We've got some rad customers here at Viking Coffee Co and fortunate enough to see and photograph Jason's priceless family heirloom.
This Remington Model 8 has got one rad story... But, before we talk about the owners of this rifle some quick history on the Model 8 for context.
These rifles first entered production in 1906 as the Remington Autoloading Rifle... freakin' mouthful man! In 1910 Remington and Union Metallic Cartridge company merged and rebranded the rifle to the Model 8.
This rifle was the first semi-auto rifle in America with its recoil operating system.
If you don't know, recoil operating system means this...
When the rifle is fired, the force of the the recoil sends the entire barrel assembly backwards into the receiver, pushing the bolt backwards, and once it reaches the end of this cycle, it trips a sear catching the bolt and sending the barrel forward by springs in the front of the barrel. As the barrel travels forward it catches the ejector and ejects the spent case. Afterwards it trips another sear releasing the bolt, sending it forward, catching another round and chambering it ready to fire again.
This sounds like a lot, but it's a simple system, and happens in less than a second.
This rifle of Jason's is technically a Remington Autoloading Rifle since it's production date is June of 1907. But, we'll refer to it as the Model 8 or Mod 8.
Jason's Model 8 spent most of its life in Eastern Wyoming and Montana dropping countless Mule Deer and who knows what else on hunts.
Jason had recently spoke to his dad, O.W. (Dub) Garst, about his grandad, Russell Garst.
Jason told us his dad specifically remembers when he was a kid, he and Russell on horseback riding through a timbered area of the ranch his grandad owned and spotting a big buck Mule Deer.
Russel used the Model 8 to take down the Mule Deer, they rode up to where it had dropped, field dressed the deer, rode back to the ranch to grab his Willys CJ Jeep to drive back and get the deer to hang it at the ranch.
Dub was not sure when his dad Russell had gotten the rifle as it had just always been around as his main hunting rifle since Dub was a kid.
The Ranch we're talking about was actually purchased by Russell and a few other ranchers in the area, the company was called Trail Creek Grazing Association and the hunt lodge was called Trail Creek Ranch... The ranch specifically was 38,000 acres of land.
The land used to be part of a much larger ranch known as Parks Land and Livestock. The Parks family was well known and had over 60,000 acres of land in that area.
The Parks had built a huge mansion on the ranch that Russell and his business partners had bought. Russell moved into this place when they acquired the property and used it as a hunting lodge.
Jason told us it had what seemed like 15 rooms upstairs, a huge pool table, and bar room, and taxidermy throughout!
Looking at the land from google maps is wild to see how far out there this place is and the vast open landscape surrounding it.
The Model 8 now lives with Jason and not much was known about it from him until we did some research and till he spoke to his dad about the rifle.
It still functions perfectly aside from needing a good cleaning. The bolt still moves and locks to the rear, the barrel still reciprocates as it should and returns to its firing position, the magazine spring still functions and doesn't jam up.