Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots Price Check...Browning Low Wall

Been stalking this rifle for a couple of years. The owner is retiring, moving to Florida and is selling some stuff.

This is a LNIB Low Wall, .357 Magnum. The only issue is that the owner removed the rear buckhorn sight so he could use the tang sight...now he can't find the rear sight. That is a non-issue as far as I'm concerned.

He is asking $1,200.

Good Price? Bad Price? Opinions welcome!

Thanks to all in advance!

Johnny $

Only you may say what that gun is worth to you. I had 1885itess fairly bad around 2000 and ended up purchasing 7 of them. They weren't as expencive then but the price was still pretty dear. What could you do with a .357? If it would provide #1200 of enjoyment go ahead.

Johnny $,

Like 1885 says, it depends on what it's worth to you! Within the last six months or so, I purchased one in .45 Long Colt. (Or .45 Colt, if you prefer) It has exceptional wood and is N.I.B. and I paid $1200 for it. I figured I could have much fun with it shooting cast bullets. And I could even slam a whitetail if I was careful on my shot. (Actually I WANTED a .357 Mag so I could punch it to .357 Maximum.) (I even considered punching my .45 Colt to .454 Casull. But fortunately good sense intervened. ) If it weren't for that damnable Cresent Buttplate, I might have!

Grasshopper

Johnny $,

Like 1885 says, it depends on what it's worth to you! Within the last six months or so, I purchased one in .45 Long Colt. (Or .45 Colt, if you prefer) It has exceptional wood and is N.I.B. and I paid $1200 for it. I figured I could have much fun with it shooting cast bullets. And I could even slam a whitetail if I was careful on my shot. (Actually I WANTED a .357 Mag so I could punch it to .357 Maximum.) (I even considered punching my .45 Colt to .454 Casull. But fortunately good sense intervened. ) If it weren't for that damnable Cresent Buttplate, I might have!

Grasshopper

1885 and Grasshopper,

Thank you for your replies. They were very pragmatic and of course you were both correct. I was looking for something more emotional like: "That is great buy!! You will make 6X your money this year!!" I ended up buying 'cause I wanted it.

I bought it at $1,100 - the owner came down without any pressure from me (he who hesitates saves a c-note...?).
'Hopper, I have already been thinking about the Maximum conversion. I think that would just be the cat's arse for whacking a nice whitetail. Didn't Browing make a High Wall in the Casull? A 6.5# rifle in .454 just might get your attention!

Thanks again,
Johnny $

Johnny $,

Sometimes it pays to hesitate. Good Buy! On one hand it seems like alot, but who can put a price on pleasure. If it scratches an itch, then it's worth it.

Yes, Browning did indeed, make a Hi-Wall in .45 Colt. I think, however, that it's one, if not, the rarest one. Should have bought one when they were only $800. But back then, I likely wanted something else worse. But then I should have bought one of the .260's when they were closing them out @ $650...

I think you'll enjoy it. Another possible conversion would be the .357 Herrett. One could likely get the same performance with less pressure than the Maximum... The .357 Herrett puts it firmly in .35 Rem territory.

Grasshopper

The Maximum, loaded in a carbine of that length, will put you in .35 Rem. factory territory.

And be an absolute kick in the butt to shoot..!
The Max would be akin to having a BIG .22 short, long rifle and magnum all in one very nice package. Useful for everything from teaching kids to roll a tin can to bringing home the venison.

A very useful firearm, indeed !

Dont want to jump in where I dont belong but companys like bufflo bore sell ammo for the .357 that puts it with 30-30 and 35 rem.A handloader could do the same.

[I think you'll enjoy it. Another possible conversion would be the .357 Herrett. One could likely get the same performance with less pressure than the Maximum... The .357 Herrett puts it firmly in .35 Rem territory.

Grasshopper [/quote]

I saw your note about the Herrett and that reminded me that a long-time friend of mine messed around with the Herrett wildcats 30 years ago. I gave him a call to ask his opinion and see if he still had the dies for the .357. He had sold everything long ago and wasn't too complimentary of either round. He thought that the .30 Herrett was too much trouble to mess with. He thought the .357 was o.k. but it didn't give enough additional velocity, over the .357 magnum, to mess with. He was using the original T/C Contenders with 10" barrels. Too little barrel - too much powder was his opinion. A 24" barrel should find every bit of speed. Very interesting....

Rifle is supposed to be here tomorrow!!

Johnny $

I too had a 30 Herrit in a TC Contender. It shot so poorly I sent it back to the factory and they put another barrel on it that also shot poorly. Making cases that would fire in the Contender was a major PITA. I sold it and have never regretted it.

Almost word for word what my friend said!

J $,

Hmmm, it seems like two different people are biased AGAINST the .357 Herrett. Not that I'm pushing it, but I have at least 4 contender bbls in .30 and .357 Herrett. I've not shot any of them in over 10 years.

I neglected to mention the advantages of the .Maximum... One can still use .38 spec. and .357 cartridges for reduced loads. And I agree it's a clear advantage.

My thoughts in mentioning the .357 Herrett, was that the Maximum and the Herrett are near identical in performance, however the Herrett gets there at lower pressures. Indeed forming .30 Herrett cartridges is a PITA. However the .357 are not bad at all. But understand, they must be fireformed. And to function properly, they MUST be fireformed properly. That is to form them to headspace on the shoulder and NOT the rim.

Taken within their limitations, either will work excellently. Of course, .30-30 brass is MUCH easier to come up with. so that merits at least some advantage.

I'm not here as a proponent or opponet of either, I am merely pointing out the intricities of each respective design.

Since the death of Steve Herrett, and Bob Milek, the Herrett cartridges have lost there best proponents. And, of course, the cartridges have languished. I do NOT expect them to ever return to their former glory. But that does not make them unuseful.

On a side note: The .30 Herrett was designed to give optimum performance in a 10" bbl. The only thing it will do that the .30-30 cannot is use less powder. However in the heyday of Handgun Silhouette, shooters seemed less concerned with efficncy than forming and trimming cases. Admittedly, trimming brass is one of most of our least favorite tasks...

Grasshopper

Grasshopper wrote:
""I neglected to mention the advantages of the .Maximum... One can still use .38 spec. and .357 cartridges for reduced loads. And I agree it's a clear advantage.""

The very reason I promote the Maximum. It covers a HUGE spectrum of usefulness..!