Winchester Model 71

The Winchester Model 71 was a lever-action rifle introduced in 1935 and discontinued in 1958. 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 North American big game in heavy timber, including the great bears, if using the 250-grain (16 g) bullet. It was once very popular for hunting in Canada and Alaska.