What Should I Do With This Browning Model 71?

WestKentucky said:

if people had left the 30-06 alone we wouldn’t have .270 or .308...and meddling with 308 led to 7-08.

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According to Lyman, the .308 cartridge "...got its start as an experimental variation of the .300 Savage", not the 30-06. But your point is well taken.

Charlie98 said:

Oh, really??? You just steer me towards those .10/12 Browning 71's... particularly those NIB ones.

Personally, I would mod a Browning before I would destroy a true Winchester 71, that's true.

There are 2000 each High Grade Browning rifles and carbines, and 5000 each Browning Grade 1 rifles and carbines (14000 total) if memory serves correct... so, no, they are not a dime a dozen.

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You seem to have missed the sarcasm in my post. I know how many Brownings were made because I ordered mine and had to wait almost a year until they were shipped. I personally wouldn't modify any of them especially a NIB one. If you read the whole thread you see I was against modifying it.

NIB Win 71............... Would not mess with it one bit.

Scooter22 said:

You seem to have missed the sarcasm in my post. I know how many Brownings were made because I ordered mine and had to wait almost a year until they were shipped. I personally wouldn't modify any of them especially a NIB one. If you read the whole thread you see I was against modifying it.

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My bad... I've run into the 'dime a dozen' guys before, you know... That Guy that lucked into a NIB Winchester 71 he traded a can of cashews and $35 for. Even the Brownings, while not as scarce as hen's teeth, command a premium when they are found, typically... and trying to find an unmolested Winchester even more so.

Funny story... I bought my Browning 71 carbine, and then went on the hunt for a Browning 1886. I found a NIB one in a little backwoods gun shop in mid-Ohio. Talking to the owner, he said initial sales of the 71 was so poor, the distributor forced him to take a 71 for each 1886 he ordered... he couldn't hardly give them away. Along with the 1886, which I bought, he had 3 71 rifles, with a price the owner said was his break-even cost. My how times have changed.

No problem. It was 12.55 AM. As I said I thought I was going to get my great uncles 71 Dlx but I didn't. The very few I'd seen for sale local were too expensive. No internet to search for them. Then I saw the article in Guns&Ammo and went down to my dealer the next day to order one. Almost got a carbine but I liked the look of the rifle. Then when it came in my wife paid for it as a late wedding gift. Got married in "85" and IIRC the the article came out not to long after. This ones going to the grave with me.

It's a rifle and a reproduction at that, not a priceless relic from antiquity. A conversion to .50-110 will not only be what the guy who paid for it wants but a more useful rifle at that. Brass and bullets are much more plentiful than they ever were for the .348.

Scooter22 said:

No problem. It was 12.55 AM. As I said I thought I was going to get my great uncles 71 Dlx but I didn't. The very few I'd seen for sale local were too expensive. No internet to search for them. Then I saw the article in Guns&Ammo and went down to my dealer the next day to order one. Almost got a carbine but I liked the look of the rifle. Then when it came in my wife paid for it as a late wedding gift. Got married in "85" and IIRC the the article came out not to long after. This ones going to the grave with me.

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Then somebody will dig you up to get it!!!

CraigC said:

It's a rifle and a reproduction at that, not a priceless relic from antiquity. A conversion to .50-110 will not only be what the guy who paid for it wants but a more useful rifle at that. Brass and bullets are much more plentiful than they ever were for the .348.

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Nope, I can't disagree... for the most part. I debate the 'more useful' part, but there is no denying the lack of availability of .348 brass. But... it's his rifle, I was simply offering my opinion, however late in the game, based on the OP. I am biased, of course, I think the 71... Browning or Winchester... is a fine rifle out of the box, no mods necessary.

It is a hell of a rifle, perhaps the best iteration of the grand 1886. The fact remains that they are notoriously difficult to feed due to the odd bore size, which no doubt contributes to its lack of popularity and thus, availability of brass. Although I do think the platform is better suited to larger cartridges than a .35 caliber. Probably why it's so popular for conversions. If it had been chambered in a big, bottlenecked .375 it would have probably been wildly popular.

CraigC said:

It is a hell of a rifle, perhaps the best iteration of the grand 1886. The fact remains that they are notoriously difficult to feed due to the odd bore size, which no doubt contributes to its lack of popularity and thus, availability of brass. Although I do think the platform is better suited to larger cartridges than a .35 caliber. Probably why it's so popular for conversions. If it had been chambered in a big, bottlenecked .375 it would have probably been wildly popular.

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Yup. If they had just made it .358 it would have been much more popular. But Remington had the 35 so they apparently wanted something different and that doomed it in the long run. Mines only been shot a couple 100 times if that at the range. It's still looks new. Never took it in the field. Too pretty. I used my .444 or 30-30. Have 60 cases I'm shooting and 100 in reserve. Got them on clearance years back for 10 bucks a box of 20. Have the 200grn RCBS mold and 4 boxes 200grn Hornadys. That should keep me shooting it. Just after I got it I found in a old hardware/gun store some Remington ammo in the old green and red boxes. 3, 150grn loads and 3, 200grn. Plus 1 box Winchester 250grn ST in the "Bear" box. Collectable ammo for sure. Don't mean to hijack the thread but we don't talk about M71s that often. Turnbull has a like new Browning M71 in .348.Turnbull on their site right now for 2995.00. Look identical to mine but mine has no marks. I'm looking forward to see how the the conversion comes out.
https://www.turnbullrestoration.com/gun/browning-71-log-3426-turnbull-mfg/

I've probably got 500 rounds through my Browning. I 'discovered' cast bullets for it last year, and it's been a bit of a challenge getting up to speed... it's the first time I've loaded cast in a rifle cartridge. Montana Bullets makes a .349" 200grn gas checked FP bullet, I've had good success with it and IMR3031. I don't really think the bore size is what doomed the 71, I just think the window of opportunity in big bore lever guns was closing, opening on bolt guns with optics.

I must be missing something... $3000 for a rebarreled or rechambered 71???

Charlie98 said:

I must be missing something... $3000 for a rebarreled or rechambered 71???

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If your looking at the one in the link I posted that is a stock Browning with the chamber reamed to what they call a .348 Turnbull. I can't seem to find a reference on what it is compared to a .348 Ackley Improved.

One thing I forgot to mention in my other post about why they didn't make it a lager bore diameter is Winchester had a lot of older big bore lever action rounds that were falling out of favor with the newer medium bore hi velocity cartridges. Plus servicemen were now used to bolt actions and the 30-06. So the .348 150grn load could duplicate the "06" out of a lever action plus still use 200 and 250 grain bullets for the big stuff. Like mentioned if it was in the common .358, or even .338 it would probably still been a top lever action round. jmo

It might take some real digging to find any, but Jamison made 50-110 brass. There should be some of those floating around, might check with Providence tool and die, I believe they bought the last of the stock for their Peabody cartridges.

Yessir it surely is, but the Jamison is better.
Looking forward to seeing how your project comes out.

In general, the Jamison brass I've used in a variety of cartridges are much high quality, in that the brass has a smoother look to it. It comes annealed, and rim thickness and diameter and web diameter much more consistent than Starline.