Posted: 2/29/2008 10:19:33 PM EDT
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Is the High Standard as good or better then the Smith 41 in terms of reliability and accuracy? How about the Ruger MK I/II/III? Many thanks!!! 
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Just for background: I own a Ruger Mk II, shoot a (Hamden-made) High Standard for the Yale Pistol Club, and shot a 41 two weeks ago. I rank them easily as: 1) S&W 41 2) Ruger Mk II 3) High Standard 4) Ruger Mk III The 41 was just sweet. The quality of manufacture, the incredible trigger, the excellent sights, and the precision accuracy were just fabulous. My Mk II is stock, but I can do wonders with it. The High Standard is OK, but it's just not the pistol for me, nor is it reliable with all types of ammo (especially cheap shit from Wal-Mart). I don't like what Ruger has done to the Mk III pistols. It took what was a simple (if somewhat difficult to strip) pistol and screwed with it unnecessarily. HTH!! |
I only shot it using Federal Gold Medal. The fellow who owns it abuses it and uses Wally-World crap. It ran very well. I would posit that if you can afford to buy a 41, you can afford to feed it something better than the cheapest crap you find at Wal-Mart. I would run Federal AutoMatch, at a minimum, if not Winchester T22 (if they still make that). You don't need to shoot Eley, but good stuff wouldn't hurt. ETA: My Mk II is "to hell and back reliable" and will eat just about anything. |
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I'm new here but I have to throw in my opinion. When I was actively bullseye shooting I had 3 brands of target pistol. Browning Medalist. Hi Standard and S&W Model 41. I had a High Standard Victor and a Supermatic Citation Military. When it came time to thin the herd I had a problem selling the Medalist because it was so pretty but I never used it in competition because it had a poor trigger pull and wasn't particularly accurate. It went to a new home. I had no trouble selling the Model 41 because I never liked it. I thought that it had a creepy trigger pull and didn't point well for me. I WILL NOT sell either of my Hi Standards. They have, by far, the best, crispest and most adjustable triggers of the guns I owned. They point naturally and are reliable. I have no experience with Rugers but I can't imagine a better piece than the Connecticut built Hi Standards. Jerry |
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This is the first time I've ever seen someone rank the High Standard behind a Ruger. I'm no expert on competitive target shooting but I believe a High Standard consistently wins over those few who use 41's. While an excellent budget target .22, the Ruger does not come close. BTW- I'm a Colt Woodsman guy. They are hands down my all time favorite .22 handgun. |
| I have a High Standard Supermatic Trophy, a S&W M-41 and a Ruger Mk II Government Model. I have used all three in Bullseye competition and I like them in the order I have listed them. The Ruger will shoot a wider range of ammunition but it will not group as well as either the H/S or the S&W. |
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I think that even with guns as good as the High Standards and Model 41s, there is enough individual variability in the guns, that combined with personal preference, will produce different results. I have a 41. It is very accurate, with a terrific trigger. Great range gun, but I wouldn’t take it into the field. I have a couple of Ruger MK II and MK IIIs. They have good triggers, not as good as the 41, but good, and can be very accurate, but probably not quite as accurate as the 41. I would not hesitate to take them into the field. They are stainless and pretty near indestructible. I wouldn’t want to take a chance of damaging a 41 by taking it into the field. |
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The Hi-Standard pistols made in the 50's and 60's are 100X's better quality than the High Standard pistols made in the 80's. I have 2 mid 50's Supermatics that will out shoot just about anything out there. The Smith 41 is a great pistol but I would take my Hi-Standards any day. |
| I have had old High Standards and a couple Smith 41's. They were all equally accurate with their preferred ammo, and the triggers were great on all of them, but the HS military grip target models just fit me better--it felt like an extension of my hand. You need to feel them both to see which fits better. |
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(IMHO) The Hi-Standard is the better target pistol both out of the box and when tuned. The S&W41 is a fine pistol in its own right but not quite as nice. I'm more familiar with it and so it's what I would choose if I had to pick up one of the two and fire a match right now but that doesn't mean I think it's the better pistol. Reliability wise, I'd say they're about the same. In my experience, the Hi-Standards are prone to grouchy mags whereas the 41s have a higher incidence of stovepipes/FTE and light strikes on the casing. YMMV If I were to buy a 41, I'd get the extractor tuned and the action springs buffed up. The Hi-Standard would get new grips and feed ramp polishing first. I'm inclined to say that it's realy just a matter of opinion, though. Certainly, neither gun is bad and with proper maintenance and a few tweaks each can be an upper-class gun. As to how they compare to the Ruger, I'd say that the Ruger needs more work and customization. The stock sights aren't as nice, the trigger (especially on the new MKIIIs) isn't as good and there's that nagging problem of needing high-velocity ammo. To the credit of the Rugers, I think their mags are better and more reliable and they're certainly not lacking in the accuracy department. The only main complaint with Rugers are a lack of "nice" features. Nothing about them is inherrently bad, I don't think. I don't care for the safety features added to the MKIIIs but what can you do? |
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Say, TrojanMan..........what do you mean by an "extractor tuned". Is there something that goes wrong with the extractor? I have a S&W Model 41 .22LR in 5"Bbl. Bought in the late 80's. I like S&W's so that is why I bought mine. I use mine about every week for plinking paper targets, very accurate. I also like the fact it is easy to change the trigger pull, both weight and stop. I really like this pistol, but I know High Standard is good too, so it boils down to what you like. Good luck in picking one and shoot the heck out of it. |
I had a M41 long ago and sold it because while accurate, it did not point well for me. I currently have a Supermatic Citation 6" fluted barrel that shoots like a dream. But by far the best would be either a Walther OSP, GSP the trigger pull on mine was about 6 oz!  My favorite Wlther Hammerli Olympia. 
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P08, those are nice old guns. I had a GSP in my active days, too. I preferred the Hämmerli 208 for purely asthetic reasons. The old High Standards are very nice guns and are chereished by their owners, so are the M41s. If you are a top end shooter, you will notice the difference - and most likely go for a very different gun. That gun will have very different grips. |