I just purchased a nice Winchester High Wall Custom Rifle put together in 1962 by Hal Hartley and Harry Creighton. The caliber is .218 Bee, which is one of my favorites. I already have dies, brass, and bullets. Now to find a Unertl scope to mount on the old girl.

Super cool !

That rifle belonged originally to Tom Shacklett, my lifetime fricnd, who died three years ago in a tragic automobile accident, which almost claimed the life of his wife, Anne, also.

Tom and I were dedicated varmint (groundhogs, crows) hunters, and used to go out in my Toyota Land Cruiser every Sunday, rain or shine. Harry was my longtime friend and erstwhile business partner, and he and Hal Hartley had a symbiotic relationship, whereby Harry did the metal work and Hal the stocks. At one point, I had the largest collection of Creighton-Hartley creations, and Tom the second largest.

Tom and I agreed long ago that whichever of us died first, the other would take the responsibility for disposing of his firearm collection. I shouldered that sad task, and with the help of other friends, such as Kirk Young ("Carpetsahip" here), have managed to liquidate Tom's accumulation of over 200 short and long guns.

Tom spent his career as head of the Data Processing department for Metro Nashville Schools. After retiring, he worked for several years with Champions Choice Shooters supply in Smyrna, TN, where his lifetime of experience as a small bore competetive shooter stood him in good stead. He was a familiar figure behind the counter at the Champions Choice retail outlet at Camp Perry during the National Matches.

The action on that rifle was one of five that Tom and I obtained from a gentleman named W. Carl Barnhart, of New Carlisle, Ohio, in the early '60's. I had previously bought an action from him through Shotgun News, and we arranged over the telephone for Tom to trade a Model 12 Winchester shotgun for two of the actions, while I paid cash (about $45.00 apiece), for the remaining three. I drove up to his location close to Dayton to collect them. Tom's other action became a .219 Ackley Improved Zipper.

You will discover that the block of this action has been expertly bushed and that the rifle will cheerfully digest loads far in excess of what a .218 Bee would be expected to handle. Harry Creighton had been a tool and die maker for the aircraft industry in WW II, and brought an unparalleled attention to detail to his metal work.

My three actions ended up as another .218 Bee, a 6mm/.225 Winchester, and a unique .250-3000 Savage (rimmed), with cases made from 8X57R brass. The first action became, of course, a .219 AI Zipper.

After the experience of dealing with Tom's collection, I reflected on the difficulties I would be placing upon the shoulders of my executor, and have started selling off my long time custom made possessions, which I knew would be the most difficult to dispose of. Thanks to Kirk and another friend, Ken Pendleton, I have disposed of most of my Creighton-Hartley rifles and other long time friends, which I no longer use.

I am particularly pleased that this one of Tom's rifles ended up in the hands of someone who can truly appreciate it.

Nice rifle!

I lived in the Nashville area in the '70's, and went to Harry's shop in downtown Nashville several times. He barreled a 1909 Argentine Mauser for me (.257 Roiberts), and it's still one of the most accurate sporting rifles I own.

Clarence

Interesting ... Looks like one of those Old-Time gallery guns.

i was watching that rifle - you got a great deal and now with the history it becomes even more valuable hal hartley did great work - i have one of his early mausers in 35 whelen ai

xausa - Thank you for the history; your contribution will make the rifle even more special. I love maple stocks and have admired rifles of this style since I was a little kid and read an article in an old Gun Digest by Townsend Whelen with a bunch of classic single shot varmint rifles pictured. The gun will have a good home and will be well loved.