WTB Low wall Action or.....?

I'm looking for a functioning single shot action to build a 32 caliber target rifle.

I have a barrel, can make the stocks, just need the receiver..

It doesn't have to be pretty just a good lock up and trigger mechanism

TIA

Bob in St. Augustine

almost didn't recognize Jack with his hair dyed.
But the advice he imparts is sound if you intend to breech seat your rifle- the highwall lends itself to seaters much better than the lovely lowwalls. The make superb plinkers, small game guns and learning young ones about single shot rifles.

Thanks for all the comments... I appreciate the suggestions. 

RE: Why a Low Wall

One of my driving motivators behind initially wanting to find a Low Wall is that I have a Gain twist 32 Caliber {pencil-ish (1 inch)}round blank I secured a while back. After it's profiled down to a octagon shape it will look even smaller. 

By way of comparison I do have one of these diminutive barrels on a Uberti Low Wall at present. It has a Schuetzen hook and palm rest in 32-40. It's fairly light 7ish LBS. 
 
The man that I purchased it from originally had it re barreled from some other cartridge for his wife. Appearance wise it looks like a scaled version of a mans rifle. He even had a stock made to fit her small frame. 

When I do a side by side comparison between this Low Wall and a High Wall it appears if I use a High Wall action to mount this small barrel will be out of proportion. A quick calculation of the octagon flats indicates that the flats will only be about .350"

I am using Frank de HAAS's graph depicting the Suggested Maximum cartridge constant thrust curve for a 1885 Low-Wall Cartridge as the guide for cartridge selection.
This graph, if you have not seen it, plots where various cartridges fall on the pressure curve. (safe vs. not) Because this graph uses a Cartridge Base size, presumably the thrust pressure against the breech block and it's supporting mortise in the frame is the area of concern for a shooter. 

The graph if you have not seen it is quite revealing as some of the cartridges that one would think are higher pressure because of their larger base size are actually not, like the 44-40 & the 38-40.
Conversely the 32-40 / 327 Federal fall in the no go zone if using max smokeless load information. Obviously if one is using BP the pressures are much lower. 

Anyway, thanks to all for the input. This is going to one of my grand sons at some point so I'll be sure chamber it in a safe for action cartridge...

gnoahhh wrote on Jun 14^th, 2026 at 6:21pm:

Chuck, 

Thanks for the clarification. So I have to ask, if you know, what was the largest cartridge Frank installed in a Low Wall.?

Given that Frank de Haas was publishing most of material in the 60's and given that Uberti started offering their Low Walls in the 2010's, I presume that their engineers, while keeping in mind the design limitations of the low wall, also factored in the strength of the modern steels.

Uberti's offerings, in the most recent catalogue,  for the Low Wall include  .22 LR – .22 Mag – .22 Hornet – .44-40 Win – .45 Colt  (all very low)

It would be of interest to know how someone calculated the cartridge base size curve. 


From A.I
AI Overview               For an original Winchester 1885 Low Wall action, the maximum design limit is generally restricted to 20,000 to 22,000 psi (or CUP). Firing cartridges that exceed this threshold causes the softer, early-era frame to stretch and can permanently damage the action over time.Key Factors for Low Wall ActionsHistorical Steel Limits: Original 1885 Low Walls feature softer metallurgy than modern rifles. The action is not designed to handle high bolt thrust.Recommended Calibers: To keep bolt thrust and pressure within safe ranges, it is highly recommended to stick to period-correct or low-pressure cartridges (such as .22 Hornet, .25-20, .32-20, or .38 Special/low-pressure .357).Modern Reproductions: Modern reproductions (such as those by Browning/Miroku or Uberti) use contemporary steels and heat-treating. These are capable of handling modern pressures up to SAAMI standards

Beautiful...!

Care to share load info, if it's not proprietary. 
TIA

Bob in St. Augustine

westerner wrote yesterday at 7:00pm: