Meachum Highwall

[Woody]

Mike,

I would agree that the close coupled double set winchester triggers are the best of the bunch, but the problem is that they are not available. The originals are cost prohibitive and currently no one is reproducing them. Winchester Bob in Maine is supposedly making them for the model 94. When I last talked to him, about them, he was only talking about making them for the 94 and they were going to cost more than the rifle. Not yet ready to drop $1K for triggers. $500 for the wide spaced double set was about as far as I can justify.

The problem with the Pedersoli High Wall is that they are not true to the originals, parts are not as readily available, and they are not properly hardened so they wear or break more often.

Woody

[mdeland]

Yeah, all good points Woody! I was just referring to the design I find exceptional having worked on quite a few HW's of all strips.
I just realized I said Pedersoli, I meant to say Uberti ,my bad, sorry! I made a Cc for my HW that I never have gotten perfectly spring balanced and still like how it feels and works. Made it from a picture in De Haas book to see if I could and it was quite a project.
The only regular double set I ever cared for is the ones that fire from the rear trigger as on the TC Contender pistol. I have short fingers and it disturbs my grip to reach for the front trigger double set designs.

[cw50-70]

Close enough. Uberti makes the high wall actions for Pedersoli and Pedersoli makes the Sharps actions for Uberti, I think.

[krgriggs]

I would take Brents word for the meachums. I have one but am by no means an expert on them.

[Glen Ring]

The stock was too short and my bud was selling it to me very cheap. I told him it was a GREAT deal but it put me in an awkward , ethical dilemma. I KNEW the rifle would bring almost a thousand bucks more than he was offering it to me for. He's a VERY honest man I have known for decades and I advised him to list the rifle on Gunbroker or Guns international at the true fair market value.

[mdeland]

Shoot Glen, just tell him what it is worth and let him decide if he wants it to go to a good friend/home. He might want to get it sold for less to move it and invest in another. I've seen guns set on a rack for a good long time when a "C" note or two less tariff would have moved them Pronto Quick!
I was over to Cabella's today in their Gun Library and talk about high Tariff's! Their asking prices for anything are ridiculous!

[mdeland]

I don't know about the hardness aspect of the Uberti's Woody as I recased my Uberti HW before making it into a rifle. It appears plenty hard now though. I didn't like the coloring on it much though so I bead blasted it off and rust blued it.

[gunlaker]

I meant more than just the action when I said the Meacham's were good. They also came with very good wood, that was fit well, and you could get them with very good barrels. My Meachams are the only reproduction rifles that I'd put into the same class as my Shiloh Sharps rifles as far as quality, accuracy, and beauty goes.

Chris.

[humboldt]

Glen, buy the Meachum. I have one of the early ones that I built from the action, back when he would sell just the action. I put a Badger barrel on it and stocked it myself.It was chambered in 45-70 . As an early action, however, the rear (tang) sight holes were offset a tad. I believe that was to compensate for bullet spin at longer range. What I should do is buy a windage adjustable front sight (someday, maybe).The other problem with my Meacham is the front set trigger is too light. You cannot put your finger on it at all. But, my Meacham now has a Krieger barrel on it in 45-90 and and a new California English walnut stock that is spectacular and it shoots sub minute of angle. It is the one high wall that I will never part with. Buy the Meacham and you will not regret it. Mori

[mdeland]

Off set tang holes would not work to compensate spin drift as it depends on range how far it needs to be off set and it would be cross axis on the tang radius. It would need to be compensated for on a straight tangent to be a practical sight adjustment. Think Buffington sight on Trap Doors.

[buffalocannon]

I've had guys tell me over the years that the Meachum highwall is the best there ever was, even better than original. I don't know? Never owned a highwall.

[BFD]

Never owned a highwall.

Now there is a tragedy !

Meachams are great, but no greater than an original in my opinion.

[mdeland]

Yeah, from the get go they are made of superior steel to closer tolerance and will handle escaping gas better than any original will. The original firing pin design with the retraction cam and block cut out mortise, to accommodate it, is a weak point, especially for high pressure rounds, and is better addressed by the Mann-Niedner conversion and even improved further by the Uberti redesign.
HWs have always been reliable and about the only thing that ever breaks in the originals is the firing pin and flat springs in the models that used them. Conversion to the wire/coil hammer springs solved that issue.
Both Mann-Niedner conversion and the Uberti re-design replace the original firing pin, with the retraction cam that tended to cause the pin point breakage and replace with a short round , spring retracted, firing pin held captive in the breech face with a bushing.
Not really a big deal with the low pressure black powder cartridges but certainly so with any high intensity round used.

[BFD]

Lots of people thought and think they were and are smarter than John Browning and the boys at Winchester. It has been my experience, they were and are mistaken.

[mdeland]

Lots of Browning gun designs have seen improvements that are superior to the original features. Winchesters re-design in the HW to a 5 degree block cant was a huge improvement on Browning's original design. Coil hammer and lever springs were another. That doesn't take any thing away from Browning's Genius, it compliments him and is true evolutionary progress!
Another for instance is the trigger bar pin in a Browning High Power pistol. Relocate the axle pin .250 to the rear and the trigger pull is improved dramatically in pull and break with no denigration in reliability or function. That's just three off the top of my head.
Verified facts are stubborn buggers when they butt heads with opinion.