JC Higgins pump....WOW!

Wrong Way

Wrong Way

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
198   0   0
Location
Ontario.....far enough N of T.O. that I (almost) c
I was going through the FIL's long-guns last night getting an EE ad together, and one of the guns he is selling is a JC Higgins pump. I got playing with it, and it is, far and above, the smoothest, silkiest operating pump I have ever handled. So far superior to my rems, winchesters and even my browning that it is a huge mystery to me why they are no-longer made. I can cycle the pump on this gun without holding the forend! Just holding the pistol grip and moving the gun forward then back will cycle it! (And no, it's not worn in...I'm pretty sure it's unfired since new)

All machined parts, the loading gate of a mossberg, the strength of a Remmy, operation to rival the BPS...... Being a gun from the 70's, it seems to have the stuff that we look for today. Short barrel (like 24-26"), excellent feel, great swing.......except for the poly-choke (Which I personally like) it seems that it would be the "perfect pump-gun" for today's market. What ever happened to this line/manufacturer?
higgins_1_1.jpg
 
Last edited:
"What ever happened to this line/manufacturer?"

Amswer is in the post above yours.
 
Wrong Way said:
or is it just that ALL old guns are higher quality than the new ones?
Click to expand...
Pretty much. A Remington from the 70's would be of much better quality than the junk they make these days. If JC Higgins was still around today, chances are they'd be making "Walmart-grade" shotguns like other American gun makers.
 
WrongWay: For good or ill, 'JC Higgins' (read: Sears) was the death of High Standard. They made firearms for Sears and after awhile Sears became the number one purchaser of High Standard firearms. Of course, Sears put the 'squeeze' on them; every year they had to reduce the price of each firearm they sold to Sears. And because they were their number one customer, High Standard could not tell them to pound sand. Wal Mart recently did the same thing to Tupperware. Less and less profit means cost cutting and a lower quality product. Lower product quality equals less buyers. High Standard bit the dust in the early '80's. I own an old 20 ga. pump shotgun made by High Standard and agree it is a great firearm.
 
got my fathers old jc higgins model 20 (high standard 200) with an 18 1/2" barrel fixed cyl. bore. I use it exclusivly as a 100 yard slug gun for paper targets at the range.

I've had so many people comment on how unbelievably smooth the action is. I agree that I would NEVER give this shotgun up for anything!

To me, this 'ole girl is my trench gun, and just like everyone else it will protect me when the zombies strike!

I wish I had a digi cam to show u ..

Curious, on the bottom of the stock, there is a metal inset that looks like a crest. Mine has long since worn off any markings that were on it. Does anyone know what originally was on this metal crest?
 
Last edited:
Have a friend that has one and he takes it out once a year and shoots it because that's all it will last. The single slide does not stand up to repetitive action [trap] and it has been broken and welded\brazed twice. This year he finally bit the cost and the gunshop brought him in a new slide and changed it out for $108.00 Maybe he is too rough on it but I have seen it broken as much as it is functional.
Having said that, some may really enjoy them, everybody has a soft spot for certain guns, mine is for the old Ithaca 900 autoloaders.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom