The company was founded in Connecticut in 1926 as a supplier of deep hole drills and specialty machines to the numerous firearms companies in the Connecticut Valley. In 1932, the company, headed by Carl Gustav Swebilius, purchased the Hartford Arms and Equipment Company and began making .22 caliber pistols.

Development continued and significant sales of .22 caliber pistols were made to the U.S. Government which trained hundreds of thousands of servicemen in World War II using the High Standard pistols. During the war, the company also produced thousands of .50 caliber machine guns and machine gun parts in addition to various pistols for the military. By the 1950's, the High Standard .22 pistol was the gun of choice on the NRA pistol competition circuit.

As the company expanded its product offerings away from the .22 pistols, adding such products as derringers, .22 revolvers, .22 rifles and sporting and police shotguns.

The company also began to manufacture private label handguns for the major mass merchandising chains. Its J.C. Higgins line for Sears, Roebuck, Company was a very successful product line.

In 1952, Sgt. Joe Benner, U.S.  Army,  won the Gold Medal in the Olympic Rapid Fire competition using a High Standard pistol. Then again in 1960, Colonel William McMillan, U.S. Marines, won the Gold Medal in the Olympic Rapid Fire competition using a High Standard pistol. These are the only Gold Medals won using an American-made firearm in this event!

At this point, the company made some significant changes to its product line-up-yielding the .22 pistol still made today.

These new pistols featured a new grip design with the grip at the same angle as the Colt .45 pistol also used in competition. In this way, a shooter could shoot the .22 leg of the course and then the .45 competition without having to think about the way the gun was held for maximum accuracy. These pistols also had the same unique push-button barrel takedown design and micro-adjustable sights that is still available on the pistols today.

In 1968, the company was purchased by the Leisure Group which was a growing conglomerate. By 1975, there had been several management changes and the company relocated to East Hartford in 1976 into a modern leased facility.

In 1978, Clem Confessore, company president, and a group of investors bought High Standard from Leisure Group.

In December 1984,  Gordon Elliott, who had been the National Parts Distributor for High Standard since the mid-1970's, purchased the compnay and all; gauges, tooling, intelectual property, trademarks, and patents.

In the spring of 1993, High Standard Manufacturing Company, Inc. of Houston, Texas acquired the company assets and trademarks. These original assets were transferred from Connecticut to Houston, Texas in July of 1993. The first shipments of Houston manufactured pistols began in March, 1994.

The company is now housed in a modern building in an industrial park in Houston. However, its Connecticut roots are continued with our National Parts Distributor, G.W. Elliott Inc., located in East Hartford; and Bob Shea from North Haven, working with our Custom Gun Shop.

Many civilian and military shooting teams have already acquired these fine pistols for the National and International Competitions! In fact, at the 1995 National Matches at Camp Perry, the number one pistol brand on the .22 caliber firing line was High Standard. The High Standard Manufacturing Company, Inc., Houston, Texas is continuing the traditions of this fine American company! 

We offer a full line of products including weapons, ammunition, parts and accessories. We also offer numerous services  such as repairs and custom work. The weapons that we offer are: 22 match/ target , 1911 match and carry,  AR rifles, AK rifles , and the M16 and M4. Our products are used around world by competition shooters,  hunters, recreational shooters, law enforcement, and the military. High Standard is the "Choice of Champions" and we look forward to being your choice.

You can now find a supply of new pistols, repair parts and qualified repairs for your favorite High Standard pistols.

High Standard is the "Choice of Champions."