The bolt peep is very compact, sturdy and about as close to the eye as you can safely get. It leaves both receiver walls slick.

Although the 98A is not a finely adjustable micrometer sight -- more of a set it once and leave it alone device -- it was expensive to make, requiring a lot of machining. 

At one point, NECG made a fine replica of the 98A but it was almost five hundred bucks years ago. 

That is why the Lyman 56W and the Redfield 70 replaced it. It is probably my lack of experience but I've actually seen more Model 71 rifles with the Redfield 70 than the Lyman versions. Redfield was a catalogued option at one time, I believe. 

The No. 98A bolt peep sight was actually quite robust, not prone to breaking.

Bert

I believe a number of Model 71 rifles were assembled with bolts drilled and tapped for the 98A, after the 98A inventory was depleted. Winchester didnt waste useable parts. 

I also believe bolt peeps were.stripped from.some existing rifles becaus demand for the sights is strong and the sights can be worth as much as the rest of a heavily used rifle.

Am  I correct to assume that the bolt peep sights were prone to breakage due to how high they sit above the receiver 9compared to side mounted receiver sights)?I have assumed this to be the case given the large number of bolt peep 71s I've come across which are missing part or all of the sight.

However, as our knowledgeable members have already confirmed,  the re-blue job is a very good one and many of us happily own and use such Winchesters.

The normal course of ownership and use of an expensive rifle like the Model 71 often includes an eventual "freshening up" for its satisfied owner. The owner who cares enough about the rifle to spend the money to keep it in good condition usually does not abuse or allow the bore and complicated mechanism of his gun to deteriorate. 

Therefore, despite its lack of merit in the eyes of fastidious collectors, as a great rifle perfectly suited to hunting and shooting, an excellent reblued Model 71 is hard to beat. Particularly one displaying prewar quality of construction that also has the hard to get 98A bolt peep. 

If you paid the price of a reblued prewar Model 71, you got a fine bargain.

If you paid the price of an all original prewar Model 71, you still got a fine rifle and the excess cost will serve you as tuition for the valuable lesson of what to look for next time. Most of us have been to this school.

Either way, your Model.71 is one of the best rifles Winchester ever made. Built at a time when Winchester employed the most skilled and meticulous craftsman of any in America. I would treat it accordingly. 

Bert H. said

Whoever it was that refinished did a very professional job of it.  Overall, the rifle looks really good, and it would be difficult for most people to ID it as being refinished.

I was about to say the same, they did a good job refinishing it at least.

This is what the proof mark stamps should look like. Note the slightly raised perimeter edges and the "graying" of the raised edges.

Also of note, the barrel mounted rear sight is not original.  Winchester never installed a sporting rear (open) sight with a No. 98A bolt peep sight.

Whoever it was that refinished did a very professional job of it.  Overall, the rifle looks really good, and it would be difficult for most people to ID it as being refinished.

Bert

As a comparison, I have a 1958 Winchester Model 12 Standard Grade 12 gauge, 28" barrel Modified choke in 98.5% condition, completely stock down to the plastic buttplate. TxGunNut sold it to me at a friendly price and I have shot a round of Skeet with it. I will hunt doves with it if I get the chance. It is a great example of a fine Winchester. 

I also have a Browning Model 12 made by Miroku in 1989. It is a very accurate reproduction of the 20 gauge Skeet Grade version of the Winchester Model 12, with diamonds of checkering on the forearm, a capped pistol grip, and a ventilated rib. The only distinction is a fixed Modified choke for general field use. The wood quality is not as high as a typical Skeet Grade but the action was hand honed and it is a wonderful field gun. The finish is slightly superior to my 12 gauge gun, befitting its replicated grade. 

I also have Browning's replica of the Skeet Grade Model 42 and could say the same about it.

The Miroku versions of the Winchester 3rd issue 1873 are the most attractive to me of the current line because they are the most accurate reproductions. No tang safety and no rebounding hammer, although neither of those features offend me, particularly the tang hammer block. 

I'm old enough to remember the Fifties resurgence of interest in the post Civil War Era, "adult TV Westerns", Colt's late-to-the-party decision to restart production of the Single Action Army -- and all the moaning in print by the gun collecting community at the absence of the "great old Winchester lever actions" -- particularly the 1873 and 1886.  "Why can't we have them back?"

Well, guess what? Now you can have an affordable, brand new 1886 made just as well as those that came out of New Haven and made of better steels. I've got a new .45-90 Sporting Rifle that has the same glass smooth action of the original model, built like a Swiss watch. In translated 1962 Dollars, it cost no more than a 1962 Model 70 Winchester. 

For those enamored of the past (including me), we now can also shop a national used firearm market because of the World Wide Web. Air travel and the Interstate Highway system shrink once impossible distances to far away gun shows. 

We are truly living in the best of times, with more choices than we have ever had. 

Commissioner said
I would have fired it to. A newly acquired USED firearm is not the same as a NEW firearm. You are comparing Apples to Oranges.You guys are trying so hard to be right, but make an honest comparison. When is the last time you bought a brand new High grade rifle that would not Fire? In my 75 years of collecting, it has never happened to me or anyone I know. I have never read of it either.
  

I can recall at least three new firearms which malfunctioned on first operation and had to be returned to manufacturer for repair/replacement. 

But that wasn't the initial point of my post. I was just saying that for me, in my opinion and in my world, I prefer to shoot the firearms I acquire. Not trying to convince anyone that my way is the best way or the only way. To each his own.

P

Commissioner said
I would have fired it to. A newly acquired USED firearm is not the same as a NEW firearm. You are comparing Apples to Oranges.You guys are trying so hard to be right, but make an honest comparison. When is the last time you bought a brand new High grade rifle that would not Fire? In my 75 years of collecting, it has never happened to me or anyone I know. I have never read of it either.
  

I would still carefully shoot a few cartridges through it. 

Zebulon said

Bert H. said
Dave,
Based on the single picture you posted, I do not believe that it is factory original bluing.  Do you have additional pictures you can post (or send me)?
Is it is Standard Rifle, or a Special?
Bert
  

Bert, based on your Model 71 articles in the  Collector, wouldn't a closeup of the proof marks be strong evidence? 
  

Yes, it would certainly help.

Bert H. said
Dave,
Based on the single picture you posted, I do not believe that it is factory original bluing.  Do you have additional pictures you can post (or send me)?
Is it is Standard Rifle, or a Special?
Bert
  

Bert, based on your Model 71 articles in the  Collector, wouldn't a closeup of the proof marks be strong evidence?