That 1955 vintage 71 will be taking a trip to Reagan Nonneman after the first of the year to get converted to .50 Alaskan. I like to be over-gunned when possible (too much Elmer Keith influence!) and this rifle will be the go-to once I've relocated to western Montana...should be good piece of mind against grizz.
If it's in original condition it would be worth keeping the Win 71 as it is or selling it and using a Browning 71 for your conversion. The Browning 71 and 1886 models had none of the drawbacks the later Winchester models had with rebounding hammer and tang safety. If you want the biggest possible, you should consider a 50/110 for your conversion instead of the 50 Alaskan. Starline make brass for both.
The 1955 Win 71 I have isn't totally original (recoil pad added), and is only about in 85% condition, so off it goes to get modified to .50 Alaskan. As for the 50/110, if you look at ballistics tables, not much (if any) can be gained by it over the .50 Alaska; and perhaps even a downside as the longer 50/110 case may prevent longer heavier bullets from being used due to being too long an OAL shell. At least that's what I've come to believe.
