handloads exclusively through the rifle.

[MinnesotaDan]

The only stovepiping I have ever experienced in shooting, pistols or rifles, were extractor related, or ammo related. I am not saying this is the only cause possible, just that is what I have always found to be the cause.

One thing to try would be shooting a magazine of factory ammo. If it cycles fine, then the stovepiping/jamming would be an ammo issue. If the factory ammo stovepipes, too, then it is most likely something else.

What is the load that are you shooting? A "gentle" handload might not have enough energy to cycle the long recoil action.

Just my two cents worth. Hope it is helpful.

[.300Rem81]

Thank you all for your replies. I have found my issue and the rifle is now working quite well. I pulled the barrel assembly apart and found that my barrel, shroud, springs, ect were all covered in a thin layer of grime and rust. After cleaning these parts extensively and lubricating them, the rifle fired 9 shots with only 1 stovepipe. I have never gotten more than two shots out of the rifle previously without a jam. I will still have to fire a few more rounds and see if I experience any more jamming. If so, I will be looking at my ejector (which I still have not been able to remove) as this is the only major part that I have not been able to thoroughly inspect. Hopefully the issue has been resolved. Also, I made a spanner tool that is quite different than any of the others that I have seen. I will make a separate post regarding this. Thanks everyone!

[Hibby83]

Happy to hear you had a positive change in the rifle! Hope that ironed out your problem.

A couple of my rifles when I took apart the shroud were pretty cruddy and rusty.

Cool that you made a tool yourself to break the barreled assembly down. Looks don't matter as long as you can safely take it down without incident or damage.