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 (1940 = 80 years old) both internally and externally, though there is some minor wear. The majority of the finish remains intact. The receiver exhibits some small spots of micro pitting on the sides. The barrel extension exhibits some rust on the right side near the receiver. The lower tang retains its bluing. Normally, constant use of the rifle, i.e. frequently holding the grip, eventually results in the lower tang losing its bluing due to a combination of rubbing motion and the oils present on the human hand. The presence of bluing suggests the rifle was not used on a regular basis. A Williams scope base with rings has been installed with a Weaver K2.5 (2.5x) scope mounted. The scope appears to have the reticule slightly rotated to the left. The center dot is the part most visible, while the two intersecting lines are less visible, so it is likely the scope was installed that way. There is a small chip in the rear lens. This is shown in the pictures. It does not affect the view through the scope. The receiver was drilled and tapped for another type of mount at some point, but the holes have been filled with plug screws. The wood furniture has a few small dings in it. These could be steamed out with ease. The stock has been fitted with a ventilated recoil pad. The peep sight plug screw on the back of the receiver is missing. This is simply meant to fill the threaded hole until a peep sight is installed. It is not necessary to have the screw installed for the Model 81 to function. A replacement screw would likely be found from Numrich Gun Parts Corp. On the other hand, a peep sight could simply be installed. Since the scope is offset, a peep sight could still be used in instances where the scope is not suitable for use. Mechanically, the 81 is in great shape, and operates as it should. The trigger pull is consistent and short. The bore exhibits some minor pitting towards the chamber end of the barrel, but the rest of the bore towards the muzzle is in pristine condition. This means the rifle should still be accurate. As long as the majority of the barrel is in good shape towards the muzzle end, a rifle should still provide a high level of accuracy. This Model 81 would make a nice hunting rifle. If a newer scope is designed bear in mind the Williams rings are intended for scopes with a 1” tube.