Hi-Standard H-D Military Information

[Old Grumpy]

When my father passed away I inherited his guns. One of his "favorite" guns was a Hi-Standard H-D Military ser# 22XXXX in .22 cal. I have no idea how old this pistol might be but I would guess it was purchased after WW II. It is a very accurate shooter and is in good condition.

Does anyone have an idea when this pistol might have been manufactured? Since there was no paperwork in the case I do not know how it should be taken apart for proper cleaning. Can manuals be found for this old of a gun?

I also have been told this model was produced to weigh and function basically the same as the 1911 Colt so it could be used by the Military to train troops. Does anyone know if this is fact or fiction?

I hope someone can help me out with this.

 

[Clarence]

The gun is definitely a post WWII gun. I don't have any references in front of me presently, but I believe your gun was manufactured in 1947 or 1948. You can find manuals for the gun. I have seen them for sale on ebay and gunbroker.

The H-D Military was not made to weigh and function the same as the 1911 in order to train troops. That is fiction.

The gun was basically made as a sporting firearm using the pre-war tooling and designs that were used to produce the other "hammer" guns........H-A, H-B, H-D, H-E and the H-D USA.

They are great guns and in my opinion they were the best gun of that type made at the time. Excellent specimens can still be found but some of the older guns have been shot an incredible amount of rounds and are worn out.

 

[GodGuns&Guitars]

I had one many years ago, and would die to have it back. It is an excellent pistol for plinking and small game shooting. The U.S. Coast Guard used the H-D Military for training purposes back in the 50's and 60's I believe. That is what my brother shot while serving on the east coast when he was in. Congratulations on a fine pistol. Cherish it.

 

[Jon Coppenbarger]

I have one in like 95% with the original two toned mag. They are post ww2 like mentioned above. love the hammer ones like that.

 

[Gordon]

Warning! Don't fool with the rear sight adjusting screws, especially the windage one. You will darn near screw up the whole gun if you strip it out which is extremely easy to do! Also don't dry fire it! Great guns however!

 

[Old Grumpy]

I took the H-D to the range today and had a very enjoyable time. At twenty-five yards I placed 80% of the rounds in the 8, 9, and 10 rings. Every round cut paper and only 5 rounds out of 250 did not score points!

This was the first time I had shot it and I'm lovin' it. One of the other shooters at the range today has a Hi-Standard Target model, sorry I forgot the specific model type, that he regularly shoots. He had nothing but praise for the "older" Hi-Standard pistols.

1947 or 1948 would fit as probable purchase dates. My father mustered out of the Navy in the fall of '45 and returned home soon afterwards.

Thanks for the information,

Grumpy

 

[Jim K]

The HD and HD-Military were the same except that the HD-Military had a manual safety. AFAIK, it was never bought on contract by the government, in spite of the name, though it and other High Standard pistols were purchased and used for training and for competitive pistol teams.

(Of course, there was the famous HD-MS, the model with the suppressor, but they were never released to the civilian market.)

Jim

 

[Tinpig]

Grumpy-
If this chart is accurate, it shows your pistol as 1947 which seems to fit with your estimate.

http://www.histandard.info/datapublic/serial/pserialno.html

I love to shoot my 1940 Model B....


Tinpig

 

[Clarence]

The half-cock on the hammer is not intended to be used as a safety.

Do not use it as one.

If you need any help with disassembly or reassembly just send me a PM and I can walk you through it no problem. The original two-tone magazines typically work the best. After-market magazines sometimes don't work at at all. The feed lips must be just right or they will not feed reliably.

 

[TopSgt]

Model H-D Pistols

I recently came into one of these and prior to that, I would on occasion plink cans with it while on vacation. It has been reblued at some point and a trigger attachment added for large fingers. None the less, it is a heavy weapon, not to mention. Why ??

These were primarily made for the OSS during WW2. The H-D was never intended as a .45 trainer, despite what you read and hear about this piece. The HD was primarily a trainer and the long barrel with the built in silencer was the real thing for use in the field. However, it became so popular, both editions of this weapon did see field use with all branches of the services during the war. Beyond any reasonable doubt, sixty years later, this weapon is one of the most accurate .22s in existance.

 

[Ed Harris]

My ca. 1942 Model B with Eley ammo outshoots every other .22 target pistol I own except for my Walther 1936 Olympia.

 

[wired]

Ive seen that manual safety reference before and I'm not really sure where it comes from. The only real difference between the H-D and the H-D Military is the H-E style trigger overtravel adjustment is found on the H-D Military and the Adjustable sights are found on the H-D Military. They use the same sefety configuration.

 

[TEDDY]

hi standard

we had one in the ordnance shack at boca chica fl.some officer took it apart and could not get it together.I assembled it and there was great relief by the officer.I was in then.
I have a supermatic with lever take down.fantastic shooter keep them in 10 ring at 50 ft.mostly Xs.

 

[Jim K]

Hi, wired.

Looking over my previous post, I see some mistakes, mainly in overlooking the U.S.A. H-D.

The earliest gun of the H-D series was the "MODEL H-D"*. I don't have one, but Petty's book clearly shows both a Model H-D and a Model H-E and neither has a manual safety**. Petty says that the only difference between the H-D and the H-E is that the latter had a heavier barrel.

Then came the "U.S.A. MODEL H-D"*, the same as the H-D but with a manual safety and fixed sights. Those were made on a government contract. They were marked "PROPERTY OF U.S."* and most were Parkerized. Some were modified under a Navy contract to have a heavier barrel, an adjustable rear sight and a better trigger pull.

Still later came the "MODEL H-D MILITARY"*; some were purchased by the government, but it was not produced on government contract; it was a civilian gun, identical to the U.S.A Model H-D except for having the adjustable sight and a 6 3/4" barrel option.

*There is a lot of confusion on the model names; the asterisk indicates that the wording in quotes is exactly what is on the gun.

**Target shooters of that era never used the safety and many didn't want it, fearing it might engage accidentally and cost them points.

Jim

 

[wilkersk]

This is the definitive book for High Standard collectors. It has lots of info on your dad's pistol:

High Standard: A Collector's Guide to the Hamden & Hartford Target Pistols
by Tom Dance ISBN-10: 0917218477

Here's a pic of my dad's Series 104 Supermatic Trophy:

 

[Colt Smith]

My Dad had a nice HD Military. It went to my younger brother, Grrrrrrrr. I sleep ok though, I got the early production S&W M41. Not too shabby.

 

[ammocan]

High Standard H-D Military info

I picked up a High Standard H-D Military at a gun show this weekend (Ser # 31XXXX) for a song. I checked everything (I thought) before buying it. It was a little dirty but the bore is amazing and everything is tight. . I'd say 95%. I didn't realize until I got it home that the Takedown Latch is missing. Without it, how do I take the slide off so I can clean it?

 

[darticus]

I have an H-D here that needs to be taken apart as a spring might be broke as it won't load a shell. Is there any value to them. Is there something that will tell me how to disassemble it to check it? Thanks Ron

 

[OcelotZ3]

Yes, there is value to them. But keep it, you'll regret selling it...