It was the first semi loader I ever held. I remember a schoolchum showing me his, one afternoon at his house. Odds are, however, that if you buy one of these sweet shooters, you won't EVER sell it, and you sure as heck won't ever wear it out. That also means that regardless of what you pay for it, you will most likely be able to sell it for more that you originally paid for it. Yes, but considering that collectors are driving the prices up, you will have to pay more for it than you could buy a new gun of other current production brands. Would I recommend the Hi Standard Model B. Accuracy is very good, and way better than most shooters can shoot! Good triggers are sort of a Hi Standard trademark. The trigger pull is smooth, and breaks like glass. The lack of target sights is a limitation for club competition, but once you figure out where it's shooting, that's not such a big deal.

It was originally designed as a plinker, and the non-adjustable sights are perfect for that sort of shooting. How's it do out at the range? The feel of the gun is that of a well made, precision piece of equipment. Release the lever, then pull the slide all the way to the rear, and the spring is then released, and you are ready to go. To re-assemble, hold down the takedown lever, and slide the slide all the way forward. You can now push down on the takedown lever, and the slide can be slid to the rear and removed. The slide spring will then be compressed and held by the button. A hand rubbed oil finish made the panels look like they had been on the gun when it was new.ДЇield stripping the Hi Standard Model B is really easy, but if you do it wrong, you can really mess up the gun! REALLY! See that little button on the top of the slide, just in front of the front sight? Pull the slide all the way rearward, then hold down the button, and let the slide move back forward a ways.

It took a little bit of careful routing on the inside of the panels to allow clearance, but a little hand fitting, and they fit perfectly. I had some small pieces of absolutely beautiful walnut, so I made up a set of grip panels to the same dimension as the original bakelite panels. He also replaces some of the springs that looked a little suspect. I had Al strip the gun and check it over, and make sure everything else was in order. The corner of the left grip panel is the retainer for the side frame cover, and the corner of the panel had been broken off, so the side cover had fallen off, along with several other small pieces that the cover had retained.ДЇortunately, Al was familiar with the model B, and was able to order up the replacements for the missing parts. When I first came across this particular Hi Standard Model B, it was in sorry shape. Later models also incorporated a slide lock back lever, which the Model B did not have. On later models the magazine capacity was increased from nine to ten rounds. On later models this was changed, and the grip was extended. Some people didn't like the grip, as for a person with large hands, it was on the short side.

The model B turned out to be a reliable, well made, and accurate pistol. In fact, the Woodsman and the Model B look almost identical, although they are not. The basic design was derived from an earlier Browning design, as was the Colt Woodsman. The one pictured is the long barrel model. They made it in both a long barrel and a short barrel version. When Hi Standard first started producing pistols, the first model they came out with was the model B. The little button on top of the slide is VERY important!

High standard serial number dates