Standing Wolf
Member in memoriam
It's not as though I were addicted to .22 caliber pistols. I could stop buying them any time I wanted. Honest. Would I fib?
Left column from top:
1951 Smith & Wesson K-22 with Roper stocks. It took me twenty years to find this pistol after foolishly selling a perfectly good model 17. I found both it and the stocks right here at the High Road. If I could still shoot double action with much accuracy, this would be a bullseye pistol.
Pre-agreement Smith & Wesson model 617 with 8.375-inch barrel, Ultra Dot scope, and Herrett's stocks in coco bolo. This one's a fine plinker, but not the match pistol I'd hoped it would be.
1982 Colt Diamondback with six-inch barrel and Herrett's stocks in walnut. This "like new in box" gun required a new hammer and trigger. Like the K-22 above, it would be a bullseye pistol if I could still shoot double action for rapid fire strings.
1970s Thompson-Center Contender with lightened, shortened barrel, Herrett's stocks, and Ultra Dot scope. It still doesn't work. If and/or when my gunsmith finishes fooling around with the 1.25-pound trigger, it's going to be a bullseye slow fire pistol.
1962 J.C. Higgins model 80 made by High Standard. It was on the internet. The price seemed okay. It's an okay plinker. Sometimes, you've just got to buy a pistol, you know?
Center column from top:
1968 Browning Medalist with rosewood stocks and a truly sweet trigger. I'd be surprised to learn even 50 rounds had been put through this pistol before I bought it. Unfortunately, I can't grip it securely, so I'm in the process of making stocks. To date: 1 failure, 0 successes.
Pre-agreement Smith & Wesson model 41 with Ultra Dot scope and Fung curly maple stocks. This pistol was a problem child for quite awhile, but now shoots well, although there's still a skosh of creep in the trigger.
Kimber Series I Gold match with .22 long rifle slide, Fung stocks, and Docter sight. The slide didn't want much to do with standard velocity ammunition until my gunsmith made a second main spring for it. It's an amazingly accurate pistol, but somewhat muzzle-light for bullseye. I may try to figure out how to add weight to the barrel. The dot is almost painfully bright.
Ruger Mark II from the far end of hell's furnace room with custom fluted Clark barrel, Volquartsen guts, Fung stocks, and Ultra Dot sight. This was supposed to be my bullseye practice gun. It fits my hand very well. The barrel is from heaven. Two gunsmiths have tried three times to remove the creep from the trigger. I'll never buy another Ruger anything.
Right column from top:
1978 High Standard ML Trophy with Tru Glo sight. I've owned this gun longer than any other. It was always my best, most reliable shooter. I dropped it one evening, and it hasn't been the same since. I've got Connecticut High Standard replacement and Wolff springs, but haven't been able to find a gunsmith I'd trust with this fine, fine shooter. At the moment, it's wearing a set of elderly Herrett's walnut stocks held in place with a rubber band: I've lost not one, but a pair of grip screws, and replacements from the Houston "High Standard" operation don't fit.
1980 High Standard ML Victor with gold plating and Herrett's stocks in coco bolo. This is one of the prettiest pistols I've ever owned, and nearly as accurate as the Trophy above. If I'm ever invited to any bullseye barbecues, this is the one I'll take.
1981 High Standard ML Victor with Nill stocks and Ultra Dot sight. This was an impulse purchase that's worked out well. The trigger is pretty good, although magazines inexplicably don't drop out of the well when released.
1976 High Standard 107 Victor with Fung stocks, Volquartsen barrel, and Ultra Dot sight. I found this rather neglected old beauty right here at the High Road. It may well have been owned by the fellow who sold me my first High Standard decades ago. This one looks a bit rough, but has a truly fine trigger. The Volquartsen barrel is the equal of High Standard's best.
Half these pistols normally reside in bank boxes. As long as I had to deposit a check yesterday, I brought all the .22s home for cleaning and snap shots. As long as there's a little more money in my checking account, maybe I'll stop by a gun shop or two—just to look, of course. Heck, I sure don't need any more .22 caliber pistols.
Left column from top:
1951 Smith & Wesson K-22 with Roper stocks. It took me twenty years to find this pistol after foolishly selling a perfectly good model 17. I found both it and the stocks right here at the High Road. If I could still shoot double action with much accuracy, this would be a bullseye pistol.
Pre-agreement Smith & Wesson model 617 with 8.375-inch barrel, Ultra Dot scope, and Herrett's stocks in coco bolo. This one's a fine plinker, but not the match pistol I'd hoped it would be.
1982 Colt Diamondback with six-inch barrel and Herrett's stocks in walnut. This "like new in box" gun required a new hammer and trigger. Like the K-22 above, it would be a bullseye pistol if I could still shoot double action for rapid fire strings.
1970s Thompson-Center Contender with lightened, shortened barrel, Herrett's stocks, and Ultra Dot scope. It still doesn't work. If and/or when my gunsmith finishes fooling around with the 1.25-pound trigger, it's going to be a bullseye slow fire pistol.
1962 J.C. Higgins model 80 made by High Standard. It was on the internet. The price seemed okay. It's an okay plinker. Sometimes, you've just got to buy a pistol, you know?
Center column from top:
1968 Browning Medalist with rosewood stocks and a truly sweet trigger. I'd be surprised to learn even 50 rounds had been put through this pistol before I bought it. Unfortunately, I can't grip it securely, so I'm in the process of making stocks. To date: 1 failure, 0 successes.
Pre-agreement Smith & Wesson model 41 with Ultra Dot scope and Fung curly maple stocks. This pistol was a problem child for quite awhile, but now shoots well, although there's still a skosh of creep in the trigger.
Kimber Series I Gold match with .22 long rifle slide, Fung stocks, and Docter sight. The slide didn't want much to do with standard velocity ammunition until my gunsmith made a second main spring for it. It's an amazingly accurate pistol, but somewhat muzzle-light for bullseye. I may try to figure out how to add weight to the barrel. The dot is almost painfully bright.
Ruger Mark II from the far end of hell's furnace room with custom fluted Clark barrel, Volquartsen guts, Fung stocks, and Ultra Dot sight. This was supposed to be my bullseye practice gun. It fits my hand very well. The barrel is from heaven. Two gunsmiths have tried three times to remove the creep from the trigger. I'll never buy another Ruger anything.
Right column from top:
1978 High Standard ML Trophy with Tru Glo sight. I've owned this gun longer than any other. It was always my best, most reliable shooter. I dropped it one evening, and it hasn't been the same since. I've got Connecticut High Standard replacement and Wolff springs, but haven't been able to find a gunsmith I'd trust with this fine, fine shooter. At the moment, it's wearing a set of elderly Herrett's walnut stocks held in place with a rubber band: I've lost not one, but a pair of grip screws, and replacements from the Houston "High Standard" operation don't fit.
1980 High Standard ML Victor with gold plating and Herrett's stocks in coco bolo. This is one of the prettiest pistols I've ever owned, and nearly as accurate as the Trophy above. If I'm ever invited to any bullseye barbecues, this is the one I'll take.
1981 High Standard ML Victor with Nill stocks and Ultra Dot sight. This was an impulse purchase that's worked out well. The trigger is pretty good, although magazines inexplicably don't drop out of the well when released.
1976 High Standard 107 Victor with Fung stocks, Volquartsen barrel, and Ultra Dot sight. I found this rather neglected old beauty right here at the High Road. It may well have been owned by the fellow who sold me my first High Standard decades ago. This one looks a bit rough, but has a truly fine trigger. The Volquartsen barrel is the equal of High Standard's best.
Half these pistols normally reside in bank boxes. As long as I had to deposit a check yesterday, I brought all the .22s home for cleaning and snap shots. As long as there's a little more money in my checking account, maybe I'll stop by a gun shop or two—just to look, of course. Heck, I sure don't need any more .22 caliber pistols.
