Hunting with the Model 8
Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 7:08 pm
Deer season opens next week and once again I willl be toting a Model 8. My hunting 8 is a 35 Remington made in 1928. Sometime in the distant past the original owner had installed a NO Shock recoil pad and it is still in pretty good shape. The rifle iitself is all matching and about 85% original finish and the bore is perfect. I shoot cast bullets in all my M8/81 rifles and for the 35 I use the Lyman 200 grain rn bullet with W/W 748 powder to boot the bullet along at just over 2000 fps. This gives me a maximum range of 200 yards although I have yet to shoot a deer that far away. This load will group under 3" at 100 yards with the iron sights and someday I will locate a peep sight for this rifle. I also have a 30 and a 300 and both shoot the Lyman 31141 bullet at 2100 fps. I feel comfortable shooting the cast in these rifles as it puts almost no wear on the bore and I can push the bullets just as fast as a jacketed slug if I so desire. I have yet to recover a slug from the 35 as they have all been through and through shots, but each was one shot one deer.
It's kinda nice to see the old ones out still doing the job some 80 or more years after they were made. Now if I could just get a 25 for coyotes!
It's kinda nice to see the old ones out still doing the job some 80 or more years after they were made. Now if I could just get a 25 for coyotes!
But ..., I just did the husbandly thing and used all my "rat holed" gun money and bought the wife what SHE really wanted for Christmas. 
(I'm thinking big time GG points for the next .25!!) 