Checking out my brother's 348 Winchester 71

[Topside]

Not to butter you guys up BUT..............there isn't a heck of a lot you all don't know about firearms so this is where I come when a little stumped so here's the subject......... My brother was given a Model 71 Winchester (vintage 1947) many years ago by the nice old man who lived across from us. Unfortunately, brother has not taken care of the rifle and he's always lived near or on saltwater. It has some rust on the barrel. From what I can see looking down the bore at a well lighted piece of white paper in the chamber, looks like it was not cleaned after he last shot it 15-20 years ago. I do not see rust in the receiver, and the lever cycles well though I have not given it any lubrication yet.

And here's the question.....
I think I'd be fine if I took it out and put a couple rounds through it, but I'm not fully comfortable doing that knowing no more about the rifle than I do. Can you tell me what you think a gunsmith might charge me to inspect the rifle and test fire it if I supply the rounds? I do not know one to ask and would prefer hearing your estimate before I look up a smith.

Thanks,

T.

[tman]

i would scrubb the heck out of the barrel, and then, based upon what you see, shoot it or let a smith look at it.

[RIHMFIRE]

first off, clean the bore .....and clean it again...until the white patch stays white
then check out the bore again....hopefully it wont be pitted.....
lightly oil the action, and the rest of the metal...
then post a bunch of pics so the experts here can help you out....
the model 71 is a very strong action..
its a "modern" version of the model 1886...
when cleaning the gun.....dont use abrassives to get rid of the rust....
dont mess with the gun at all...until the guys here can help you out!

[Hobie]

My boss man charges $10 for that. $10.

[J Miller]

Topside,

First smack your brother silly for abusing that rifle. Then do what the other guys said, clean and oil it.
If that don't make it tick, you and Hobie both live in VA so it sounds like a simple solution to me. VA ain't that big, easy drive.

Joe

[Pete44ru]

Aw, Shucks - I'll check it out & test fire it for FREE !

.

[kimwcook]

Like the advice given, I'd clean it well, run a patch or cloth with a little oil over the exterior, lube the bolt a little and fire it. The oiled patch/rag should taken most of the rust off. If it's pitted well there isn't a whole lot you can do besides having it polished, or live with it.

Tell your brother, NEVER LET THIS HAPPEN AGAIN. Or tell him to sell it to someone who'll take care of it.

[J Miller]

Like the advice given, I'd clean it well, run a patch or cloth with a little oil over the exterior, lube the bolt a little and fire it. The oiled patch/rag should taken most of the rust off. If it's pitted well there isn't a whole lot you can do besides having it polished, or live with it.

Tell your brother, NEVER LET THIS HAPPEN AGAIN. Or tell him to sell it to someone who'll take care of it.

Better yet, just don't give it back to him.

Joe

[Topside]

tman, RIMHFIRE, Hobie, Joe, Pete, Kim.......I'm gonna clean'er up, smack the brother, and let you all know how it goes. Hobie's 100 miles away, but if I head to W VA anytime soon to see the in laws, I might drop it off to him to get it looked at. Thanks fellas. Might also post a picture or two to clarify things.

T.

[J Miller]

A hundred miles .... awww that's nuthin. We drive 75 miles here in IL just get to the Jack In The Box for an Ultimate Cheeseburger.

Joe

[Topside]

A hundred miles .... awww that's nuthin. We drive 75 miles here in IL just get to the Jack In The Box for an Ultimate Cheeseburger.

Joe

You're right Joe. I used to drive 100 mi. and think nothing of it for a good cause like this. But pushin my 97 Mountaineer guzzler 200 round trip isn't as much fun as it used to be. Come on down. We'll ride up together in your car. I'll buy you a couple of UC burgers too!

[Malamute]

Unless the gun was sloppy loose, I wouldnt be the slightest bit hesitant to shoot it so long as the barrel was cleaned and didnt have any oil or grease in it. It would be pretty apparent if one was so well used that it would be unsafe to shoot. The 71's arent "Antiques" as in, made with soft steel. They are all modern guns with good steel in them.

[Idiot]

Topside, STOP, don't do anything to that gun. The advise you've been given is wrong, wrong. The very first thing you should do is show your brother just how rusted and messed up the gun is, and maybe whine about it being a "wall hanger." Then offer him a couple hundred bones just because he's your brother and you want to help him out. Whatever you do, don't slap him around, or bawl him out, or in anyway offend him until the gun is your's.

And now that you've joined the elite club of Winchester M71 owners, do like the others said; clean the bore (although you don't have to scrub it and scrub it until you only get a "white" patch), put some oil on the spots that need lubrication, and then take it out and shoot it. If you like it you can give it a thorough cleaning, including taking some steel wool to the rust to remove it. If you don't like it you can double your money without even blinking by posting it for sale here or walking it through a gun show. Nothing to it - easy as pie.

[Topside]

Just got around to running the first 5 patches (using Hoppes #9) through the Model 71. I don't know what a pitted barrel looks like but this barrel wouldn't be mistaken for new. What's next? Patch til clean or use a brush? Thanks for your help fellas. She's rough.

[kimwcook]

Topside, it doesn't look like the rust etched that deep. It that doesn't look that bad to me from the one pic of the bbl. I'd throw a brush down the tube about ten times and then a couple of patches, inspect the bore and either be done or continue with the brush and patches. Fire that sucker up!

[WinM71]

I've always found that the best way to attack light surface rust is with bronze wool. You can find it at some hardware stores, or Brownell's on the internet. A little bit over a patch (probably need a .22 jig on your rod, then th patch & a bit of bronze wool) works much quicker in the bore than most brushes. No worries about harming th bore, the bronze wool is much softer than steel. Works great on a barrel/receiver too, a good dose of good gun oil, then scrub softly with the bronze wool. Softly is the key, so you won't harm the bluing.

[tman]

i'd keep scrubbing the barrel till it's clean. the 71 has cultlike status up here in the the central Pa. mountians. too hard to evauluate it over the net. find a trustworthy smith to take alook at it. even as a shooter you got a prize on your hands. out to 250 yards the .348 wcf. can do it all for north american game, if you know how to shoot and throw away them gun magazines.

[Swampman]

I'm sure the barrel is fine. Even horrible barrels usually shoot great.