Any you guys shoot High Standard Pistols?

Any you guys shoot High Standard Pistols? What is the most desirable model? Looks like an interesting pistol  Thanks

https://gun-data.com/high_standard_1956_1980.htm

I shoot a Hamden made Victor.  Its the best.

David 

I started bullseye shooting with a Ruger MK I with 5 1/2" bull barrel. After that, for years, I shot pre-Houston High Standards. One was a Citation Military and the other a Victor. The older ones, like mine were fine back in the day. The later ones always seemed to have function issues, many linked to magazine issues. I think that there are much better options out there for serious bullseye pistol shooters. If I were in the market for a new .22 pistol today, I'd look elsewhere. I ended up with a Hammerli 208s. It never jammed and the accuracy was great at 50 yards with all kinds of different ammo. Today, I might start out with a S&W model 41 and have the barrel re-lined and get a reliability package done by a competent bullseye pistolsmith. There is also nothing wrong with a Ruger that has been modified with trigger work, etc. It is nearly impossible to find a competent bullseye pistolsmith who works on High Standards. That is including the factory.

I was introduced to Bullseye in 1969 with LTC Millers Citation bull barrel.  Soon I had my own High Standards.  A 106 Trophy Model bull barrel, a 106 fluted barrel Citation, and a slant grip Olympic.  I still have the Trophy along with 12-15 other High Standards.

Good luck finding parts. If I'm not mistaken, at this point in time, there is zero support / parts availability for High Standard. The company has gone out of business and reopened so many times it's hard to keep up. In it's prime, it was a top notch pistol, but there are many other choices now that are as good and better.

See the recent HS post on the new company.
https://www.bullseyeforum.net/t13088-high-standard-texas-plant?highlight=High+standard

james r chapman wrote:See the recent HS post on the new company.
https://www.bullseyeforum.net/t13088-high-standard-texas-plant?highlight=High+standard

Having been around a long time, I can remember all kinds of things from the old e-mail Bullseye-L about High Standard. In the 90's there were a lot of complaints of no deliveries of the 10X versions, even after people had paid for them. The Houston pistols had a lot of lemons and I personally know of a couple from our club. Back then, people who kept sending their lemons back to Houston High Standard for repair got no satisfaction. Like I previously said, there are plenty of better options out there for serious competitors. The company has been retreaded a few times after the original company "bet the farm" on a government contract and lost. I think the past few decades, the company keeps coming back with the same people at the helm. It's kind of like watching an over the hill boxer who doesn't know when to retire. Sad really.

I have been using an East Hartford built Victor for the last couple of years.  I like mine quite a bit and haven't had too many issue with it malfunctioning.  Proper magazine tuning goes a long way in the reliability factor with these guns but once done, they run like a top.  I also have a Houston made Trophy or Citation.  That gun functions and shoots quite well too.  I have been dedicated to using iron sights for the last 10 years or so and that Houston gun is optic only so I don't really use it that often but I wouldn't hesitate to shoot it in a match.  Good luck if you decide to try one out.

John

I like everything about my 106. I had the magazines tuned by a pro (cheap) and it has run flawless for years now. It is my number 1 go to pistol for a .22. It is really hard to find a better trigger then the older HS straight from the box. Mine has been tinkered with a lot. It didn't come from the factory as a Victor.

The Victor may not be the best 22lr Bullseye pistol these days, but it still holds it own.  I've shot mine for over 30yrs. and have never had any issues (I had a local retired Marine Pistol Shooting Team Gunsmith do his magic when I first bought it).  I'd say FWB, Hammerli 208s, Pardini's are in a league of their own, but comes with a high price tag to boot.   Hamden Victor's can be picked up for $600-900 and are good value for the money.  I've shot the S&W 41 and to me it just didn't hold up to the Victor's sweet trigger and balance.  Just my opinion.

I noticed some high standard victor pistols have a button in front to take apart the pistol and some don't? Which model is more desirable?

Clark Custom Supermatic 106 High Standard.  Bee’s knees. I shoot it better than any other pistol or than a 1911 conversion with a dot. With irons, its my best performer. Thanks to the benevolence of another forum member I was able to test a variety of great 22s and did markedly better with this one. I have a set of Heretts waiting for me when I get back from deployment #2.

smsnyder wrote:I noticed some high standard victor pistols have a button in front to take apart the pistol and some don't? Which model is more desirable?

During the end days of the Connecticut High Standard company, some pistols were assembled using an Allen Cap screw instead of the stud and push button retainer. Both pistols will shoot well but you lose the ease of disassembly and the interchangeability inherent in the push button design.

smsnyder wrote:I noticed some high standard victor pistols have a button in front to take apart the pistol and some don't? Which model is more desirable?

The push button models are more desirable. The ones with the socket head cap screw, that depends on when they were made. The first year the socket head screw was used, they were still great pistols, I had one. Towards the end, not so much. So I've been told, the pistols with a "V" suffix in the serial number are hit and miss on quality, and most people avoid them.

103, Olympic RF, 22 short. I just play with it a bit. JB was kind enough to set me up with a couple brands of ammo to try for function. That went fairly well today. Shot the x ring out of a B6.

At 15 yds... maybe ... where everybody else was lined up.

I just started shooting an indoor league with a HS Supermatic Citation Military 107. I shoot iron sights and I love this pistol. It was gifted to me years ago, and I hesitated to shoot it b/c it was new when given to me. I am glad I saved it from its life in my safe.

LenV wrote:I like everything about my 106. I had the magazines tuned by a pro (cheap) and it has run flawless for years now. It is my number 1 go to pistol for a .22. It is really hard to find a better trigger then the older HS straight from the box. Mine has been tinkered with a lot. It didn't come from the factory as a Victor.

Len's HS here used to be mine.  I got it used several years ago and planned to have Lou Lombardi make an aluminum barrel for it and use a real BoMar sight rib.  That never happened as Lou relocated and semi retired. 
I then had Roddy help fit the BoMar rib to the Victor barrel.  I worked over the gun.  Cut down the Trophy slide like a Victor.  Cleaned up the trigger.  And plugged the sight bridge holes.  I didn't shoot it much.  After a few years, consigned it, and along came Len.  As I recall the Victor barrel here is very good.

Yep, shoots pretty nice. The first target didn't count. But looks neat. The second target did count. Fired at Jacks home course.

Before I left for India last October, I had a discussion with Alan Aronstein about his new gun.  There wasn't time to get one before my flight.  Since then, I've also bought a Victor that Roddy Toyota built, but I haven't shot it yet - just got it two days ago. 

I ordered the new gun from Alan two days ago - should have it this week. I'll take some photos to post in the forum.

I'm not likely to set any world records or anything, but I can say one thing for sure.  Of the three .22 guns I have been bringing to the range (S&W Model 41, Nelson Conversion, and my very customized High Standard, I always shot better with the High Standard.  It is the most comfortable in my hand, it feels like it has the best balance, and it seems to "lock on the target the best", for whatever that's worth, if anything.  The guys in the Rimfire Central.com forum tracked down all the original information on it.

This photo is of my old HS.  It originally came with a custom hand-made barrel, a Tasco red dot sight, huge grips that my hand was supposed to fit into, and one magazine with the spring inserted backwards.  New grips from Herett Stocks fixed that issue.  I finally learned how to rebuild the magazine, which now works fine.  Alan Aronstein sold me a new HS barrel that I could mount a rail to.  After all my messing around with my .22 guns, I moved my Aimpoint H-2 to the High Standard, and it's still there.

I assumed I would get the new gun from Alan, and that would be the end of it - but then Roddy Toyota posted about a Victor he was selling, and without thinking much about it, I wrote him that I'd take it.  


To answer the question posted by the OP, I would expect the newest model to be "the best" for shooting.  For collecting, that's probably not true.  What little I've read about the new gun is excellent, and I feel pretty confident that it will work out fine for me.  Everything Alan and his original team that they've learned over the past few decades has gone into this new gun.  For "shooting", it's probably the best there is.  For collecting, not.

Desirable? One with two or more magazines that work. I have a 68 Jovino Super Blue Hamden 106 and a 1962 103 Space gun, plus an extra bbl with a scope.

The 103 has a better trigger but the grip is small, round, and angled. All the same 50 yard mid 90s are common.

Word has it East Hartfords were with less quality control and Houston's are questionable.

I have a Hamden Victor. Wonderful trigger.  I bought it (used) in the late 70s and shot it through the mid-80s.  Now I find it too heavy to comfortably use.  Maybe I need to work out a bit.

I wouldn't be afraid to try a used HS in any model. I have 6 of them in various models and configurations. I was shooting a new S&W Victory and with many feeding problems could only get to about a 220 average. S&W finally took it back and made it right.

Switched to used 107 Military Supermatic Citations and have improved to a 280 average in a year with an LSP Barrel.

There are plenty of parts available used on eBay as well as new from Alan Aronstein - Interarms with service. He replaced a cracked frame on a Victor and utilized internals with no issues. He also checked out my back up 107 and my recently purchased S&W 52-2. He is an excellent resource for HS and other pistols. His 10 X-Series barrels are accurate. HS magazines work great too.

I was satisfied shooting a 852/900, 26X - Match this past weekend, 290 yesterday and a 283 tonight. My goal this year is to maintain a 280 average for a 62 year old shooting for a year is ok.

Used HS gun prices are $300-500 and then about $200 upgrade barrels with rails and Red Dots about $200-300 Tubes  for my bad eyes. Used Pachmyer grips $30.

Can't go wrong with a HS. 

Most of these old shooters have one of each manufacturer and can compare for themselves. That is a certainly a luxury. 

Feel bad for the young folks. Don't see how they can afford these gun prices  and sport with a family. That's what makes shooting fun....

Photos

hg401 wrote:I have a Hamden Victor. Wonderful trigger.  I bought it (used) in the late 70s and shot it through the mid-80s.  Now I find it too heavy to comfortably use.  Maybe I need to work out a bit.

That, or dry-fire for an hour or so each evening, even if all you're doing is just holding up the gun.  The gun senses what you're doing, and magically reduces its weight over time to where you can hold it comfortably.  One option is to set a timer, and every minute or so, pick up the gun, go through all the motions, applying pressure to the trigger as if you were shooting, then lower the gun and rest.  After you've done this for a few weeks, the gun will have gotten lighter.  To speed up the process, get a "wrist weight" from Amazon, and wear that as you're practicing.  When you take off the wrist weight and continue to dry-fire, the gun will seem so much lighter than before.     :-)