https://thegreatmodel8.net/

Greetings all. One of my dream guns from childhood was the Remington Model 8 or 81. I always wanted one. Yesterday my dream came true. Although I am not completely sure what I have. I stopped by a local shop and they had a few guns that an elderly gentleman had brought in to sell. One was an 81A. Although it did not appear completely "correct" it did appear to be in good shape and the price was way right. It is chambrered in the .32 Rem. and came with 6 loaded factory rounds and 40 pieces of empty brass. I snapped it up. I was on my way to the range anyway so I shot the 6 rounds. It shot a 5" group at 100 yards. Not enough ammo to seriously sight it in, but I wanted to shoot it.

Below are some photos and I would appreciate any comments. It appears that the butt stock may have been replaced. The fit is not perfect to the frame, the wood appears to be a better grade and it is checkered. I think it is a Model 8 stock, but I am no expert. The fore end is not checkered and seems to be a lesser grade of wood. It also has the sling swivel take down key. The bluing is beautiful which makes me wonder if it was re-blued at some point. The bore is pristine and the rifle functions well. Any info would be greatly apreciated. Thank you.

Hey Goose,

Welcome to the forum. Glad to hear that you have fullfilled a childhood dream by getting one of the Remington's. We always appreciate pictures because they allow us to make a more informed assement to answer questions like you possed.

I think your observations about your new rifle are correct. When I zoomed on the checkering, it is not factory checkering that we are use to seeing on these rifles. The checkering appears to have a triple band where the Remington was always a double band. It is hard to say what kind of stock you have but I think you are corrrect again in saying it is not original. The butt plate is not original for the typical 81. I don't think the stock is a model 8 because the tang curvature on the 8's was a little different for the 81. All the 81's to my knowledge were not the old style round knob that appear on this rifle but rather the flat style pistol grip. This stock almost looks like a stock from the old A-5 Browning shotgun. None the less, the wood has a very nice grain and appears to be in decent condition. Someone took the time to make it fit as good as they could. The spacer on the stock where it meets the receiver may have been done to lessen any transition differences and to match the spacer on the butt plate.

It is hard to say on the bluing because I can't see some of the tell tale signs of rebluing. If the roll stampings are sharp and show no signs of buffing and the edges are sharp and not rounded, you could indeed be looking at original blue. If it has been reblued, it appears to be above average. The bolt carriage has been jeweled which is not original to the Remington's.

Anyway, congratulations on your acquisition and may it be the first of many.

Respectfully,

jack1653

I would concur with Jack's evaluation. Your rifle, since it doesn't have Model 81 markings nor double side springs, is definitely a Model 8.

Also the jacket head (where the barrel jacket and receiver meet) doesn't look right, almost like it's too rounded out where it should be clearly stepped. When the jacket and jacket head become loose its been known for some people to weld the two. Do you have a closeup of this area?

I think your rifle looks pretty cool regardless of what's been done to it! Welcome to the site!

Ok, so here are a few close ups. All else aside I love this rifle. It may not be correct, but someone loved this rifle. To me it is a piece of history. It would be great to know how it arrived at today. What has it seen and experienced. Regardless, I will make this big dog bark again and it will live on. Thanks for your help. Great fun!

It looks to have typical re-bluing indications. Like our previous example it is a fine job of bluing.

You might want to take a look under the butt plate, if there is a cavity there perhaps you will get lucky and a previous owner left rolled up clues as to its history. I've never found anything but others have.

Welcome aboard.
(And, don't listen to all that nonsense about my spreading Jackitis it is only spread on internet forums.... http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... =274545105
Oops! )

Goose,

The jacket head definitely looks different than the norm. A factory jacket head is pictured below. I wouldn't let any of this stuff deter you though, that's a nice looking (and I bet shooting!) rifle.

That is very nice wood in that buttstock, reminds me very much of some of the wood on Browning A5 lite models and the wood in replacement stocks made by Sile in Italy for A5s. By any chance does it have a dogs head on the buttplate? In all a very nice job of custominizing. Jerry

goose, It appears as though the butt stock has been glass bedded to the reciever. Norm

Congratulations on your find! That's a very interesting looking rifle; pretty wood and some nice looking craftsmanship. It would be interesting to know why it had the work done and who did it.