Benton County Iowa Sherifs Model 81 POE

[Samk1983]

Greetings from Iowa, New member here!

I recently came across a model 81 Woodsmaster in a local gun shop here in Iowa. I was told it was brought in on trade from a local Sherifs Department. I knew right away I was holding something special, I had never seen a model 81 with a detachable magazine…… I was told the local Sherifs Department was currently looking for the magazines that came with the gun. Once i got home I started doing some research, i quickly realized that i had just purchased a model 81 that had been modified by Peace Officer Equipment to take their 15 round magazine. Im guessing they will never be found after realizing how rare the POE mags are. Best guess is they got tossed in the trash years ago or a "gun guy" working for the department knew the value of the mags and decided to take them.

That being said, I have a POE modified Model 81 in 35 Remington without a magazine. I got a little over my skies on this one and I am hoping someone can talk me through some options? Maybe even bring it back to the original fix mag setup if i cant find a POE mag.

Im a shooter at heart and love to hunt, this rifle would be great for Iowa Whitetail!

I look forward to hearing from the group, thanks in advance!

[Hibby83]

Welcome to the group!

What a cool gun! Is this your first Remington Autoloader?

Hope the local department comes up with the magazine for you. Looking forward to hearing and seeing more of this Special rifle.

[Samk1983]

Hibby,

This was in fact my first model 81. I picked it up last Thursday...... I made it exactly 7 days before i picked up my second.

I just placed the winning bid on another 81 in 35 rem on Gunbroker. The gun appears to be pretty clean but wont know for sure till i get my hands on it. Its not as clean as my POE 81, but it should be functional and ready for the range!

Im currently exploring ideas on how to mount a little Vortex red dot in place of the rear sight on the barrel sleeve.

Thanks!

[Hibby83]

Nice! Got another one on the way.
Sounds like a good one, look forward to hearing more.

The timeline of your story is similar to how I got my first 2.

I went to a local gunshow while I had my first Model 8 in route to my FFL I put hands on an autoloader for the first time at that show. A nice old gentleman had the table, we did some back & forth, came to an agreed price. I walked out of the show with a 35 Rem, 2 boxes of ammo and a smile.!.!.
Rest in peace Ed.

A few days later my ffl called and said to pick up my 25 Rem Model 8. It was a good deal considering the amount of new brass, reloading dies and 2 boxes of "modern" PCI brand ammunition. With my research, I knew from the start that reloading was the best option cost wise/availability of ammo.

Within 2 months I was off to training getting ready for an Uncle Sam sponsored trip to Poland. In my downtime during the 9 month tour I spent HOURS* learning/researching this page along with any other sources about these guns.

There was a forum member selling cut-down and shaped picarinny rails "great for relex/red-dot" that would mount where the rear sight goes. I'll try to find the post for you.

[Hibby83]

Here's the post about the red-dot mounts.

viewtopic.php?t=5620#p22017

[DocSavage]

Here’s another option for mounting a red dot:

viewtopic.php?t=6502&sid=ef15cf88964a86 ... 139aa7919e

Best of luck in finding a magazine!

[Samk1983]

Thanks Hibby,

This is what I came up with. Now I just need to get my firing pin issue resolved, this is the slam fire culprit.

[echo1]

Great looking M81 Sam. Now you have something physical to help visualize the mag issue on the POE gun. Seems like the most doable, might be to make a stock mag fit the POE trigger housing, detachable or fixed. You can prolly actually find a stock mag. PAX

[Samk1983]

Thanks Pax! Ive considered that, but even the stock original mags are hard to find. I just saw one go on ebay for over $400

[echo1]

Thanks Pax! Ive considered that, but even the stock original mags are hard to find. I just saw one go on ebay for over $400

You can use yours as a template, kinda, to fab something in .35REM. PAX

[echo1]

Sam, your dilemma piqued my curiosity, and I did a quick inventory of stuff I have. Just eyeballing cartridges, it looks like the 180 grain .35 is about the same dimensions as a 7.62X39, the 200s are longer (i have some 180 & 200 in.35). I've got a mess of WASR10 mags. I didn't try loading any 180s in a WASR mag (the mags hiding from me). They're thick steel single stack, so I presume they'd feed with some tinkering. That might get you headed in the right direction??? If it worked for the 180s, you could extend the end to fit the POE TG mag guide and fit 200s at the same time. I also did some internet searching for mag fed .35 rifles, there's some out there, but those mags are hard to find as well. You really need the POE rifle in you hot little hands to fabricate anything. It's not like you'd be committing C&R blasphemy since you got nothin to begin with. PAX

[echo1]

I found my WASR 10 mags. Only one 180 grain fit to extract/feed. They are short enough but too wide as well by a fractional amount. Looks like they have potential if you know how to melt steel. Prolly good candidates for cannibalization. Some old bolt gun mag should work too. I thought about the WASR mags because they're sturdy steel and I have them, pretty darn close to a fit. They'd make a single shot with minimal work, legit multi round with some thought, effort and a donor POE rifle. PAX