STORY OF THE VICTOR by Jerry Watson

 

The Victor came about not from a design originated by the High Standard design staff, but from target shooters trying to improve their equipment and their scores.  This was the early 1970's and the single handed hold was still the popular stance for target work.  Heavy well balanced pistols were the norm for both rapid and slow fire.

 

Target shooters believed that the sights, front and rear should be solidly connected on the same plane.  Slide mounted rear sights were considered less accurate because the slide might not return to the same spot every time.  Target pistols like 8” and 10” Space guns were considered ideal, because both sights were on the barrel.  Captain William McMillan the 1960 Olympic rapid fire Champion used an  Olympic Trophy with the rear sight mounted on the rear (breach) of the 6 1/2” barrel so as to meet the Olympic rules and accomplish the solid connection.

 

High Standard Supermatic Trophy's and Citations' were well thought of by target shooters.  The rear bridge sight was solidly attached to the frame which also tightly secured the barrel, creating a roundabout solid plane.  It only stands to reason these would be the models tinkered with and modified to improve their accuracy.  Several Custom Gunsmiths began improving these models on a regular basis.

 

J. E. Clark of Shreveport, Louisiana purchased 106 Trophy frames and slides directly from High Standard and installed his  custom compensated 5” barrel on them.  The stock slide was trimmed to fit under a “BO-MAR” rib with adjustable sight, resembling what we now know as The Victor.  Another custom builder, “Giles .45 Shop” in Odessa, Florida, would take the customer's 106 Trophy or 106 Citation and modify it by removing the original bridge sight and  plugging the holes mechanically.  The original barrel was slimmed, reshaped and the top grooved for a “Giles Rib” with adjustable sights.  The Slide was grooved to fit under new rib.  Giles also installed an additional trigger sear adjustment.  Many different “Giles” customization's will be encountered.  Many other Customizers did similar work to the well-built Hi-Standard pistols.

 

Richard G. Beaulieu a design engineer for the Lyman Gun Sight Co. modified his personal Hi-Standard target pistol by “removing the bridge sight, milling the top of the slide and adding a rib to the barrel that extended over the slide.  The rear sight was mounted over the rear of the slide”.  One of the marketing people for Leisure Group saw the pistol and they decided to offer it as a new model for High Standard.

 

Thompson Center Arms was selected to produce the ribs using the investment casting process.  The first version of the pistol was produced in two barrel lengths. It can be identified by the “high” steel rib that was used in the 107 Military and the early Numbered series pistols.   Part way through the numbered series, in about 1974, the rib material was changed to aluminum.  Milled aluminum was lighter, thought to be truer and was more cost effective. Both ventilated and solid ribs will be encountered, with solid version the harder to find.  The lighter aluminum rib was thought to give the pistol a better balance.

 

In 1975 the serial number range of all High Standard's had reached two and one half million and a new numbering system was instituted.  “ML” indicating Military grip preceding a five digit number was instituted.  The pistol did not change, only the serial number.  The factory moved from Hamden, Connecticut to East Hartford, Connecticut in 1979 and a simplified production.  Only the roll mark on the barrel was changed, indicating the new location of manufacture.   These “E. Hartford” guns are considered less valuable.  In 1981 came the introduction of the “Screw” attached barrel, the prefix was changed to “SH” indicating screw and the numbering suffix re-started.  The left side of the frame was roll marked simply “VICTOR”  and the barrel marked “.22 Long Rifle with the trigger emblem.  The aluminum rib was relieved above the chamber in this model for what reason no one seems to know.  However it makes it easy to spot the “SH” and late (post 54,XXX) “ML” transitional Victors.

 

The rarest Victor is the standard grip or “Slant Grip” which accounted for 692 in the numbered model series with steel and later, both ventilated and solid aluminum ribs in both barrel lengths.  The last 24 were made in the “ML” series in only the 5 1/2” barrel length.  Most Victors, 49,283 were manufactured with the Military grip, which is similar to the Model 1911, standard side arm of our military.  The Military Victor's grip, safety and feel were like the 1911 and thus more of these models were sold in this country.  716 standard grip Victors were manufactured at the same time the Military Grip was being made.  To make the standard grip even harder to find, most of them were exported to Europe where the Slant Grip was similar to the Luger and more familiar to European shooters.  A few Slant Grips have been “repatriated” (brought back to the US, as indicated by their European Proof Marks).  The Slant Grip Victor is the rarest of all the Victors commanding the highest prices.  Less than 1 & 1/2% of all the Victors were produced with the Slant Grip.

 

Mid 1984 the High Standard Company went out of business.  It would not be until 1993 when it was reconstituted in Huston, Texas, by a group of investors.  The Victor was continued in several of the old models plus the new  “Model 105” which was a 4 1/2” barreled solid rib designed for a slant grip frame (evidently left over from the Hamden operation) and mounted on a Huston investment cast military frame.  A nice looking, limited (35) production target pistol.  The Texas operation also manufactured the standard two barrel versions of the Victor.  On special order you could get a Bob Shea 10-X Commemorative Victor.  Just a few of these (no more than 12) were produced prior to the Texas company closing its doors in 2018.

 

Shortly after the closing of High Standard Huston, the remaining stock, and some of the tooling was moved to Fairfield, Montana.  A new manufacturing facility was constructed on the  Jim Grey Ranch.  High Standard Incorporated is now manufacturing Victor's, 10-X's, Sport-King's and the Bob Shea 10-X Commemorative Victor's on special order.  The quality of these Montana pistols would compare to the original High Standards of late 1960's and early 1970's production.  The polish, fit and finish is excellent by today’s standard's.