Mitchell High Standard

[Old Moss]

Good evening all,

Question I just picked up a Mitchell High Standard Citation II, 22LR target pistol.  There is clear references to both Mitchel Arms and to High Standard.  The Owners manual refers to both companies equally.  My Question is do I have a Mitchell or a High Standard target 22?  I have been looking for a good target 22 for several years.  Have I got a good one or did I get riped off.  This is just not an area I'm learned on.  Thanks for any insight.  Old Moss   

[Graybeard]

Mitchell bought rights to use the High Standard Pattens to make guns basically identical to what HS once did. If it has the Mitchell name on it you have a Mitchell made High Standard.

[Hairtrigger]

Shoot it a bunch and tell us how you like it.
I am seeing a few in local shops for sale.

[Old Moss]

  Thanks Greybeard, I figured you had the scoop.

Hairtrigger, You bet, I can't wait to try her out.  I figure that she can't be to bad I have never had a bad twenty-two ever, maybe not perfect but always had fun shooting them no matter what.   

Anyone else out there have or have maybe shot one of the Mitchell High Standards?   

This is a stainless / nickel version of the Supermatic Citation, 71/2 inch fluted barrel.  Looks well made, Fit & Finish compare well with other Target 22s,  I'm not saying it is a S&W 41 but we have to see how it shoots.  The checkered grips are walnut with sharp clean checkering.  The stippling on grip front and back clean & sharp as well 

   Trigger with snap cap in, is right at 43 oz right out of the box, no creep, clean break, zero over travel.  Sights clear and sharp.  Will keep you all posted.  Thanks for the help   

Old Moss

[Savage]

Come on, Moss! Give us an update on how your new HS shoots!!  If you wouldn't mind, how much did you pay for yours?
Savage

[Old Moss]

   Finally work let up!

Well gents, I took out my Mitchell High Standard, The day was bright sunny, 38 deg, wind 16-18mph coming at me from about 10-11:00.  At twenty-five yards with my forearms over sand bags I shot five types of ammo, Rem tgt, Win tgt, CCI tgt, Rem HV solid, Win HV solid.  It started out not so promising, accuracy was not what I hoped.  To make a long story (but Fun) short, The Mitchell did not like any of the lead target stuff - period.  All shot around 5" at twenty five yards.  The Remington target would also miss fire, and the CCI would jam I believe due to the shape of their bullet (jam up into the roof of the chamber).   

Now I also noticed I was not doing my best shooting, My right eye kept blurring and watering, had a hard time keeping a good sight picture.  Has anyone else had this problem? (cold and windy).  I know I'm also getting old    Has anyone had better luck shooting open sights with trifocals (my next optical upgrade) 

Any who, The Rem & Win High Velocity solids did a bit better, Rem wore not as accurate as Win and occasionally misfired and a couple jammed.  The Wins' shoot without a hitch.  I kept 13 out of 20 in a 2" square of that 11 went into 1 1/2" square.  this I accomplished 3 separate times. 

So would you say this gun has potential or not?   

It felt great and I really enjoyed shooting it.  Could different ammo make a difference?  Should I try any other target ammo or stick with HV stuff?  Could Hollow points make a difference? 

The gun is a keeper,  But will it be regulated to a hunting/plinker, and then I will need to save up for a target grade (S&W 41) OR is there enough kinds of ammo out there to help turn it into a real shooter?  Is a consistent 2" group at 25yds poor, fair, good?

That's my up-date.  thanks for the inputs, More to come.  Thanks Old Moss   

[Cheesehead]

I shot a High Standard in bullseye competition for years. I even used Mitchell magazines at times. The occasional misfeed could be remedied by adjusting the "lips" of the mag with a needle nose pliers, by trial and error. This would make all ammo feed @ 99.9%.

Cheese

[bobthenailer]

of the 10 or so mitchell h/s ive seen in action on the bulleye range over the years,  all were plaged with 1 or more problems ,with only one that worked as expected,  most people traded them  or bought  the old hi standard made in hampton or hartford conn.

[gbjb_cfaith]

Please be aware if you dry fire this handgun, it will break the firing pin!  I also would have about 5 inch groupings... and my Colt actually was more acurate.  But it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks.

[mbopp]

I don't know about Mitchells but the Hi Standard target pistols should only be fed standard velocity ammunition. And yes if you dry fire it you run the risk of breaking a firing pin and / or peening the chamber mouth. If you peen the chamber resist the urge to file it flat. Instead use a chamber tool or taper punch to push the metal back where it belongs.

Here's some reading on the care and feeding of Hi Standards:

http://home.roadrunner.com/~jbarta/otherstuff.html

http://yarchive.net/gun/pistol/high_standard_magazines.html

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/  (High Standard forum)