Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots New Low Walls - Wood sucks

I got a chance to look at a couple of the new Low Walls, and anyone expecting wood like on the Brownings is in for a big disappointment. While the new finish is nothing like the glossy epoxy on the Browning 1885s, the wood itself is plain, plain, plain. Finish is about like that found on Rugers, wood to metal fit leaves a lot to be desired and there is basically no figure on the guns I looked at.

A quick look at similar guns on gunbroker seems to indicate the wood I saw was typical.



Browning guns are more typical of this:

kinda sucks to hear that, seems like they'd be a lot better spending a few bucks more to get some decent timber on there.

my other 1885's have killer wood...if i wanted a gun that looked like a cheapy wally-world birch stocked gun, i'd spend a lot less & get a cheap birch stocked gun.

It's too bad that the wood sux on the new ones.

The wood varied with the earlier production too. Here is a pic of my two remaining .22s.

Paul

Tod...almost forgot, how is the metal work on those guns?

I looked at a couple of Low Walls at Cabelas yesterday...the metal work is fine on casual inspection, but I just couldn't look away from the "checkering". Looked like it had been chewed out by a drunk beaver, simply the worst factory checkering I've ever seen. Yes, even the infamous impressed checkering is better than this. They're marked on the clearance rack @ $999.99, I suspect they will be there a long time.

Saw a nice one today in .22 Hornet with decent wood and the overall fit and finish was excellent... The shop, Hoffman's in Newington, Ct., wanted $980.00 for it...

I have one of the .405 Winchester Sporters and it has nice wood...

Bob

Tod,

I managed to snag one of the new lo-Walls in .22 hornet. My intent is to convert to .25-20. As you've noticed, the wood is very plain. Not a concern to me, as I've an extra set of wood squirreled away.

Grasshopper

That's a good plan.... 25-20 sounds neat...

Dont forget 25 Hornet! Quick easy, same extractor. Pete

Browning/Winchester franchise KILLED the Low Wall w/lowered production 'cost cutting' measures by using VERY ugly wood.

Whoever at the helm who decided to do it wasted their time IMHO mfg. a rifle so ugly, at the same price the pretty ones sold for by Browning, prior to the now Winchester guns.

Who wants an UGLY rifle? After owning an 1885 w/wood like Tod's Browning above, I would never accept less, unless the rifle was 'out the door' priced at $500.

6.5..

Do you even UNDERSTAND the concept of inflation??

You must not, because only an moron would expect a gun company to sell a rifle built identical to one made in 1997 at for the SAME PRICE in 2010- and stay in business very long..

So, to keep the cost down something had to give.. Guess what? It was the $50-100 worth of fancy wood(at wholseale) on the gun pictured above)..

If Winchester put wood like that one the new Low walls, they would run about $1,200- $1300 in today's $$.

THEN you would be whinning about how over priced they are.LOL

$500 for a Jap made 1885 with "plain wood"?? Are you NUTS??

Browning made LOTS of 1885 High walls AND low walls with VERY plain wood on them in the 1980s and 1990s.

Even USED specimens with the "plain wood" were bringing over $500 since the mid 1990s.

In ANY case you are apparently priced out of the current market with regards to ANY japanese made 1885 rifles- new or used. Sorry. It does NOT mean they are over priced.. You just can't/won't pay the freight.

BFD.

You might as well whine whine because you can't find any new pickups for $10,000 or 10 cent cups of coffee anymore..

First of all, I chimed in this thread someone else started. Did you bash them?

SIR, I would GLADLY PAY FOR NICE WOOD. But I refuse to buy/own an ugly gun. That's MY choice.

I don't know what the hell crawled up your azz, but Go pick your fight w/someone who is looking for one. Go finish your evening out on my other post bashing me there so you can get some sleep and wake up in a better mood.

I will buy whatever I danged well WANT to buy and WON'T buy a rifle I have ZERO interest in. Maybe you like UGLY women too, I like pretty ones. That does not make you wrong, or a bad guy, nor me right, or a good guy. It's JUST a difference of opinion.

AS to your SPECULATING anything about me or who I am, my Acura cost about 30K, never owned a truck. Had the same car since '01 because I did not buy junk to start with and it's running fine at 152k, and it still LOOKS NICE, like I like things to look.

Since apparently you don't work for Cooper per your other post, just MAYBE you work in the business of supplying crappy wood to the gun industry and therein lies your beef, but that would be speculating on you.

Have a great day sir.

Get a life!

How about that, did a little research and you have sold wood.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth...ce_AA_grade_Bastogne_Rifle_b#Post3740159

Anyways, $200 for a much nicer piece of wood is not a HUGE differential!

That's the difference I would be fine paying $200 more for one that I can enjoy, vs. one that's just plain and simply, unattractive.

Surely you can 'get that' sir.

Good day.

Oh, if you STILL don't get it, well, look at the photo's below.




In case you are wondering, I really don't own alot of guns either, but what I do have, I appreciate.

OK..

I read your post up on the Cooper thread..I understand your viewpoint on the wood topic a bit better..

See post on that thread..

So which of the bottom 4 is yours, 65BR?
Just kidding, I get the comment.
And that is PLAIN timber.
Ruger No1s come out with quite nice timber.
Browning needs to wake up to themselves.
Their shotties are nice enough.

65BR I also got flamed a couple of weeks ago because I wrote basically the same thing you did. However I totally agree with you. However the problem is "Pride of ownership" has taken a down turn. Most are only concerned with how small of a group they can shoot from a bench-when very few ever even hunt from a bench.

Wood expectations get lower every day. While wood prices grow exponentially.

I agree 100%. They are trying to market a "limited product", at a high price, but are unwilling to produce the product that is worth that price. Personally I believe they price their product based on what they think they can get-not what it is worth.

However it is a shame when the price goes up, but the quality goes down. And the wood quality has definitely went down. It took me a few months to find my last Low Wall(45 Colt). But I shopped around long enough till I found what I want.

Winchester and Browning have been doing the high grade-low grade difference for years. And wood was a main difference between the two. The High Grade models normally sold-so I would agree with you that people are willing to pay for the higher grade.

I would not trade my High Grade 1886 for nothing. And the first thing I did was have a reputable smith remove the gloss finish and apply an oil finish to the rifle. Did I destroy the resale value?? Probably. But then it is not for sale. Tom.

HOGGEHEAD,

Your exchange with me a few weeks ago had NOTHING to do with the wood quality of the currently imported Winchester/ Miroku rifles.

You RIGHFULLY got "flamed" by me for saying Uberti 1885s were "inferior" rifles to the Miriouku made Brownings/Winchester based SOLELY on exterior cosmetics..

So, if you want to join in this conversation, at least get your facts straight.

BTW, your post above PROVES MY POINT- which WAS that yes- when the quality goes UP SO MUST THE COST. PERIOD.

AND, the SAME gun built in 1999 is going to cost MORE ten years to build later, in 2010!!!

If the guns had the same quality of wood they had in the late 1990s- they would retail for about $1,300 not $1,100. And then, like I said,you would be whinning about the "high price" because Winchester would not simply GIVE you the fancy wood.

And one last thing. Those Winchester 1885 Low walls are sold as GRADE 1 rifles- NOT High grades. So I do not see how anyone can expect them to have any fancier wood..

AND like I said, in the 1990s I looked thorugh a WHOLE PILE of Browning made 1885 rifles of vrious models. I can tewll you the wood varied a LOT and many of those guns had wood no nicer than the new 1885 Low Walls being critisized here.

If anything, Miroku is jsut getting more consistent in there defintion of low grade vs high grade wood.

And BTW, I would like to see the pic of your "High grade" 1886 wood. I bet it's not that fancy as MANY of the 1895 , m71 and 1886 rifles made in the late 1980s had pretty plain wood for being labeled as "high grades".

Ha Jim I did not mention your name. And I did not attack your post. So mind your own business. And shove it up your ***. Tom.

Hoggehad, you did not have to MENTION my name..

You have been whinning about it ever since it happened..

For what it's worth, while you were typing your response, I was rewriting my above post to get it back to the topic at hand..

Read it carefully.