1885 Low Wall 32 Long

[daisygordoninc]

What would be the approximate worth of my Winchester Single Shot 1885 Low Wall 32 Long with 25 inch octagon barrel #2, nearly perfect bluing, appears to be all original.
Manufactured in 1888. The barrel is very clean, should shoot very straight. The wood is near perfect, one small chip.
I can't get a picture to load.

Gordon Johnson

[jdad]

Too many variables, without photos.....correct sights, case colored receiver, actual condition, etc. Load your photos into www.photobucket.com then attach the links here. The barrel should be 26", from breech face to muzzle. The big negative is 32 Long RF ammo availability.

[BrentD]

There are more than 4 different stock styles, 4 different trigger types and a host of other possibilities, plus condition of course that all matter with respect to Winchesters. Could be a $500 gun (or less) or it could be nearly 10x that amount.

[Mike Armstrong]

If you're thinking of shooting that gun, let me know and I'll look up the article in "Handloader" magazine a few years ago that showed how to reload .32 Long ammo. About the only way you're gonna get to shoot that good bore! Most .32 rimfires now have LOUSY bores, so the strong-actioned ones like Low Walls got turned into .22s or converted to centerfires.

32 Long RF was VERY popular back in the times before .22 LR high velocity ammo was commonly available. For many, a .32 RF was "enough gun" for all their rifle needs (remember, jacking deer was THE accepted way to make meat in many areas). I just wish they had been as enthusiastic about cleaning them as they were about shooting them....

[bdhold]

Gordon, have you tried resizing your photos down to 800 pixels wide or so? (save them with a new name so you don't over-write the original high-res).
I always post photos using photobucket (free photoserver) by copying the IMG Code and pasting here.

I keep opening this thread hoping to see photos of your rifle.


fwiw, I saw a .32 long in a Corpus Christi gun shop - take it back, pawn shop - in a condition I wouldn't purchase and they were asking $800, but as soon as I asked to look at it, they were "negotiable." Sounds like yours is in better shape than the one I'm remembering.

[BrentD]

I don't know if this will help anyone here, but it might.

If you wanted to buy and shoot that rifle but didn't want to deal with .32 rimfire, you could rebarrel it for a center or .22 rimfire. Either would require a new block or rebuilding the old one. Given the condition of the rifle, alteration might be a bad choice.

So, you could add a new block and a new barrel. Dan Zimmerman, known for his superb, scratch built hepburns also makes parts for 'walls, including blocks and you can get high quality parts for everything you need right here http://www.dzhepburn.com/product-catego ... ter-parts/.

I would not think twice about having him or is good buddy and well known smith Dave Crosno refit that rifle for a new caliber while keeping the original parts pristine. I can come up with Dave's contact info as well if anyone is interested.

Brent

[BrentD]

bulldog - nice hat - nice rifle too. Is it a Winchester or a Uberti or something else?

[bdhold]

hi Brent, thanks - both my hat and Uberti Cimmaron were absconded by my daughter that day, but she was punching this can at 75 yds and making me proud

it's my .22LR field artillery
I was walking in the elevation at the range one day at 75yds and hit this bullseye and quit on the paper

it does group nicely at 50 yds - 5 shots


Have a Hadley cup which my old eyes love for the variable aperture
and I adore this front sight insert


also have a folding Marble's rear so my dad can shoot it (he doesn't like the tang sight)

[BrentD]

Nice pictures. Looks like you guys were having fun.

[bdhold]

her Henry is a shooter, too - this was dialing in a new peep sight