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High wall Low wall

chumchum
I was just wondering what they mean by this. I see like an Winchester 1885 and it will say on the ad High wall or some say Low wall. I'm not into these type of guns. But I often wondered what they meant by that.

THANKS
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Comments

7 comments

Date Votes
  • ruger41
    Bert H. is the absolute expert on these but the High Walls are generally a larger caliber rifle and the Low Walls are lower powered rounds like .22, .32 etc.
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  • Bert H.
    The basic difference between a high-wall and a low-wall is the size of the frame. The high-wall has a much beefier size to it, and it fully encases the vertically sliding breech block. The low-wall frame is thinner and smaller, and it does not fully encase the breech block.

    As ruger41 mentioned, the low-wall is predominantly found chambered for the various rimfire cartridges (22 Short, 22 Long, 22 Long Rifle, 22 W.R.F., 25 Stevens, 32 Short, 32 Long, 38 Short, and 38 Long), but is also found in the low-powered centerfire cartridges (e.g. 22 W.C.F., 25-20 S.S., 32, 38, and 44 W.C.F., 32 Ideal, 25-20 W.C.F., etc.).

    This is an early thick-side high-wall frame...
    1230250-95WCF009.jpg

    This is a standard high-wall frame...
    KIRKO-CodyJune2008031.jpg

    This is an early (first) style low-wall frame...
    LW14337.jpeg

    This is the more common (second) style low-wall frame...
    GEVWJ-Close-upleft-sideframe.jpeg
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  • chumchum
    Hi Bert, Thanks for the pictures. Now I can see what you are talking about. How the frame from the barrel is longer and cover the falling block and on the low wall it's shorter and exposed. Without the pictures, I would have sat and thought about it for a long time, since I don't have any and never did. I guess a picture is worth a thousand words!!!!!!!!
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  • He Dog
    I would ask if I can have that bottom one Bert, but I know the answer, $22,000. Purty.
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  • ruger41
    I will probably be inheriting a Low Wall in .32 Short. I had no idea someone would even want a rifle in that caliber but I guess back in the old days it would be a cheap to shoot, quieter vermin gun--at least thats what this particular rifle was used for on a ranch. I sure like the design of this model.
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  • He Dog
    For the most part back in the old days, they used less than today. .30-30 was pretty much THE deer rifle. Yeah, .45/90 was out there and other such, but even the big boys were fairly slow moving. No .450 Screamjet back then, they idea was to put the bullet in the boiler room, not kill it with sonic shock as the bullet passed by.[}:)]
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  • v35
    Because of the receding frame and breechblock just aft of the breech,the Low Wall has an advantage in easier loading and catching fired cases when an overhanging scope is mounted.
    Browning reissued this rifle in .223 and maybe other calibers stronger
    than the originals.
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