Just back from my second trip to the range with my new High Standard Supermatic Trophy. After about 300 rounds and some magazine tweaking, I feel like I can write a fairly comprehensive initial review.
I bought the gun while looking for a Ruger Mark II. (I wanted to pick one up before the Mark IIIs displaced them all-there are some issues with the Mark III, and I've been hemming and hawing about getting a nice target .22 for some time.) Comparing the HS to the Ruger, even with the rather large difference in price, I really felt the HS to be a better firearm for a long-term 'relationship.' I appreciated the balance, the resemblance to a 1911 in the grip shape and the absolutely incredible trigger.
Reading the manual, the manufacturer is very up-front about the pistol being finicky about ammo, requiring more maintenance and cleaning and requiring very tedious magazine 'tuning' for the ammo you intend to shoot. They also come right out and say that the pistol will not be reliable until at least 500 rounds of high-velocity ammo have gone through it. Hardly an advertisement, but I appreciate their honesty, and knew what I was getting myself into.
The first trip to the range, immediately upon receiving the pistol, showed that the pistol was, indeed, very finicky. I had about 6 different types of .22 ammo, and although there was some variation, none fed with any regularity. On the other hand, even with the constant jamming, I could begin to see the pistol's accuracy potential, although I don't shoot well while continually clearing malfunctions. (Does anybody?)
After bringing the gun home, cleaning it thoroughly and beginning the process of 'tuning' the two magazines that came with it, I continued to be impressed. The internal machining was extremely well-done, and the trigger (which is supposed to spec at 2 1/4 pounds) had almost no take-up, a pristine break and no overtravel I could perceive.
Today I brought a small set of pliers to the range and began the very tedious process of getting the mags set up to feed correctly. After about 100 rounds (!) I finally got the pistol feeding most 5 round strings without a hitch, although there were still occasional mis-feeds, although these seem to be consistently fewer and fewer.
Truth be told, after all this I was getting a little disheartened. I had signed up for the 'tweaking' part, but it's hard to maintain your enthusiasm when a new gun won't get through a magazine without a jam. Never really was the patient type.
After getting the gun (mostly) running, though I put out some targets at 50 feet and began actually shooting. All thoughts of regret instantly fled when I realized how well the darn gun shoots. I'm no target shooter, but I eventually was getting five out of five, consistently, on the part of a business card that hung from the target holder. I've never shot any gun this well in my life, and I've had some accurate guns. But this gun made it seem easy to nail the business card, almost as if I was hardly participating in the shooting. Line up the sights, press, hole in the card.
I realize that a real target shooter will want group sizes and such, but I don't really have any. I seldom shoot at bullseyes, and I'm no target shooter, anyway. I've no doubt that the gun can shoot far, far better than I can. But I've never, ever shot a gun that makes me feel like such a good shooter-ever.
Needless to say, I'm a happy camper.
Larry
I bought the gun while looking for a Ruger Mark II. (I wanted to pick one up before the Mark IIIs displaced them all-there are some issues with the Mark III, and I've been hemming and hawing about getting a nice target .22 for some time.) Comparing the HS to the Ruger, even with the rather large difference in price, I really felt the HS to be a better firearm for a long-term 'relationship.' I appreciated the balance, the resemblance to a 1911 in the grip shape and the absolutely incredible trigger.
Reading the manual, the manufacturer is very up-front about the pistol being finicky about ammo, requiring more maintenance and cleaning and requiring very tedious magazine 'tuning' for the ammo you intend to shoot. They also come right out and say that the pistol will not be reliable until at least 500 rounds of high-velocity ammo have gone through it. Hardly an advertisement, but I appreciate their honesty, and knew what I was getting myself into.
The first trip to the range, immediately upon receiving the pistol, showed that the pistol was, indeed, very finicky. I had about 6 different types of .22 ammo, and although there was some variation, none fed with any regularity. On the other hand, even with the constant jamming, I could begin to see the pistol's accuracy potential, although I don't shoot well while continually clearing malfunctions. (Does anybody?)
After bringing the gun home, cleaning it thoroughly and beginning the process of 'tuning' the two magazines that came with it, I continued to be impressed. The internal machining was extremely well-done, and the trigger (which is supposed to spec at 2 1/4 pounds) had almost no take-up, a pristine break and no overtravel I could perceive.
Today I brought a small set of pliers to the range and began the very tedious process of getting the mags set up to feed correctly. After about 100 rounds (!) I finally got the pistol feeding most 5 round strings without a hitch, although there were still occasional mis-feeds, although these seem to be consistently fewer and fewer.
Truth be told, after all this I was getting a little disheartened. I had signed up for the 'tweaking' part, but it's hard to maintain your enthusiasm when a new gun won't get through a magazine without a jam. Never really was the patient type.
After getting the gun (mostly) running, though I put out some targets at 50 feet and began actually shooting. All thoughts of regret instantly fled when I realized how well the darn gun shoots. I'm no target shooter, but I eventually was getting five out of five, consistently, on the part of a business card that hung from the target holder. I've never shot any gun this well in my life, and I've had some accurate guns. But this gun made it seem easy to nail the business card, almost as if I was hardly participating in the shooting. Line up the sights, press, hole in the card.
I realize that a real target shooter will want group sizes and such, but I don't really have any. I seldom shoot at bullseyes, and I'm no target shooter, anyway. I've no doubt that the gun can shoot far, far better than I can. But I've never, ever shot a gun that makes me feel like such a good shooter-ever.
Needless to say, I'm a happy camper.
Larry