Win 71 carbine questions

[Walker]

Guys,

I've been digging through my older articles on the 71 and I can't find any reason that the carbine didn't sell, other than it just wasn't popular. Does anyone have any period information on why the longer barrels were so popular?

Thanks,

Terry

[Leverluver]

No period info. I do like my carbine but the rifle has better balance. It's much easier to keep the rifle on target from an offhand position than the carbine; at least for me.

[Pete44ru]

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IMO the longer barreled version balanced better than the short (20").


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[Walker]

I hadn't considered the balance, thanks!

[tman]

Goes back to the black powder days when you needed 30"+ barrel length to completely burn powder. Old timers clung to that belief with addition of period gun writers tying barrel length into accuracy. Modern smokeless powders don't need the added length. And tests prove that a 16" barrel is just as accurate, some times more, than 22" to 24" ones. It varies from caliber to caliber. A 300 WM. needs 24' to 26" barrels for any velocity gain over a 22" 30-06 barreled gun. Some cartridges like the 30-30 and 308 do just as well in 16" to 18" barrels as compared to 20 and 22 inches. Nothing shot with a .348WCF will know the difference between a 20 and 24 inch barrel. Using iron sights out to 250 yards, it's a wash. I tend to like and shoot better with saddle ring carbine versions of lever actions. My 71 is a carbine version.