The Remington Model 81 was the successor to the very popular Remington Model 8 which was famously used by law enforcement in the ambush of Bonnie and Clyde in 1934. Designed by John Moses Browning, the famed inventor of the 1911 pistol and many other firearms, the Model 8 and 81 both used the long-recoil method of operation as used in the Browning Auto-5 shotgun and the Browning M2 .50-caliber machine gun. This type of operation was used due to its greater reliability over gas-operation which back then could not be done with the powders then available. The only drawback to this method of operation is, in addition to the primary recoil movement of the ignition of the cartridge, there is a second, smaller recoil bump from the barrel stopping at its rear most position before moving back into the forward position. While this may sound uncomfortable, from personal experience it is not is not even noticeable. Like the Auto-5, the Model 81’s magazine has a capacity of 5 rounds. In this case, it is a box magazine fixed to the gun and is not intended to be removable though both the 8 and 81 have been successfully modified in the past to use a detachable box magazine. The Model 81 was available in five different cartridges, all with interesting histories. These are the .25 Remington, .30 Remington, .32 Remington, .35 Remington, and the .300 Savage. For now, we’ll just go over the .300 Savage as its history is separate from the Remington cartridges. The .300 Savage was introduced in 1921, long after the Remington and Winchester Cartridges of the early 1900s, as a replacement for the weaker and older .303 Savage cartridge. Two important changes were made in designing the .300 Savage. First, Savage switched from a rimmed round to a rimless one, and second, changed the bullet from a round nose to a more aerodynamic spitzer type. The .300 Savage became an immediate success upon its introduction in the Savage Model 99 lever action rifle. Its popularity led to Remington chambering the round in the Model 81 rifle making it the only non-Remington cartridge ever chambered in the rifle. As a final testament to the effectiveness of the .300 Savage, it was used by the U.S. Army in experiments that resulted in the creation of the legendary .308 Winchester/7.62 NATO cartridge. In fact, the .308’s case is literally a 300 Savage case with the neck length increased and less taper on the cartridge body. The rifle shown here is in excellent condition for its age (1949 = 71 years old) both internally and externally, though there is some wear. The majority of the finish remains intact. There is some finish loss on the bottom of the receiver. The stock has a small portion missing at the very bottom tip. This could of course be repaired. The wood furniture overall has minor handling marks in a few places. The metal on the bottom of the tang shows some handling wear as well but again it is minor. Overall, I would rate this rifle in 90 percent condition considering its age. The sling swivels are marked “Japan”, so these are most likely the only modifications made to the rifle in its 71 years since leaving the factory. Mechanically, the 81 is in great shape, and operates as it should. The trigger pull is consistent and short. The bore is in excellent condition though it should be cleaned as there are a few spots towards the muzzle. Given the pristine condition of the rest of the bore, these spots are most likely just some form of copper fowling. The bore is shown in the pictures. This 81 would make a nice addition to any Remington collection.