As some of you may recall, about a year and a half ago I finished building a pair of Highwalls.
Here's a link to that thread.https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1728182-My-Highwall-project-complete!
So what ever happened? How are they working? Do I even use them?
Heck yes!
Well one I barreled as a .410 shotgun and its a sweet thing to shoot! The other I chambered in 30-303 which I chose to designate .308British.
I love it! I've put about 800rds through it and shot 3 deer. Its been sheep hunting in the mountains, chicken hunting in the back 40 and elk hunting up the Athabasca river... I am VERY pleased!
Off hand shooting and carrying this rifle is where it shines! This thing is sleek, trim and with just enough heft to make it feel right when brought up to the shoulder! I haven't spent a day in the bush with any other rifle since I finished this one!
Late last November I was fortunate enough to tag up with this deep woods bush buck.
This year I ran into this fellow just down the road from where I live.
Accuracy has been... decent. I'm not very easy on it being that I spend most of my time shooting target rifles. However, shooting it beside a factory 700 I'd just bought for a future project, the falling block proved about equal. I find if I shoot 3 shot strings, and keep the barrel cool, I get better groups than shooting say a 10 shot string all at once. I may play with the fore stock some more when I get time... Mostly I have vertical dispersion. On my to do list is to tune/lighten the hammer spring and see if that helps. dry firing (prone, bipod) I feel the inertia of the hammer is moving the gun depending on my rear support. To an extent, its just going to be the nature of the beast... an exposed hammer gun with associated lock time/inertia on a platform that can't (by practical means) be free floated and where an optic is mounted directly to the barrel... but still, I like the challenge.
The biggest tweak I've made so far is adjusting the timing on the breach block. For the longest time I couldn't figure out why I had sticky extraction on full power loads. For anyone not familiar with this action, the breach block runs up into battery on an angle such that it nudges the cartridge forward into the chamber. the finger lever moves in an arc and the block passes its high point and then settles slightly(read, SLIGHTLY) I recall Ron Smith mentioning that some competitors would bend or shim the finger lever to achieve a near zero "block fall". Well when I built mine, I was going off an old original rifle and figured my breach fall was good, being that it was less than half of the original. But that fall still meant that after firing, the block would push the casing farther into the chamber by a thou or two and that caused it to stick (duh!).
I made a new connecting link to mitigate block fall and no more sticky cases!
I also have a thing for reduced loads for plinking as well as for hunting chickens. This rifle really likes berry's 110gr bullets and 10gr Unique!
100m 12ga shells are crazy addictive!
I wanted a very low profile, non-adjustable sight on this rifle regulated to each of my given loads. Once I found both my big game and chicken loads, I made a two position rear sight to accommodate each in the field.
The result is elegant, simplistic and lethal!
My main running project however (besides getting married this past May) has been building my rifling machine! Its going to be a twin spindle CNC machine with about a 40" capacity
Here's the main frame ready for welding...
Welded...
Machining the top surface.
The stand tacked together...
Painted up and ready for the interesting bits!
Making some interesting bits!
Interesting bit!
More interesting bits!
This will be the bottom plate of the carriage. Most of the carriage parts are aluminum to reduce weight/inertia during operation.
cutter motors mount.
electrical components... Definately a new learning curve for me!
Its starting to take shape...
Next up will be the box that will house the chucks and then I'll be working on electronics before going farther...
Anyway, The dream continues! I'm slowly moving ahead... That's what I've been up to!
Here's a link to that thread.https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1728182-My-Highwall-project-complete!
So what ever happened? How are they working? Do I even use them?
Heck yes!
Well one I barreled as a .410 shotgun and its a sweet thing to shoot! The other I chambered in 30-303 which I chose to designate .308British.
I love it! I've put about 800rds through it and shot 3 deer. Its been sheep hunting in the mountains, chicken hunting in the back 40 and elk hunting up the Athabasca river... I am VERY pleased!
Off hand shooting and carrying this rifle is where it shines! This thing is sleek, trim and with just enough heft to make it feel right when brought up to the shoulder! I haven't spent a day in the bush with any other rifle since I finished this one!
Late last November I was fortunate enough to tag up with this deep woods bush buck.
This year I ran into this fellow just down the road from where I live.
Accuracy has been... decent. I'm not very easy on it being that I spend most of my time shooting target rifles. However, shooting it beside a factory 700 I'd just bought for a future project, the falling block proved about equal. I find if I shoot 3 shot strings, and keep the barrel cool, I get better groups than shooting say a 10 shot string all at once. I may play with the fore stock some more when I get time... Mostly I have vertical dispersion. On my to do list is to tune/lighten the hammer spring and see if that helps. dry firing (prone, bipod) I feel the inertia of the hammer is moving the gun depending on my rear support. To an extent, its just going to be the nature of the beast... an exposed hammer gun with associated lock time/inertia on a platform that can't (by practical means) be free floated and where an optic is mounted directly to the barrel... but still, I like the challenge.
The biggest tweak I've made so far is adjusting the timing on the breach block. For the longest time I couldn't figure out why I had sticky extraction on full power loads. For anyone not familiar with this action, the breach block runs up into battery on an angle such that it nudges the cartridge forward into the chamber. the finger lever moves in an arc and the block passes its high point and then settles slightly(read, SLIGHTLY) I recall Ron Smith mentioning that some competitors would bend or shim the finger lever to achieve a near zero "block fall". Well when I built mine, I was going off an old original rifle and figured my breach fall was good, being that it was less than half of the original. But that fall still meant that after firing, the block would push the casing farther into the chamber by a thou or two and that caused it to stick (duh!).
I made a new connecting link to mitigate block fall and no more sticky cases!
I also have a thing for reduced loads for plinking as well as for hunting chickens. This rifle really likes berry's 110gr bullets and 10gr Unique!
100m 12ga shells are crazy addictive!
I wanted a very low profile, non-adjustable sight on this rifle regulated to each of my given loads. Once I found both my big game and chicken loads, I made a two position rear sight to accommodate each in the field.
The result is elegant, simplistic and lethal!
My main running project however (besides getting married this past May) has been building my rifling machine! Its going to be a twin spindle CNC machine with about a 40" capacity
Here's the main frame ready for welding...
Welded...
Machining the top surface.
The stand tacked together...
Painted up and ready for the interesting bits!
Making some interesting bits!
Interesting bit!
More interesting bits!
This will be the bottom plate of the carriage. Most of the carriage parts are aluminum to reduce weight/inertia during operation.
cutter motors mount.
electrical components... Definately a new learning curve for me!
Its starting to take shape...
Next up will be the box that will house the chucks and then I'll be working on electronics before going farther...
Anyway, The dream continues! I'm slowly moving ahead... That's what I've been up to!
