81-C that was recently on GunBroker

[54bullseye]

I am sure many of you saw the 81-C that recently sold on GunBroker. I was surprised there was no posts about it ! It was a beautiful rifle for sure. The rarity of it sure brought the price up it went for $5700 and change plus tax and shipping so $6000 plus. I really liked the rifle and did throw a "what I thought to be a high bid" on it before going to bed that night but woke to find 3 other guys bid me out.

I thought the rifle to be original with probably an added coat of finish. I had never seen the silver initial plate on top of the stock like that. Also it had screws holding it on. After thought or Remington custom shop special order ??? Beautiful wood and blue. Serial number 4998 so 1937 manufacture.

Beautiful gun I wish I had won. And thoughts to it's originality ??

John Taylor

[54bullseye]

Here are a few more pictures for those who missed it.

[54bullseye]

Here are a few more pictures for those who missed it. last ones.

[MinnesotaDan]

I think that you are right on in your assessment: An extra coat of finish on the wood, but a beautiful rifle all the same. Maybe the winner of the auction will post something that will speak to the marking on the wood (Serial number and a C or 3).

[Roger]

Hey John and Dan,
I don’t always look at the 81s online,so I missed this one completely. I do know that the 81c is the most likely the rarest one, except the engraved m81s. The later Bgrades are more common, but still very rare. And Corey Creamer told me that his father’s favorite rifles were his Cgrade m81s. This one being in 35 Remington, is extremely desirable for any collector of M8/81s. It would be interesting to know who ended up with it. Maybe it will show up here one of these days.
Thanks for your time
Roger

[54bullseye]

Roger have you ever seen the initial plate on top of the stock ?? You would think if it was ordered that way there would have been initials on it ?? John

[Roger]

Hey fellas ,
I have not seen that plate in person. But I have seen it somewhere in a picture. Possibly in Henwoods book. But John, I agree that it should have initials on it. However it does seem odd that if it were a standard feature on higher grade pieces, we would have seen it by now. Hey Jack, if you are looking at this post, could you give us your opinion?
Thanks for your time
Roger

[Roger]

Hey guys,
I didn’t address the wood grade on the previous post. This has to be Fgrade wood. It’s unbelievably figured and probably isn’t 3 or Cgrade. It’s absolutely beautiful. This rifle is truly a masterpiece for any collector . I thought the paid price was a bit high when I first looked at it,but I was completely wrong about that.
Thanks for your time
Roger

[54bullseye]

I wish I had gone higher bidding on this gun but I believe the person that won it might have taken it MUCH higher !! He bid a bunch of times !!
Oh well you can't get them al LOL ! John Taylor

[Roger]

Hey guys,
After looking at the pictures a few more times, I believe that with this higher grade wood, extra finish was probably a normal procedure. I know that for the better wood you also received a better finish job. Sure Cameron or Corey could verify this also. This original buyer wanted better wood without engraving. That’s obvious to me anyway.Unless it was sent back to the factory later for the upgrade.There’s no mention of extra date codes on the barrel jacket. Just the observations of an old collector from Iowa.
Regards
Roger

[81police]

Certainly, the quality of wood fell into various "grades" but there was variance there. And on that particular day, for this "C" grade, the assembler very possibly grabbed a higher grade wood than normal. However, of all the few 81C's I've seen, they all have exceptionally nice wood...so this may have just been the norm for the rare 81C. That rifle is a beauty no doubt.