I believe I have a very special rifle

Snakeoil

Snakeoil

Well-Known Member
I need some help. I bought an original High Wall in .218 Bee. My plan was to rebarrel to .30 WCF or .32-40. Closer inspection of the rifle revealed that the barrel is stamped A. Hubalek. Some of you may recognize the name. The man was a champion shooter from the early 1900's and into the 30's and was recognized as building the best .22 rimfire barrels available at the time. He was most famous for building target rifles with his barrels on Ballard actions. But he also built Hepburns and other brands. He was based in Brooklyn.

Standard twist for .218 Bee is 1:16. I measured the twist in this barrel at 1:14. That could make it a .22 rechambered to .218. Or Hubalek saw promise is a faster twist to use bigger bullets and built this High Wall for that caliber.

Does anyone have any info on Hubalek's rifles? Not much on the internet. I've started talking to guys at Wilton. But since he was primarily associated with .22 rimfire, there is not a lot of interest in his guns. I have a friend who is a serious .22 guy and I understand he has several Hubaleks in his collection. I would hate to break up a special rifle. I'd rather sell it for what it is worth and put the money into an even better High Wall in .32-40.

Any info would be appreciated.
 
RicinYakima

RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
OK, having spent much time with collectors, I would suggest that you sell it to a person who wants to preserve it. Breaking up an almost 100 year old rifle that has provenance, to make something else is sad. Go buy a cheap used Uberti for the action and then make what you wish. IMHO
 
KeithB

KeithB

Resident Half Fast Machinist
Given the age and caliber I would be interested in knowing what type of steel was used in the barrel.
 
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Bret4207

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
It's not "original" anymore if My Hubaleck rebarreled it. You might try the American Single Shot Rifle Association https://forum.assra.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl And see what they can tell you. If you have access to copies of American Rifleman or other mags from the era he was active that might help too. If it shoots now in 218 I'd be inclined to trade it off for a reproduction and rebarrel to my pleasure.
 
P

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
Are you sure its real? A previous owner may have simply stamped the name on the barrel in an attempt to increase the perceived value of the gun.
Just becuse the name is on it, doesn't mean it was one of his rifles.
Or, it could be a barrel that was owned by Hubalek and placed on that receiver by an unwitting prior owner.

I would suggest finding a collector with experience in that field and let him inspect the rifle.
Fakes in the world of firearms are very common.
 
Missionary

Missionary

Well-Known Member
I would also not alter that rifle. I am not a collector either. But as it is from a well written about shooter/smith it has more value in one piece. I did a search on Mr Hubalek and he was one of the best.
I would not be surprised if it will out shoot the shooter.
 
Glaciers

Glaciers

Alaska Land of the Midnight Sun
RicinYakima said:
OK, having spent much time with collectors, I would suggest that you sell it to a person who wants to preserve it. Breaking up an almost 100 year old rifle that has provenance, to make something else is sad. Go buy a cheap used Uberti for the action and then make what you wish. IMHO
Click to expand...
Ric has the right of it in my opinion.
High Walls were altered often by target shooters and Sporting rifle Sunday afternoon shooting were common for the everyday Joe up and through the 1920’s. So single shots got customized to some degree commonly.
Having collected High Wall Sporting Rifles at one time I found that finding a rifle that would “letter” from the Cody Museum in Wyoming was difficult. I ended up with 6 or 8 lettered special ordered rifles and some that I kept, that had been “customized” during the early part of the last century as they were interesting time period pieces. Kinda of a collector interest all by itself.
If that rifle is representative of that time I personally would not change it. I say that with out seeing your rifle.
I had a High Wall that lettered and was documented as being used by Winchester in ammunition development. It was a plain Jane rifle in 22 LR with a number 4 barrel, shotgun butt. Absolutely nothing fancy at all but a High Wall in 22 LR in itself was very unusual. Then there was the number 4 weight barrel. I’d say that number 3 weight barrels made up 90% of the High Wall production. I’ve owned 3 or 4 #2 weight barreled rifles and still have one, but have only owned one other #4 weight and that was also a standard rifle but in 40-90 Sharps Straight. I believe only 3 rifles were chamber in that caliber.
The only #1 weight rifle I owned was a 22LR Lo Wall takedown. That was a sweet little rifle.
Enough. Back to your rifle. If you’re rifle is a clean piece from the earlier part of the last century, I personally would not change it. Besides it’s a 14 inch twist 218 Bee.
That’s my 2 & 1/2 cents worth.
 
J

Jeff H

NW Ohio
I've sold a few "collectors" myself, which I otherwise really liked, but for the sake of preserving some level of unperverted history, even if it's locked away in some collector's safe. At least I wasn't responsible for depriving the next generation of what was real at one time. No, not many of them care, but we're all rare birds too, so someone out there, in the future, might benefit from that.

This is not to say that anyone has such an obligation at all. If it's yours, do what you wish with it. I certainly wouldn't look down on someone for doing so, as long as it wasn't a hack-sawed, Elmer's-glued, Bubba-job.

I sold a Remington 722 in 222, which was in almost new condition and shot cast like a house afire, but it was gangley (26" barrel) and the extractor design didn't like me. I had a mind to chop the barrel, shorten the stock and have a SAKO-type extractor installed. Talking to a collector (with whom I had not shared my ideas), and observing his passion and appreciation for such a humble, but capable arm changed my mind.

I had a Winchester 97 "riot gun," which had most of the finish worn off, but was absolutely pristine inside, with no wear on any of the parts. It was to become my deer slug-gun, after I D/T'd the receiver for a peep-sight and soldered on a front sight, shortened the stock and had it bead-blasted and blued as black as I could get it. Changed my mind on that and sold it. I picked up a brand new Ithaca SKB auto in 20 gauge with a ribbed, modified barrel and a 20", sighted slug barrel for less than I sold the 97 for and that auto was a dream to shoot and put five Foster slugs into 2.5" at 50 yards.

Not trying to induce any guilt - just saying what I've done. If that High-Wall were mine, I'd have to think it through like i did the others and I can't promise I wouldn't make it a 30 WCF myself. Or not. Conditions and the force of circumstance would prevail.
 
Michael

Michael

Active Member. Uh/What
From the shooting stand point, the Bee in a Hi-Wall is a no slouch either performance or accuracy wise. Might also check the folks over on Saubier.com and if any of the have any info.
 
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Snakeoil

Snakeoil

Well-Known Member
Geesh, this is a tough crowd. I don't need any help making decisions on what to do with the rifle. If it is truly a rifle built by Hubalek, I would not be inclined to take it apart for my purposes. I talked to a good friend who has several. He thinks it was probably a Hubalek prone gun in .22RF that somebody rechambered to make it a chuck gun. I have a call into Gary Quinlan who is the expert on Hubalek rifles. I have an offer to buy the rifle or just the barrel if I do rebarrel it. I own an original paint Harley Knucklehead. As much as I like flawless motorcycles, I would never restore that bike.

One of the guys at the club sent a text to me this morning. He has brass and dies for the .218 and they are at my disposal. Might just shoot the sucker to see how it does. Wife already told me to dig deeper into my pockets and get the rifle I want and be done with it. I did see a gorgeous High Wall last night that was fully engraved and had breathtaking wood. But I think it was in a useless caliber like .38-40. And please don't lecture me on how good .38-40 is. I'm not a 50 yard plinker. My guns have to reach out to 500 yds accurately, or they are of no value to me. I need to revisit that rifle. If it is a .32-40 and the bore is excellent, I just might spring for it. Even if I miss all day, with that rifle, I'll still look good.;)

As for Uberti and other feeble attempts at replicas, no thanks. Originality is key for me. The Browning (Miroku) is as low as I'll go, and only because they were sold by Browning (and Winchester) as revival type guns. I do have my eye on a .32-40 Browning that I might buy if the price is right. If a Ballard, Meachem or MVA High Wall found its way to me, I might bend the rules for the right deal. But there is something about originality that just cannot be put into words. I used to buy fake Rolex watches in Singapore and give them to friends as presents. I think I still have a couple kicking around the house somewhere. But I would never wear one any more than I'd want a Ferrari copy built out of a Corvette. The only person I'm trying to impress is ME.

I'll take some pics and post them. I should have done that when I first mentioned the rifle.

Stay tuned...
 
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