doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com very early Winchester high wall breech block

Have just acquired one of the very first high wall blocks, the one with the cross-pin retainer for the firing pin instead of the later retainer screw. Block is very crisp and unBubbaed, with traces of case color inside. Firing pin is also crisp but of course is the early large-dia one.

The large firing pin diameter is my problem. I personally am not a collector but rather a shooter, and I have no use for such a large-diameter setup and so would ordinarily bush the block for a small-diameter pin. However the bushing alteration would destroy the originality of an increasingly-rare and thus valuable part.

Well, maybe not all THAT valuable, but certainly valuable to someone somewhere (grin).

Since I planned to bush and thus Bubba the block anyway, I'm offering to trade it to some deserving soul here if anyone is interested.

Will swap it straight across for another high wall block in Bubbaed condition, as long as I can make the Bubbaed block usable. I'll hafta do a certain amount of work on my block anyway and I just HATE to see such an uncommonly-crisp original part made UNoriginal. So if you want a nice original early block to restore your antique, here it is.

Also will buy or trade for any wall parts you may have, check your parts boxes!
Regards, Joe

Hey JD, I think I've got one I got from you... it's highly polished (plated??) and may or may not have been bushed. I'm traveling today but will be home after supper and drop you another line. That "pretty one" might look good on the resurrected mule action that I had octagon-ized.

Froggie

JD,

I'm home now and found the breech block in question. It is a coil spring .22 (so marked) block still showing some color on the sides but mirror polished (I don't think it is actually plated) on the top and front surfaces. It does not seem to have been bushed, but has the large round offset hole for the .22 rf firing pin as well as the dished out upper front we see on .22s.

As I said, I think it came in one of our "I'll trade you this pile of stuff for that pile of stuff" deals a few years ago. If that will suit your needs, I can throw it into the mail tomorrow. BTW, do you need anything specific for your current project(s) that I might find in my admittedly thinning parts bins? Drop me an e-mail and let me know.

Regards,
Froggie

That sounds great Charlie, I'll email you and mail the block Tuesday.

I have the front triggers for both the CCDST and the wide-spaced DST setups, but need the rear triggers (and front trigger springs) for both. Have a spare DST front trigger if you need one, also have some SST parts. Have orphan lazy-S levers both flat & coil spring but need a coil spring hammer and more broken firing pins (to repair for bushing jobs).
Best, Joe

Joe I have one broken LW firing pin and a extra 22 rf. Will put them in the box when I get it packed. Whitey

Unfortunately, I have never owned any DST pieces except for the complete units I got from Steve Durren, Whitey, and directly from Ben Rice. I wish I had known to order a bunch of stuff from Ben before his passing.

I am trying to put together a couple of SST units and have all the parts for one (including the fly for the hammer) and everything except maybe the little T-shaped auxiliary sear and the heavy knock off spring for a second one. I'm basically trying to keep enough parts to finish projects and maintain the ones I actually compete with, but beyond that, like Whitey, I have finished up a few of my projects and am sort of winding down on parts acquisitions for the 'walls these days as my time and resources are devoted more and more toward North-South Skirmish activities.

I may have a spare hammer, but it is for a flat spring if I do have one, and probably should be slit and drilled for a fly to use with that complete SST set-up I have. It would be a nice addition to to my engraved low-wall with Green Mtn bbl, don't you think?

Well, it must be getting late, 'cause I'm rambling. I'll be in touch after the first of the year (ie. this weekend! )

Happy New Year to all!
Froggie

Froggie I am only 74 now. Time to wind down it still a long ways away. I HOPE Smile. I just got tired of having all the low wall stuff. It seemed as no matter what I did I always ended up with some more LW stuff.So I finally realized that as long as I had the stuff. There was always one more. Smile So one day I got a box and sent a email to Joe check the mail.As it was my turn to put it forward and it could not have gone to a better person. BUT I just got back from Joe my last LW project a beautiful LW with DST"s and pistol grip stock.
Now am into Mauser's,Spring fields SXS shotguns,A Double rifle project Martin's and Marlin 93's and anything else that interests me. Smile So now who is slowing down.SMile Your friend Whitey

Yes Whitey, I'm finally reaching SS age... I just have to decide whether that's Social Security or Single Shot! Unfortunately, other parts of my misspent youth are coming back to haunt me, including S&W revolvers, High Standard semi-autos and even shotguns! And don't even get me started on the reloading stuff! What's a guy to do? What with the addition of various BP arms for N-SSA, I seem to meet myself coming and going. I haven't even had time to set up that Atlas bench mill that I searched for so long and hard.

Oh well, I guess this means I'll just have to live to at least 100+ to get most of it done!! Happy New Year, my friends.

Froggie

PS I've been told that the way to enjoy being "over the hill" is to take advantage of the slope to build up speed. You go like crazy getting more and more stuff done and having fun so when you finally hit the end you slide in sideways yelling, "WOW, what a rush!"