Store Brands

[DWalt]

I grew up in a smallish southern Ohio town. There was no gun shop, but there were Sears and MW stores there. If you wanted to buy a new gun there, you probably bought one of their store brands. As I remember, neither store carried anything beyond .22 rifles and shotguns. No handguns, no CF rifles. There was no deer season in Ohio then, that came later, and it was slug only. There was also a single pawn shop which always had a few used guns of all kinds. Local hardware stores carried some ammo, don't remember any of them stocking guns.

 

[Goony]

Here's a J.C. Higgins Model 80, derived from the Duramatic, which was High Standard's striker fired entry level pistol. I think that aesthetically it's actually a more attractive product. The slab sided barrel is a particularly nice touch. This example dates to 1956, the year that Sears started selling them.

A brief article on the origin and history of the J.C. Higgins brand: J.C. Higgins: 1908-1964

 

[Inland7-45]

A local gun store had a couple of cardboard barrels filled with beat up old long guns. In the middle of it all I found a JC Higgins 12ga pump shot gun.
The barrel had been shortened to 20" and rifle sights installed. I bought it for $75. At first I thought that it was a High Standard made for Sears in the late 50s early 60s. After a closer look and some research I confirmed that it is actually based on a Winchester model 1200. The main difference is where the receiver meets the stock. The Sears version does not have the pointed indentation at the rear of the receiver like the Winchester. I have as later able to find a Ted Williams marked barrel with a vented rib 28" Modified. For a little over $100 I have a combination slug gun bird gun and something to use at the turkey shoots. Overall quality is good. The aluminum receiver is anodized over a smooth but not overly polished surface. The finish color on the receiver looks almost like blue and at first look I thought it was actually steel. The wood quality is ok. This is overall a well made and dependable shotgun. Since almost all of the parts are interchangeable with a model 1200 this should not be difficult to fix if something breaks.

Most of these private branded guns are pretty good and they always sell for less than the manufacturer marked guns.

 

[robvious]

started life as just someone's hunting shotgun... it disappeared into my gunsmith's cocoon for a long while.. then emerged as my beautiful butterfly...
was and still is a Wards Western Field 30-SB562A.. made by Stevens as the Model 520-30, the US Military used during WWII and beyond....

 

[Drm50]

Most of Sears Ted Williams pumps were High Standards, a better gun in my opinion than and post 64 Winchester model.
The big sleeper in Sears line was their bolt actions built on Mauser actions.
Again a better gun than most American BAs since demise of pre 64 M70s.
I see them at shows in $300 range, about the same as entry level BAs the American companies are hawking. The Sears is $300 better spent.

 

[jeffrefrig]

Not a thing wrong with store branded guns; they're not gonna put out 2nds or any junk or unsafe guns. Everyone needed a chance to shoot some food. I have the Western Field XNH-480, .410 pump, no serial number so maybe pre '68? A side-by-side .410 Crescent Firearms Co., No. 60 Empire Hammerless. And the Ted Williams Model 100. .30-30, with the offset scope mount but no scope. After the Sears name, there's a 9 digit ID number, and a V***** Serial no. under the receiver. I never shot any of them but they cleaned up well and cycle the ammo just fine.
I'm guessing my dad gave some bar "friend" $20 apiece for them for drinking money. Knowing Dad, maybe $10/each! I know he had no use for them at the time. Dad had money, and I'm sure those bar flies did their best to get what they could from his tight grip on his cash!!

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

Store brands an interesting collector's field IMHO. Their comparative rarity, figuring out who made what, etc.. Only ones I have seen living here in the Northeast are Sears and Montgomery Wards.

 

[CajunBass]

Sort of a favorite subject of mine. When I was young, I didn't know there was any place to buy a gun, except Sears. And that was mostly from the "Wish Book." Actually going to Sears was a dress up, and go downtown type thing. And I mean DRESS UP. Suit and tie type trip.

I bought a Sears brand double 12 with 30" full/mod barrels as the first gun I bought with money I made working on a farm. I picked it out of the "wish book", my mother ordered it on the phone, and a couple of days later the "Sears Truck" delivered it to the house. That was before GCA-68 of course. The gun was a Stevens 311 with Sears markings. I guess I was 15 years old.

Some years later, I bought a really nice 20 side by side from Sears. It was an AYA made in Spain, with 28" barrels and 3" chambers. Nice checkering and some simple engraving. Nice wood too. The word was they got them from AYA where the checkering and engraving were done by apprentice workers, which kept the price down. I paid right at $200.00 for that gun in the mid 70's so at least to me, it wasn't cheap. Nice gun. One of the few I really wish I still had. If I remember correctly, it was marked as "Sears by AYA" or something like that.

I've still got my Sears 12 ga pump. I paid $99.00 for it with two barrels, a 28" mod choke, and a 24" rifle sight slug barrel. I've always thought of it as a Mossberg, but some sources say it's a High Standard. Doesn't matter, it's never needed anything but cleaning and oil. It is my buckshot gun. It loves 3" number 1 buck. Every deer I ever killed, except for one, fell in front of it. I did the camo paint job myself. I don't think I've ever fired the slug barrel. It's in the back of my safe even now.

I had my dad's Sears 12 ga pump for years, but passed it on to one of my sisters kids a few years back. He had said he'd be honored to have it and promised not to hack the barrel off or do any of the silly stuff kids do these days.

Wal-Mart has also sold a lot of "exclusives" over the years. They're not marked as "Wal-Mart" guns, but they were only available from Wal-Mart. Probably the most famous was the "Wally World Special" Ruger 10/22 with the 22" stainless steel barrel, and a hardwood DSP style stock. I got this one for my wife many years ago. When she got sick, a fellow on the Rimfire Central dot com forum, called "Swamp Fox" offered to do a trigger job for her. I sent the trigger group off and got it back a few weeks later. VERY nice trigger. The scope is a Bushnell 4X, cheap blister pack, the sling is a cheap nylon one, both from where else, Wally World. It's been used to kill more than a few squirrels.

I understand Wal-Mart doesn't do the "exclusives" anymore. I haven't been into a Wal-Mart store in years, so I don't know if they still sell guns or not, but I got a few others from them in the past. They sold handguns at one point. I remember seeing them in the first Wal-Mart store I ever went into, in Martinsville, Va.. I was looking for fishing tackle at that time, so didn't pay much attention to the guns. Of course the word was alway they sold cheap seconds and such, but I certainly never saw any evidence of it.

Darn. This got long quickly didn't it?

 

[jeffrefrig]

Sorry for the crummy pictures; should've taken outside in the daylight…with a real camera. And, yes, that black on the pump shotgun sure looks like a rattle can of black Rustoleum! That gun has volunteered to have the barrel trimmed down to around 19". It cycles the 3" shells just fine for a bedside companion.

 

[Inland7-45]

Most of Sears Ted Williams pumps were High Standards, a better gun in my opinion than and post 64 Winchester model.
The big sleeper in Sears line was their bolt actions built on Mauser actions.
Again a better gun than most American BAs since demise of pre 64 M70s.
I see them at shows in $300 range, about the same as entry level BAs the American companies are hawking. The Sears is $300 better spent.

If I remember correctly the The Sears sporting rifles were made by Husqvarna which is a model 98 pattern. My neighbor has one in .270. It is a nice rifle and has taken it's share of deer in VT and NH.

 

[mikerjf]

I've always been a Wards collector. My first electric guitar was an Airline amp-in-case; I've had both a Riverside Lambretta scooter and a Riverside (Benelli) 175 motorcycle; and this Westernfield 30.

 

[Echo40]

I don't own any store-branded firearms because unfortunately I wasn't old enough to purchase/own one during the glorious era in which Americans had a decidedly more healthy attitude towards firearms and thus they were sold everywhere from Department Stores, Autoparts Shops, Hardware Stores, and more. Heck, I've even heard some old-timers saying that you used to be able to purchase firearms/ammo from Gas Stations way back in the day, which sounds outright absurd to me since for as long as I've known, Gas Stations were a popular location for armed robbery, but then again, maybe folks were less likely to rob Gas Stations knowing that firearms were sold there, fearing the possibility that they might keep one loaded at all times beneath the counter.

Anyway, the closest thing to store-branded firearms I own are Taurus Brand, which I hear used to be rebranded for Kmart back in the 1970s, but obviously mine are modern production, with the earliest example I own dating back to 2017, so it doesn't really count.

 

[soFlaNative]

Western Auto's Revelation 330BK .410 passed down from my late father-in-law probably from 1970 give or take a couple years.
In good condition it's store brand Mossberg 183.

 

[TJm15.38]

I worked in a local hardware store as a teenager in Eastern Arkansas, about an hour due west of Memphis. We sold high quality firearms from Browning, Winchester, Marlin and Smith& Wesson and Ruger. The Arkansas Delta was ripe with lots of duck hunters, so we specialized in Belgium Browning Auto-5 shotguns. Those were the good days before the 1968 gun control act. I recall the retail price for an Auto-5 was about $169.95 in 1967. We thought that was expensive.

The attached photo is the only "store brand" firearm I own; a Glenfield 30GT in .30-30 Winchester sold by Western Auto circa 1979. It's a keeper.

 

[max]

You might want to make sure the extra barrel will fit and function. I got a 1200 in 1963. Last year, I bought another made a few years later because I wanted the shorter barrel. I spent a fair amount of money and time and it will not function with the newer barrel.

A local gun store had a couple of cardboard barrels filled with beat up old long guns. In the middle of it all I found a JC Higgins 12ga pump shot gun.
The barrel had been shortened to 20" and rifle sights installed. I bought it for $75. At first I thought that it was a High Standard made for Sears in the late 50s early 60s. After a closer look and some research I confirmed that it is actually based on a Winchester model 1200. The main difference is where the receiver meets the stock. The Sears version does not have the pointed indentation at the rear of the receiver like the Winchester. I have as later able to find a Ted Williams marked barrel with a vented rib 28" Modified. For a little over $100 I have a combination slug gun bird gun and something to use at the turkey shoots. Overall quality is good. The aluminum receiver is anodized over a smooth but not overly polished surface. The finish color on the receiver looks almost like blue and at first look I thought it was actually steel. The wood quality is ok. This is overall a well made and dependable shotgun. Since almost all of the parts are interchangeable with a model 1200 this should not be difficult to fix if something breaks.

Most of these private branded guns are pretty good and they always sell for less than the manufacturer marked guns.

 

[Goony]

A J.C. Higgins .30-30 carbine made by Marlin: J.C. Higgins Model 45 Lever-Action Rifle | Rock Island Auction

 

[browningcollector]

A story from the late 1980's. I just got my buddy from work interested in firearms and took him to an OGCA show at Vets Memorial in Columbus. He ended up borrowing money from me at the show to buy his first rifle, a 10-22. He was hooked. He was an exceptional mechanical engineer and loved working on old cars. He was my dads age, and we got along great. Jim found these Remington Walmart specials model 77 Nylon 22 rifles on sale at the local Walmart for the large price of $79.95. He bought one and shot it and really liked so he bought two more at that sale price. Old timers Will remember that that were green in color. We went to the next OGCA show and he took the used one in to sell and left the two new ones in the car. Realize this was before the internet and smart phones. Most people didn't know what they were and were asking a ton of questions about the green "Seneca" nylons. He ended up selling all three before entering the show for around $325.

We set up at many OGCA shows together and did a lot of shooting at my place. He loved the 22's. He had several Mossbergs, Rugers, savages and marlins. Sadly, Jim passed away this past August. Our last show together was March of 2022

 

[DWalt]

You might want to make sure the extra barrel will fit and function. I got a 1200 in 1963. Last year, I bought another made a few years later because I wanted the shorter barrel. I spent a fair amount of money and time and it will not function with the newer barrel.

I bought a 12 gauge Winchester 1200 Skeet model in the mid-60s. A little unusual back then. There was also a Trap model. Mine allegedly came from one of the failed Winchester gun clubs in New Jersey where it had been a rental gun. A truly excellent shotgun and it has killed thousands of clay birds. I still have it. Back on track, sometime in the 1970s I found a full choke 1200 barrel for, I think, around $30 at a gun show. It fit and functioned just fine on my Skeet 1200. I used it for my occasional round of trap.

 

[Retired W4]

In the back of Blue Book of Gun Values you will find a cross reference list of store brand models/actual manufacturer models.

 

[The Kid]

Sorry for the crummy pictures; should've taken outside in the daylight…with a real camera. And, yes, that black on the pump shotgun sure looks like a rattle can of black Rustoleum! That gun has volunteered to have the barrel trimmed down to around 19". It cycles the 3" shells just fine for a bedside companion.

I believe your little 410 pump was made by Noble. If so, it certainly may be black paint and it may be original.