Marlin 81 Gun show find
Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2011 9:34 am
Made it to the big Fall show at the Coliseum with fellow member entropy... The one where they bring all the cool displays along with sale merchandise. Saw plenty of very nice displays, many guns WAY out of my price range & found a few good deals.
I've been wanting a nice tube fed, bolt action .22 for a while now... Was considering getting the Marlin 981 but instead I found this at the show.
A Marlin model 81 with a side mount base & an older Weaver B4 scope that's still very crisp & clear... The guy wanted $110 for it. He bought it as part of a collection from a widow... She said her Husband had it for many years. I just had to have it. Talked him down $10 & took it home with me.
When I got home I took it to the bench for cleaning & it was very dirty. Lots of Wd40 goo in it, filthy bore & even some fine sand mixed in there. Found a pristine bore under the crud & a nice light trigger & smooth action. The stock looks far too nice to be original & somewhere along the line someone added some sling swivels not to mention the scope & mount. Also, it has an oddly bent bolt. I've seen other variations in pictures online that match this bolt. I doubt it's original but then again it could have been optional? Hard to say.
From the research I've found so far they made the original Model 81 from 1937-1940 so this one looks to be a pre-war model. 1940 & up began as a model 81C & continued using a letter prefix after the model #. If anyone has more detailed information that would be greatly appreciated.
Here's some pictures for your enjoyment.
I've been wanting a nice tube fed, bolt action .22 for a while now... Was considering getting the Marlin 981 but instead I found this at the show.
A Marlin model 81 with a side mount base & an older Weaver B4 scope that's still very crisp & clear... The guy wanted $110 for it. He bought it as part of a collection from a widow... She said her Husband had it for many years. I just had to have it. Talked him down $10 & took it home with me.
When I got home I took it to the bench for cleaning & it was very dirty. Lots of Wd40 goo in it, filthy bore & even some fine sand mixed in there. Found a pristine bore under the crud & a nice light trigger & smooth action. The stock looks far too nice to be original & somewhere along the line someone added some sling swivels not to mention the scope & mount. Also, it has an oddly bent bolt. I've seen other variations in pictures online that match this bolt. I doubt it's original but then again it could have been optional? Hard to say.
From the research I've found so far they made the original Model 81 from 1937-1940 so this one looks to be a pre-war model. 1940 & up began as a model 81C & continued using a letter prefix after the model #. If anyone has more detailed information that would be greatly appreciated.
Here's some pictures for your enjoyment.
