The High Standard Crusader

Goony

Goony

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I'd been keeping an eye on one of these that was for sale, and when the price finally plummeted toward earth from the stratosphere, I was able to make a deal on it.

This is a really interesting revolver, the Smith & Wesson Model 29 serving as the inspiration for and impetus to its development. Extremely limited production makes it something of a "grail" gun for the advanced collector of High Standards. My example, chambered for .45 Colt, is identical to (and only a few serial numbers off from) the one shown in the following article: High Standard Crusader

Charles Petty's post mortem on the Crusader can be viewed here (the article begins on page 34): https://americanhandgunner.com/1984issues/HJA84.pdf
 
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When those first came out the gear teeth on the lock work were supposed to make a trigger pull. It was on my want list but was never made in enough quantity for me to ever see one. How is the trigger?
 
Thanks for posting the links & congratulations on the very rare find of a Crusader! I had never heard of it. Reading about it was interesting as there were some unique features to the gun. It was an education to learn more about it & the history behind it.
 
Pig Hunter said:
How is the trigger?
Click to expand...
Extremely smooth and even in double action. There's a series of very precise sounding clicks which remind me a little of those a Colt single action makes when cocked.
 
I sold one off several years ago. Mine was chambered in 45 Long Colt and numbered 234

Here are the images

Crusader%201s.jpg


Crusader%202s.jpg


Crusader%203s.jpg

​


They are very nicely built revolvers.

The grips could have been nicer. These look like old school desk wood

The only issue I ever had was with my 44 Magnum, it bent the ejector rod. Getting the replacement part was easy, changing it was not
 
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I've read about them in old gun magazines but never actually saw one for sale. A pretty scarce revolver. I like it. Thanks for showing.
 
I remember when those came out. The Model 29 frenzy was still going strong. I've never actually seen one in the wild.
 
A rare bird.

I don't think I have ever seen one in the wild.

Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk
 
The grips could have been nicer. These look like old school desk wood
Click to expand...
The grip (it's made from a single piece of what appears to be some sort of hardwood) on mine actually has some figure to it, but from the photos I've seen, in many cases it does seem to be a very plain grade that was utilized. Rather inexplicable and disappointing for what was supposed to be a flagship model. Cocobolo or rosewood might've been a classier choice.

Part of the problem was that once the company had relocated from Hamden to East Hartford in 1976, the smaller size of the new facility imposed certain constraints on how much of the manufacturing process could now be carried out in-house. Certain operations such as polishing, bluing, and fabrication of wood grips were farmed out, and there's no reason to believe that this routine outsourcing wouldn't also have applied to the Crusader. At this late stage, High Standard no longer exercised complete control over the final quality of their products.
 
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Here's a sale made by the Rock Island Auction Company from several years back. The listing is not entirely accurate, as this example is in fact one of the 51 engraved Special Commemoratives. There are, though, two documents of interest reproduced, one being a letter to the customer touting the quality of the gun and cautioning that working the action will mar the cylinder (so much for actually shooting it!), while the other is a parts schematic. What I find revealing about the latter is that the parts numbers for the front sight blade indicate an intent to manufacture a 4" barrelled version, which unfortunately never was produced.

See: High Standard Crusader Revolver 45 Colt | Rock Island Auction
 
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The Crusader project began in Hamden under the leadership of President Don Mitchell. High Standard did not have the cash or borrowing ability to design tool and manufacture this model. Mitchell and the sales staff took deposits of half down to get the project started. Then Mitchell jumped ship and the company was moved to East Hartford. Then another company bought High Standard and chose to honor the sales agreement of the earlier company. Parts were made outside and in late 1978 shipments of the .44 Mag began . The .45 Colt did not begin shipping until 1980.

Following link is to transcribed shipping records. Claimed to have 500 each but the serial numbers began with 0 (501) but in both calibers not all serial numbers were shipped. More .44 Mag then .45 Colt.

They had planned production models in .357, .44 Mag, and .45 Colt and in other barrel lengths but it didn't come to pass.

https://www.histandard.info/hide/datapublicxxx/serial/Crusaders.pdf

Designed by Richard "Dick" Baker and Ralph Kenedy both recently of Colt. Baker said that he had gone on to head the S&W design engineering group.
 
Some years back I went on jag of collecting Model 29 .44 Magnum lookalikes. From back to front:

S&W Model 29-2 (with Sile grips)
Llama
Astra
High Standard Crusader
RG Model 57
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In reverse order:
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Here's the Crusader. The sideplate has turned plum.
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I worked at a shop that closed a couple of years ago. There were two on consignment and were there from when I started in ‘17. They received a lot of attention from collectors but no firm offers. I don’t remember what they were priced at. I was attracted to the deep bluing on them but the grips didn’t seem to be up to the quality of the gun.

After the store closed the owner picked them up, no idea what she did with them, if she has them or nor have any contact information.
 
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