The Winchester Model 71 was a

lever-action The toggle-link action used in the iconic Winchester Model 1873 rifle, one of the most famous lever-action firearms Picture showing a Volcanic Pistol A lever action is a type of action for repeating firearms that uses a manually operated cocki ...

rifle introduced in 1935 and discontinued in 1958.

Description

A slightly modified version of the Browning designed Winchester Model 1886, it was only chambered for the .348 Winchester round; except for an extremely rare .45-70 Government and .33 WCF. It was also (other than 400 rifles chambered for the .348 in the Cimarron 1885 Hi-Wall in 2005-06) the only firearm that ever used that cartridge. The Model 71 was conceived as a replacement for both the Model 1886 and Model 1895 as a complement to the Winchester Model 70 bolt-action rifle and to replace a raft of cartridges (the .33 Winchester, the .45-70, the .35 Winchester, and the .405 Winchester) with just one (the .348 Winchester). The rifle and cartridge were very effective against any

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n big game in heavy timber, including the great bears, if using the bullet. It was once very popular for hunting in Canada and

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. The rifle was expensive, and with less costly lever action rifles available in common and fairly powerful rounds such as .35 Remington. ''Cartridges of the World'' remarks that factory ammunition was available in 150, 200 and weights. Only the weight is still available in factory ammunition. Browning re-issued the Model 71 as a limited edition in the mid 1980s. The

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

and Browning versions showed very high degrees of craftsmanship. As of August, 2013, the Winchester Repeating Arms website again lists model 71s as available, new from the factory. The Winchester Model 71 still has a loyal following for what is arguably "the finest big bore lever gun that has ever been" as well as being used as a strong and solid platform for various 'wildcat' projects.

Sources

* The Cody Firearms Museum research office * Barnes, F, ''Cartridges of the World'' * Madis, George, ''The Winchester Book.'' Houson: Arts and Leisure Press, 1971.

References

{{Winchester_Cartridges_Firearms Lever-action rifles Rifles of the United States Winchester Repeating Arms Company firearms