Paco,

Did you change the format of the web page on purpose or did it just blow up?

I liked the old one better. Much easier to navigate.

Early A Grade A.H. Fox side-by-side, 12 gauge, restored years ago by Savage Arms. Re-stock with beautiful walnut, re-case-hardened action and fore-end irons. Two fore-ends; one splinter, one beaver-tail. Three sets of barrels; 28-inch skeet 1 and skeet 2 boring, 30-inch modified and full boring, and...

If I remember correctly, the J-Series of Weaver scopes were meant to be used on .22's only. I have one on a Remington Model 24 that pre-dates WWII.

If any of you levergunners in Colorado run across a gunsmith named Jim Coffee, recently from Prescott, Arizona, please ask him to get in touch with Chuck in Prescott at (928) 771-9713. He has a couple of books of mine and I have one of his that I would like to return.

Thanks.

My advice would be to leave the Model 71 unchanged.
The .348 WCF is not particularly flat shooting.
It is called hunting, not shooting. Get closer.
If you absolutely have to shoot past 200 yards, get a scope-sighted, bolt-action rifle in a flat shooting caliber.

Howdy .348 WCF Fans, The gentlman who compiled the spreadsheet with the .348 loads is Skyler Child of Longmont, Colrado, (303) 682-2424. Information current as of August, 2004. A load I have developed that shoots acceptabily well in my Model 71 is as follows: Winchester cases and primers, 53 grains ...

The question no one has asked is how long before the statute of limitations runs out.

Lefty Dude,

I have lived in Prescott for the past five years and I have not seen a Sportmens Warehouse around here.

Hi Chris, I don't know how useful this will be to you. You may not be able to get the cast lead bullets we can get here in the US. My .38/55 is a restored Winchester Model 94 with a 26 inch barrel that has a 0.375 inch groove diameter. I use the shorter Winchester cases and Winchester Large Rifle Pr...

Did any of you sharp-eyed Levergunners notice that something was not quite right on page 81 in the September, 2008 issue of The American Rifleman? In the article on the top ten hunting rifles, the Model 94 is listed as number two, Mr Mark A. Keefe IV lists the various calibers for which the Model 94...

Ben T, Longfin is right. Stick with loads that are consistantly accurate, i.e. group well, and don't try to "hotrod" the .38/55. If you will recall, the old Winchester "High Velocity" factory load for this round produced something like 1500 fps at the muzzle. Current factory load...

Hobie,

Check out Warren Eckstein's book "How To Get Your Cat To Do What You Want It To Do".

Check out his website.

Call his Saturday radio program and ask your question. I am sure this has come up before.

Good luck.

Big Bear and Levergunner, You can solve the short throat problem by having Clymer Manufacturing make you a throating reamer for the .348 and have your gunsmith lenghten the throat on your Browning just enough to chamber your pet handload. This isn't a do-it-yourself project unless you really know wh...

Hello Levergunner, Yes, there are several cast lead bullets available commercially. If you like 200 grain bullets, contact RCBS and ask about RCBS bullet #516 (348-200gr. FN). I have used this bullet in my Model 71 but I was not impressed with the groups I got. I used 31 grains of IMR-3031 for an av...

rjohns94, It is not a good idea to watch movies or television or anything else while reloading. Too easy to get distracted and make a mistake. Listen to the radio. An old friend of mine used to like to watch Monday night football while reloading. I suggested to him that he not so do, but he didn't l...

A peep sight, tang or receiver, on a rifle helps. Have your eye doctor give you a prescription for a pair of shooting glasses with a 1 meter focal length, or however far it is from your shooting eye to the front sight. That will help you keep that front sight in focus. It worked for me and my 70 yea...

Guys, It is my understanding that it is not wise to use handloaded ammunition for self-defense. There can be some serious legal consequences by doing so even if it is a "clean shoot". See Ayoob's writings on the subject. One suggestion I have seen in print is to find out what law enforceme...

Greasey, Try Midsouth Shooters Supply. They have some .222 Mag. brass on order (not currently in stock) for $35.26 per 100. I have been using the .222 Mag for 40 years. It is a great mid-range varmint cartridge. Sorry I do not have any brass to spare. It is getting hard to find being the cartridge i...

Morgan, The best way to determine what sort of patterns your shotgun will throw is to pattern it with the loads you intend to use. Just becasue a shotgun barrel has a certain degree of contriction, it doesn't mean it will necessarily pattern accordingly. Also, by patterning it you can tell where it ...

Turnerm66, Welcome to the cult of the .38-55. First lesson: DO NOT try to "hotrod" this cartridge, it wasn't ment for that. It is a nice, sedate cartridge meant to be enjoyed not whipped within an inch of its life. Yes, by all means slug the bore and size cast lead bullets 0.001 to .002 in...

Mike R., If you are going to load some of those 250 grain Barns Originals, try 53 grains of IMR-4350. I get muzzle velocities just under 2100 fps and 1 1/4 inch groups at 50 yards from the bench. Don't waste them on plinking loads, use the cast lead bullets for that. As an example of the Model 71's ...

Hi Mike, I understand from others' posts that the Browning Model 71's throat needs to be lengthened to accommodate some of the larger cast lead bullets; particularly those with a large, blunt ogive. I have had difficulty chambering Beartooth's otherwise fine 245 grain cast lead bullet loads in my Wi...

Hi Mike, Welcome to the cult of the Model 71. The following load is the result of a few years of experimenting. Winchester cases, Winchester large rifle primers, 24 1/2 grains of IMR-4198 powder, 250 grain Lyman#350482 cast lead, gas checked bullet. The OAL was 2.795 inches. This is a "user fri...

Any of you smart guys know how hot a bullet gets on its flight from muzzle to target? The reason I ask is that we had small brush fire at our range last Spring that the Forest Service investigator blamed on a "hot bullet" that ignited dry grass around 200 plus yards from the firing line. I...

Was that "Libertarian" or "Libertine"?

I suggest you folks read the late Gordon W. Prange's "At Dawn We Slept- The Untold Story Of Pearl Harbor". It is a challenging slog--over 800 pages-- but worth the effort.

You will recognize some today's short-sighted policies that were being pursued by our government then.

I found the source that stated a few Model 71s were made in .45/70 if anyone is interested. See American Rifleman, April, 1991, page 30. Number 7876, circa 1938, and number 45116, circa 1956, were chambered for .45/70. Article by Rick Hacker. Pictures of guns accompanying the article were courtesy o...

According to an American Rifleman article on the Model 71 I read some time ago, a few Model 71s were made up in .45/70 for VIPs; probably Winchester executives.

Salvo, For a near-full-power load try Winchester cases and primers, 53 grains of IMR-4350, a 250 grain Barnes JSP, OAL=2.79". MV=2066 fps. For something that is a lot more pleasant to shoot try 24 1/2 grains of IMR-4198 with a 250 grain cast lead gas check bullet, OAL=2.79". MV=1500 fps. T...

Salvo, I had a lot of great information for you on reloading for the .348 WCF. I must have spent a half hour looking up sources, researching old load data, and typing it up to send to you. Unfortunately when I hit the "Submit" button I got a message back that said that site could not be fo...

Hanz,

I had a Ruger No. 1 single shot re-barreled to .348 WCF and topped with a Leupold 1.5-5X scope. Shoots really well with just about any load you care to feed it.