RETIRING AN OLD FRIEND

[Golddollar]

Some 30+ years ago, I made a decision to go full bore [rimshot] into bullseye shooting, now known as precision pistol. Feeling that I needed all the help I could get, I wanted to buy the best equipment I could afford. I managed to acquire a High Standard Supermatic Trophy .22 pistol that had been accurized by John Giles, one of the old time pistolsmiths that I knew about. That .22 pistol that had been customized by Mr. Giles with a Shilen or Douglas barrel, a sighting rib and of course, his own "wagon wheel" rear sight.

I don't know how many rounds the prior owner put through that gun, and I know I only used standard velocity cartridges in that gun. Unfortunately, it developed a crack in the frame that extended from the magazine well to the slide rails. I sent the gun in for repair but the manager of the repair facility, who was very familiar with High Standard pistols and knew John Giles, said that the heat from attempting to weld this crack in the frame would bring out a "spider web" of more cracks up to the surface. His advice was to shoot it until it quits.

So now this wonderful piece of craftsmanship is retired from competition. I never had a problem with it, the crack just happened to appear on a routine examination. I don't know what the remaining life span of the gun might be. Should I have an annual celebration by putting a magazine full downrange?

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Keep shooting it. Sparingly.........Never let it just gather dust.

 

[glenwolde]

The same thing happened to my Houston-made 10-X. I was fortunate enough to get the frame replaced while High Standard of Houston was still in business.

The frame can't be fixed. You could move your parts to a new frame. I'd contact Alan Aronstein at Interarms Texas. The gunsmiths from High Standard Houston moved to a company called OFM, which is the gunsmithing arm of Interarms Texas. You can also find him in the High Standard section of Rimfire Central.

While I got my frame replaced, it came back to me malfunctioning. High Standard closed a month after I got it back. I took it to Alan and his boys fixed it up properly. Nobody knows more about High Standards than those guys.

 

[Krogen]

Should I have an annual celebration by putting a magazine full downrange?

YES! and I bet I'm not the only one here that would love to see a picture of that gem.

 

[6string]

I’m very sorry to hear about this. John Giles was a legend. Guys like him were artists and craftsmen.
Attached is the High Standard page from one of Giles’ catalogs.

You might do well to investigate micro-welding. This advanced welding technique is very non-invasive to the surrounding steel.
Pullman Arms in MA were/are (?) one of the innovators in it’s gunsmithing applications.

 

[M29since14]

If it were mine, I’d use it as much as I wanted. It’s no good to anyone just lying around. I don’t know how long ago your gun was evaluated by an expert but we do know more about welding now than we did a couple of decades ago. If you want the crack repaired, you might consult with one of the shops that do the micro-welding thing. Possibly annealing before/after welding could help with the problem you describe. Anyway, failing any of that, I’d keep shooting it unless you are concerned it is a safety issue. Hands and eyes are pretty important.

 

[Andyd]

The High Standard line of match pistols isn't the only match pistol to suffer cracks in the frame, the Hammerli International has the same problem, with the weakest spot developing a crack that gets worse with continued use. The pre 67000 s/n Walther GSP usually develop a crack in the slide where the cocking pieces sit. Unfortunately they are only good for parts at some point.

 

[glenwolde]

The High Standard line of match pistols isn't the only match pistol to suffer cracks in the frame, the Hammerli International has the same problem, with the weakest spot developing a crack that gets worse with continued use. The pre 67000 s/n Walther GSP usually develop a crack in the slide where the cocking pieces sit. Unfortunately they are only good for parts at some point.

Crack kills! Those are far more catastrophic failures.

Reportedly, the High Standards can go quite a long time and keep shooting. There's a lot about this on rimfire central.

Alan Aronstein - Cracked Frames? | Rimfire Central Firearm Forum

 

[wagwan]

I feel your pain! I too, have a High Standard Trophy that developed a cracked frame. Alan Aronstein can replace the frame but it’s not inexpensive. When I enquired, only stainless frames were available but he may have done a run of blue ones since?

I’m still shooting mine as it functions well and doesn’t appear to be getting worse. I’m sure it will need to be retired some day, though. I have since managed to purchase a cosmetically challenged but sound Citation for $300. It will eventually become the donor frame for my Trophy. I might look into reblueing it first.

 

[glenwolde]

I feel your pain! I too, have a High Standard Trophy that developed a cracked frame. Alan Aronstein can replace the frame but it’s not inexpensive. When I enquired, only stainless frames were available but he may have done a run of blue ones since?

I’m still shooting mine as it functions well and doesn’t appear to be getting worse. I’m sure it will need to be retired some day, though. I have since managed to purchase a cosmetically challenged but sound Citation for $300. It will eventually become the donor frame for my Trophy. I might look into reblueing it first.

After I had my frame replaced I still had a cosmetic issue. The 10-X guns were Parkerized but when I got it back there was a pretty big mis-match between the parkerizing on the frame and the barrel/slide. Since I was lucky enough to get the frame replaced I wasn't going to complain about it.

It looked like a parts gun anyway, so might as well refinish it. When it went to Alan he offered to try and make it match but offered another option. They finish their in-house production in Teflon. I went with that. Smoother than the parkerizing and even more durable. Black rather than grey/green.

I was told my crack was due to a faulty casting.

Here's the crack...

You can see the mis-match on the Parkerizing...

This is her all done-up in Teflon...

I am thrilled with the way it came out after Alan was done with it.

 

[Model52guy]

Did it look like one of these? Both 103’s. Top one is 22 short. Bottom one is 22 lr.

 

[Golddollar]

Did it look like one of these? Both 103’s. Top one is 22 short. Bottom one is 22 lr.

No, mine has the military grip.