#2 Browning Highwall in 45-70.
I have collected a few Browning single shot rifles over the years, but one that has eluded me was a 45-70 in sporter configuration (rubber recoil pad instead of classic hard buttplate) with 28" octagon barrel.
I got
OH so close a number of years back.
A guy had one that he wanted to trade Even S teven for my Browning Low Wall in 260 Remington. Both guns were fairly rare, so it was pretty much an even swap. I can't remember why, but I waited until I did the transfer before shipping mine to him (fortunately) I had him ship to a local gunshop, but asked the gunshop to have their gunsmith check it out before I filled out the paperwork on the transfer.
The gun arrived with the forend split. And to make matters worse, when the gunsmith checked it out, the gun would not fire. After talking with the guy, I decided to send it back and cancel the trade.
For years I looked for another one, but could not find one anywhere. Then a few years ago, I was in a gunshop in Mississippi and they had one. But I did not have the funds for it at the time, so I tried to scrape together the money for it. By the time I was ready to buy, it was sold.
Then I found one at Gander Mountain in Opelika Alabama, just few miles up the road from here. I had just bought my wife a new car, so I decided to see if I could get her to buy it for me for my birthday. And she did!