I noticed this model 71 has the "W" stamp on the lower tang, in front of the trigger.

It does have the bolt peep and a filler in the barrel dovetail.

RDB

Mike

Maverick said
Does that rifle come with a brand new Chevy or Ford pickup and they forgot to include the photos in the auction?
  

Doubtful... it would have to be a "used" truck.

Zebulon said
Bert,
Much obliged.  I understand the left receiver wall of [some] early rifles were not tapped for a receiver sight.  Was that the case until the Lyman 56 was substituted for the 98a bolt peep? That would make sense.
  

Winchester did not drill & tap the receiver side walls for a receiver sight through the year 1947 unless a customer specifically ordered it.  The No. 98A Bolt Peep and the No. 22 K barrel mounted sight were the standard sights through 1947.  The Lyman No. 56 became standard peep sight in 1948, until it was replaced by the Lyman No. 66A in 1954.

Bert

EDIT: I refer above to the 40-82 caliber, refinished 1886.

I don't have the Renneberg second edition so this image is the first I've seen of the 1894. It is a wonder to me how those case colors were successfully preserved over more than a Century. It must have seen the light of day infrequently after an initial period of field use that produced the wood finish scratches. It certainly ticks all the collector boxes and that stump Black Walnut is as good as any I've seen. 

What interests me about the 1894's special order features is all but the wood and steel finishes were geared toward shooting. The customer didn't order engraving or inlays or elaborate checkering patterns. He spent money on sighting equipment and obviously intended to put the rifle to work, not just hang it on the wall. 

Much obliged.  I understand the left receiver wall of [some] early rifles were not tapped for a receiver sight.  Was that the case until the Lyman 56 was substituted for the 98a bolt peep? That would make sense.

TXGunNut said
One interesting observation about the write-up. Story is that one hundred barrels were tested, best barrel was set aside. Ten lots of barrels were tested, the ten best barrels were tested, best became part of a "One of One Thousand". The other nine barrels were used to build "One of One Hundred" rifles. Why do we not have nine "One of One Hundred" rifles for every " One of One Thousand"?
 
Mike
  

All of that language spurs off of the original 1875 Advertisement Flyer for the 1 of 1000. It was just a Advertisement Ploy, they never tested them or serialized them as such. 

The barrels should have read 1 of 100 for the 1of1,000 and 1 of 10 for the 1of100. For the Model 76 less than 60 1of1000s were made and less than 10 1of100s were made. 

oldcrankyyankee said
Well if you to spend your money and for, what $4.00 more, I guess go for the gust and get the 1 of 1000. Guess that's why there are less 1 of 100,s. 
BTW, while we are on the subject of 1of 1000's, they had all these long range sight options and a lot of hoopla about they're unheard of accuracy right. Has anyone actually ever tried to shoot a 44 or 38 wcf 1000 yard's? I would love to see that.
  

The 1,000 yards comes from the period Creedmoor Matches held at the Creedmoor Range in New York and its max range was 1,000 yards. And international teams of guys held competition there every year for a long time.

I've only ever made steel clang, but don't recall how far. The Matthew Quigley shoot in Montana has a life-sized Buffalo Steel target at 805 yards for you to hit. Most guys shoot something in 45 Gov. or close to it. There are guys that shoot .44 & .38 caliber bullets, but in Montana they want a heavier grain bullet to cut through the wind. My dad and brother made up some special 550 grain 45 Gov rounds for the shoot. There was a guy that for years shot and I do believe won it while shooting a rifle chambered in 22Long Rifle. If you look in the 1878 Winchester Catalog a Capt. J.E. Stetson won a medal at 200 yards while standing using a Winchester. Along with winning another shoot with the highest scores for the "Running Deer" target at 100 yards. So I imagine most shooting competitions  of the time period were in this range. 

Most people nowadays can't shoot, especially at a running target.

Sincerely,

Maverick

Zebulon said
Unless "well over" means >$2k USD and if it has condition, you bought a prewar 71 special at what I think is a bargain price. If it still has its original strap and its Supergrade swivels,  I'd bet somebody took good care of the rest of the rifle. 
I'm not knowledgeable enough to know whether an untapped receiver means a 98a would be correct for a 1940 d.o.m. 
I shoot my collection and need an aperture sight for my eyes. Somebody had robbed the 56W that had been original to my own 1949 gun. In my case, since I couldn't have the bolt peep, the tapped left receiver wall was serendipitous. My strong preference in micrometer receiver sights is the Redfield 70. It was tough finding the as new, steel Redfield 80W I finally paid too much for and nevertheless have to put up with target knobs. But, with a Redfield Sourdough up front and a generous aperture screwed in, the gun still suits me very well. It would likely be the last one I'd sell. 
  

Bill,

The No. 98A bolt peep was the standard peep sight through 1947 when it was replaced by the Lyman No. 56.  In the years prior to 1948, Winchester installed a significant number of Redfield No. 70 and No. 80 series sights on the Model 71 on special order.

Bert

Mike

Mike

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. 

I'm not knowledgeable enough to know whether an untapped receiver means a 98a would be correct for a 1940 d.o.m. 

I shoot my collection and need an aperture sight for my eyes. Somebody had robbed the 56W that had been original to my own 1949 gun. In my case, since I couldn't have the bolt peep, the tapped left receiver wall was serendipitous. My strong preference in micrometer receiver sights is the Redfield 70. It was tough finding the as new, steel Redfield 80W I finally paid too much for and nevertheless have to put up with target knobs. But, with a Redfield Sourdough up front and a generous aperture screwed in, the gun still suits me very well. It would likely be the last one I'd sell.