High Standard Barrel Production

 

Excerpted from E-mail correspondence from Alan Aronstein.

I thought that I should Post the FIRST HAND information that I learned over the Years about the Connecticut barrels. One day I mentioned to Bob Shea that we had received a Victor 5.5" Barrel that was SMOOTH BORE. Bob immediately said "well there are at least 2 more out there. " He told me that all barrels were run in a blank length that would produce 3 barrels. I assume that he was referring to 5.5" barrels but, he could have meant ALL barrels and their lengths.  He told me that ALL of the blanks went thru the same processes and that was the reason that Sport Kings and Dura-Matics and Revolvers would shoot good groups. I confirmed that with Wilson Jr., and Art Murther.  Bob had given me his special gauges for the 10-X barrel selection. The only other bore gauges that I found were the Go and No Go gauges to check the diameter after reaming. Gus Swebelius hired George Wilson Sr. away from Remington in the 1920s(??). George had been an Engineer in the Remington Barrel plant during WW I (??) George Wilson Jr. followed in his fathers footsteps at HS and served in the Engineering Dept and Barrel Plant. In 1954, Jr. retired and started Wilson Arms which is a large barrel plant. George Wilson Jr. visited us at least 2 times at the Texas Plant. I hope that the pictures that we took during his visits are some where in the plant. I will post them on our web site in the HS Vintage Section. Art Murther had been the Government inspector at HS during WW II. After the war, he became VP at HS. He also signed the settlement that ended the Olympic Committee law suit against HS in 1950. HS Prevailed in the use of Olympic because they had been using it prior to the Exclusivity that was granted to the Olympic Committee by Congress. I met Art while working on various projects at Iver Johnson. My meeting ended up as a VERY fortunate thing for HS. The Olympic Committee came after HS in TX. Gordon Elliott had a copy of the agreement. We listed Art as a witness and stated that we wanted to take the deposition of their witnesses. They had NO witnesses and the action ended as we agreed to NOT sub-license the Name to any 3rd party. George Wilson III ran the family business until he sold it 10years ago (+/-).  I recall that they can produce 150,000 barrels per month if the orders exist. What ALL of this means is that I was able to learn ALL of the Processes and the "Black Art" of the barrel production !!!!!  As an aside, I just found a letter that was written to me by Larry Larson. It described that he had worked on the T-48, FAL, and M79 Projects at HS. I never knew that HS worked on those weapons. I did receive some M1 Carbine Barrels from Bob Shea that had been modified in a Silencer Program after WW II for the newly formed CIA. I am sure that John might have some more info on this. - Alan Aronstein

Serial Number Search Requests and the Records available for Searching

Many High Standard owners are curious about the history of the guns they own. Many want to know when the gun was made, what configuration it was when it left the factory, and perhaps where it was shipped to. In addition, people looking at a gun that might be “rare” and thus perhaps more valuable than others want verification of the authenticity of the gun. 

Most people are not aware of the amount of work it may entail to perform the search, due to the types of records available, the types of entries, and the lack of completeness of the records. 

For the past several decades John Stimson has searched the High Standard company's microfilm records obtained from the ATF. He has done this at no charge to the requestor. More recently, Steve Schrott has taken up the task. He can be contacted at SSHISTAND65@GMAIL.COM. 

The following information is presented to you, the reader, to give a better appreciation of the raw data they must review to give you the data you request. Attached are samples of High Standard record pages found over the decades of the company's existence. 

These samples give a good idea of what the researchers have to work with. There are lots of problems with the records. There are blank lines, missing pages, and for the Letter Series era there is only every other page recorded. The handwriting is often not very legible. It is still the best we have to work with, and answers most of the questions we have. But it will never be perfect. 

The daily record pages are in much better order than the invoices. There are over 200,000 pages of invoices and many are unreadable. The earliest invoices in the record are 1966.  We hope this gives people an idea of the task involved for the researcher when a person makes a serial number lookup request.

                                                            Click on photo to enlarge

1938 Letter models and no barrel length and we only have every other page.

1948 Record pages were typed, therefore hard to change mistakes and sometimes same Ser # shows it shipped more than one time??

1959 Record pages were back to handwritten entries with blank lines so some Ser #s may never have shipped.  Account See was large Gov Orders. 

1971 Record shows many Ser #s missing that may not have shipped 

1981 Record shows many typical Derringers shipped. 

1984 Record is all handwritten and shows V serial suffixed guns from defective stock

 1984 Invoice shows all guns at that time were labeled Visual Impair at top of invoice.

 

1972 Typical Invoice copy. Over 200,000 pages all after 1966 and many are unreadable.

Information Concerning High Standard Models S and C/S

The following is from Jon Miller concerning High Standard Model S and C/S pistols. These were made in small quantities in 1939 and 1940 by High Standard. There has been some confusion regarding legality of ownership of the Model "S" and "C/S" .22 Caliber SHOT pistols. Attached are photos of a letter from ATF which should resolve the debate. Click photos for larger size.

Firearms “Modified After Shipment From Factory”

One of the items of interest in the January 2022 newsletter was a paragraph on members seeing an increse in the numbers of firearms for sale at shows that were modified after being shipped from the factory. This is usually a concern if the modifications are done to make a common model into a more scarce (and seemingly more valuable) model. This might be by creating a Slant Grip Victor clone from a series 104 pistol. Other pistols that could be modified would be guns made to be like the 10-X models. I would like to know what guns members have been seeing at shows or sales that have been modified from the original configuration, and if photos are available to post so that we can share with members how to spot clones or fakes. It would be good to educate our members on being aware of potential fakes before purchasing one. Steve Schrott is offering to check the records to confirm original configuration of guns by serial number. He can be contacted at SSHistand65@gmail.com. I have seen a couple of faked slant grip Victors and at least one fake 10-X for sale on auction sites over the years. I know other members have reported faked guns, also. Another way to increase the asking price of guns has been to add military markings to pistols, such as U.S. markings on wartime era guns. I will post photos and/or descriptions of modified guns on this site if you send them to me at Wayne Davis, mwdavis67@gmail.com.

HSCA CONSTITUTION, BY-LAWS & RULES

 

CONSTITUTION

Ratified January 15, 1995
Amended December 15, 2003
Reviewed and Revised   2020, 2021

 

BY-LAWS

As adopted January 15, 1995
Amended December 15, 2005
Reviewed and Revised 2020,2021

 

RULES

As adopted January 15, 1995
Reviewed and Revised 2020,2021

Document printed July 2021

High Standard Feedramps and Ammo Feeding over the Years.

In the early years of High Standard pistol production, the engineers used a continuous feedramp from the front of the frame to the chamber face. That was the standard design for .22 semiauto pistols of the time. From the Model B in 1932 through several models until the late 1940s, this was the system used. These pistols all had fixed barrels, and if a shooter wanted a different barrel length or a different weight pistol, a different pistol needed to be used. High Standard engineers found a way to incorporate interchangeable barrel in their pistols. This made it easier to customize a gun to the shooter’s preference by changing barrels. However, this required a change to the feedramp, in order to make changing barrels feasible. The older design required a gunsmith to blend an extension on the back of the barrel to the feed ramp area of the frame to make the bullet slide easily up the ramp. The new barrel system did not use an extension on the back of the barrel. This left a small triangular looking gap between the feed ramp area of the frame and the chamber mouth when viewed from the side. The engineers discovered the gap did not hinder feeding of the round into the chamber, since the driving band area of the bullet pushed the nose of the bullet past the gap and into the chamber as the cartridge was being pushed forward up the feed ramp by the slide. This system worked with both the finger type magazines and the later lip type magazines. This design is not unique to High Standard pistols, as other makers have used the design over the years. Ruger still uses a continuous feedramp and barrel on their Mark I to Mark IV series pistols, but those pistols do not have interchangeable barrels. The S&W Model 41 uses a continuous feedramp in their barrels, however the barrel lug on the bottom of the barrel is more complex and bulky compared to the High Standard design. In my opinion, the number one reason for people having poor feeding in the later High Standard pistols is due to the use of aftermarket magazines of dubious quality. For example, the earliest versions of Triple K magazines were not well made. The metal shells were too thin and soft, and the feed lips were not the correct dimensions for proper feeding. It was not until about 2005 that Triple K produced magazines which could be made to be reliable with some minor tweaking of the feed lips. The original Connecticut made High Standard magazines usually work pretty well in the Connecticut guns. I wrote an HSCA article a few years ago on the topic of magazines for use in Military grip angle guns explaining this topic in more detail. See it here: High Standard Collectors' Association Blog: Military Grip Angle Magazines—Care and Feeding of High Standard Pistols (hscollectorsblog.blogspot.com) I have attached some photos of the feedramp and breechface area of few pistols showing the differences over the years. Note: Click on the photos to enlarge.

Figure 1 H-D Military with the fixed barrel and blended feed ramp and extension.

Figure 2 Lever name Supermatic with interchangeable barrels. This pistol has a shrouded breechface.

Figure 3 Series 101 Supermatic (small push button). The breechface is flat.

Figure 4 Series 107 Citation. Note the factory polished feed ramp and chamfered chamber opening. In addition, I have attached some consecutive frames of video showing the feeding of a cartridge into a big button High Standard pistol. The video was taken at 250 frames per second, and about five frames show the feeding of the cartridge, or about a 50th of a second for the sequence.

Figure 5 The slide is just starting to contact the rim of the cartridge.

Figure 6 The slide is pushing the cartridge forward and the bullet is riding up the feed ramp.

Figure 7 The nose of the cartridge is aimed at the chamber mouth, and the rear feed lips are controlling the angle of the cartridge. The rim and the sides of the case are in contact with the rear feed lips.

Figure 8 The bullet is entering the chamber and the front of the rear feed lips appear to have released the rim.

Figure 9 The cartridge is feeding forward into the chamber while the cartridge below is pushing upwards on the rim of the case due to the spring pressure of the magazine. This is how the feeding of the cartridge should work. It takes a combination of the feedramp and the rear lips of the magazine to get the cartridges to feed smoothly. There is little to be done to the feedramp, but the rear feed lips can be adjusted in small increments to get the ammo to feed properly. Jim Barta had good advice on how to adjust the lips. Start with the rear feed lip gap at 0.185” and adjust tighter to aim the bullet down and wider to aim the bullet up while feeding. Keep the feed lips parallel. My final bit of advice is to obtain HS Connecticut made magazines, since they are still the best available.

 The time is fast arriving for the 2021 HSCA North West Regional Meeting in Portland, Oregon at the Holiday Inn.  The Dates are August 27th for set-up and the 28th & 29th for the SHOW.  This will be a good chance to discuss and plan for the 2021 HSCA Annual Meeting in Colorado Springs, which follows our NW Regional by a couple of weeks.  The dates for the Annual Meeting are September 16th for set-up and the 17th, 18th & 19th for the SHOW.

I am writing today to give you a heads up with this information before it comes out in the News Letter.  I would like to get your reservations for tables at the Oregon Arms Collectors Gun Show at the Portland Air Port Holiday Inn which is in late August.  The following people have committed to tables at Portland and do not have to respond:

     Smokey Grant------1   Display Table
     Greg Markel--------1   Display Table
     Gary Hooper--------1   Display Table
     Jerry Watson-------2   Display Tables

We can make room for one or two more if you are interested In displaying, or just meeting with us In Portland.  I will have two Sales Tables across the aisle from our displays that will be shared and used as Club/Sales Tables.  

Let me know if you want a Display Table and have not already committed for one.   Tables are $80 each and I will pay for all of them and you can reimburse me.  I am a member of the OAC we can get a little break on the cost.  You can call me at: Jerry Watson at 503 339 6329 if you want to discuss attending.

We will plan on having a No Host Dinner on Friday and Saturday evenings following the show.

2020 HSCA Annual Meeting Cancelled

The 2020 HSCA Annual Meeting held in conjunction with MVACA July 25-26, 2020, Kansas City, MO HAS BEEN CANCELED. Plan on attending the 2021 HSCA annual meeting in Denver, CO in May, 2021.

 

The HSCA Western Regional High Standard Collectors Gun Show August 22-23, 2020 held in conjunction with the Oregon Arms Collectors annual two day show in Portland HAS BEEN CANCELED.

High Standard Ship Dates

Steven Schrott says he will look up ship dates for High Standard Pistols from the factory records for HSCA members.

Send an email with the full serial  # , full description and Series (Letter, 101,102,106) and he will respond anytime. 

The email address will be sshistand65@gmail.com.

2019 HSCA Annual Meeting, Billings, Montana

 

On September 6-8, 2019, The Montana Antique and Collectible Firearms Show was held in Billings, Montana. 
 
There were 9 displays judged by Jon Miller and Tom Bolander.
 
Members displaying:   Bill Reibe, Smokey Grant, Jerry Watson, Tom Horner, Jim Gray, Ken Rabeneck, Dave Lehman, Russ Gray, Bob Snider, and Doran Houk.  Members present at show:  Greg Markel, Gary Hooper, Marcia Mighell, Jon Miller, Bert Merkel, John Carter, Rex Poggenpohl, Warren Joyce, Bill Elliott, John Jamison, Tom Bolander, Brian Rebanzini and Jack Paulson.Guests and spouses present at show:  Cindy Carter, Laura Watson, Larry Vallad, Evelyn Maynard, Liz Lehman, Laura Horner, Trish Gray, Vickie Houk, Cathy Elliott, and Julia Joyce.

The Annual Meeting was held after the gun show closed on Saturday evening.  A number of important items were discussed and some new measures were enacted.  Minutes of the meeting will be published at a later date. 
Members ate dinner at a German Restaurant Friday evening and Steak Fry
Saturday evening (by Jim Gray). Steak fry involved putting steak on a
pitchfork and putting the steak into a kettle of hot oil for 2 to 3.5
minutes to cook it. We had fried mushrooms too. All delicious.  Good food and great fellowship were experienced by all. 

It was one of the largest members turnouts that HSCA has had in recent years.  The quantity and quality of displays at the show was superior to past years.

  

Click on the photos for larger size.

Jim Gray and his extensive HS display.

Dave Lehman and his display World War II High Standards (2nd place)

Marcia Mighell and Ken Rabeneck and his (KR) display HS Gold/Silver
Derringers



Bill Riebe and his display Slant Grip Pistols (3rd place)



Judge scoring form



HSCA cake for steak fry dessert

Tom "Smokey" Grant and his display HS Revolvers/Derringers/Pistols

Doran Houk and his display HS Top of the Line (4th place)

Russ Gray at his table

Marcia Mighell at her table



Group Photo

 

Tom Bolander

Tom Horner and his display HS Presentation Guns



Jerry Watson and his display Early HS (1st place)

Rex Poggenpohl at table, Tom Horner and Jim Gray in background

 

 

HSCA Kansas City Show 2019

The HSCA participated in the Missouri Valley Arms Collectors Association Show, July 27-28, 2019, at the KCI Expo Center, KC, MO.   The show was well attended and several association members had displays for the enjoyment of the show attendees.  Dan Rathgeber, and Dave Lehman each won a Judge's Award, and Jon Miller won 2 Judge's Awards for his 2 displays. 

Click on the photos for larger size.

 

  High Standard Trophy and Victor Pistols, by Bill Brown.

 

 

 

 

High Standard Pistols by DaveLehman, Judges Award Winner.

The Early Pistols  and the Post War Pistols, by Doran Houk.

  

 

 

Derringers by Ken Rabeneck. 
 

 

Olympic Pistols by Dan Rathgeber, Judges Award Winner. 

 

 

 

High Standard OSS Pistols by Jon Miller, Judges Award Winner.

Crusader Revolvers by Jon, Miller, Judges Award Winner. 

 

 

 

 

.22 Rifles made by High Standard for Sears, by Steve Schrott.






John Carter and Steve Schrott looking up details on firearms.