.357/.44 B&D.

[Singleshot S.A.]

Hi all,
So it seems just lately I'm contemplating building up a little Shutzen / Off hand BP rifle for 100 and 200 yds.
I have the chance to buy a Low wall rather cheaply but it will need a barrel.

I have considered .357 Max for some time, and know of one that shoots very well.

However, not wanting to conform, I started looking deeper into Forums and books thinking that a 38/55 case should be ideal for a mid sized (between .32 and .38) calibre and spotted a thread on a necked down .375 Winchester to 357. (I think it was called a KAP 357 ??)
I also found a thread on the .357 / .44 Mag, Bain and Davis.

Has anyone had any experience with either of these ??

Just think it might be a fun little project.

[Brent]

I haven't experienced any of those, except the .38-55, in a rifle. I would not have any of the in an original vintage low wall.

Be aware that low walls (originals) come in several flavors also. Specifically, there are two different shank diameters for the barrel threads. The thin one will not leave you much room for fathead cartridges (which is not the only problem with the cartridges you are mentioning).

Why not a .32-20 or .25-20?

[Singleshot S.A.]

Thanks Brent,
The rifle in question is a .410 shotgun at this stage, be it original or a re barrel I don't know, but the owner has used it
for many years as a snake / parrot gun out on the farm.
It's not a fancy looking rifle by any stretch of the imagination so not concerned about changing it to non original.

I have a 32/40 in a Martini Cadet which I quite like but being Martini, black powder and breach seating is a bit of a chore so just looking to do something different, bucket list type of thing. I may go that way (32/40) again as I have all the gear (dies, molds load data etc) but the slightly heavier .35 is tugging at me. A faster twist and a 225 - 280 grn bullet would be a handy little O/H shooter in .357. cheap to run too.
You now what powder cost over here. Hahahahaha.

Brent, would you be concerned about the strength of a Low wall ?
Also, do I need a BP specific barrel, that is one with deeper grooves than normal. Would be cleaning every shot.

[Brent]

You do not need a bp specific barrel. Most barrels are going to be about 0.003-0.004" deep in the grooves and that is perfect for what you want to do. Even shallower has done well in some of the old Ballards.

Yes, it is strength I am worrying about, and you want to use a heavy bullet which ups that. The max safe cartridge in the old Low walls is a subject of quite some debate. I aim to err on the safe side -I shoot a lot too, so where a couple hundred shots might not be too big a deal, several thousand is quite another thing. I spent some time swapping emails with Campbell, who wrote the two books on the Winchester Singleshot Rifle in the 1990s. We discussed that quite a bit and that's why I say I would not go more than a .32-20.

Really the low wall would be just ideal with a.25-20 SS breech seated or fixed cartridge. It is a cool, fun round with minimal recoil. Get a fast twist and a heavy (>100 grs) bullet and shoot some 250 scores.

[martinibelgian]

A .308 32-20 (so more like 30-20) shooting heavy bullets (150+ grs) in a fast-twist barrel (1 in 12) is what I have and use (in a small-action Martini). Accuracy can be stellar with BP, and I have an ordinary, run-of-the-mill .308 lothar Walther barrel. My latest BP short-range target rifle, actually...

[Singleshot S.A.]

Many Cadets here in Oz were re cut to 357/310, and if the barrel was shot, some re barreled to 357 mag.

They make a very reasonable little gun.

[Singleshot S.A.]

OK, the story goes on...............

I found a Rolling block action with a 28" 9.3 x 72r barrel installed. Here in Oz.

As it was originally a BP cartridge, it might just be what I'm looking for.

Anyone had any experience with the 9.3 x 72r. ?


I really didn't want to go this route of having to find a Stock etc, but it may be the easiest.
The owner tells me there is slight pitting ? in the barrel, "but nothing to worry about". And he is happy to sell just the action.
He can't tell me if the action is Remington or some other. I'm guessing, hopefully Husky as it has a European calibre.
How can I tell what action it is, He says it was bought as a Remington. It does look like my Husky.
He has some cases to go with it.

My German shooting buddy is going to laugh at me, because I had a set of dies and 50 new cases a few years ago that I bought from a deceased estate and sold on.