They actually would have the same steel. Schrade and Camillus both used 440A in their stainless knives, unless otherwise marked. Both companies used 1095 high carbon in their non-stainless knives.
I've take any of the Schrade's from that era in a heart beat, over any 80's era Western in stainless. I'm not a big stainless fan.
I think that 70's/80's Schrades overall quality is better than the 80's Western knives by far. They were pretty bullet proof.
That 171 is a sweet blade, but a little big for my tastes in a hunting knife. It would be a good camp/survival knife.
I'd go with the Old Timer Woodsman 165OT, the Mountain Lion 160OT, or the Golden Spike UH153. The old standby Sharpfinger 152OT is also a good one, along with the Deerhunter 150OT.