Model 71 Coming Up |Winchester Rifles|Forum|Winchester Collector

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My advice is go for it if you can get it for a reasonable price. Is it the Standard Grade or the Special? The bolt peep is pricey all by itself. Very popular. 

Without knowing more, I’d assume the crack is in the wrist, caused by dropping the fairly heavy gun on its steel toe. 

If that is so, you should be able to make the repair from inside the inletting, using Acraglass as you propose. You already know how to increase the glue joint surfaces and make cross-joint pillars with a sharp chisel. My only advice would be to use the gel version and add some powdered aluminum to  the gel. 

The 71 is the last iteration of the Model 1886, made of stronger steel and modified to use coil springs rather than flat springs. It is my favorite Winchester lever action rifle and I think it’s the finest rifle the company has ever made. 

The 348 Winchester was WRACO’s way of creating a magnum version of the then popular 33 WCF. They upped the groove diameter to a full .348 from .338 and, whereas the older 33 case is a necked down 45-70 Gov’t, the 348 case is a necked down 50-110 WCF. 

The 348 is a fine, flexible cartridge that was once available in 150, 200, and 250 grain bullet loadings, although it has been obsolete for a while now. The 200 grain factory load was a Silvertip that had a published velocity of about 2550 foot seconds, as I recall, assuming the 24″ barrel rifle. There was a 20″ prewar version neither of us can afford but it was an earsplitting flamethrower anyway.

My experience has been with a 1990 Browning 71 and then a 1949 Winchester 71 Special (the one with checkered stocks, grip cap, and Supergrade sling swivels.) 

I think the 348 handles cast bullets well at reduced velocities using 4759 and 3031 and can be handloaded with jacketed bullets to pretty much factory velocities with 4350. While the 150 grain load loses velocity quickly, it still makes up into a very fine Whitetail load within 100 to 150 yards, with mild recoil. The 250 grain bullet at full velocity will kill anything that walks on the North American Continent, as long as the range is not too great. 

If you want to learn more about the 71, our own Bert H. has published several scholarly articles on this model in the Collector that are easily found in the archives, one of which I believe appeared in 2026. These cover the subject thoroughly and I commend them to you strongly and, preferably, before you bid.

MidwestCrisis said
There’s no checkering.  Most of the blue is there except the fore end cap.  Stock’s have a lot of use but not refinished.  Hoping that the wrist crack will scare most buyers away.   I was curious about the recoil.  I have a ‘69 model 70 in 338 WM and that’s about as hard as I like to get hit.  I’ll read Burt’s articles tonight.  
  

Manageable recoil is subjective but the 338 Winchester Magnum generates significantly more foot pounds of recoil at a higher recoil velocity, than the 348 WCF, in guns and bullets of equal weight. 

Subjectively, I don’t find the recoil of my Model 70 30/06 with 180 grain bullets noticeably different than that of my Model 71 with 200 grain bullets, both loaded to factory velocities. 

Looks good to me.  It obviously hasn’t been reblued – the serial was applied after it left the Dulite tank. For some reason, the Model 71 serials were applied in a different order. Look at the extruded borders.

It still has its #3278/M WRACO hood – sign of a meticulous owner. And the sling swivels. That’s 3 or 4 hundred bucks saved right there. 

Tell us some more about the strap – indicia of factory original. I’ve always wondered. 

Is that an oil stain on the left face of the buttstock, pore filler, or the natural grain of the wood? 

I like this gun a lot. It needs a range session. 

Roger,  I don’t know what to look for on the strap for clues it might be original issue that came as part of the 71 Special style. I’ve seen them coiled inside the box but have not read who made them and how they might have been marked. 

This one looks like a 1907 shooting sling, the one standard for the 1903 Springfield, 1917 Enfield, and Garand M1. 

At a guess, Winchester probably changed suppliers at least once and may or may not have had a Winchester part or catalog number put on it. A further guess is that, toward the end of production, as sales slackened, the company may just have bought stock from Redhead or somebody, with nothing to identify the sling with Winchester. 

My assumption has always been the same 1″ military 1907 style leather shooting sling was furnished with the Model 70 Supergrade, the Model 71 Special and 64 Deer Rifle, and the 52 Sporting Rifle. The ones I’ve seen had brass keepers. 

Anyone with knowledge will please correct me.