Bought a Hi-Standard .22 Revolver

Status
Not open for further replies.
K

KarlG

Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2002
Messages
259
Location
Colorado
I bought a Hi-Standard model R-103 revolver Saturday. I bought it on impulse and don't know much about it (until I saw it, I didn't know Hi-STandard made revolvers). I figured I couldn't go wrong for $125.

If anbody has any information or experience with this model, please share.

The gun I bought has "Sentinal Deluxe" on the blued 6" barrel. The frame appears to be painted cast aluminum. It has a 9-shot cylinder. The grips are a one-piece faux stag. It is a nice looking little gun.

A trip to the range yesterday revealed that the cylinder doesn't want to turn too easily after a few rounds (I read Jim March's TFL post on revolvers. The cylinder gap may be too close.)

Thanks,
 
I inherited one of those years ago. It was a decent lower end revolver. It worked, it wasn't beautiful, it didn't exhibit exceptional accuracy, but it made a fine plinker and a decent all around .22 revolver. If you were interested in buying a .22 revolver, you didn't go wrong at that price.
 
Hi-Standards were all generally pretty good guns. In the case of this one, if the cylinder gap is tight that's an easy fix, even a do-it-yourself thing with a small flat knife sharpening stone to the back of the barrel, gently and just a few strokes at a time and frequently checking it!

Make sure a tight gap is what's actually going on first.
 
I paid $150.00 for a like new High Standard "Double-Nine" revolver a few years ago...

(I gave that one to dad, since his original, bought used by him in the early 60's was kinda wore out)

they are a great gun... I can tell you this... (I now own Pops' "wore out" one)... there's a roll pin in the frame that wears... replace that if it feels sloppy, and it'll cure alot of evils..

ALSO, to wear out this gun, Dad and his friend had to shoot a brick of ammo a week through it, for more than 10 years... (I am not kidding... I can remember him shooting it in the early 70's, when I was a kid... this was also the first handgun I ever shot!)
 
High Standard

I have a High Standard Sentinal that I bought new back in 1966 at the Rexall Drug Store in my home town. I think I paid under $50 for the gun. I was in high school and didn't have much money.

I would hate to have to count all of the rounds that I have run through my revolver. The finish isn't pretty anymore but it always goes bang and I still shoot it quite a bit.

My old Sentinal has always been accurate and has killed many times its own weight in tin cans over the years. I saw its duplicate in a local shop's used gun cabinet a couple of weeks ago and they were asking $135
 
I think it was in the mid 70's or so that High Standard changed the barrel configuration to an underlugged barrel, and offered the Sentinel in .22 Magnum also. A finish option was satin nickel. These seemed to have problems, including a heavy trigger pull on the magnum models. The older style of the Sentinel never got any bad reviews that I knew of. Too bad High Standard is gone, they produced some innovative designs (remember the 10B shotgun?) and some solid, reliable ones as well.
 
I currently own a Double-9 as well. Fun to shoot, not real accurate past about 15 yards. Maybe it's because of the sights.

The cylinder on that gun seems to actually ride against the forcing cone as it rotates (no gap). The lock-up is very tight. DA trigger pull feels like about 25 pounds. Good practice for strengthening the trigger finger.
 
Thanks For The Input

Jim March, There is NO gap like bountyhunter notes of his Double-9. I think this is the problem. I have a friend who lives close and has a lathe. I can take the barrel out and trim a thousandth at a time (and keep everything true).

Hemicuda, Are you referring to the pin ahead of the grip and below the hammer? I will watch for loose pins.

Thanks again,
 
I have a Hi-Standard "double-nine" revolver and holster that I'm selling. It is an older model that I bought about 30-35 years ago. It hasn't been fired in a long time and works great. There is no looseness that other people referred to in other posts. I used it for "plinking" and target practice. Is anyone interested in purchasing the gun or would venture a value.
Thanks.
 
KarlG said:
I have a friend who lives close and has a lathe. I can take the barrel out and trim a thousandth at a time (and keep everything true).
Click to expand...

Honest question, maybe stupid: Why not shave the face of the cylinder instead?
Wouldn't it be easier than removing the barrel?

Edit: Just realized that this post was 5 years old! Sorry...
 
Last edited:
I hvae the snub version as well as a .22mag version. They are quirky and have variable qc but as for my .22lr version, while not the most acurate, it has NEVER misfired.

I'd like a cheaply priced 6" version.
 
i love my hi standard

sentinel deluxe. mine is just like yours except mine is nickel. i love it. my mother grows exotic plants and the squirrels like to dig up the bulbs. i pop them from 40-50 yds away no sweat.
 
That very tight cylinder/barrel gap COULD be just a crud build-up, if the gun has been shot A LOT and cleaned very little or not at all.
 
My .22mag Sentinel MKIV has a strange glitch. The firing pins travels to and fro in its chamber, no firing pin spring in design. If it is oriented forward, it impedes cylinder travel as it catches on the empty chambers. If loaded either with live rounds or cases this is not an issue at all.

Very strange and I suppose I'd not want to carry it with a live round under the hammer. I could carry it with a enpty case under the hammer and 8 more loaded but it is a strange design feature.

Anyone have any info on this?
 
I have never shot any Hi Standards but I do know I would love to have their High Sierra model with the octagon barrel. What a looker and would be a great match to my Browning BL22 with octagon barrel.

Noidster
 
Whow! Hold on a sec!
Before you start facing off the barrel, a better method would be to correct the end-shake that is allowing the cylinder to move foreword that far.

Most of those High-Standards had a separate "Cylinder Bushing" in the front of the cylinder to adjust end-shake.

If yours has the bushing, make a new longer one on your friends lathe and push the cylinder back where it came from before it wore down.

If you face off the barrel and allow the cylinder to keep moving further foreword, eventually the firing pin won't reach the cartridges in the cylinder.

rcmodel
 
My Grandfather had a Sentinel and it was his only carry weapon ever on the farm. Great shooting pistol, but was stolen. I bought one a couple of years ago that was also a great gun for $125.00 which is about right in my opinion. Someone had one for sale either here nor TFL not long ago for $350. I PM'd him and told him to let me know if he came down on what I thought was a ridicously high price. This obviously offended him greatly because he PM'd me back when some sucker paid that, for $125-150 dollar gun. They are great guns but they are not S&W's.
 
Last edited:
Some people collect them, I had a snubby, which I guess is rare as the buyer paid me more than what new longer barrelled ones were going for.
 
Mine was $50 OTD a few years back.

It's a fun little guy to plink with, and more accurate than I'd expect for $50. It's not going to win any target (or beauty) competitions, but it'll do minute-of-jackrabbit at fifty yards without too much trouble. I wouldn't pay much more than $100 for it, though.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

S
  • Locked
Hi-Standard Double-Nine .22
Replies
0
Views
510
stellarpod
S
T
  • Locked
Need quick advice for .22 magnum hi standard
Replies
2
Views
379
tim71
T
O
  • Locked
Price opinions on Hi Standard revolver
2
Replies
25
Views
1K
Mauser lover
M
M
  • Locked
High-standard Double nine .22
Replies
1
Views
678
critter
C
D
  • Locked
PPC revolver and 38spl +P
Replies
4
Views
646
kshock
K
Back
Top