Let's see yer' wimpy little pop guns

[pokute]

Roper had an interesting life, worked for S&W for 40 years, retired in 1931 and did nice work for H&R. His two books published in 1945 and the one in 1949, Experiments of a HANDGUNNER, deserve a wider audience. I don't know when he died, but would have been 79 in 1949.

Experiments of a Handgunner is brilliant. It's one of those, like Bullets Flight by Mann, and Sharpe's Handloading that you can go back to endlessly for "new" ideas. I don't know how the relationship with John Harrington came about, but Harrington let Roper run naked sprinkling fairy dust all over the H&R line. Roper contributed a bunch of leftover ideas from H&R to the 1939 American Rifleman, and that's how your very special 199 came to be. There was clearly somebody at H&R who was fascinated by the S&W Model 3 target (as was Roper) - Maybe it was John Harrington?

S&W Model 3 Target - The first purpose built target pistol:

 

[Bret4207]

The '22 Special', the 195, 196, 197, and 199 are, without reservation, the finest series of revolvers (plus a single shot) ever made. The early ones with the "keyhole" barrels were designed, like the S&W target revolvers and single shots, for the shooter to add weights and shades and such. When High Standard discovered that what shooters really wanted was a REALLY heavy gun (the models C, D, and E were progressively heavier barreled models of the B), the H&R's were doomed, and the death of John Harrington sealed the deal. As RicinYakima discovered, Roper was just on the verge of switching the single action H&R's to set triggers. There are probably a couple of dozen set trigger H&R pistols kicking around.

The original match target Woodsman was too light for most shooters. If you look closely at the smiling champions of the 30's proudly holding their MT's close to their hearts, you will see an awful lot of old cloth electrical tape holding big hunks of drill rod in place along the front of the barrel!

I have my late FIL's Hi Standard Supermatic, 2 barrels and the weights. That is the single most accurate 22 handgun I've ever seen.

 

[pokute]

I have my late FIL's Hi Standard Supermatic, 2 barrels and the weights. That is the single most accurate 22 handgun I've ever seen.

I owned a Supermatic 101, and I believe it would be the most accurate gun for many shooters. The trigger pull was exceptional, and the compensation was the most effective I have ever felt... The gun had no recoil. But cleaning the compensator drove me bananas, almost as bad as the one on the M41. High Standard certainly had it's 15 minutes of fame, as the most winning maker of 22 target pistols from the late 30's (the rare Model E was very successful) through the 50's. I found it more than heavy enough without adding the weights, but it certainly suited the brawny Marine Corps shooters who were cleaning up the matches in the 40's.

Mine: