Just added my 3rd 71 to the stable. All 3 are bolt peeps and prewar long tangs, 1 of wich is a deluxe. There are 2 more out there I have my eye on. I just love shooting these guns.
I have original winchesters in 73s, 86s, 92, 1890, 94, 64, pre 64 model 70s, etc and not a one of em do I enjoy shooting as much as my 71s. Closest would be my Biesen 270, but still not quite there.
I have been playing with bullet loads in 170, 200, 220, 240, 250, and 270 and I enjoy the heck out of all of em.
I just got a Browning 71 Carbine with a Lyman 66 from a member here. Might not be an original Winchester but I still grin every time I cycle that action. I look forward to shooting and loading for it.
-Matt
"The proof of the whisky is in the drinking, the proof of the rifle is in the shooting."
I too love a Winchester 71. Beautiful sexy lines if a classic sporting rifle. A true powerful beastly joy to shoot too! I also have certain love for the trimmer sexy looking Model 64.
KingCobb & 06hunter59: I also love the looks and feel of the Model 71 Winchester (in all configurations!) and I was an avid collector of them at one time - BUT..... describing them as a "joy to shoot" or fun to shoot is out of my realm of understanding! I have shot Model 71's (always with factory ammo) and I derived no pleasure from that, ever - I would MUCH rather shoot (and I have!) Winchester Model 64's (including those in 219 Zipper!) and Model 53's - now those "classic Rifles" are a joy to shoot. Hold into the wind VarmintGuy
KingCobb & 06hunter59: I also love the looks and feel of the Model 71 Winchester (in all configurations!) and I was an avid collector of them at one time - BUT..... describing them as a "joy to shoot" or fun to shoot is out of my realm of understanding! I have shot Model 71's (always with factory ammo) and I derived no pleasure from that, ever - I would MUCH rather shoot (and I have!) Winchester Model 64's (including those in 219 Zipper!) and Model 53's - now those "classic Rifles" are a joy to shoot. Hold into the wind VarmintGuy
Varmint Guy, I have been told that before, I was actually warned before I shot my first one that it was a killer on both ends....But I have never experienced that. The 270 grain gets a bit stout but I have never felt it to be onerous. Now I haven't locked one down on a bench to shoot either, all my shooting is off hand, so that may be part of it. It isn't a 270 or a 6.5, and certainly not a 257 or a 220, but I actually find its recoil to personally be less abusive than a 30-06 Model 700 I used to shoot. I also find it far more pleasureable to shoot than the 45-70 I have since passed on down the road. My 2 1886s are both 33s. Unpleasant for me is shooting a 375 H&H out of a model 70 or a full power 450 grainer out of my Turnbull 475(though the effects they render on feral hogs does make me smile), the 350 grainers downloaded are a joy though. Different folks and all that. Last summer I fired off 65 175 and 200 grain 348s in one session and it was a literal blast.
I have a late mint 71 deluxe that is one of my most cherished rifles.
"...aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one." - Paul to the church in Thessalonica.
A M71 was on my "to do" list, and then I found one. Loved its lines, mass, finish, and smoothness. Then I shot it. More sturm und drang than I cared for and so-so accuracy, so away it went in the quest for The Next Great Hope. Might someday acquire another one, might not.
"You can lead a man to logic, but you cannot make him think." Joe Harz "Always certain, often right." Keith McCafferty