V-suffix serial numbered guns (V for visually impaired) were
shipped in the final months (approximately June to October) of production in 1984 before High Standard ceased operations. By taking previously rejected parts and putting together functional pistols and also previously rejected guns, they were able to use up
many leftover parts and get as many guns out the door as possible. These guns were sold as functional firearms, but had visual defects. The V marked pistols were sold to distributors at a substantial discount. I remember seeing ads in Shotgun News at the time for these V marked guns. My memory is that they were being sold at about a 20% discount.
I have a 5.5 inch barreled High Standard Trophy, serial number SH32422V. It is a large push button framed gun that shipped in late summer of 1984, but it probably went to assembly in August/September, 1983.
The normal
means of attaching the barrel to the frame on the 108/SH series pistols was by the use of
a socket head screw rather than the large push button used on the series 102
through 107 pistols. The SH prefix serial numbered guns were sold in the 1981 to 1984 timeframe. There are some older serial number types also found to have shipped during this time.
Note: the SH series designation was popularized by Tom Dance in his book, but is also used in the Blue Book of Gun Values, so both 108 series and SH series are used to describe this series.
There were
apparently several push button frames that had been rejected but still retained
in inventory. These frames were used to
make serviceable guns and shipped during last months of shipments. I have seen photos of other push button SH serial number with V
suffix marked pistols with similar configuration as this one. Pistols using these frames were a small number of the total
of the V marked guns.
The attachment method for the rear bridge sight base on this
pistol is different than normal. There
are two screws holding the sight base onto the frame rather than the normal
method of using a two piece rivet and a small roll pin on each side. To determine why it was done this way, I
removed the rear sight base and found the original roll pin hole on the right
rear of the frame was drilled at an angle about 15 degrees from perpendicular
to the frame. This resulted in the drill
bit breaking out of the frame on the right side in the wrong location (assuming
the hole was drilled from left to right).
The resulting hole on the right side is at the rear corner of
the frame. This would have caused the
frame to be rejected, since the hole would not align with the hole in the normal sight
base. The fix used by the gunsmith was to insert a flush-fitting metal plug in the large hole in the frame
where the two piece rivet normally would have gone. Then holes were drilled and tapped (one on
each side of the frame) to allow the sight base to be screwed onto the frame
with just the two screws. Corresponding holes were drilled in the sight base. The holes were offset so the base would not shift position. There is a
hole in the rear of the frame for the roll pin that would have gone through the
rivet, but there is no roll pin present. The result is functional, but different than
the original configuration.
The sight base was also not installed square to the
frame. The gunsmith did not spend the
extra time required to elongate the holes in the sides of the base to get it to
fit squarely. Rather, the base sides were bent
slightly resulting in a trapezoid shape to allow it to fit to the frame with
the drilled holes. The result is that
the rear sight blade was cocked to the right.
When I reassembled the gun, I re-fitted the base to the frame by
straightening the sides of the base to fit squarely on the frame, and elongated
the holes in the sides of the base with a file so they would line up with the
holes in the frame. After final
assembly, the rear sight is sturdily mounted and properly aligned.
Other differences noted on the gun are as follows:
1. The gold
plating on the trigger, safety, and magazine release is a duller, more yellow,
finish than on earlier push button guns, probably due to a different plating
shop process or vendor.
2. The metal polishing of the barrel and the sides
of the frame and slide has a coarser finish than earlier push button guns. The slide finger serrations have the top
edges flattened by the polishing process.
3. The roll stampings were applied to the frame and
slide after the metal sides were sanded.
This resulted in raised edges of the letters above the surrounding metal
compared to earlier models.
4. There is no golden colored filling in the roll
stamps.
I performed a function test of the pistol on the firing range. I loaded and fired a total of five strings of ten shots each using the magazine that came with the gun. There were no malfunctions for feeding, firing, or ejecting the cases. There was no need to adjust the feed lips. The accuracy was as good as other High Standard pistols. In conclusion, the pistol functioned well, but the appearance is of a lesser quality than earlier push button series 107 pistols.
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Left side of pistol: Note the large screw holding the sight base to the frame. Also, note the raised edges of the metal around the lettering on the frame and slide compared to the barrel markings. The grips are ambidextrous.
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| Right side of pistol: The V suffix not in alignment with the rest of the serial number. The screw holding the sight base to the frame is offset from the position of the screw on the other side. |
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Right photo: Prior to reassembly,
I straightened the base and elongated
the holes to allow proper fit. Much better!
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Left Photo: The sight base was originally installed with the
blade canted to the right. The sides of the base were bent to allow
the holes in the base to align with the frame holes.
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| Disassembled pistol with rear sight base removed. The original rivet hole was plugged with a metal cylinder. Holes were drilled and tapped for the screws to hold the base to the frame. The sight base does not have the normal holes for the rivet and roll pins, but has one large hole on each side. |
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| Note the roll pin hole was drilled out of alignment with the frame. This was the apparent reason for the frame being rejected during production of the series 107 pistols. |
Are these more valuable to a collector due to their relative rarity, or less valuable since they are a much lower quality?
ReplyDeleteThe V suffix should not add value to a gun like this. The V guns in general should be less valuable than a similar type earlier pistol. I got this one because it is a part of the story of the end of High Standard, and I wanted to have it for reference. It is not nearly as nice as the series 106, series 107 Hamden, and early series 107 E. Hartford Trophy pistols. The superblue polished series 106 and earlier Trophy pistols are especially pretty.
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