High Standard Information Site

There I was browsing through GunBroker.com, for a magazine for my High Standard Duramatic M-101, when I came across the web address for serial number information for said pistol. I visited the linked page and found out that my Duramatic was most likely manufactured in 1961; I also discovered that the first year of production was 1955 or the same year that I plopped out into the world on a Wednesday afternoon in the fall. I chopped off the last couple of parts of the web address to see if I could find the home page for the site because there was no link back to it from the serial number page. it worked and I arrived at the site at this link:

http://www.histandard.info/

A look through the site scored me a copy of the Duramatic M-101 parts price list that was updated in march 1962. I looked it over and doubt any of the parts are different than those for my pistol which was a 1961 production gun. I am happy I now have it because the earlier version I had was from August 1954 and was for the Duramatic Model M (lacking any numeric indicator after the M). It was obviously different than mine in at least one regard because there was no Barrel Nut Lockwasher in the earlier model but there sure is in mine. It's good to have info available like that for out of production guns one may own but sometimes it is next to impossible to find. Finding this made me a happy camper. To show my gratitude I fired off an email to the person who compiled all that info and created that site, it was the least I could do to show my appreciation for what I was able to find thank to him.

If you own a High Standard pistol, revolver, derringer, rifle or shotgun and need information, I recommend this site as a place to check but mind you, I am not vouching for the info contained therein.

All the best,
Glenn B
 

Which Guns To Bring To The Blogershoot - Decisions, Decisions, Decisions...

I have been going to the annual NE Bloggershoot for a few years now, I guess the fifth annual one was my first if I remember right. Brendan came to the fifth and the seventh with me (he missed the sixth in 2013) and we also attended a different one together down in West By God Virginia last fall. Before each Bloggershoot, it's been a chore deciding on which guns to bring. We don't have a pickup truck nor an SUV not even big cars. I drive  Toyota Corolla and him a Hyundai Elantra Touring Wagon; there is not much room in either for guns but we fit a fair number in whichever car we decide to drive. I prefer the Toyota because it has a closed off trunk, something the Elantra Touring does not have but this year the CD player in the Toyota is dead leaving us with yet another decision on which car to take. If all other things were to be considered equal, it will probably be the Hyundai for the CD player.

Anyway, we have yet to choose which guns and calibers of ammo to lug along. We almost certainly will bring along my Remington R1 1911, the Taurus PT-145 Millennium Pro (both 45s) and my Glock 26 (my primary carry on most days). I am also fairly sure that we'll bring the Savage Axis in 308 and the Stevens 320 12 gauge especially since Brendan has not yet shot either. After that - who knows but that does leave room for at least a couple to few more pistols and maybe another long gun or two. As to pistols, maybe we can bring one of the Beretta 92 series pistols of the three I own, or the Ortgies 32, or one of my pistols in 22LR (I most definitely have enough ammo for them). Thinking about rifles, the Marlin 336 comes to mind as does the Marlin 25MN and the Yugo SKS but space is tight for additional long arms beyond one more than the two already mentioned. Decisions, decisions, decisions...

All the best,
Glenn B

Eighth Annual Northeast Bloggershoot Alert

It's less than a month away from the date, August 8th, of the 8th Annual Northeast Bloggershoot and so far there are only about 15 confirmed attendees and 4 maybes, plus our two hosts. I am hopeful that some of you who have attended past Bloggershoots, and those of you who may be new to it, will see this post and contact us to let us know whether or not you can attend.

Here is some additional information:

Who? Any and all bloggers, commenters, readers, lurkers, etc. in the Northeast area, or those passing through, or anyone crazy enough to show up.

When? Saturday, August 8nd, from 10am until ????

Where? Why, Doubletrouble's sooper seekrit range, of course!

Why? Shootin' stuff is fun? Trying out new hardware is fun? Getting together with a couple dozen of your tribe, combined with guns and reactive targets, is a recipe for a good time!

And, the standard caveat:

As with every year, this is a "pack-in, pack-out" shoot - if you want to bring a 1:1 scale papier mache model of the Lunar Rover to shoot the hell out of, go right ahead. Just be prepared to drag the bullet-riddled carcass out with you. We can call the sub shop for lunch, but someone should step up to take care of the lunch order so Mrs. Doubletrouble doesn't have to deal with that again...


You can visit the Facebook page to express your interest in attending: https://www.facebook.com/groups/blogshoot/ or if that does not work, send me an email or leave a comment to this post.

Anyone else notice the coincidence of this being the 8th Annual Northeast Bloggershot and that it is being held in the eighth month on the eighth day of a year the numbers of which add up to eight? Maybe I'll have to bring 8 guns and 888 rounds of ammo!

All the best,
Glenn B

Someone Let Me Know If You Can Read My Previous Post...

...the one about Huck's Defeat. When I tried to publish it, I received a notice saying something like:  'this blog has been trashed and will not be visible until made public'. I can see it but am wondering if others can view it.

Thanks,
GB

Today In History - The Battle of Huck's Defeat

In the sixth year of the revolt against England (numerically not actually time wise), the war was not going as well for the American Colonists as one among them might have hoped. The American Army in South Carolina had been defeated and captured by the British. The Americans needed something to boost morale, something to show that they had in them what was needed to kick the Brits arses and on July 12, 1860, in York County SC, they got it. 

On July 11th, a detachment of British Legion, NY Loyalist Volunteers and SC Loyalist militia forces, under the command of Captain Christian Huck, raided the farm of Patriot commander Captain John McClure. McClure's brother and brother-in-law were arrested for having freshly made bullets and were sentenced to hang at sunrise the next day. Huck, was a German who had lost property when the Brits fled Philadelphia; he then joined the English army in New York. He was assigned a command in SC. Once so assigned, his hatred of the Whigs (Patriots) was apparent. He commenced a ruthless vendetta against them during which his forces killed at least one child as he read a bible, manhandled women, and stole or destroyed what they could including carrying out the destruction of the home of a minister and an ironworks. Huck had so enraged the colonists that one was quoted as having said: "I have come home determined to take my gun and when I lay it down, I lay down my life with it" (source).   

After raiding McClure's farm, the Brits then moved on to the farm of William Bratton, another Patriot leader. Bratton was then out on raids against Tories. Once at Bratton's home, Huck's men terrorized Bratton's wife in a failed attempt to get her to divulge the whereabouts of Patriot forces. She did not give any information to them. The Loyalists then moved to neighboring farms and arrested three more patriots, including Bratton's elderly brother. They too were to be executed the morning of July 12th at sunrise. Sometime while all this was happening, a man named Watt notified Bratton of the events taking place. It is notable that Watt was one of Bratton's slaves.

Units of militiamen rushed to engage Huck's forces. During the night and dark early hours of July 11th and 12th, about 150 South Carolina Militiamen under the command of William Bratton, surrounded the British / Loyalist force of about 130 under Huck's command, at Williamson's Plantation near Bratton's own land. At dawn, on the morning of July 12th, they launched a surprise attack. They soundly defeated Huck's forces with only one rebel life lost and only a handful of the English who were not either dead or wounded. The five Whig prisoners were all rescued. The tyrannical Huck was delivered a fatal shot to his head, by John Carroll, as Huck attempted to rally his troops from horseback. 

The victory of these Patriot militiamen was but a small one in  numbers but was huge in that it had a resounding effect. Patriots enthusiastically joined the militia once they had seen that the militia could defeat British forces even where the American army had failed. It was the first such victory in SC in 1780 with many Patriot militia victories to follow that year and the next. America finally had a victory it sorely needed in the south. More here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huck%27s_Defeat.

All the best,
Glenn B