I purchased a Remington Model 141 in Texas in 2002. At that time I was told the rifle belonged to an elderly gentleman who was selling his collection of firearms and that he had bought it "back east" many years ago, but he didn't remember exactly where. The rifle is chambered in .35 Remington and has Marble's front and rear sights. There is also a Marble's peep sight mounted to the rear (much like a tang sight) with the two forward screws being drilled into the action itself. The rifle has the older hook style sling swivels and also has a Fray-Mershon, INC. "White Line" recoil pad mounted on it. The curious thing is that the side of the receiver is not stamped "Game Master" as other 141s have been that I have seen. Aside fromt he case head (REM-UMC), the left side of the receiver simply says Model 141-C and below that is serial number 17XX, the -C stamping being more crude and almost an afterthought done with a letter punch. The barrel is stamped on top, Remington Trade Mark just ahead of the receiver and the barrel code on the left side is OD (July 1935), and the letters REP are in an oval circle on the right side of the barrel ahead of the action, the caliber is designated as 35 REM. The stamping on the barrel reads as such:
REMINGTON ARMS CO., INC., REMINGTON ILION WORKS, ILION, N.Y. MADE IN U.S.A.
PEDERSEN'S PATENTS 1,043,354 - 1,044,568 - 1,071,173 - 1,072,982
My understanding is that the 141 did not replace the model 14 until 1936. What exactly were the changes and differences between the Model 14 and 141, and is it possible that this rifle was constructed from old 14 parts, including the receiver? Is it indeed a Model 141 at all, or was it originally a 14 that was later stamped 141-C for some reason? Any help on this subject would be very appreciated. Also, as I assume the recoil pad is not original, is there a good place to search for an original butt plate (I assume it would be metal)? Thank you.