As I mentioned in another thread, my Son was given a nice J.C. Higgins rifle. The rifle is in great shape, and the wood on the stock is well figured, and appears to be Walnut.

Back in the 90's my Son killed his only Mule Deer with this rifle, while hunting in Wyoming. This rifle is a 'keeper' for him.

The rifle is a .30-06, and the receiver is marked "Action-Made in Belgium", and it has the FN logo.
Buried somewhere in my memory is a snippit that says the action was barreled and stocked by SAKO in Finnland, and imported for Sears.
On the barrel it gives the model number '50', and a Sears part number of 583.96. It does say Sears Roebuck and Co. as well.

Does anyone have info on this old timer?

The scope is also a J.C. Higgins, and says "rifleman Senior 4X". Any ideas about who made the scope? Looks a lot like an old Weaver.

This is the rifle in question.

how times change.
you couldn't get a rifle that well made from any of the big boy's today.
and that was a Roebucker,low cost rifle in it's day.

Articles:

http://www.gunsandammomag.com/cs/Satellite/IMO_GA/Story_C/J.C.+Higgins+Model+50

http://www.chuckhawks.com/j_c_higgins_50.htm

Download manual:
http://gunmanuals.net/Manuals/jchiggins_51l.pdf

Bruce

Good story about your son. Those rifles are good ones. As I have mentioned before my late dad made tooling for High Standard when they made up the M50 & M51's for Sears. HS made the barrels and put the rifles together in their New Haven plant. I visited that plant with my dad.

The Hawks article mentions a hinged floor plate and the M51 had I have has one that could slide off and it has a push button to release it but no hinge.

I see, like my dad, you added a recoil pad.

Sam,

I had always heard that the barrels were chrome lined and manufactured by High Standard. I have owned a couple of them. And I currently have one that has been rebarreled to .280 Rem. I once owned a .270 that came with the original 2 1/2x scope. My scope was in bad need of a rebuild. I called Weaver Scope Repair Serv, and was informed that the scopes were manufactured by Weaver... (As I had suspected.) I sent it in and I still have it. Nice, bright, crystal clear scope. It will likely end up on the .280, HTH,

Grasshopper

That is a beauty...

Great rifle... very much sought after.

The FN action is very smooth. The rifles are typically excellent shooters.

The one thing to replace is the trigger. The one they come with is inherently unsafe. Half the mechanism is attached to the receiver, and the other half is attached to the stock. Lift the action out of the stock with the bolt cocked and the rifle goes off.

I think that scope was a standard option. I got one just like it with the one I bought.

If for any reason you re-stock it, the trigger guard is 1/4" shorter than a military Mauser. You have to be careful to get the right size hole.

another +1 on that being a fine rifle...
Ingwe

a buddy, Noel, out in nebraska owns one... i offered to buy it once... oh well... we're still friends.....

GPC has a house/store brand to manufacturer & model cross reference table on their site, but their table doesn't show either a Sears Model 50 or 583.96. They do show a Sako L46 as both a JCH 52 and a Sears 583.126, plus a Browning FN300 as a JCH 54.

I'm sure that Weaver made some of the Sears house/store brand scopes, so it is possible/probably that your Sears scope was made by Weaver in ElPaso. It looks like a nice example of a 1950s vintage mail order cataloge FN Mauser sporting rifle.

Jeff

The Sears Model 50 with a 6x J.C. Higgins scope was my first bolt action rifle. I bought it on a time payment deal at a sale at Sears while still in college in about 1955 or 1956. I think I paid about $60 with scope and a box of ammo, and we had a choice of .270 or .30-06. They were sold with Bakelite butt plates with a white spacer between the pad and stock, so your recoil pad was an aftermarket addition.

I still was enamored with Jack O'Connor's writing, and chose the .270. I killed quite a few Coues deer and mule deer, a couple of pronghorn, an elk and a bison with it before I had Harry Lawson restock it with his Cochise thumbhole design.

I also used it in the silhueta metalicas matches in northern Mexico for a couple of seasons in the late-1960s, and even won a tournament with it. These were fired offhand without slings at metal animal targets from 200 to 500 meters.

As someone mentioned, the factory trigger setup was not good, and this became apparent after Lawson tried to lighten my trigger. After having it fire on closing the bolt with a round in the chamber and taking it back to him several times, I installed a Timney trigger myself, and everything worked fine after that.

The only thing I didn't like about that rifle was its safety lever. I carried my rifle on a sling from my right shoulder, and it was constantly knocked off safe whenever it brushed against me. It happened so many times I got so I wouldn't load the chamber until ready to shoot.

It was a great rifle, and I still have it, but I retired it years ago and went through a variety of calibers and makers before settling on the 7 mm Remington Magnum that I put together by building a stock for a Czech-built Mauser barreled action and installing a new trigger and a Model 70-style safety.

Bill Quimby

Now that you mention it, the crown of the barrel did look shiney and bright. Looks like the front end of some of my evil black rifles, so it may very well be a chrome lined barrel, which would make it from High Standard then.


Thanks so much guys for all the information. Helps a lot.

Denton, I'll order a trigger from Midway this week, and replace the factory one. Sure don't need any accidents. Thanks.

An uncle of mine worked for Sears back in the '50's and '60's. Everything he owned came from there. All his outdoor gear was JC Higgins, including his .270 which looked a lot like that rifle.

I also own one in 270 great rifle. I have the same problem with the safety while carrying it on my shoulder. I would like to change out trigger and have the safety moved any suggestions can this be done Thanx DWG

If you do take the safety off (and I agree they are kinda peculiar) there are a fair number of guys out there that will pay you for it.

I stuck a Pac-Nor 6.5x55 barrel on mine. Momma! That's a rifle.

BTW, if anyone needs the period scope, I think I still have the one I got with mine. Pay postage, and it's yours.

The numbers 586.-- is a date code.
Mine is 583.--
I haven;t been able to locate a source to find out what it is.

This link might help you further identify. I've used it many times.

http://www.hoosiergunworks.com/catalog/cross_reference.html

Mannlicher's sons gun, using the Sears part number '583.96' shows it to be a Sears model 50, in 30-06 made for Sears by FN Mauser.

I remember that the Sears' ads for the rifle I bought mentioned "chrome steel" barrels, but this is the first I knew that High Standard made them. Makes sense.

Bill Quimby

Wink Man, that link it Hoosier is a great find. Thanks!

High Standard also made them, using the same action. IIRC, the High Standards were a little fancier, and a company called Winslow made some really high grade ones.

Before Weatherby built his own action, he used this, or a similiar action. Some of the older Brownings used this action, but the Brownings were slightly different. I think about the only difference was in the bolt release.

Again, IIRC FN exported at least two styles of actions, possibly three, a standard, as this one is, and a Supreme 400. The Supreme had a different cocking piece, and was equiped with a trigger with a side safety. The trigger was made by Sako. I have one. Seems like I remember something about a series 300 action, also, with a modified wing type safety, or it might be the one pictured.

FN also exported the actions, barreled actions, and complete rifles. The rifles were a little fancier than the Sears.

J.C. Higgens was a vice president at Sears. He neither hunted or fished. Sears put his name on all their outdoor for whatever reason large companies do things like this. It might have been an honor thing.

But back to the point, it doesn't get any better than a rifle with an FN action, regardless of who put it togather.

The FN action is an excellent one however, in my view, it does get better with a pre 64 M70 action or rifle. I like the safety a lot better on the pre 64. Other features, less important to me, are good on the FN.

I have an FN Deluxe 270 for sale at a gun shop here. Its on consigement for $595. If that were a pre 64 M70 it would be priced at $995!

Here is a picture of the FN. The scope on it now at the Autumn Gun Works is a Weaver.

The FN High Power rifle action is one of the smoothest and highest quality actions around (better than the M-70 IMHO). Barreled actions were imporited by J.C. Higgins, Colt, High Standard and completed rifles were imported by Firearms International, Husquarnia and, Garcia.

Great, strong and smooth rifles!

Denton do you still have the JC Higgins scope? My uncle's, and now my 270 has a 2X that I do not know if it can be refurbished for my college bound-not headed for but held by-son. It is a mighty clean shooter!

God bless you and yours and me and mine and especially those that do not want to be blessed.

Those are absolutely beautiful rifles and to think they were bought at Sears. My what times we live in now!

Weaver did make many of the J.C. Higgins scopes. I have a K3 that is marked Sears.

Ditto on replacing the trigger on the JCH/FN rifles. It is a rinky-dink set-up. I don't know who came up with that one! Luckily any trigger designed for the 98 Mauser will work.

Montgomery Ward also imported a high-grade Mauser 98 rifle in the late 1960's, sold under their Western Field brand. These were built by the well-known firm of Heym in Germany, on good German military 98 actions that were spiffed up considerably, including having one of those little German locking levers on the bottom of the hinged floorplate. The safety is similar to the JCH/FN's, but the trigger is a standard 98 design though single-stage. The barrels were by Heym (and hence very good) and the stock wood generally of better quality than on the JCH rifles, though of typical German design. The Model 720 was a standard sporter with an FN-style bolt handle, Monte Carlo stock and 24" barrel, while the Model 724 had a Mannlicher stock, flat bolt handle, and 22" barrel.

I have a model 50 higgins barreled action, in witch i put a timney trigger, and had it restocked by MPI. its an 06
they did a fine job , and I had a nice shoot with it just this week.
The 22 inch chrome lined barrel gives good velocity and fine accuracy too.
I squirted some 165 grain hornady interlocks, out of her at just over 2900 FPS , and got an avarage of just a shade over an inch.
I now have another higgins action with a pac-nor 22 inch barrel and a side safty timney trigger.
I Think I will finish it off with a set of NEGC sights and a barrel band sling swivel, than have it stocked like a euro safri rifle but with a higher comb for using scopes.
A guy just cant have to many nice 30,06s.
i recently sold a FN just like 99s. Great rifle killed a buck with iy a couple years ago.
But I would prefer a higgins. Who needs an 8lb 270 ?
...tj3006

I just bought one from a gentleman on GA for $175.00. He said his father painted the stock and it can only be described as "different". I will strip the stock and refinish it. They are good rifles. I had an '06 but sold it a few years ago. Thanks...Bill.

Very good rifles. It's hard to believe that such quality was available in a low cost rifle but that's what we had back then with a dollar worth something and Europe trying to recover from the war.

I've got a Ted Williams by Sears that, in a more familiar form, is known as a 101 Winchester. Beautiful little 20 ga IC/M gun. Savage 99.... if that FN 270 is original and in exellent condition, drop me a PM as I would be interested. Tried to PM you, but your box is full.
dan

WOW - $175 -- a real steal. The barreled action alone would be worth $450 or so, depending on condition. Hope the stock celans up well; FN rifles generally had very good woood.

Montgomery Ward also used FN commercial actions in their rifles.

Every now and then a NIB JC Higgins FN Mauser shows up on
GB or AA.

PM sent.

Thanks. I forgot to say that is has a Redfield scope on it also. He said it had a Weaver in his ad on GA but it's a Redfield.

Do you know of any other manufacturers of Sears scopes? I have a Sears Model 784 scope that is similar to a Weaver K3, but differs in the turret mounting. Mine has visible screws in a two piece mounting saddle, something that I haven't seen in actual K model Weavers.

I picked up one of those in 270 this winter for $225/shipped. I might send it out for a King bbl in either 7x57 or 9.3x62.



.

Rick: ....and they wonder why some of us don't like the rifles made today,with all that plastic and stuff,resembling a beserk erector set...

If I knew a case would rupture I would rather be holding the 98 Mauser than a Pre-64 Model 70!
whelennut

...and Sako...

Shoot it as a 270 first. Model 50s have a well deserved reputation for excellent accuracy. Rebarreling will change the caliber, but probably won't improve accuracy.

+1 on that. See how it shoots before messing with it-I suspect you will be pleasantly surprised.

I've already had the bbl removed before shooting it. I have already a new custom 700 in 270win anyways.


.

I remember back when I was a kid, going into the big Sears store at the mall near us. They had a whole row of guns. Marlin 30-30's, Winchester '94's and what-have-you. I really liked that store. No guns in it now.

I remember those days too. Unfortunately, today we are dominated by Hysterics running our once GREAT Nation, and just the thought of a piece of steel has the Hysterics running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

Back in 1959 my dad and I bought a used double barreled shotgun from a shop in downtown Dallas. They didn't wrap it or anything and
we carried it for about 4 blocks and knowbody seemed to pay that much attention, not even the traffic cops at the corner.
It would be different now.

Nice. I have that rifles twin in 06. My father bought it new and I still have the owners manual. Yes the barrel is chrome lined. I have others but my main go to rifles for big game are the Higgins in 06 and my re-barreled FN in 35 Whelen. I dont't know why others are having issues with it but I've never had the safety come off unless I released it however I have been carrying cold for years now. Timney triggers in both now as well. Take it for a walk the rifle wants to hunt. Bear

Yes, it is generally considered a bad idea to disassemble a rifle without unloading it first.

Why are they so sought after?


.

One of my pets is a J.C. Higgins M51L that has a Husqvarna 1600 action barreled and stocked by High Standard. Light weight, accurate, and not bad looking.

I have built a lot of custom rifles on the JC Higgens, Sears etc. FN Mausers..Up to about 2 years ago you could buy them for $165. all day long..Today they fetch a lot more than that. I see them now on ocassion for about $375 to $400 and I pick them up. They are excellent actions for most calibers. The exceptions are the STW and RUMs. they are not well suited for those high PSI calibers.