Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Winchester Collectors Model 71

Well it is not in collector condition with the D&T for a side mount, added checkering and the stock cut for a recoil pad but I like it! I put in a bid with what I was willing to pay and lo-and-behold no one else bid on it so it was now mine. First order of business will be to change out the pad for a nice Winchester red and shoot the heck out of it once I gather the loading components. I am also thinking about putting one of Turnbull’s red dot mounts on it and mounting a Trijicon on it. I have had a Browning copy and an original 71 in the past and do remember they do kick a little from the bench after 5 or 6 shots. Might look into a mercury recoil reducer or Magnaport. It is hell getting old!

A red Decelerator will take care of that recoil and look a lot classier that your other ideas. No mercury recoil reducer or Magnaport, one destroys balance the other aesthetics. The red Winchester pads aren't very effective in reducing recoil, BTDT.

Cool rifle PC. I have a Browning carbine and just love the little sucker.

That red dot sounds like a great idea.

Congrats on winning it, I never found a 71 I didn’t love!

Cool deluxe 71. I agree with gunwizard on the red pachmayr. The old 71 deluxe I had still had the steel butt plate, so a red pachmayr will help tame yours quite a bit. You won't gain anything by going repro on that one.

Very nice rifle! Congrats!!

What are you going to wildcat it to? (Since it's not a collector's piece)

Are you saying that the checkering was done after the fact or is it a Deluxe with the factory checkering? Nice shooter and a cool rifle. 👍🏼

That’s non-factory checkering but looks to be nicely executed!

Pick up a Pact shoulder pad. They have several different ones all under $40. I have one if I'm shooting a lot of rounds at the range or some of the heavier recoilers and works well for me at the bench.

I bought a Caldwell lead sled 29 years ago just for this reason. And it holds any long gun in adjustable shooting positions, made for bench rest shooting in eliminating most of the human holding error. I put a 100 lbs on the lead sled and a 458 Winchester shoots like a 22 long rifle !!

Gosh, if you’re going to put on a red dot, maybe go for a suppressor too. Add a ventilated hand guard and maybe a light rail….. Or not. 🤔

It looks good now. Collectors be damned. Just load mild for it and enjoy it like it is.

I think the Deluxe would have the inletted sling swivel bases. These are the same as the Super Grade pre '64s.
Have a great day.
Jim

Thanks. It does look nice on my screen. 👍🏼

I think I’m gonna “NEED” a 71 too one of these days. I’ve always liked the rifle and the round but I just gave my Uncle my last 50 .348 rounds….

JWL is correct, generally as to Deluxe M-71s having inletted sling swivel bases.
But I own at least two 71 long tang pre-war standards that have inletted sling swivels.
Stocks and forends can be switched out, but original factory wood is getting scarce and pricey.

With some of the modern 348 bullets that can be found, wildcats on the 348 case may
not be really necessary. Unless you live in Alaska or Canada, or guide in MT or Wyoming...
That said, I still have 2 pre-war 71s in 450 Alaskan and Fuller. Just in case the bear spray just
irritates the bear...




My hunting dog can pound your San Francisco pink poodle right into the voting booth...."

It is a 1952 gun and the checkering definitely looks like it was done later. In the close ups it shows some mistakes but it will do for now. I am not sure if it could be cleaned up or not. I have wondered if the high grade Browning stocks could be made to fit easily?

Anyone know off hand which barrel band sling stud would fit the mag tube?

This 71 as pictured has the late serrated hammer and earlier in its history had a G&H sidemount
which was very strong but added weight. It looks like a Lyman 56 receiver sight. The sidemount
screw and pin holes should be left as is-as the cost would be prohibitive and still not original.
It also is an obvious late short tang rifle.
If one must have a recoil pad, the Pachmayer actually will reduce felt recoil.

The Model 71 was designed not to need a recoil pad-since the weight of the rifle dampens its effect- but
the red Winchester 1922 pad will work and looks good. George Madis rightly stated in the Winchester 71 pages
that some earlier rifles were fitted with that pad at the factory. A magazine tube sling stud may be out there
but unless original, the sling swivels will not usually fit without serious alteration.

If it was my rifle, would fit a sling-or not-and keep it as is-spend the savings on a new pad
and 348 reloading components, which you may already have.

I’ve wondered how the browning stocks would fit with original 71s but haven’t been able to find any confirmation on that topic.

I would leave that nice old rifle the way it is. It is not a deluxe, so what, use it. Hawk makes great bullets for the .348s. A 200 gr bullet at 2400 FPS will be a great hunting round and not too bad on the back end. My .348 is a '57 and is a deluxe. Rifles are not built like this anymore.
Have a great day.
Jim