New (old) gun

[pohill]

I saw a BP revolver in a store in Maine but I had never heard of the maker - HIGH STANDARD- Hamden CT. The gun is a copy of a Confederate Griswold and Gunnison .36 caliber. Thanks to info supplied by Lee and Oldelm on the Voy forum, I decided to get it (apparently a great deal at $150.00). The frames were made in CT and the rest made by Uberti. The entire gun was assembled in CT so there are no Italian proof marks, made in Italy, Black powder only, etc.
Pics:

 

[Afy]

Looks great.... but not too sure about the brass.... But for $150 well worth it.

 

[Cap n Ball]

High Standard made many of these lines in their factory in Hamden, CT but also sold branded products made for them by vendors both in this country and abroad. Later the plant in Hamden was sold and the company operated for a time in East Hartford before closing with an orderly liquidation. Today a successor company operates in Houston, TX. The company dates back to the 30s and was founded by a Swedish immigrant who started out sweeping the floor in the Marlin firearms factory and through hard work and producing a superior product became very successful. I own a little birdshead grip over and under derringer in .22 magnum made by them. Nice.

 

[pohill]

I went by this auction (found by Lee) to determine if it was worth $150 (mine is actually in better shape than this auction gun). I'd say it was worth it...
Brass in a well-made .36 is fine as long as you don't beat on it with super loads. This gun is well made.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=61464477#WINNER

 

[Tbu61]

Wow, I haven't seen a H/S black powder pistol in a while!

Thanks for the picture, it's a great little gun. Enjoy it!

 

[arcticap]

What a nice find!

http://www.histandard.info/models/revolvers/blackpowder.html

http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=205596&highlight=high+standard

 

[pohill]

Thanks for that great info, arcticap. It really is a well made gun, comparable to my Colt Signature Series. This one was fired but not much. Too bad we don't have any other BP revolvers made (or partially made) in the US, other than the Colts & Rugers - it's nice not to have the Italian markings. I'll definitely keep an eye out for another.

Also interesting in one of the links you provided are the comments by the friggin' moron Manyirons/Jules/EasterBunny/Colonel Klink...whoever the hell he is/was/might be. I really do value his/her/its opinion...

 

[WV SCROUNGER]

MADE IN THE U.S.

Hold on there....
Euroarms and the Navy arms were made here in the U.S. Euroarms is still in buisness...not sure if Navy is or not. Bothe companies produce quality BP
FIREARMS.
Congrats on your Griswold. Very Nice arent they? I have one also.

 

[pohill]

I know Navy Arms was in New Jersey but I thought they imported their guns.
Now I have a Spiller & Burr and a Griswold & Gunnison. On my way to becoming a Reb.
Have you, or do you, shoot the Griswold?

 

[sjohns]

Navy Arms was Val Forgett right?
His grandson is still selling some of the old inventory on ebay. Name: modelman88.

When I got a barrel from him, I was shocked to see the return addy was Val Forgett III.

I managed to get a couple of the old tiffany grips.

He would be someone to ask about it.

He said that when the family sold the company, all records were given to ATF so I couldn't get a history on a couple of guns I had. They didn't keep copies. pity.

Link to his seller list:
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmodel88manQQhtZ-1

 

[WV SCROUNGER]

Poi....Navy arms started out in NJ.. later mover to WV. Yes I shoot the Griswold.....with reduced loads because it is a brass frame. Usually shoot 15 gr FFF. It shoots about 10" high at 25 yds. Shoots point of aim at 60-75 yds.
You just have to adjust your aim according to the distance. But if you shoot close range 0-10 yds it is dead on........They say they only produce 160 foot pounds of energy ( thats half of what a .45 1911 produces)....thats fairly potent if you ask me,,,,,,I woulnt want to be shot by one!

 

[Duach Laidir]

These are nice revolvers. Had one until about 10 years ago.
There is one little thing about them that is not authentic G&G, the angle of the grip.
If you want to get the feel of the original the straps can be bent to the original angle but you have to make new wood.
I altered mine and it seemed (wisful thinking ??) to handle a mite better.

Story that I read once was that the Colt that G&G copied had been dropped and the grip straps bent a bit and that by the time the mistake was dscovered they were already in production. Probably only a story.

 

[pohill]

Funny thing about those birch grips - women love 'em. That's the first thing they mention when they see the gun...
If they ever want to market a BP revolver for women, make the grips pretty.
With that in mind, I'll keep it as it is...
And if it ever gets above 20 degrees, maybe I'll shoot it...bring on global warming.

 

[mykeal]

You got a good deal

Went to an auction last weekend that had one of those for sale. It was in good cosmetic shape but the action was sticky - cylinder would not rotate freely in half cock, and needed help to go into battery at full cock. Also had a significant cylinder ring. Went for $140 with a couple of knowledgeable black powder bidders in the crowd.

I had seen the catalog before the auction and done some research on prices beforehand, and had expected it would go for over $350, so a good example like you've described is a deal at $150.