Repairing Grandpa's High Standard

[@tomhanna2714]

You and your brother are fortunate to have had a grandpa like him. I too, have a High Standard H-D Military, originally owned by my late grandfather’s second stepfather (his mom outlived three husbands) from Cedar Hill, New Mexico. Huge man, easily 6-4 and 350#, legend had it he worked as a deputy for the San Juan county sheriff, but I could not confirm it. What I definitely do know is that he had a holster made for it by a local Navajo craftsman, which I also still have. As you may be aware, these particular guns were designed and made differently and required a much different procedure for field stripping and cleaning. Unbeknownst to my grandfather, when I was younger I was snooping around and ended up damaging the gun by incorrectly removing the slide. Literally pulled the recoil spring out of the back of the gun with some pliers. Many years later towards the end of my grandfather’s life he gave the gun to me and I had a local gunsmith in NW Georgia where I lived at that time repair it for me to good order. It took a few months and about $100 but I am happy to report that it shoots every bit as well or better than any of my other .22 target pistols in my collection, and although I don’t know what the future holds, it remains my hope that one of my cousins or their offspring will be fortunate enough to deserve to inherit it someday. Cheers

[@hoffpbass]

Way to maintain a family heirloom. I thought it was going to be worse than only a spring. I'm sure you made your brother happy.

[@anthonyguidas2012]

Ready for another 70 years. I really enjoy these kind of videos.

[@jay-vd6rt]

Love this stuff ! Ole grandpa had excellent taste!

[@kdcowboy9478]

Nice tractor in the picture my grandfather had an Oliver tractor. I still live on what was once my grandfather's farm. He died in 1976 from shoveling snow. He brought back some interesting items from WW I.

[@ekim000]

I've got a '56 103 series Citation which has essentially the same action as yours. I love it to bits and wouldn't let it go easily.

[@dbx1233]

I love old school firearms like the High Standard. Your Grandpa would be happy to know you are taking care of his pistol.

[@davidnicholas7624]

You just have to love the old High Standard pistols. From the humble Dura-Matic to their high end target pistols, they are all fine shooters. Try having an egg carton on your bench when you are gunsmithing. The pins, plungers, springs, screws and other bits stay on the bench and in order of disassembly. Just a tip from an old gunsmith. Thanks for the video.

[@paulbervid1610]

Great work. Great tribute.

[@toddgillison7210]

Love the old school stuff. Back when EVERY factory was producing Craftsmanship. My Dad had the B , and Supermatic models. Thanks HR!! Have a great day everyone.

[@arshooter1]

I have a mint in the box High Standard HD Military Model, what a shooter. Enjoyed the video Sir, Semper Fi.

[@markhankins3023]

Wolff Springs for the Victory! 91 was a good run, Grandfather had much to be proud of. Semper Fidelis and Merry Christmas 🎄

[@granddad-mv5ef]

Circumstances forced me to be very late today. However, that did not lessen my enjoyment of watching you perform that work of love.

[@silenceismycanvas]

Great video! Been quite a many moons since I last worked on one of those. Great pistols.

[@scottfromsouthcarolina3185]

My Brother has two High Standards from the late 70s. My Father had one of them before he passed. My Father belonged to the South Cuyahoga County Sportsman Club when we were kids in Ohio.

[@roykiefer7713]

Howard my friend, I absolutely loved this video. Obviously, it is vicarious fun to watch a superb old autoloader being restored to fully functional service. Beyond that, however, it refreshes so many very nice memories. For example, I cannot guess how many times I have struggled with reassembly - without a factory fixture or tool and without additional hands, thumbs or fingers - but eventually (often after considerable frustration, sometimes walking away from the bench for an hour or a day to renew my zeal to get the darn thing fixed, and occasionally having to search for a launched part) succeeding in getting the firearm back to proper operation. I am also reminded of my father’s Colt 1908 “Hammerless” model (chambered in .380), produced in the 1930’s, carried as his off-duty weapon during his FBI service, and painstakingly rebuilt a generation ago when he gave it to me. The quality and craftsmanship of those Colt machinists and artisans may factually be equaled with contemporary CAD-CAM manufacturing, however, the sterility of today’s products can never replace the finesse and the devotion of masters throughout most of the last century. So, I thank you for a video that really resonated with me. I don’t shoot that .380 “Hammerless” Colt very much - it’s a “safe queen” because I would never want to damage it - but this Christmas, when all the children and grandchildren are all gathered here, I now plan to take it to the range, providing an opportunity for those who wish to fire Pop’s old sidearm.

[@hrfunk]

That is so cool! I hope all the kids decide to run a few rounds through that fine old pistol. Thanks for watching Roy!

[@scottperson9487]

Make sure you fix this High Standard to a "high standard"!

[@mikerorike]

Thanks for showing that not all gun repair is difficult. I swear a lot of times I think of gunsmithing as half hammering the crap out of it and half magic. Have a Merry Christmas and be safe.

[@johnherr3579]

Good morning HR. Nice to see a family heirloom back in working condition.

[@brockpauley1579]

Thanks Chief! I just know grandpa would be proud of you for teaching the younger generation how to fix this!!

[@Bob-lt5hf]

I like the fact that you have grandpa's High Standard and take awesome care of it! Great video! Might I make one suggestion is that I would have used a ultra sonic cleaner to give the parts a good cleaning before reassembly. Just a thought. Merry Christmas HR

[@craigbenz4835]

I wasn't expecting the search for a High Standard spring to be so straight forward.

[@hrfunk]

I was glad Wolff still carries them.

[@johnbissett3653]

I have my Father's that he bought in 1950, about a year after I was born, and it still runs great. I taught my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren to shoot a pistol with the High Standard. It will end up with my great grandson when I go to meet my Lord..

[@skipboyer1889]

My grandpa farmed with the same vintage IH tractors. He personally owned several with his favorite was his “H”. My uncle had one similar to the one shown except his was an “MTA". The “TA" stood for “torque adapter”, I believe. Lots of memories were made there at grandpa’s farm….

[@billfischer9887]

I always enjoy the stories of "legacy guns ". Thanks for sharing. Merry Christmas

[@gregcampwriter]

That is a beautiful work of art--and I wish Bill Ruger has been willing to copy its routine disassembly procedure.

[@3jeepdiscovery]

Very cool to see the original “grandpa’s pistol”. I love rewatching your video of his backup sport king and how you got it.

[@roykiefer7713]

IMHO, High Standard’s .22 semiautomatic pistols (and Rugers) were the “pick of the litter.”

[@johnschreiber4252]

Well done. I have a later model with the push button barrel removal also a model B

[@danbyers8462]

Great video HR! Between "stints" in the Navy back in the late 70's/early 80's I was a Machinist and really would have loved learned "gunsmithing." But after retiring from the Navy I drove Tractor trailers. ( Economic reasons). Still have all my machinists tools but dexterity reasons with my hands would prevent me returning to the trade or gunsmithing. Love plinking with .22's as my Uncle has an ole original Ruger model 1? Keep up the great videos!!!

[@hrfunk]

Will do Dan. Thanks for watching and thanks for the comment!

[@user-neo71665]

I learned how to drive a tractor when I was 6 on the same exact farmall model M. Wish ours looked that good.

[@kentalanlee]

What a Christmas treat! Thanks HR!

[@cowtipper6705]

Excellent

[@user-tm8tm6qf2c]

Very cool.

[@mikewallace8087]

Nice , the screwdrivers are straight on the pegboard.

[@tomdudas4031]

If you use a large enough plastic bag to put your block in if a small plug or pin launches in will catch it and keep it from going into orbit . CDNN had mags for these reasonably priced a couple of weeks ago . Nice job

[@ronaldbenskin493]

Great pistol and great video!

[@fredmartan7906]

Good work, well done.

[@DavidHawthorne-n3w]

Great video! Very informative!

[@hrfunk]

Thanks Dave!

[@oper12m]

Nice Job!! 👍

[@LDR1100RS]

I have a Sport King that is not cycling. A new magazine didn't fix it. Thanks for the tip.

[@zoltannagy2920]

Nicely done HR 👍

[@hrfunk]

Thank you!

[@oralriffey8285]

A roll pin punch and black electrical tape work well for holding things in place.

[@HitokiriRaiden]

My grandfather had the same pistol, its the one I learned how to shoot a pistol with. Iv still got it but only shoot it once a year because its so old and needs new springs and mags.

[@chuckhaskins5928]

Great video!

[@4bigwheels]

I was helping you hold that new spring so you could secure and pin that plunger with all the might I had and dexterity of the known universe!!!! And if it popped loose, I already had my shop magnet to scour the floor.

[@happyhaunter_5546]

Pretty gun, at first from the thumbnail I thought this was a Whitney Wolverine!

[@fredericramsey3688]

Great Video. !

[@donferrando4119]

I love that McCormick tractor! 😍(Gun is great too) 😀

[@PatriotNJ-qj8fv]

I recently helped a friend rebuild his High Standard 107. I would only use Springs that are made to OEM specs. We used Jack First and Jack makes his springs OEM dead ringers, except higher quality materials and standards. I would have replaced all the springs in that slide, including the extractor and firing pin. I use a Mini Arbor to re-set the pins.

[@hrfunk]

Interestingly, this model/generation of High Standard pistols does not have a firing pin spring.

[@PatriotNJ-qj8fv]

I have picture of the 107 work

[@joestosez]

She's a beauty , love the old school firearms . They are just built better.

[@ehcatsfaneric2211]

What better thing to pass down than a firearm? Quality buckeye people

[@bhk7777]

Alway enjoy these types of videos

[@clutchcargo1239]

Good job!

[@hrfunk]

Thanks!

[@martyneff4008]

EXCELLENT

[@elsullo2]

Fascinating video! I have had a High Standard Military HD in the past; what a beautiful pistol! That checkered walnut grip feels so GOOD! Still accurate after forty years! BUT, why not a little penetrating oil before disassembly? And why not some gun oil or grease for final assembly? I was amazed how dry that spring was when it came out! The only place that I DO NOT oil is the firing pin channel! I have never had any issues from lots of oil. Thanks, and Happy Holidays!...............................elsullo

[@hrfunk]

I did add some oil before I test fired it. I just didn't show that in the video.

[@oltex806]

I love my hi standard sport king.

[@10mmnuck60]

Nice video!

[@GuilePatrick]

Man 70+ years...and its just starting up to have probs...wow... My grandpas 32 beretta works still despite the rust...

[@jthrelf]

Nice work! Might be a good idea to update the video title to "Repairing Grandpa's High Standard (Recoil Spring Replacement)" so when folks search for videos to do that, yours pops up. As long as it won't get you flagged for whatever subjective reason by the youtube powers that be...

[@paulkopacz5051]

That is one of the jobs I have to do to my High Standard (HD Military) as well as replace the front sight someone had filed down almost all the way to the surface of the barrel. I was looking for spare magazines and they seem to be about $50 - $60 each, ouch. Oh well, thanks HR!

[@hrfunk]

You’re welcome.

[@chuckoaks6756]

Feed lips get spread out over years and need to be adjusted. I adjusted them on mine and it slides one right in. Since there is no feed ramp the bullet nose will miss the chamber. A different ammo with a rounded nose makes a difference as well.

[@gewamser]

I am a High Standard user by default. Some of them were great pistols, well made, accurate, reliable, like the HD Military…others, not so much, with uneven quality especially near the end of their production. The primary failures were the extractor, springs and the magazines. Some of their $$$ target grade models were outstanding! Myself, I fell in love with the High Standard Sharpshooter, from the middle 1970’s, particularly the “HS Survival Pack” which was a nickel plated, bull bbl Sharp Shooter in a pouch with 3 total magazines. Mine was great! Deadly accurate for hunting small game, and beautifully made! Unfortunately mine got stolen. 😡😞 Already kinda scarce to replace, I settled for the same set up, but with a Ruger bull bbl target model. Which has served me perfectly for 40 years, and still does! But along the way, I either fixed or had fixed several old High Standards usually “Sport Kings” and worn out HD militaries. All MUST BE KEPT CLEAN! Great videos…

[@hrfunk]

Thank you!

[@PalKrammer]

Nice repair. Did you first eliminate the magazine spring as a source of the problem?

[@hrfunk]

More or less. The cartridges were feeding but the recoil spring only managed to push them about 2/3 of the way into the chamber.

[@glennsammon4465]

I have to get one of those armourors blocks

[@hrfunk]

They’re sold by Real Avid. They do come in handy from time to time.

[@chillios2222]

get your hands on that new Ruger RXM if Ruger will send u one

[@HSmith-uk9hl]

What a wonderful family heirloom. High Standard made quality pistols that should last many lifetimes. Just an observation but it looked awfully dry. Maybe you oiled it a little before taking it to the range?

[@hrfunk]

I did. I just didn't show that in the video.

[@chrischiampo7647]

Nice Job HrFunk 😀❤️👍🏼😇 Grandpa Had Good Taste in Pistols I’ve Got 4 High Standards and Love Them All 😀

[@thomaswhite2802]

Was that the gun used in the spy movies in the 1960’s? Man from UNCLE or the others?

[@hrfunk]

Not that I know of.

[@Elnu01]

I was very interested in the fact that the new spring had so many additional coils? Just makes me wonder whether the new spring does not have as much power per coil/length? This is probably a question for the spring manufacture.

[@hrfunk]

I wondered the same thing. Since it’s working well, I’m not going to worry about it.

[@tommcqueen3145]

👍👍

[@timnelson75]

I would like to meet your brother. Do a video with your brother sharing grandpa's guns.

[@hrfunk]

My brother is not real crazy about being in front of a camera. I doubt that I could convince him to appear in a video.

[@timnelson75]

@@hrfunk Well anyway, thought I would ask. Good luck trying ...

[@jeffmoller1743]

I’m fortunate to have my dad’s High Standard also from the 50’s. Not wanting to g to dry fire it after cleaning and putting it away, can anyone advise how to release the pressure on the trigger spring.

[@johnherr3579]

22 dummy rounds or snap caps are available. I've often heard that #4 dry wall anchors work, but have never used them. A fired 22 case can be used, but make sure it's empty!

[@stuartgrimm6048]

Yes, but is Grandpa's pistol a Tack Driver!

[@michaelmiles6398]

A little CLP should be good to go.

[@glennsammon4465]

soon as I heard about the cycling I thought "sping". nice old gun. they really DON'T make them like they used to.

[@hrfunk]

Nope.

[@doranmaxwell1755]

LOl.. the first handgun I have ever shot was a ....1952 High Standard Sport King My gramps who was a huge collector of Colt and Winchester etc bought two of em for my dad and uncle. It was not til a few years later when I was 9? that I got to shoot the 6" one it pretty much became my gun cause I could shoot it way better than anyone else. To be fair they were not really gun guys so far as shooting goes. and of course everyone knew you shot one handed and that even at that handguns were really not accurate past twenty feet or so... Me hitting a tin can across the pond at 40 yards or so was ... a mystery and a source of merriment to them. This meant they would provide bricks of 22 lr ammo which I would power through in a day LOL Soooo half a century later and half a zillion rounds later? and.. my interests going more toward centerfire shooting and handloading... well.. the always realiable and accurate HS started malfunctioning Cause... the recoil spring just got tired. My dad is 95 now and oddly he wanted the HS back cause it is easy to work very minimal strength needed to rack the slide. So I fixed it and now it is somewhere in his and my moms house. the early ones like yours and mine have that latch and later had the push button. But it is the easiest pistol to take down for cleaning! compare that to a Colt Woodsman or the nightmare of the Ruger Mk1 and you will see the point. Thanks so much for this vid where we share similar experiance with almost identical guns!

[@hrfunk]

You are most welcome. Thank you for a wonderful comment.

[@chriss1911]

Model B or D?

[@hrfunk]

If it's marked anywhere, I can't find it.

[@gtracer6629]

For many years I had a 1943 high standard model B sadly I left it with my girlfriend who left town with it😢

[@hrfunk]

That is sad. Is there any chance she might give it back someday?

[@richpowers4093]

I got the notification but YT would not let me comment during the video

[@hrfunk]

There are several weird things like that going on right now. I’ve also had quite a few comments deleted.

[@ardmoremooney4222]

Not that I am happy seeing another qun owner struggling with springs, but it does make me feel like I am not alone in this world. If you can accidentally or on purpose let one launch across the room just to prove you are human, it would be greatly appreciated.

[@hrfunk]

I’ve done it. Believe me.

[@LUVDOGS1954]

"kind of tired over the course of the last 71 year"...leave me out of your videos...😝😮😎 !!!

[@chrislang5659]

Even though things aren't always as seems. You made easy work of replacing that spring. Granddad would be proud! Merry Christmas, Mr Funk. Until next time. 🫡

[@hrfunk]

Merry Christmas Chris.

[@chrislang5659]

@hrfunk 🫡

[@amoseaton9854]

Very cool

[@gtracer6629]

For many years I had a 1943 high standard model B sadly I left it with my girlfriend who left town with it😢

[@hrfunk]

That is very sad. Any chance of her returning it?

[@4bigwheels]

Maybe if he was on the receiving end and not in the good way.