1885 Low Wall

[marlinman93]

Had a great time all weekend at the OAC annual collector gun show! Great folks, and a lot of eye candy, as usual! Looked at a Win. 1885 Low Wall during setup Friday, but decided to pass on it. It had a extra heavy #5 weight Stevens-Pope .22RF barrel on it, and had been converted to a pistol grip action in the past. Great gun, but more than I wanted to spend, plus I'm not a Win. collector.
But over the weekend I found myself returning to look at it. Even showed it to a buddy, so he'd maybe buy it and save me from doing so. He didn't as funds were short, and I just kept going back numerous times to look. With a couple hours left in the show I decided to offer a bit over half of the asking price, and ended up taking it home! Shocked the seller took my offer, but maybe he just didn't want to pack it out. It weighs about 13 lbs.! Price was cheaper than most brown beater Low Walls I've seen!
The bore on the Pope barrel is like new, which was a big point for me! A few blotches of rust here and there that may clean up with 4/0 steel wool. If not I'll refinish the barrel. The wood needs to be stripped on the buttstock and stained darker to match the original forearm, and the forearm needs some TLC too. No sights, as it has scope bases. I put my Belding & Mull target scope on, just to check spacing, and I think I'll leave it on now. Should be a great shooter with a Pope barrel!

[gamekeeper]

Congratulations, that's an interesting find........ let us know how it shoots.

[GunnyMack]

I've always wanted one of those! You got enough meat in that barrel to just keep drilling/ rifling to go to .243 then .257, .264,.284 and so on!

Please post about accuracy!

[3leggedturtle]

Too nice. Bet it "kicks so little" you can watch the hole appear on target! Hammer strike is probably louder than the report too. Todd/3leg

[Griff]

Too nice. Bet it "kicks so little" you can watch the hole appear on target! Hammer strike is probably louder than the report too. Todd/3leg

+1!

[missionary5155]

That is a fine handsome rifle ! That scope looks like it was made to sit there.
If that chamber had any issue I think a 22 Hornet would be my choice. You did very well !

[marlinman93]

Since it's a Pope barrel, I sure wont be doing any rechambering, or boring out that would kill the value of a Stevens-Pope barrel! But since it's a Pope barrel, it should shoot better than I can hold!

[JerryB]

Val, I reckon that would make one fine squirrel gun.

[Sixgun]

Marlinman......A Pope barrel...very impressive. (Can I have it? ). You sure have been on a roll in the last year.

I finally have something that half compares to your toy...a special order 28" low wall, .22lr. With a 36" Stevens scope...s.s. Trigger.....the way it left the factory in 1909. This baby shoots...almost as good as a Pope....---6

[jdad]

I looked at that one a couple of times also while doing my rounds. Glad you got it.

Everything I was really interested in was priced way above what I was willing to pay and the dealers didn't want to budge more than 5%.

[marlinman93]

Marlinman......A Pope barrel...very impressive. (Can I have it? ). You sure have been on a roll in the last year.

I finally have something that half compares to your toy...a special order 28" low wall, .22lr. With a 36" Stevens scope...s.s. Trigger.....the way it left the factory in 1909. This baby shoots...almost as good as a Pope....---6

That's a beauty Sixgun! And Stevens barrels all shoot great if the bores are good! Even after Pope left, Stevens managed to still build wonderful barrels! That 28" is way cool! I love long barreled guns! The scope is over the top too!

[marlinman93]

I looked at that one a couple of times also while doing my rounds. Glad you got it.

Everything I was really interested in was priced way above what I was willing to pay and the dealers didn't want to budge more than 5%.

I didn't find that issue. Didn't buy much, but sellers were happy to drop 10% or much more. I purchased a FEG clone of a Browning Hi Power 9mm also. LNIB. The seller wanted $340, but came down to $290. Had one 30 years ago and sold it to my brother, with plans to replace it later. But dropped my FFL and never got one, to my regret. They eat up every kind of ammo I owned without a hitch, and very accurate too.

[Sixgun]

I've noticed nice quality collector/investment guns have taken a hit in the last couple of years. Could be their rise in the nineties and the decade after was artificially inflated but it has taken a hit. I also noticed on the younger group being disinterested in Americana.

Marlinman...the rifle I have is a Winchester with a Stevens scope...that's OK. I drink too...sometimes too much. ---6

[6pt-sika]

I've noticed nice quality collector/investment guns have taken a hit in the last couple of years. Could be their rise in the nineties and the decade after was artificially inflated but it has taken a hit. I also noticed on the younger group being disinterested in Americana.

Marlinman...the rifle I have is a Winchester with a Stevens scope...that's OK. I drink too...sometimes too much. ---6

I've been watching the two big auction houses . Mostly for Parkers I will admit , but most of the really nice medium grade to lower high grade guns are taking it on the chin . Even saw what seemed to be a very nice A-1 Special Parker go for less then $65,000 if my memory serves . Now with that being said i an auction after that I saw a 20 gauge A-1 Special reach a price above a quarter mill !

[6pt-sika]

Incidently ANYTHING with Pope on it attracts my attention . Whether I wanna buy it or not I still love seeing stuff related to Pope !

[marlinman93]

Marlinman...the rifle I have is a Winchester with a Stevens scope...that's OK. I drink too...sometimes too much. ---6

Thanks. Knew it was a Low Wall 1885, but got Stevens in my brain with the scope and too many things for my feeble brain at once.

[marlinman93]

Incidently ANYTHING with Pope on it attracts my attention . Whether I wanna buy it or not I still love seeing stuff related to Pope !

Same here. I'm not a Winchester guy, but I couldn't pass up something with a Pope barrel!

[marlinman93]

I've noticed nice quality collector/investment guns have taken a hit in the last couple of years. Could be their rise in the nineties and the decade after was artificially inflated but it has taken a hit.

Had this conversation with a few guys who have been into collectible guns for many decades. They tell me whenever the stock market is up, fine guns go down. Then when the economy tanks, those with lots of money look to put it into collectibles instead of the market. So now is the time to buy those nice guns, rather than waste money in the stock market that's likely to drop in the future!

[Sixgun]

Had this conversation with a few guys who have been into collectible guns for many decades. They tell me whenever the stock market is up, fine guns go down. Then when the economy tanks, those with lots of money look to put it into collectibles instead of the market. So now is the time to buy those nice guns, rather than waste money in the stock market that's likely to drop in the future!

Whew! Yes, I will agree on the stock market thingy, but......it goes 2 ways....when the market is up, guys with loot spend their dividends freely.......remember the nineties? Good for me that I have rarely paid what a nice gun is worth.....due mostly to seldom buying at gun shows but at local "only-attended-by-local-retarts" estate sales and general auctions. I'm also not a constant "buyer to resale" so that means I can pick and choose.

Here's the downside of getting "semi-old".........I have turned down many good deals because of my age (63) Unless I want something for my own wants and desires, I pass as I am (probably like you, 6-point and other die hard guncranks) are "gun-rich" and "cash poor" and the emotion of "oh boy, this baby is gonna be worth big bucks one day" is fast fading! ----6

[marlinman93]

Not much that I've purchased over my 50 years of collecting old guns was bought with resale in mind. Not that I haven't sold a bunch over those 5 decades, but it wasn't planned. But can't say that I haven't always thought about whether I got a price that I knew I could always get my money back on, even if it was the next day! I just like to be sure the money I spend is well spent, so buying for the going price isn't my thing.
I'm 4 years older than you Sixgun, and still an avid collector and shooter. Don't get to shoot as much as I used to, but I probably hit more gun shows than I used to. In my earlier years it was all local shows. But they've dried up, and I rarely find a great buy at a local show anymore. This was an exception to that.

[6pt-sika]

Had this conversation with a few guys who have been into collectible guns for many decades. They tell me whenever the stock market is up, fine guns go down. Then when the economy tanks, those with lots of money look to put it into collectibles instead of the market. So now is the time to buy those nice guns, rather than waste money in the stock market that's likely to drop in the future!

Whew! Yes, I will agree on the stock market thingy, but......it goes 2 ways....when the market is up, guys with loot spend their dividends freely.......remember the nineties? Good for me that I have rarely paid what a nice gun is worth.....due mostly to seldom buying at gun shows but at local "only-attended-by-local-retarts" estate sales and general auctions. I'm also not a constant "buyer to resale" so that means I can pick and choose.

Here's the downside of getting "semi-old".........I have turned down many good deals because of my age (63) Unless I want something for my own wants and desires, I pass as I am (probably like you, 6-point and other die hard guncranks) are "gun-rich" and "cash poor" and the emotion of "oh boy, this baby is gonna be worth big bucks one day" is fast fading! ----6

I pretty much buy now if I think I can turn a modest profit .

However there are still a couple low to medium grade Parkers I wanna say I owned before I meet my demise . DH 10 gauge , Eh 10 gauge with 26 or 28 inch factory pipes , Grade 2 top lever hammer 12 gauge with 32" pipes and a nice VH or VHE 28 gauge . But as you can see I don't want much

[marlinman93]

Doing some deep cleaning this morning, and removed the scope bases to clean the barrel. Under the rear base was some lettering scratched into the top flat of the barrel. Got my magnifier, and it reads, "Long Rifle" and below that, "H. Cartwright".
No idea who H. Cartwright is, but someone jokingly said, "Hoss Cartwright.
Hope I can find something on an H. Cartwright. Doing searches for Harry, Henry, Hugh, etc., etc., but no luck.

[marlinman93]

Been doing some sprucing up on the 1885, and I think it's done, other than allowing a few weeks to totally dry before waxing the stocks. The forearm came out better than I thought, and I found a replacement for my beloved Tapaderas N35 Win. red (ran out, and it seems they're out of business). Went to my local Woodcrafters and the guy there directed me towards "Transtint Bight Red" dye. It did a great job of duplicating the old Win. color from the 1800's! I used N35 on the buttstock, and the Transtint on the forearm, and got a good match.





And even more surprising was the deep cleaning I did on the barrel! I scraped the rust spots with a penny, and then went over them with 4/0 steel wool and 50-50 mix of acetone-ATF. Took all the loose stuff off the barrel, but left the patches of lightly pitted metal. I then took a very small 1/2"x1" long wood block, and wrapped it with 240 grit emery paper. I worked the pits out, and then used Oxpho Blue to touch up the bare spots. The barrel looks very nice, and no sign of the bad spots or repairs showing!
Done for now, and probably hit the range next week to see how it shoots!

[GunnyMack]

Looks like a GREAT color match!

[marlinman93]

Thanks Gunny!