High Standard -- The Victor 20 Year Review: High Standards Leads To Olympic Gold Medal.
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- Опубліковано 22 сер 2024
- This High Standard "The Victor" has not been shot in 20 years and today I take it for a spin on the range.
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dayattherange....
This article will continue to grow as I expand my knowledge about this Gold Medal Winner.
I am named after Col William McMillan My dad and he were friends. David Cartes. National Champion in 1956 and second in 1957.
Awesome and nice to meet you
Really love your videos and your comments. Don't shorten or change them. True patriotic American
MRG, I love your exuberance. Don’t change a thing , my friend . Great video on the standard . I had a model 41. It spent more time at SW than with me. I gotta give these a look. Thank you
Well that sucks to hear about the model 41. I am too taking a closer look at these now lol.
Wow! A blast from the past. Best bullseye pistol ever. I picked mine up in 1989. Back then they loved Gold Medal Match and CCI Green Tag. Thank you for making me want to pull it out of the safe!
Get it out and shoot David. Of course now I am wondering how hard it would be to find a good specimen.
Now you're talking! My favorite .22 Pistol is my 1971 High Standard Supermatic Citation 107 Military. Looks very similar to this one, but with the rear sight mounted on a "bridge" over the slide, so the rear sight does not reciprocate with the slide.
Such outstanding build quality!
Mine shoots its best groups with Wolf Match Target ammo, but is most reliable (and VERY accurate) with Norma TAC-22.
I'll be there to watch this video! Thanks!
Thank you Gary for the info. I think I may have a box or two of Wolf and Norma and will give them a try before I have to return this beauty to it's rightful owner.
@@Dayattherange I highly suggest you try to talk him out of it. They may be hard to do. You can get them on the used market and they are relatively inexpensive (for what they are). It would be one of the last gun I'd part with. I have had mine for 50 years.
I had the Citation which I used in competitions in my country England the ammo we used was Eley pistol Match until we had to surrender all pistols in this country it broke my heart you are some lucky people in America.
Well, that sucks royally! I fear if such an action was tried here the response would not be pleasant. It is an endless battle to retain our guns but it is one certainly worth fighting.
I purchased a High Standard "The Victor" back in 1981. Just an outstandingly accurate handgun. Trigger/sights are something to behold. If the shooter does their part, almost slug on top of slug at 25 yards. Mine has been lightly used and still looks just like new.
Forget the complainers. You enthusiasm and waniting to keep shooting is fun. Its ni different than me at the range searching for better groups. Keep it up!!!!
Silverback I appreciate you.
Thanks for the video -- it really brought me back! I live in CT and started shooting bullseye about the time Hi - Standard went out of business. They started in New Haven, then moved to Hamden and ultimately to East Hartford where they went out of business. Gordon Elliot, who was a distributor for the company and also owned a gun store in East Hartford, bought them out and for years sold parts right down the road from where I worked in East Hartford. Before Gordon closed his shop and went into the parts business, I bought my Gold Cup from his shop.
Back then you could find the various Hi-Standard models used --- and sometimes new -- in stores throughout the state. I always wanted one of the "Military" models (which had a grip that matched the 1911 Colt -- useful in the 3 gun bullseye matches) but I had a Model 41 and couldn't justify another target .22.
An outfit from Texas ended up buying Hi - Standard from Gordon and started manufacturing some of the models -- not sure which -- but ceased production in 2018.
Great shooting Big Guy. I have lots of great memories of my HS The Victor. And to any and all who may complain about your enthusiasm levels I say PFFFFT!
My Victor was in the back of the safe and forgotten. Got it out, dusted it off and it is just amazing. Nice video, thanks.
The best looking and shooting pistol .
I bought a new Victor in 1978 for 225$and like a dummy I sold it for 500$in 1995 .I couldn't find anything to shoot as good. I recently found a Victor in excellent condition and paid 900$ for it and am so glad to have one back. Best target pistol ever made 😊 and bye the way the one I just bought is also a 1978
Thanks for the video. I inherited a High Standard Victor from my dad. I guess he got it around 1970s, may be even before I was born. It's quite rare in Thailand. I wish to get more magazine for it but the permit & import process would be very difficult. The gun still shoot great after 20+ years in its box.
That is awesome thanks for sharing.
Excellent video! Great points thoroughly explained! Thanks!
Enjoyed the video. Take about 10 different brands of ammo and find out what it does and does not like. My only HS is a 1960 Sport King 6 3/4". It shoots .75" groups at 25 yards from a machine rest and 2" when I hold it on sandbags. HS knew how to make accurate guns all the way down their product line.
A little bit about High Standard, from my research.
Their target pistols were, as you said, world renowned. The ONLY American made pistol to ever win a Gold Medal in the Olympics. The S&W Model 41 was designed to get a piece of the "Bullseye" pie for their semi-auto handguns. S&W already dominated Bullseye shooting with their revolvers.
High Standard's "bread and butter" was making .22 handguns and shotguns for "store branded" sales. 60% of their production went to Sears-Roebuck, Montgomery Wards and Western Auto. This subsidized the target .22 pistols which were expensive, but were within reach for serious competitors.
When these stores stopped carrying handguns, and later stopped selling guns altogether, High Standard lost a huge portion of their market and couldn't survive on the sales of target pistols only.
My Supermatic Citation is not for sale.
If you have one of these great pistols, get one the magazine adjustment tools for them. You will find they can be VERY finicky about ammo. Some ammo works great, some ammo turns them into jam-o-matics. You can adjust the magazine for your favorite ammo.
I stick to original High Standard magazines. They can be pricey, but are usually worth it. I've had -0- success with after market magazines.
Gary as it pertains to ammo isn't that true for ANY 22LR seriously just asking? Because I read some of those comments in my research as well. That SK Pistol Match believe it or not will not fire in my Browning jam after jam, change ammo and its 100%.
@@Dayattherange Yes, to some extent. High Standard pistols have no "feed lips" built into the action. They feed ammo directly from the magazine into the squared off rear of the barrel. They are very sensitive to bullet nose design, length and the feed angle.
They (High Standard) made a tool to adjust and set the spacing on the magazine lips, without damaging the magazine, and there is a suitable copy of the tool/gauge available.
Both the copy and the original tool are available on Ebay for $35-49. I do not recommend using a pliers to do this.
There are two sets of feed lips on the magazine and two different dimensions for the spacing of these feed lips. The gauge helps you to set this spacing.
Also, it is not recommended to use High Velocity ammo in these pistols with factory springs. Most target shooters use standard velocity ammo anyway, but don't be tempted to use cheap, bulk "plinking" ammo in these pistols. High velocity ammo can cause cracks in the frame, which turn the gun into an expensive paperweight.
There are heavier, replacement, recoil and hammer springs available from Wolff. I haven't tried them.
For plinking with a pistol I use either my old S&W Model 422 or my wife's Ruger MKIV. Both can handle cheap, bulk, HV ammo.
I recommend you also get a full set of replacement springs and get several of the slide stop return springs. There is no telling how long these will be available. They are cheap. The slide stop return springs are famous for getting lost when the right hand grip panel is removed. Wolff sells them in little packs of 5.
Other parts vulnerable to loss are the extractor and extractor plunger/spring. They are tiny little things that like to launch themselves into orbit when you try to remove them for thorough cleaning or extractor spring replacement.
I started shooting a High Standard Supermatic Citation in 1965 when I got into High School. In those days our school had a shooting team and issued us High standard .22 Target Pistols, Remington .22 Target rifles and DCM (now called "CMP") M1 Garands for competition. (No school shootings in those days) 🤷♂
After graduating in 1969 I kept my eyes open for my very own Citation and finally got my 1971, Hamden CT made Citation about 1973. It's staying with me!
Great info, thanks! A few more bits: HS built .50 M2 BMGs during WWII, I believe more than any other maker. They also made barrels for many other companies (like for the Smith Corona 1903 A3s). The quality of their barrels was one of the reasons they dominated the pistol shooting world.
Where are you buying your spring kits? I should stock up while I can. Thanks!
Thanks buddy for posting this, I do enjoy High Standards, especially the Victor
Not too much conversation, this Victor deserves some limelight & praise. Good, Thx .... Jim88, USCG, Semper Paratus
Yes I would pay more. I aim to look up the new Ransom rest for myself. I have a High Standard Military Citation, built in 1997(8). At the back of the pistols just above the grip area is a small hex screw that adjust the trigger pull down to low ounces. I forget what mine is set at. I adjusted it to my competition 1911.
Ounces whew Ransom makes some nice stuff.
That was fun!
I have one that was my Pop’s. I remember him having several accessories for it. He had put a scope mount on the barrel. I need to find the rib with sights like is on yours and get it back into that configuration. It’s there among his things somewhere. I just gotta dig deep to find it.
Great video!
Installing a bubble level on that pistol rest wouldn't be that complicated of an operation. It could be surface or flush mounted without too much trouble. Flush would be a bit slicker. You can pick up a bubble level for just a couple of bucks if you wanted to stick one on your own rest.
I remember many of the veteran bullseye shooters from the william penn pistol league in south central Pennsylvania. Many shot high standard and one shooter shot a record indoor 50 ft. 600 match. A 597 ! His name was Kenny noll and shot a high standard. The league has been in existence since the late 40s and still continues. Kenny's record stands to this day. Thanks for a great video and focus on a great gun. I'm lucky enough to own several.
In 1980 I had to have my dad sign so I could buy a pistol. My first pistol was a Supermatic Trophy. I fit it with Herrett international grips. You could adjust the grips to hold the pistol on your hand. It was rock solid for bullseye. We shot at 50' indoors. There were NRA targets for this range. This had a 7 1/4" heavy fluted barrel. That extra length really helped the sight radius. I bought 2 Victors when I was in the army and shot both. One was a hair more accurate than the other one. I was shooting metallic silhouette and wanted a backup just in case. For the same reason I had 2 Model 29 Silhouette S&Ws with the 10 5/8" barrels. Those High Standards won many matches shooting CCI mini group ammo. I think it was named green tag later but I never got the same accuracy from it. Great video. I'm housebound now and this brings back many fond memories. Thank you.
Penrod thank you so much for sharing your fond memories with us very special.
I have a victor high standard from 1982 made in Hartford ct. it was my fathers that he gave to me, my brothers and I shot it as kids and I absolutely love it. I haven’t shot it in 20 years but can’t wait to shoot it again. Thanks for bringing it back….
NoOOOO THANK YOU for sharing that moment with the rest us.
That HS Victor looks to be in pristine shape. Most of the ones I've seen on the used market are pretty rough. Kinda expected, given their age.
I have a small collection of 22lr target pistols but I always shied away from the High Standards due to the cracked frame issue.
Eli, pay no mind to the complainers. What you`ve got going on here is, what all others could learn from. Your channel is the first one i watch when i tune into youtube, because you keep real, and a whole lotta fun. If anything, i wish the videos were longer, and more frequent. Be well Sir!
Man thank you for the encouragement means alot
I also have a high standard h-d military that was made in 1947. It too is a marvel of accuracy.
Love the video and your enthusiasm!!!
Thanks for reviewing for us that Grand Old High Standard Victor!!!!!!
Had a fairly new mod 41 , then bought a “the victor “ . Sold the 41 in short order . Best 22 target gun right out of the box . You need cci standard velocity for best accuracy and to keep un hardened frame from cracking
Thank you! Fun video.👍👍
Yes to the bubble level 👍🏾
Love your videos ! But you are right, 8-15 minutes is the sweet spot. Any longer, people like me does not want to commit that much time. Keep up the good work, and thank you for your service !!
Thank you for the feedback definitely trying to get better.
Can anyone verify this? As I understood, HS made two versions of this pistol, possibly in different factories. One was stamped simply "Victor," while another, superior model was stamped "THE Victor." I bought the latter (used, pristine) ca. 1990, and it is gorgeous, heavy, perfectly balanced, better (for me) than the S&W 41. I wish my old eyes still allowed me to aim at those bullseyes.
I collect High Standards. I have 30 of them including the Victor and the 102 Supermatic Trophy. After years of shooting them I only feed them CCI green tag.
I did a video about a year ago on my high standard pistol collection
I will see if I can find it nibs.
It's good you covered some of the unique features of the pistol. These were purpose built for NRA Bullseye shooting, which, as you say, they "ruled" in the 50s-80s.
While the course of fire calls for "timed" and "rapid" fire stages, they do not require more than 5 shots in any stage and do not require fast magazine changes. Revolvers were also popular for this shooting. You have all the time you want to change magazines. The release at the bottom of the grip allows you to release the magazine and catch it in your hand. Dropping them can cause the feed lips to bend and the gun is instantly a jam-o-matic until you re-gauge the feed lips.
This is not "tacti-cool" shooting. This is stand-on-your-hind-legs shooting where you hold the gun in ONE hand. No two handed nonsense, and you shoot at 25 yards or 50 yards. (50 yards is the regulation course, 25 yards is the "short course" with reduced sized targets)
The slide stop is rarely used as a "slide release". Most competitors just "slingshot" the slide to release it, so the placement of the slide stop is irrelevant.
The grip of the "military" models, which the example you have is, is designed to mimic the feel of the 1911 which most competitors used for the .45 ACP stage of competition, so the safety is not a coincidence...neither is the weight. You will find it is within an ounce or two of a full size 1911 Government Model.
There were multiple combinations of barrel weights available.
Yes, collectors and purists insist that the Hamden made guns are better quality. Mine is Hamden made. I can't verify that rumor though.
I have a Victor that I think was made in Texas after H.S. went out of business. I bought it about the mid 90's. Shoots great. I earned NRA expert classification in both indoor and outdoor bullseye competition with that pistol. Outdoor 50 yd slowfire is murder on your mind but 25yd timed and rapids become second nature. It's time to blow the dust out of mine again 😆
@@evilscience3164 If it was made in the 90s, it is a Texas made pistol. High Standard stopped producing pistols in 1983 and sold off their assets in late 1984. The Houston company bought all the assets in 1993 and started making pistols in 1994. I believe they were all stainless steel (I could be wrong about that). High Standard in CT never made stainless pistols.
That concern has now closed it's doors as of 2018.
Here's the problem...These pistols are expensive to manufacture and the market for precision made .22 target pistols specifically mimicking the feel and weight of the 1911 government model for use in the .22 course of Bullseye competition is small.
For decades, these pistols were subsidized by High Standard's manufacture of lower end .22 handguns (Sentinel, Sport King, Duramatic, etc.) and shotguns which were sold (mostly) in department stores. Sears, Wards, Western Auto, etc. Those were the company's "bread & butter". The Supermatic series were the "flagship" guns that got the press for the company. High Standard was associated with high quality and it sold the lower end guns, which, in turn supported the higher end guns.
By the same token, S&W's law enforcement sales and now, concealed carry market, support the Model 41. High Standard never had the LE market, concealed carry wasn't much of "thing" except for off duty law enforcement until the mid-80s, and their guns weren't aimed at that market anyway.
When High Standard lost that base as department stores stopped selling first handguns and, later, shotguns and rifles, the company couldn't stay afloat.
The Houston company never had the support base of lower end handguns or shotguns.
The Texas made guns are great quality, but the price was high and the market was small.
Traditional Bullseye shooting faded in popularity (I still shoot bullseye, but I'm old) and newer guns used more modern techniques to produce pistols for much less cost.
When I was in High School in the 60s, our school had a shooting team and the school gave us guns to use. Yeah, imagine that, and no school shootings!
The pistols they gave us for .22 shooting were High Standard Supermatic Citations. So, naturally, that is the gun I wanted to buy. We go back a long way.
My Citation is one of my favorite guns. I rarely go to the range without taking it along, and the gun and I have long ago developed our rapport. I know it's idiosyncrasies and I indulge them. In return it delivers incredible accuracy and the satisfaction of owning a truly well made handgun.
It's not for sale. One of my sons or grandsons will get it when I'm "finished with it".
Many moons ago I shot in a Bullseye league and I shot with a Victor for several years, they are as good as any.
The High Standard brand is my favorite .22LR by far. A friend of mine had one back in the 1970's. If memory serves me correctly, the name Military Citation comes to mind. To me, most modern .22's are severely lacking in number of areas. Most new .22 pistols just don't float my boat like these classics did. Old school High Standard just set the bar pretty darn high.
I wouldn’t buy that ransom rest but I do see value in their master series for checking mechanical accuracy or accuracy of loads.
I shot a Citation on an Army Reserve Bullseye Pistol team.
That thing's a beauty............................
Looks like you had a great time! Old eyes and iron sights on a pistol make for a challenge when shooting for group size at distance.
I have several High Standard pistols and CCI standard velocity is the preferred ammo for these pistols. The steel used in the original pistols is not up to the standard of today and 1080 fps should be used to protect the frame from potential damage. The Victor as well as the other Supermatic series of pistols are all top drawer target pistols.
Yes sir you are right I mentioned that.
My brothers and my uncle have been buying high standered sense the late 70s they actually make two models one is The victor and another one that says just victor The better one is the one that just says victor and hes Right about the Hamden barrels they are much better. I personally like the sharpshooter i could drive nails at 40 or 50 yards just about all the 103 models are tack drivers depending on the shooter.
Supermatic Citation
Bull Barrel early 1970's great condition 4 magazines
The oldest possible Victor was introduced in 1972. The ML starting serial # would be at the oldest 1975. as your Victor is- ML03846
Thank you I will pass this information on to the owner because unfortunately for me LOL this was a loaner
By far my favorite pistola.. I still have a HD milspec long fixed barrel with modded sights partrage style.. It's a one hole wonder !! I had three victors, trophy citations but life screwed that up..
Life happens to all of us but you still have those memories. I now understand what most are enamored about now that I have shot this one.
I don't see that you need to change anything in your videos.... they're informative and interesting.
I actually have two of those High Standards, one Supermatic Citation, and one Victor. I am amazed by the quality and accuracy of those pistols. Top notch.
Beats my Ruger MK II hands down. No contest 🙂
Does anyone know, how can I tell the year of manufacture?
Greetings from the Kingdom of Hungary 🇭🇺🙂!
Nice collection _ I went to this page to find out the date highstandardfirearmsusa.com/mfg-date
The 103 model's really doesn't shoot hot rounds to good depending on the pistol i don't know if it has anything to do with how many rounds have been fired through the individual guy or what when i shoot stingers i stagger federal rounds in the clip and it fires good
Hamden guns were well made. The New Haven guns were of lesser quality. Of those, only the 10X guns are really collectible.
Don't listen to fools just do your thing .. Back then they used 22 short conversion in competition
That's not bad 100 yard shooting.
Nice pistol man
Only if it were mine Andrew
I am from RSA where can I get a magazine for a Supermatic?
So in your opinion, how much better are the victor pistols than say the supermatic tournament or trophy etc?? I have an old supermatic tournament with the gold medal citation grips not in the greatest shape visually but mechanically is amazing and its by far the most accurate pistol i have i would say idk my p220 match elite hunter 10mm is pretty damn accurate but yhe supermatic i think is on another level and i love the thing!!! I can shoot more accurate with it with jus the black out basic sights than i am with my browning buckmark with a red dot on it which is crazy to me bc i can usually shoot WAY better and faster with a dot sight but not the case with the amazing lil supermatic tournament and ill def say this the trigger on it is BY FAR the best and lightest pistol trigger ive ever used even better than a competition 2011 trigger which is saying something i freakin love the thing i wish histandard was still around they made some incredible quality firearms some of the best ever!
I wouldn’t say the Victor is better than what you have. All my HS pistols shoot amazingly, but the Victor isn’t in the top three. Just my experience; your results may vary!
Hey Brother, keep on with the long winded & enthusiasm. The detractors can find an other channel. U-RHA!!!
It 😮 couldn't hurt
Thank god you had the rest, otherwise you would have missed the paper.
Is that standard Velocity ammo?
Yes sir it is.
Ok great. I just wanted to say those high standards were only sprung for standard velocity and running high velocity will crack the frame. Great video btw
@@WalnutandSteel Thank you for that info I think it is something I will add to my review. dayattherange.com/?p=10927 I of course will give you credit for it. 😁😁