Remington Model 81 feedback

[JimGenz76]

I have an opportunity to purchase a Remington Model 81 chambered in .300 savage. Blueing is worn and some handling marks in wood, rifling seems to be good and it is fine mechanically.

Who has experience with these? Any cycling problems with today's ammo?

Lastly he is asking $595 does that seem fair? I don't know anything else about the rifle. I am most concerned with the rifle functioning. I would do some target shooting with it may take it on hog hunt someday. Mostly it will sit in my safe and get shot once or twice a year.

Thanks!

[Mustang]

I have a model 81 in .30 Remington. Mine is in excellent shape and is very accurate.

$595 seems a little high to me. As described, I'd say more like $450 to $500

[TMB 1]

I'm not up on prices. I have 2 Model 8s and an 81. The 8s are 30Rem and 35Rem, the 81 is 300Sav. All work perfect with factory ammo/reloads and are accurate.

[smle-man]

My .300 Savage model 81 kicked like a 12 ga and with the skinny factory stock it was pretty unpleasant to shoot. Back east for white tail in the middle of winter with 3 layers of clothing and a heavy wool lumberjack coat the shooter wouldn't mind the recoil. Here is SoCal it is a bruiser.

Unless it is mint the price is a bit high. Check Gunbroker for comparables.

[joefrank64k]

Seems a bit high to me with worn bluing and handling marks.

[TMB 1]

This place has 2012 Blue Book Values http://thegreatmodel8.remingtonsociety.com/?page_id=990

[BroncoBob]

Back in 2013 I paid $550 for my 81A in 35 Remington. However mine is in excellent condition. $595 doesn't sound bad at today's prices.

[joemoia]

A few weeks ago I checked Gunbroker and there were 3 actual sales of a Model 81 with an average price of $660

[gun toting monkeyboy]

That is what people are hoping to sell them for, but it doesn't represent reality. In the condition you describe, I would say $350-400 would be a fair price. The last time I bought the a few years back, I paid $300 and $350 for a .300 Savage and a .35 Remington, respectively.

As for the recoil, that is a known artifact of the action. People have noted it for more than a century. The way the action works is by slamming the heavy bolt into the back of the receiver. So you not only have the recoil of the cartridge, but the mass of the bolt hitting the receiver at nearly the same time (in terms of what your feel). The felt recoil is significantly harder than the same cartridge in a lighter manual action. Which is exactly the opposite of what you would expect from a semi-auto. However, while it is stout, it is not any worse than a .30-06 or a 12 gauge shotgun with a heavy load. It is probably actually a bit lighter.

If it is in good condition, regular .300 Savage ammo will work just fine with it. You can usually find seasonal runs of both loaded ammo and brass. While there hasn't been a production run of new .300 Savage rifles in a few years, Remington will occasionally make a batch or two of them for the Pennsylvania market. And there are more than enough of them out there to ensure ammo will remain in production for many more years.

-Mb

[JimGenz76]

Thank you all for the feedback. I've been on gunbroker and other sites the 300 savs with very good blue and decent stocks are going for $700. I really want 1.

[gun toting monkeyboy]

Thank you all for the feedback. I've been on gunbroker and other sites the 300 savs with very good blue and decent stocks are going for $700. I really want 1.

Ultimately the value of the gun versus the price is up to you. If you are willing to pay the offering price, then that is what the gun is worth. I don't think it is worth that much, but I already have 2 of them. If you want to pay that, go ahead. And enjoy. They are fun rifles. They were highly valued back East and throughout the South for more than 60 years for their fast handling and quick follow up shots.

-Mb

[TMB 1]

Thank you all for the feedback. I've been on gunbroker and other sites the 300 savs with very good blue and decent stocks are going for $700. I really want 1.

If you want it you should go ahead and get it. The prices probably aren't going to come down in the future.

What's cool about the 35Rem and 300Sav is M14 stripper clips work with them and factory ammo and brass is still available.

[THBailey]

Thank you all for the feedback. I've been on gunbroker and other sites the 300 savs with very good blue and decent stocks are going for $700. I really want 1.

You want it, that settles it.

A wise old gun collector once told me you can really never pay too much for a gun. In the worst case, you buy it a bit early is all.

And in the immortal words of Jack O'Conner, describing the Remington's, in "The Rifle Book",: "These Babies really sling the lead". Heck, they were the FBI's combat rifle: http://thegreatmodel8.remingtonsociety.com/?page_id=867

300 savage is a great cartridge also.

We expect photo's shortly!