I have a nice .348 Win mod. 71, I like the rifle and the caliber suits me but my mind wonders to the many improved versions of the std. 348 Win...The Imp 348 doesn't seem to change much more than recoil so Im thinking 416 Ackley, 450 Ackley, or whatever...AT 85 this recoil business is raising its ugly head to some degree..I handle the .375 and 9.3x62 well enough, so tell me about the felt recoil of these mod. 71 conversions, or should I just keep it a .348 win which is nothing more than a 30-06 in sheeps clothing..

The best is to keep it original.

Other options are 500 Linebaugh, .50 Alaskan, .50 Gov.

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
I have a nice .348 Win mod. 71, I like the rifle and the caliber suits me but my mind wonders to the many improved versions of the std. 348 Win...The Imp 348 doesn't seem to change much more than recoil so Im thinking 416 Ackley, 450 Ackley, or whatever...AT 85 this recoil business is raising its ugly head to some degree..I handle the .375 and 9.3x62 well enough, so tell me about the felt recoil of these mod. 71 conversions, or should I just keep it a .348 win which is nothing more than a 30-06 in sheeps clothing..

If you have an orignal 71? it should weigh around 8lbs,I would keep it as is or just run a 348 improved if its not a collector,I have a 71 in 348 imp & I like the gun,I also have other 71's,35-348,416-348,450-348 & a 475-348,all these rifles have been re barreled & are heavier,unfortunately hunting for me has been very limited the last 5-6 years & my guns have not seen much use besides the range,the 416 conversion showed 2200 fps on the chrono with a 400 gr bullet the last time I was at the range,that gun is 9lbs & recoil is pretty stiff.

Ray,

I would keep it as it is and find you a nice Win 1895 in 405 Win. I am bias as I own three in 30-06, 35 Whelen and the 405 win. The 405 speaks with authority with the 360 gr Northfork @ 2200. What's not to like about a .40 cal lever gun.

350 Rigby!
AKA 358-348 Win
pistol bullets!
35 Rem bullets!

PS
The 411-348 would have identical case capacity to the 405 Win.

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
PS
The 411-348 would have identical case capacity to the 405 Win.

I have a 416-348 imp,it takes 90 gr of h2o.

I was buying a model 71 a couple years ago and the seller had one original deluxe rifle in .348 and another in 450 or 50 Alaskan (can't remember which). I figured the .348 would be a great short to medium range elk rifle and the Alaskan would be the same thing with lots more recoil. Bought the .348.

I found some bonded core Kodiak 250 gr. .348 bullets, Think I'll just try them on elk and deer this year. MIght consider a 348 IMP in the future, The 71 isn't designed for excessive recoil and I wonder where the logical cut off would be as to recoil..A 416 is appealing but again recoil comes into play I fear..I can handle a lot of recoil, but I find it distasteful..

Ray:
One of the better bullets out there is the 200 gr A-Frame Swift. It fills a niche since the 200-225 gr bullets are perfect. I have a 348 Ackley Imp
and I killed a nice Alaskan moose with it in 2007.
Also have a 450 Alaskan and 450 Fuller on pre-war Model 71s-348 WCF case. Unless you are going after-or in big bear country in AK or MT-WY, a 348 with premium bullets is the answer. Kodiak 250 gr bullets are first rate-I have some.

My 450 Alaskan came easily and weighs about 7.75 pounds. I happened on to an original M-71 barrel that had been re-bored and cut rifled to .458. Sent it to Harry McGowen who re did it to 450 AK-
It is very handy and more potent than a 45-70. Accurate with Kodiak 400 gr FP. First rate for bear country.
Mas tarde, amigo. Ridge Marriott

Ive loaded up some 250 gr. Kodiak bullets and they shoot real good in my gun and expand great in dry magazines that tend to tear bullets up more than soaked books...Might just hang with that, should be a suitable elk round in the thick stuff..

sold the gun and dies, ammo, brass, and bullets, so that settled that, loved the gun itself, but not so much the caliber and problems of brass and bullets.