Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles JC Higgins 51-L

I got this pretty cheap. The stock needed refinishing but it cleaned up pretty nice. This is the one made by Husqvarna. Not sure if Hi standard made the barrel, but its not chrome lined like the FN ones, at least I don't think it is. Hard to believe you could go down to Sears and buy one of these. I got my eye on a FN version next. I'd put the quality of this gun against any factory rifle you could buy today.

Very nice! I had one in 30-06 many years ago but sold it in a fit of stupidity (that happens pretty often). Your wood looks better than mine did if my memory can be trusted. The checkering on mine was very coarse, perhaps 16 lines per inch. Enjoy it, it makes for a nice light rifle.

Very nice rifle.

Nice little small ring Husquvarna HVA Mauser. They have always been somewhat undervalued on the market and are a great rifle.

Gunbuilder Steve Berg used to carry this one when he was guiding in Alaska and after the stock was broken in an aircraft accident he restocked it using FN bottom metal, rather than the original aluminum one.



The FN ones are also usually good bargins as well

This one is 30-06. I just put a old steel Weaver K-4 on it. Looks perfect. Anyone know if high standard did these also?

Excellent vintage rifles.

Cool. I love Huskies.

The action and trigger guard on the 51-L are Husqvarna. The stock and barrel were done by High Standard.

Lord knows I've bought a couple of those in my day and always looking for more!

I shot my first moose 45 years ago with a JC Higgins in 30-06. Dad had acquired it from a friend whose brother had used it to shoot his wife and then himself. I was an accurate rifle, and came with an old Weaver scope with a post and crosshair reticle, but Dad didn't like it so he stripped it back to irons. I always wished he had kept the rifle, but he traded it for a Savage 99C in 308.

I've only got $300 in it including the scope. I didn't know these steel tube weavers came with a duplex reticle. I've got several of the old Weavers that I got from my Dad, they all have Dots or fine crosshairs, and one with a post. Can't wait to get it out and shoot it. I'm gonna keep my eye open for more of these old JC Higgins.

I looked but did not see the caliber mentioned?

I have two model 50 Higgins rifles. These are the ones that sport FN Mauser actions. I have posted many questions about them, and gotten few answers. the two I have are in 30-06 and 270, the only two calibers of the model 50 (the 270 caliber is far and away the rarest of two). Here is what I note about my two:

Early - The early ones have a sight slot at the front receiver, and a semi-buckhorn sight turned backwards. The tapered portion of the barrel shank is shorter on this model, and the action will fit into a MARK X stock or later stock, but there will be a noticeable gap at that shank as a result. I am pretty sure that the bore is chrome lined. it is rapid taper and the diameter is about .550. The safety is a Buehler-type, and releases on the left, so you have to reach over the bolt shroud to access it. The action is FN marked. If you buy one, try to get one with bases attached, because there ain't another base made today that fully fits it - even the models by Leupold require an additional hole to be drilled, and Leupy will tell you that if you call. I have one on ebay right now under my moniker of 'kfb2b' there. Talleys might fit, but man will you have the mad-jack in it at the end! A Weaver/Rem 788 rear fits too, but you have to shorten the screws due to the bolt flange. The floor plate is held by a spring tension button and while very secure, you need to be cognizant of that fact, because it is not permanently attached and if it disconnects, then it will go bye-bye, and that can be embarrassing in a deer stand. the stock is bedded at the action only and has a pressure point at the tip, and has very-very nice heavily mineral striped wood, without cheekpiece, and somewhat squared fore end. My early gun in 270 even has very nice feathering in the wood and a plain finish. the sling swivels are mounted in threaded brass posts and can be unscrewed stock. The trigger on my .270 is right at three pounds and is the odd two-piece type in this design

Later - The later models (my 30-06)are nearly the same as above, but the barrel shank is longer, the safety is one the other side, and the barrel rear sight sports a neat little rear sight block/knuckle for a a semi-buckhorn rear that just the same sight flipped 'round the other way, as we are used to seeing it (note that on mine,t he evelators did not interchange!) rear. The stock is fully glass bedded thru the action a rear and barrel channel, has detachable swivels, and a very-very pretty straight-grained stock that features gorgeous light/heavy mineral streaking that gives the varnish stock an almost 3-D effect.

Both guns have super-smooth actions, and I want to eventually get one of the later guns and have it re-bored to 35 Whelen. I have $350 in to '06 (sell scope) and $500 total in the .270, but that includes the 1-pc. bases and Weaver 4-12 power scope with tapered reticle tht I bought from a 'Fire member.

I will try to post some pics before the missus and I head to Asheville.

Here are the pics:

The Shiny-varnish stock s the later model by serial number. Both guns have a weird code stamped into the barrel that cannot be deciphered.

This pic shows both guns and you can see the rear sight types plus a bith of the barrel shanks differences and safeties:


This shows the buttstock of the early .270 & �06, look at the wood that was considered average/economy back in the day!

Butt on the �06:



this shows the slight difference in the safeties � on the .270, that is a bit harder to get to and I bet that is why ot changed:

note that I have seen several 270 mod. 50�s, and they all have this style safety.

Here is the Receiver detail of both � as you can see, they are nearly the same, witht the .270 on the bottom, note that the mineral streaking in the top gun turns into this pretty mottled streak in the forearm area:

blairvt- thanks for posting that pic. I'd never seen the model 51-l before. Nice looking gun, and probably real accurate as well.
I picked up an FN/High Standard model 51 a decade ago and it remains my favorite rifle. What caliber ? Mountainjam

Sorry, just saw your more recent post saying it was an '06. That and K4 are great combination. Mountainjam

That's the first Mod 50 I have seen with the safety on the right side.

I've the 50 in 270 and 30-06 and 51-L in .243.

The FN model 50 and 51 have the chrome lined barrels and are based on the large ring FN action. The 51-L barrel is not chrome lined and is based on the small ring Husqvarna action.

Bases for a commercial FN large ring action should fit the 50 and 51. Just double the rear receiver hole spacing.

Weaver Grand Slam Bases- Sears � 50, 51 FN action. S45: Rear; S46: Front.

Weaver Grand Slam Bases


Geo

I have two of these also, both in 30-06. Both have the "new" style sight with the bolt shroud in-the-white and the safety on the left. Neither was bedded from the factory, although the wood to metal fit on one was so good that I decided not to bother bedding it. The safety on the left is a bit awkward, but I've never seen a 50 any other way. I suspect that the blue shroud and RH safety may have been swapped in later.

Boy, for the days when you could walk into Sears, put your money down and walk out with a rifle of this quality for under $100:

Note the "backwards" sight in the ad. The bore is definitely chrome lined.


Both of mine are configured like this:
[img]http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e166/nat_mann/JChigginsmodel50pic.jpg[/img]


As far as boring it to 35 Whelen, I once had the same thought but reconsidered. Model 50s are so accurate it doesn't make much sense to fool with them. I ended up rebarreling a Mark X instead. Even if you used a premium barrel you would be lucky if $500+ later the gun shot as well as it did with the original barrel. If you do go ahead with reboring, be sure to mention to the gunsmith that the barrel is chromed before you get an estimate.

I have one of the Model 50 FN Mausers and I love it ,its fast becoming my go-to rifle.I topped it with a Weaver K4

I like these, but contrary to what I have heard, had never had one that was very accurate with the factory barrel.

I've had one for more than 25 years, have read everything I could find on them and you are the very first person I've ever read who didn't wax ecstatic over the accuracy.

Guns and Ammo:

"using some fairly elderly 130-grain Remington Bronze Points, I managed to get a couple of 2 1/4-inch 200-yard groups. It'd been some time since I'd shot the rifle, and the trigger wasn't quite as light as I'd have liked. Then I switched to Winchester 130-grain Power-Point Plus loads, and the rifle still held in there at two inches even. Then I moved the target back in to 100 yards, and going back to the Bronze Points, I was rewarded with the best "light sporter/factory ammo" three-shot group I can recall--a scintillating half-inch."

http://www.gunsandammo.com/content/jc-higgins-model-50?page=3#ixzz1M40iJXz4

My experience was unusual in that my first Model 50 was my first centerfire rifle. I'd read about one inch groups and after shooting factory ammo in my 50 I wondered what the big deal was because it shot everything under an inch at 100 yards. With ammo it liked .6 to .75 groups were expected. It wasn't until I got a few more sporters that I realized just how special it was.

I once was checking the zero prior to deer season when there was a hard core benchrester on the next rest. He had the full regalia; a scope and 6mm PPC rifle that cost more than my car; three sets of wind flags on the 100 yard range, a portable press to tweak his handloads.

When the bell rang and we changed targets he noticed the sub inch groups and said "Those look pretty good, what are you shooting?". You should have seen the look on his face when I told him "Factory ammo from my Sears 30-06.".