Taking a Brand New Browning Model 71 out of the Box!!

[oneyeopn]

Hi ya'll, so Dad took his Browning 71 in 348win out of the box today. I am going to load up some rounds so we can shoot it and he wants to hunt with it. We have the 200gr JFP and H4895/Varget. According to the old timers this is the gun that "Kills on one end Wounds on the other." I was doing real well until I read that, I thought I had quit shooting just to see who could shoot the baddest gun. LOL Any advice?

[BigSky56]

My go to load has been 53 gr of IMR 4895 pushing a 200 gr hornady FP for 2450 fps, H4895 is a good powder you can check Hodgdons website for a load http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp. danny

[7.62 Precision]

Great thing about the model 71 is the recoil is mild. The stock design is good, an they are comfortable to shoot. Don't worry about recoil.

[Sixgun]

No need to bruise the shoulder or uncomfortable shooting. I don't care who the individual is, shooting more than 20 rounds of full power 348 is no fun.

I shoot several hundred rounds a month as I use the 348 for lever action silhouette. A 215 gr. cast bullet traveling 1600 fps is comfortable to shoot till the cows come home. -----Sixgun

[oneyeopn]

I do appreciate the responses
Here are some pics of the rifle!



Sorry the pics are so crappy, I will try to get better ones. It is a beautiful 20" carbine, engraved SS receiver and deeply blued barrel. He brought me a box of 200gr Hornady #3410 .348 Flat Point to load some up with, we are going to test some before I load them all up. He also brought a couple of boxes of 200gr Hornady FTX #3415 .348 LeveRevolution bullets. In my research that I am doing to learn about this round before I start loading some up, I haven't found the FTX's talked about anywhere.
I have loaded the FTX's for both 45 Colt and 30-30 and really like the bullets. Has anybody had any experience with the FTX's in .348 and what did you come up with please.
Thanks

[Borregos]

A very nice looking 71

[7.62 Precision]

I shoot several hundred rounds a month as I use the 348 for lever action silhouette. A 215 gr. cast bullet traveling 1600 fps is comfortable to shoot till the cows come home. -----Sixgun

I'm guessing it's accurate, too?

[oneyeopn]

We are going to load up 20 rounds with 51gr of H4895, WLR primers and the 200gr Hornady Flat Points. Mostly to just shoot it plus it should be really close to Winchester factory ammo ballistics (hopefully). My big question is, I can get a nice roll crimp with the bullet seating die but should I go ahead and use the FCD and crimp the rounds? How much crimp does this big ol' thing need?

I had to borrow a reloading block from my Dad...I have three that have handled all of the rounds I have ever reloaded. This is a large tapered case and I did not realize how large until I started getting them ready to load.

[Rusty]

Beautiful rifle

[oneyeopn]

Ok I think these pics are better.




So I loaded up 20 of the Hornaday 200gr Flat Point over 51gr of H4895 using the old Lee dipper method. I did put a crimp on them and we went out back, there is nothing but farm ground behind us and I step out the back of our place and I am out of town. I have an 8" rifle gong that I have mounted on a little stand and I use it for chrono work and just plinking. I backed off about 65 yards and it took me 2 shots to figure out where I was hitting. When I hit the gong the whole stand moved and I had to go check it to make sure it wasn't broken. It hits hard!!!
I expected the recoil to be way more than it turned out to be, although I am a big boy. I shot 6 rounds that I loaded in two groups of three and between the two groups I shot 3 rounds of Winchester 200gr silver tips for comparison. There was no noticeable difference between what I loaded and the factory stuff.
I agree sitting down and shooting 20 rounds of the full powered loads would wear a person out after a while and I can see loading down some rounds for repeated target type shooting. For hunting you want full bore and I didn't even try to heat them up. I would not want to have to remember to aim differently for different bullets.
Bottom line: I loved it, this is a great old round. There is something really cool about jacking one of those large tapered cases into the chamber and letting the hammer fall. It does go boom and the wind was blowing and that might have accounted for me having to hold to the left...I am just going to have to shoot it some more to break it in So Dad is not getting her back until he asks for it, I may have to use it for Deer season.....I just built a 300 AAC Blackout for deer season but this is way more fun!!

[Merle]

Hi ya'll, so Dad took his Browning 71 in 348win out of the box today. I am going to load up some rounds so we can shoot it and he wants to hunt with it. We have the 200gr JFP and H4895/Varget. According to the old timers this is the gun that "Kills on one end Wounds on the other." I was doing real well until I read that, I thought I had quit shooting just to see who could shoot the baddest gun. LOL Any advice?

Yep, it does kick. I took mine out & shot it "as issued" with factory 200 gr loads, against the advice of the gunshop. Then I took it in & had a Pachymayr Decelerator recoil pad put on it. For hunting I could live without the recoil pad, but it gets uncomfortable in a hurry. All depends on how much shooting you plan to do.

[Merle]

I do appreciate the responses
Here are some pics of the rifle!



Sorry the pics are so crappy, I will try to get better ones. It is a beautiful 20" carbine, engraved SS receiver and deeply blued barrel. He brought me a box of 200gr Hornady #3410 .348 Flat Point to load some up with, we are going to test some before I load them all up. He also brought a couple of boxes of 200gr Hornady FTX #3415 .348 LeveRevolution bullets. In my research that I am doing to learn about this round before I start loading some up, I haven't found the FTX's talked about anywhere.
I have loaded the FTX's for both 45 Colt and 30-30 and really like the bullets. Has anybody had any experience with the FTX's in .348 and what did you come up with please.
Thanks

I looked into 250 gr cast bullets, but the website said they were not suitable for the Browning, the throat is too short, but the work in original Winchesters.

[Sixgun]

I shoot several hundred rounds a month as I use the 348 for lever action silhouette. A 215 gr. cast bullet traveling 1600 fps is comfortable to shoot till the cows come home. -----Sixgun

I'm guessing it's accurate, too?

7.62,
No brag, (although is does sound that way) I have shot these old leverguns for 40 years, and I've shot and owned 90% of what has ever been made, mostly with cast bullets. Been doing the lever action silhouette game for 10 years and have used dozens of different rifles in many calibers. As I get bored easily, I tend to switch guns a lot.......until........I started playing with this pre-war 71 on a serious basis. I had a custom mould made up by NEI which throws two bullets, a 215 gas check and a 150 plain base.

The plain base is nothing to write home about, but the 215 gas check will shoot better than my semi-old eyes can see, clusters at 100 meters and not much worse at 200 meters, which is the distance of the rams.
I've stayed with this rifle all year.

I went against most wisdom with cast bullets and size the bullet .003 larger than groove diameter. It's a tight chamber fit and assuredly lines up the bullet concentric with the bore 100%.

Even in the old guns, sometimes you get one that was made with new tooling on a Wednesday, and they will shoot with the best of what's made today. It's just that will not reach out like a 6.5 x .284 or a 6 mm Dasher.--------Sixgun

[oneyeopn]

I loaded 5 of the .348 Hornady FTX bullets. 200gr again I went with 1 dip of the 3.7cc dipper which is supposed to be 50.8gr of H4895. Because the bullet sticks down into the case further you could feel the pressure difference. The recoil was sharper but not unbearable, not even close. They shot higher than the factory or my handloads which both are hitting at the same spot. They are going to take a little more work. I am going to break out the digital scale and load some more of these. I just wish there was any reloading data for them. As I said before I am not hotrodding these rounds I really don't think I need to they hit my gong as hard or harder than anything else that has been shot it them. I also like my brass to last.
I do have to shoot it on paper and adjust the sights and I really want to Chrono the rounds. so much to learn, so sweet to shoot~!!
Me LIkem Thumper!!

[BigSky56]

My brning 71 24" bbl is accurate with the IMR load it will keep 3 shots under a inch at 100, If you want to shoot the beartooth 245 HC in your 71 just seat it a tad deeper and crimp with the lee FCD or get a lee sizing die in 338 and size the nose just to the crimp. I used the beartooth when I went in the alders after elk and had a chance of finding a brn bear. for most hunting the 200 FP hdy will work fine Ive taken deer and elk with one shot never had to go looking for them. The flextip shouldnt be used on anything bigger than deer Ive seen failure on elk with 30&35 caliber, the flextip isnt a SST or a interlock they come apart on big animals. danny

[oneyeopn]

My brning 71 24" bbl is accurate with the IMR load it will keep 3 shots under a inch at 100, If you want to shoot the beartooth 245 HC in your 71 just seat it a tad deeper and crimp with the lee FCD or get a lee sizing die in 338 and size the nose just to the crimp. I used the beartooth when I went in the alders after elk and had a chance of finding a brn bear. for most hunting the 200 FP hdy will work fine Ive taken deer and elk with one shot never had to go looking for them. The flextip shouldnt be used on anything bigger than deer Ive seen failure on elk with 30&35 caliber, the flextip isnt a SST or a interlock they come apart on big animals. danny

Danny thanks....Dad was wanting me to load them all with the FTX but he also gave me a box of Hornady 200gr FP to load with. I am going to load up at least 50 of the 200gr FP, I never know what he will go hunting for.
I use the FTX's in my 92' in 45lc....I really like them but here in Southwest Kansas we do not have anything really any bigger than really large deer. I have also used them in 30-30. I just bought my first box of SST's 125gr for my 300blk...so many calibers, so little time!!!