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Double Rifles, Single Shots & Combinations >> 'Classic' Firearms Photos & Archive

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CptCurl
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Reged: 01/05/04
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Winchester High Wall custom varminter
#140432 - 12/08/09 01:12 AM

Recently I bought a scanner so I could convert my old photos, negatives, and slides to digital format. Wow, what a trip down memory lane!

Here is a photo of a fabulous custom Winchester High Wall I had built in the early 1980's. It is being held by the man who made it, this photo taken about the time I took delivery.

It's a High Wall with double set triggers. The block has the Neidner-Mann gas proof firing pin modification. Stock attachment was converted to a thru-bolt for strength. It has a match-grade Shilen barrel chambered in .257 Roberts rimmed (brass formed from .444 Marlin or 7x57 rimmed). Quarter rib. As I recall, I topped it with a Weaver Micro-track 12x scope. The wood is a nice piece of Circassion walnut. Ebony tip. Wrap around checkering. It was an outstanding build and quite a rifle.

My varmint hunting came to an end in the late '80's, and at that time I had the rifle re-barreled to the .375/.444 cartridge. It was a ripper in that configuration.

Sadly, I sold the rifle in 1996 and it is off to the world. Maybe a member here owns it now?

Here's a close crop of the rifle taken from the above photo scan:

Enjoy,
Curl

--------------------
RoscoeStephenson.com

YOUR DOUBLE RIFLE IS YOUR BEST FRIEND.

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9.3x57
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Reged: 22/04/07
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Re: Winchester High Wall custom varminter [Re: CptCurl]
#140435 - 12/08/09 02:19 AM

VERY nice rifle, Curl.

Yup, you should'a kept it.

I wouldn't be surprised to find out it now resides at Xausa's, tho I think all his were acquired before Johnson hoisted his beagle by the ears!

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What are the Rosary, the Cross or the Crucifix other than tools to help maintain the fortress of our faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?

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xausa
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Reged: 07/03/07
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Loc: Tennessee, USA

Re: Winchester High Wall custom varminter [Re: 9.3x57]
#140455 - 12/08/09 08:59 AM

Virtually all of my High Walls were stocked by Hal Hartley of Lenoir, North Carolina in curly maple. This one is a stunner, although it was a shame to use a DST action obviously from a Schuetzen rifle as a varminter. That was common practice in the 50's and 60's, however, and more than likely the rest of the rifle was long gone before the conversion process began.

I also have a rimmed cartridge rifle based on the 7X57R case, in my case a rimmed version of the .250-3000 Savage.

I haven't shot a varmint in years, and I suppose I should think about breaking up my collection while I'm still around to supervise, rather than saddling my oldest son with that task.

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CptCurl
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Reged: 01/05/04
Posts: 5284
Loc: Fincastle, Botetourt County, V...

Re: Winchester High Wall custom varminter [Re: xausa]
#140531 - 13/08/09 08:57 PM

Quote:

This one is a stunner, although it was a shame to use a DST action obviously from a Schuetzen rifle as a varminter. That was common practice in the 50's and 60's, however, and more than likely the rest of the rifle was long gone before the conversion process began.

You are correct. The action came to me as just that - an action. I didn't wreck a piece of history for this project.

I once had a nice High Wall varminter by Hartley chambered for the .219 Donaldson Wasp. One heck of a piece of fiddleback maple.

Curl

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RoscoeStephenson.com

YOUR DOUBLE RIFLE IS YOUR BEST FRIEND.

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xausa
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Re: Winchester High Wall custom varminter [Re: CptCurl]
#140542 - 14/08/09 01:07 AM

My friend and former business partner, the late Harry Creighton, had a synergistic arrangement with Hal whereby he referred customers to Hal for stocks and Hal referred customers to Harry for metal work. Do you remember who did the metal work on your Donaldson Wasp? The Wasp was a favorite cartridge of Harry's and I still have a Hart barrelled FN single shot he made for me in that caliber.

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CptCurl
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Reged: 01/05/04
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Loc: Fincastle, Botetourt County, V...

Re: Winchester High Wall custom varminter [Re: xausa]
#140579 - 14/08/09 11:05 PM

I'm not sure I ever knew who did the metal on that rifle. It came to me complete.

It was a nice rifle, though much heavier than the one pictured above, and the lines weren't as nice. It had a big roll-over cheekpiece and a large forend with a flat bottom.

The Donaldson Wasp was great in it's day, but after the advent of .225 Winchester it was toast. And then there's the .22/.30-30 Ackley Improved. What a whizzer that is.

Curl

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RoscoeStephenson.com

YOUR DOUBLE RIFLE IS YOUR BEST FRIEND.

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xausa
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Re: Winchester High Wall custom varminter [Re: CptCurl]
#140589 - 15/08/09 01:21 AM

That the .219 Donaldson was toast after the advent of the .225 Winchester would be news to the bench rest community. The .225 never made a ripple as a bench rest cartridge, but the Donaldson Wasp was going strong in BR circles well into the '60's. While Harvey Donaldson's claims as to velocity were never verified, the cartridge's accuracy was.

I attended a benchrest match in Johnstown, NY in the fall of 1964 as a guest of my friend Crawford Hollidge. He and I were a part of a group carrying on a conversation, when one of the group whispered, "Here comes Harvey Donaldson. Watch this!" When Harvey walked up, this group member asked, "Hey Harvey, guess what I'm shooting!" When no reply was forthcoming, he continued, "An Improved .219 Donaldson Wasp!"

As anticipated, Harvey hit the ceiling. "You can't improve a Donaldson Wasp!" he shouted.

The Donaldson Wasp case was the forerunner of the PPC case which has dominated benchrest shooting since its inception. Its relatively short stubby body with sharp shoulder and long neck embodied virtually everything now known about cartridge case design for extreme accuracy. The case capacity of the Wasp was 36.85 grains of water versus 33.80 for the PPC.

The main drawback at the time was the lack of really high quality brass to fabricate it from. Wasp cases had to be laboriously formed, reamed, trimmed and fireformed before they were usable as match brass. The advent of the .222 Remington, ammunition which could be shot out of the box, cut into the Wasp's popularity as a benchrest cartridge and the PPC, with it's liberal supply of really well manufactured cases, laid it finally to rest.

Incidentally, you can view my High walls at http://forums.nitroexpress.com/showflat....true#Post113901

Your Wasp stock must be very like the one on my Improved Zipper.

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CptCurl
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Reged: 01/05/04
Posts: 5284
Loc: Fincastle, Botetourt County, V...

Re: Winchester High Wall custom varminter [Re: xausa]
#140763 - 18/08/09 10:59 PM

Well, I guess you are right about the Wasp. I was thinking mostly about varmint hunting and not bench rest target shooting. Any way you look at it, the Wasp is and was a great round.

Yes, your Improved Zipper is quite similar to the Wasp I had. Nice set of rifles! I would heck of a lot rather stroll the groundhog meadows with one of these than with a Rem 40X or some other soul lacking plastic stocked stainless steel bolt gun.

Curl

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RoscoeStephenson.com

YOUR DOUBLE RIFLE IS YOUR BEST FRIEND.

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