The Browning Model 71 was a rerun of the original Winchester Model 71 produced in 1986, and close to 13,000 of the Browning guns were made.
It could be said that Winchester’s Model 71 was the last great traditional lever-action design. Introduced in 1935, it was adapted from Winchester’s Model 1886 and featured a new cartridge. Named the .348 Winchester, the new cartridge was intended to be a do-all round ideal for anything from deer to moose.
Interestingly, the Model 71 is the only traditional Winchester lever gun not named for the year it was introduced. Instead, being the next rifle model introduced after the bolt-action Model 70, it was labeled the Model 71.
You can read more about the .348 Winchester cartridge on page 40 of this issue. Here, I will just say the cartridge was potent. Recoil proved...