Featured Gun: the Remington Model 8

 The Remington Model 8 by Randy Chamberlain

The Remington Model 8 was the first truly reliable high-power semiautomatic rifle to be offered commercially.  In 1900, when firearm designer John Browning secured patent # 659,786 on his new rifle design, he first tried to sell the design to Winchester Repeating Arms Company but once Browning mentioned royalties, the negotiations turned hostile and Winchester turned him down.  Browning then took his design to Remington Arms; however, the timing was not on Browning’s side because the head of Remington has just died before Browning was scheduled to introduce his new rifle. 

Not having good luck in the USA, Browning took his design abroad on a steamship to Belgium, where he had already developed a successful partnership with Fabrique Nationale.  FN had already produced Browning’s Model 1900 7.65mm blowback auto pistol.  FN liked the new design that Browning pitched, and they bought a license from Browning to begin production outside of the US, however the production was oddly delayed until 1910. 

After his success in Belgium, Browning returned to the USA and arranged another meeting with Remington Arms.  This time, he successfully sold his new auto-loading design to Remington for production within the US.  In 1906, Remington introduced the design to the public as the Remington Autoloading Rifle, but later they changed the name to Remington Model 8 in 1911.   

The Remington Model 8 was very successful as the first commercial semiautomatic rifle to be offered to the average person in the United States.  The autoloading feature was an exciting new spoil at the time as most people were still using lever-action rifles or single-shot rifles, as well as some still using the older muzzleloaders designs.   The Model 8 has a long-stroke recoil operation that kept the breechblock closed until after the bullet left the barrel and used a rotating bolt head.  When fired, the barrel and bolt, moved together to the rear of the receiver to compress two recoil springs.  The bolt separated and one of the springs moved the barrel forward within its large diameter sleeve, which allowed for extraction and ejection.  Once the barrel returned to its position, the second spring released the bolt and it returned forward as well, picking up a new round from the magazine and placing it into the chamber.  The rifle featured a fixed 5-round magazine and a device to hold the bolt open once the magazine is empty.  With it’s take-down design, it could easily be configured into a smaller package for transport.

Remington created four calibers for the Model 8 to compete with the most popular hunting rifle of the time, a .30-30 Winchester.  The Remington ammo had rimless cartridges for seamless feeding from the magazine and came in  .25 Remington, .30 Remington, .32 Remington and .35 Remington.  The rifle was also available with five different grades of finish: Standard, Special, Peerless, Expert and Premier.

Both the FN Browning 1900 and the Model 8 were primarily used for hunting in the commercial market.  The 1900 would never achieve the same level of sales as the American counterpart though because the autoloading function hadn’t been proved yet.  Due to the lack of sales, only 4913 Model 1900 were made between 1910 through 1929, where over 80,000 of the American version of the design was produced. 

The Model 8 was also used as a police gun but was modified to use a detachable extended capacity magazine, among other customizations for the police force.  The model 8’s military use in World War I was limited to use by the French Aeronautique Mitlitaire, but in very small numbers. 

One interesting point of use in history was in the capture of notorious Bonnie and Clyde.  Texas Ranger Frank Hamer had his .35 Model 8 (serial no 10045) customized with a 15-round magazine from Petmeckey’s Sporting Goods in Austin Texas prior to their capture and the autoloading feature was a key factor in stopping the notorious couple once and for all.  The Model 8 also came with further modifications for law enforcement agencies to accept a 20-round magazine that was made by the Peace Officers Equipment Company in St. Joseph Missouri.

The Remington Model 8 was beautifully made with a complex design for its time.  The rifle was noted as very reliable, which was a hallmark trade of John Browning’s designs.  However, like many other fine guns, the Model 8 fell victim to The Great Depression.  In 1936, it was redesigned as the Model 81 Woodsmaster, with upgrades by C.C. Loomis. The Model 81 offered .300 savage and the .25 was discontinued after a limited number were produced.   The Model 81 was offered in Standard (81A), Special (81B), Peerless (81D), Expert (81E) and Premier (81F) grades as well.  The FBI stocked several model 81 rifles chambered for .30 Remington and .35 Reminton calibers.  Production of the model 81stopped all together in 1950 after 55,000 copies were made.

 

Sources:

·         Wikipedia, Remington Model 8 Semi-automatic rifle

·         American Rifleman, A look back at the Remington Model 8, by Dave Campbell, 3/5/2015

·         Firearm News, Remington Model 8 proved the accuracy of self-loading rifles, by Jeff John, 6/24/2022

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About the author:

Randy has been a decades long member of the NRA and the Civilian Marksmanship Program; he began collecting weapons in the 70's and has owned more than 500 weapons including a Remington model 8. He will continue to contribute his vast knowledge of surplus and collector weapons.