I go by what a single shot gunsmith in Saratoga NY told me many years ago: "Hiwalls are for targets, tree stands, and varmints, Lowalls for hunting where you have to stand up on your hind legs and walk to the shot." He was talking about original WINCHESTER Winchester '85s, but it goes double for Japanese and Italian "Winchesters" whose Lowalls are strong enough for serious big game cartridges--there were very few original Winchester Lowalls that could handle anything more powerful than "deep woods" deer cartridges, like the Win '73 rounds. Winchester didn't chamber Lowalls for even .25-35 WCF.
I've killed a number of whitetails and pigs with my .44-40 and .38-40 originals, and that 'smith was talking mainly about hunting in the jungles that they call "woods" in upstate NYS --short ranges, sometimes best measured in feet, not yards.
But a Miroku-made Lowall .243 or .260 or even .44 Magnum expands that deer/pig/black bear capability to the whole US.
Keep in mind that the Hiwall as a hunting rifle became popular back when there were more big dangerous animals to hunt out West, and most people hunted either off a horse or using a horse to carry the rifle between shots. And most of the population didn't fly a desk, a computer, or a pickup for work....more likely a shovel, pick,and diggin' bar!
My Low Wall .260 has accounted for two elk so far. It would have a bunch more but I started playing with my Kimber 84's....
There's a ton of difference in the carry and handling of the two versions. Every time I handle the Hi Wall's I'm amazed at how cumbersome they seem to me...
