HSCA Annual Meeting and Exhibits - Nov. 11 and 12, at Tulsa,OK

 

 

The High Standard Collectors' Association held their annual meeting in conjunction with the Wanenmacher Gun Show in Tulsa, Oklahoma, November 11th and 12th, 2017.  The meeting was attended by many members, and a good time was had by all.  Several members had displays of High Standard firearms with a nice variety of types and eras represented.  The HSCA had more displays at the show than any other collector group or individual collectors.  It was a good representation of our association.

Group Photo

 

Back row left to right: John Hanks, Don Trenkamp, Steve Schrott, John Stimson, John Brewer, Sheila Cook and Boyce, Doran Houk and Vicki, Dave Lehman, Russ Gray, Dan Rathgeber, Warren Joyce, Tom Bolander.

Front row left to right:  Mike Reinke, Ben Cooter, Jon Miller, John Carter, Ken Rabeneck, Jerry Watson, Wayne Davis, Jim Gray, Bob Snider, Tom Horner.

Attendees not in photo:  Bob and Bonnie Merrill, Marvin Teten, Bill Elliott, Gordon Newsom, Charles Tingley.

 Tom Bolander, club photographer, provided photos.

Here are photos of the exhibits at the show, and other activities.

Click on the photos to see them in larger size.

Jon Miller's display of Crusader revolvers,
experimentals, prototypes, and commemoratives.

Doran Houk's display of pistols

John Hank's display of early pistols.

Tom Horner's pistols

Ken Rabeneck's electroless nickel plated
pistols and electroplated revolvers.

Dan Rathgeber's early pistols.

Jim Gray's exhibits of pistols and his
wonderful neon sign.

 

Winners of awards from the NRA.
Jon Miller, Dan Rathgeber, and Doran Houk.

Board meeting time.

Jim Gray also had a sales table.

Kimberly Schillinger,
Vice President of Operations,
High Standard Mfg. Co.

Jon Miller showing prototype revolvers. 
The .44 magnum on the right is marked
VALKYRIE, but the .357 magnum
on the left is not marked with a model name.
This model of revolvers was renamed
CRUSADER before production began.
 

Jon Miller receiving award at the annual dinner.

Ken Rabeneck receiving awards from Jim Gray, HSCA President.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

Hartford Arms & Equipment Company

HSCA Meet in Portland, Oregon

You can click on any of these pictures to see a larger version.

From left to right: Smokey, Mike, Jennifer, Jerry, and Bert.

What a display!

Some of Mike's HS Race Guns

If you've never been to a HSCA gathering and you like High Standard firearms, you should make the effort to go. The number, quality, and variety will amaze you!

HSCA meeting and displays at Kansas City, July 28-30, 2017

Several members of the HSCA attended the Missouri Valley Arms Collectors Association gun show in Kansas City, MO, the weekend of July 28-30.  Some HSCA members had collection displays for the attendees to peruse.  It was a good weekend for members to enjoy the conversation and company of fellow members.  We liked looking at the member's displays.  There were many firearms that one will never see outside of these collections.  We all went to dinner on Saturday evening at one of the local restaurants.  It was fun to talk with other members and enjoy good food.  We're looking forward to the next event.

Members. Back L-R: Dan Rathgeber (insert), Wayne Davis, John Hanks, Russ Gray, Bob Snider, Tom Bolander, Mike Reinke. Front: John Stimson, Jon Miller, Jim Gray, Bill Brown, Ken Rabeneck.

                        Special Award winners:  Jon Miller, Ken Rabeneck, and Dan Rathgeber.

                         Members "discussion" group:  Wayne Davis, Bill Brown, and John Hanks.

                   R-L, Jim Gray, HSCA president, and his son Russ Gray, and son-in-law Bob Snider.

                                                    Jim Gray's display.  Many fine guns.

                                                                 The Friday lunch bunch.

                                                 Ken Rabeneck's display of HS shotguns.

                   Dan Rathgeber's display of .22 short pistols: Model C's, Olympics, and Flite Kings.

      Jon Miller's display of Crusader revolvers, commemoratives, experimental guns, and prototypes.

Latest HSCA newsletter now in the mail

Ken has done another great job on the newsletter for this quarter.  I read it from cover to cover this afternoon.  Please note the reminder that the MVACA show in Kansas City is coming up soon (July 28 to 30).  I hope we have a good turnout for the show.  The displays should be very interesting. 

Jim Gray's perspective of series 108 (SH) pistols is like mine.  These guns are much maligned in some of the forums.  They are better pistols than some believe.  There are some made in the last year of production that were not as well finished as I would like, but most are as good as the East Hartford ML prefix series 107 guns. 

Dick Baker's article on test firing of guns was fascinating.  Where else would we be able to learn about this aspect of getting guns ready to ship?

Ken Rabeneck's article on derringer grips was nice.  I am pretty sure the black pearl grips for the silver plated derringers were supplied by Jay Scott.  I have an aftermarket set of Scott grips that are white pearl with the wood laminated on the backside.  I put those on a polished nickel plated gun, and they look pretty.

The conversion kit article by Scott Archer was a good compilation of these kits.  It is interesting how times have changed.  It is now somewhat difficult to locate .22 short ammo, and it is more expensive than .22 LR.  Up until about a year ago, it was almost impossible to find any due to the .22 shortage around the country.  Since .22 short is not required to be used in competition anymore, that loading has fallen out of favor.  But I still have some .22 short pistols, so I keep some around.  His comment about kits needing fitting to guns is something I found true when attempting to install a Victor .22 short kit on one of my pistols.

Any High Standard enthusiast who is not a member should join the HSCA if for nothing else than to get the newsletters.  An application link is on the main page, and the dues are only $30 per year.

High Standard Series 104 Slant Grip Frame Pistols

The series 104 pistols were introduced in 1963.  There were four models in this series:  Trophy, Citation, Olympic, and Victor, with several catalog number variations for each model.  The Trophy pistols began shipping in 1963, and the Citation and Olympic models began in 1964.  The Victor did not appear until 1973.  This article shows representative examples of the four models.  The 104 series was slightly changed from the 103 series.  The changes were mostly internal for production efficiency.  The early guns had the same frame contour as the series 102 and 103.  Later on, about the time of the introduction of the series 106 military grip frame guns in 1965, the frames were changed to remove the curved section above the trigger guard.  The frames were made with a straight cut above the trigger guard.  This is the same design as the frames on the series 106, and the still later series 107 and 108 pistols.  This change made it easier (and more economical) to machine the frames for all the pistols.  Details of catalog numbers for the series 104 pistols can be found in the Blue Book of Gun Values.

 

Supermatic Trophy

The 104 Trophy was produced only from 1963 through some part of 1965.  These pistols included the 5.5 inch bull barrel model (Cat.No. 9254), and the 7.25 inch fluted barrel version (Cat.No. 9455).  These pistols were shipped with a muzzle brake, 2 and 3 ounce weights, and an extra magazine.  They were produced with a highly polished finish which is often termed “superblue”.   These are truly beautiful guns.  The Trophy pistols were the top of the line in the series 102, 103, and 104 series.  After production of the 104 Trophy ceased, a buyer could obtain a Trophy in the series 106 line. The series 106 Trophy pistols were also highly polished and are also desirable to collectors.  The finish of the pistols gradually became less polished over the years during production of the series 107 and 108 pistols. 

Click on the photos for larger images

The pistol in this article was made in 1963.  It is a catalog number 9254, 5.5 inch bull barrel gun, and exhibits a nice polished finish.  The grips are checkered walnut with a thumbrest and large eagle logo medallions.

Supermatic Citation

The 104 Citation was the lower level .22 LR target gun in this series.  The finish was not as polished as the Trophy pistols, but was still a handsome gun.  This model had four catalog numbers of various configurations. 

 

 

This Citation is a catalog number 9244, 5.5 inch bull barrel gun with checkered walnut thumbrest grips and whirlwind logo medallions.  This gun was not shipped with accessories.  The pistol was made in 1972 and was exported to Europe.  It was re-imported to the U.S. recently.  The gun was fired very little and probably spent many years in a safe.  The original box and paperwork are still with the pistol. 

ISU Olympic

The 104 ISU Olympic was the .22 short offering in this series.  There were four catalog numbers in this series.  There were models with 5.5 inch, or 6.75 inch barrels.  The first guns had accessories and the later guns were shipped without accessories.  That is the reason for the catalog number changes.  The 6.75 inch barrels guns have the integral stabilizer. 

 

 

 

This Olympic is a catalog number 9237 and was made in 1969.  It has the 6.75 inch barrel with checkered walnut grips and trigger logo medallions.  This gun appears to be unfired since it left the factory. 

The Victor

 

The series 104 slant grip Victor is one of the more desirable guns for many collectors.  The Victor pistols, both slant grip and military grip angles, were produced to fill the demand for a pistol with a full length rib with sights.  The Victor competed with the Trophy as the top model for target shooting.  The slant grip versions were produced in relatively few numbers from 1973 and 1974, with perhaps a few more in the ML serial number range.  John Stimson wrote an excellent article concerning the slant grip Victors which was printed in the HSCA newsletter, Volume 19, number 2.  That article will give the reader a lot of useful information concerning these guns. 

The steel ribs on these pistols were modified at the rear by grinding off the curved section of the rib below the rear sight.  Otherwise the ribs are the same as found on the military grip angle Victors.  Most of the 5.5 inch barrels steel rib guns were not shipped with a barrel weight, but one was available from the factory.  The weight would have been the same as used on the 5.5 inch military grip angle Victors with the steel ribs. 

 

This Victor is a catalog number 9219, a 5.5 inch barreled gun with a steel vent rib.    It was made in Lot 2 of the slant grip Victors, which went into production on August 13, 1973.  The grips are checkered walnut with a thumbrest, but no medallions. 

One of the interesting things about the series 104 pistols is that the grip medallions used in this timeframe included the large eagle logo, the trigger logo, the whirlwind logo, and, finally, no medallion.  The medallion type is linked to the production dates, but I don’t know of information that pins down the transition date from one type to the next.  The military grip frame guns did not use medallions in the grips, so the use of medallions was also phased out of the slant grip frame pistols by about mid-1973.  It is reported that some of the first slant grip Victors had whirlwind medallions in the grips.

HSCA Newsletter, Jan. 2017

The January, 2017 HSCA Newsletter was mailed on January 3 to the current 2017 HSCA members. Let me know if you do not receive your issue.  - Ken