I have become intrigued by them and am wondering if anyone here has one, probably would go for one in 35 Remington due to ammo availability but is there anything else I should know or look for before buying?

Pictures appreciated as well.

Thanks in advance!

When I worked in a local gunshop, we had several 8s or 81s in the rack, as the older guys who hunted with them were passing on and the families no longer wanted them. One of my jobs was to clean and lube them. If we sold one, it never came back. I did shoot a couple and they were pretty good shooters, given the age and cartridge. My only complaint would be that there is a lot of activity (bolt movement and springs) going on when firing and this can be distracting.
Frank Hamer was a big fan of the 8 and had his customized to take an extended mag. He then wore out Bonnie and Clyde with it.

Because it's long recoil operated, some people complain about the recoil, but I think those must be fairly recoil sensitive folks. I make no claims to be recoil proof but am probably used to a bit more than most, I never noticed unusual or extraordinary about mine. Though it's a .32 Remington, not .35Rem, so slightly lighter bullets. (also shot my grandfather's Browning A5 all my life so no stranger to long recoil actions)

Mark Novak's Youtube channel "Anvil" has a good video or two about taking them apart.

Great guns, my onky complaint is how front heavy they were.
Recoil never bothered me.

My brother has a model 81 in .300 Savage and the FN version in .35 Remington. They are surprisingly accurate guns.

never had the chance to shoot one, but have bought and sold plenty over the years,

they have a strong following,

never had one in inventory for very long

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
When I worked in a local gunshop, we had several 8s or 81s in the rack, as the older guys who hunted with them were passing on and the families no longer wanted them. One of my jobs was to clean and lube them. If we sold one, it never came back. I did shoot a couple and they were pretty good shooters, given the age and cartridge. My only complaint would be that there is a lot of activity (bolt movement and springs) going on when firing and this can be distracting.
Frank Hamer was a big fan of the 8 and had his customized to take an extended mag. He then wore out Bonnie and Clyde with it.

Actually, Frank used a Colt Monitor that day.

When you look at the safety lever on the Model 8, you can't help but think that Mikhail Kalashnikov must have seen it and taken a liking to it.

quote:

Originally posted by Bassamatic:
Actually, Frank used a Colt Monitor that day.

Actually actually, there are conflicting accounts on who used what rifle that day, regarding Frank Hamer and Manny Gault.

Some accounts state the Hamer used the Colt Monitor and Gault used the Remington Model 8 with extended magazine, while others claim that it was Gault who used the Colt Monitor and Hamer who used the extended Model 8.

quote:

Originally posted by kaschi:
When you look at the safety lever on the Model 8, you can't help but think that Mikhail Kalashnikov must have seen it and taken a liking to it.

Not quite. Kalashnikov's original designs had a different style of smaller safety lever and separate selector lever, both on the left side of the receiver, seen on the prototype shown below:




The safety/selector/dust cover as we know it today was a modification by the design bureau at a later date, partway through the AK's testing and trials. It was likely inspired by the prototype Sudayev AS-44:

I have heard the Monitor Vs. 8 controversy too. If you want to see both being used, watch "The Highwaymen" on NetFlix. Lots of vintage artillery is being used onscreen.

I'm a big .35 Rem fan and would love to find one to compliment my Marlin 336.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

Actually actually, there are conflicting accounts on who used what rifle that day, regarding Frank Hamer and Manny Gault.

Some accounts state the Hamer used the Colt Monitor and Gault used the Remington Model 8 with extended magazine, while others claim that it was Gault who used the Colt Monitor and Hamer who used the extended Model 8.

Interesting. I thought that controversy had been cleared up. According to the police report filed by Ted Hinton, a Dallas County deputy sheriff, who was also there that morning. He states that the Remington 8 (with the modified clip) was carried that morning by Bienville Parish deputy Prentiss Oakley...who had borrowed it from an Arcadia dentist.

It seems the biggest controversy is Frank Hammer's claim that Bonnie was in fact armed. Frank had made numerous comments during the pursuit that he had reservations about killing an unarmed woman and that morning he said he found a small revolver strapped to the inside of Bonnie's leg. The other deputies at the scene claimed they never saw a weapon strapped to Bonnie. The controversy arises because a few weeks before the ambush, Clyde had ran off the road and hit a tree and a fire erupted in the cab of the vehicle. Bonnie's legs were severely burned and there was no way she could strap a weapon to them. No, I'm pretty sure the only thing Bonnie had with her that morning was a pack of Camels and a half eaten tuna fish sandwich that they found on her lap.

Most of this info came the book "Go Down Together" by Jeff Guinn. Rogue, sorry it took so long to get back to you and sorry for the thread drift.

quote:

Originally posted by Bassamatic:
Interesting. I thought that controversy had been cleared up. According to the police report filed by Ted Hinton, a Dallas County deputy sheriff, who was also there that morning. He states that the Remington 8 (with the modified clip) was carried that morning by Bienville Parish deputy Prentiss Oakley...who had borrowed it from an Arcadia dentist.

There were three Model 8s in use that day. The guns believed to be used in the ambush were:

Frank Hamer - Colt Monitor in .30-06, or Remington Model 8 with extended magazine in .35 Remington
Manny Gault - Remington Model 8 with extended magazine in .35 Remington, or Colt Monitor in .30-06
Bienville Parish Sheriff Henderson Jordan - Winchester 94 in .30-30
Bienville Parish Deputy Prentis Oakley - Remington Model 8 in .35 Remington, borrowed from Louisiana dentist Dr. Henry Sheheen
Dallas County Deputy Bob Alcorn - Remington Model 8, unknown caliber (probably .35 Remington too)
Dallas County Deputy Ted Hinton - BAR in .30-06, borrowed from the Texas National Guard

OK then...looks like the controversy is far from settled. Thanks for the info on who all carried what that morning, it would have taken me some time to dig that up.