[Mardet65]

I just recently acquired a 1960 - 1970's J. C. Higgins, Model 21, Ted Williams Shotgun and was wondering what its value might be. Its in excellent condition and has a feature that I'm not familiar with . . . an adjustable choke setup attached to the end of the barrel. Can someone give me an idea of how it operates? Obviously I'm not experienced with choke shotguns. Thanks.

 

[bobski]

hey devil dog........

its about a 200.00 gun. sounds like you have whats called a pickle on the end. if it twists, its a varichoke, where you can change the choke by twisting it to the marks on the choke body.
its a utility gun. should give you good service.

 

[bobski]

here......i pulled this off the net fyi...
========

According to IMFDB.org “The J.C. Higgins Shotgun Series was a branded commercial shotgun, manufactured by High Standard Arms under contract for the department store chain Sears & Roebuck. J.C. Higgins was specifically a Sears firearms line and was sold in its stores and through its catalog for many years. It was very common in the first half of the 20th century for large retail outfits like Sears, Woolworths, Great Western and others to have firearms manufactured by American gun companies and then sell them under them under their own line. Typically these contract guns were no-frills and therefore more affordable, but quality didn't suffer. The Model 21 "Ted Williams" Deluxe was obviously a more luxurious model. J.C. Higgins was actually a long-term employee of Sears who passed away in 1950. The J.C. Higgins Model 21 "Ted Williams" Deluxe was essentially the same shotgun. The only real difference was cosmetic and therefore it had higher price tag.”

 

[Mardet65]

here......i pulled this off the net fyi...
========

According to IMFDB.org "The J.C. Higgins Shotgun Series was a branded commercial shotgun, manufactured by High Standard Arms under contract for the department store chain Sears & Roebuck. J.C. Higgins was specifically a Sears firearms line and was sold in its stores and through its catalog for many years. It was very common in the first half of the 20th century for large retail outfits like Sears, Woolworths, Great Western and others to have firearms manufactured by American gun companies and then sell them under them under their own line. Typically these contract guns were no-frills and therefore more affordable, but quality didn't suffer. The Model 21 "Ted Williams" Deluxe was obviously a more luxurious model. J.C. Higgins was actually a long-term employee of Sears who passed away in 1950. The J.C. Higgins Model 21 "Ted Williams" Deluxe was essentially the same shotgun. The only real difference was cosmetic and therefore it had higher price tag."

hey devil dog........

Yes, I've read this . . . thank you.

its about a 200.00 gun. sounds like you have whats called a pickle on the end. if it twists, its a varichoke, where you can change the choke by twisting it to the marks on the choke body.
its a utility gun. should give you good service.

Thanks . . . it does have a varichoke that can be changed. Due to the excellent condition its in I believe I'll give the gun a good cleaning and keep it.

 

[bobski]

i would!.......

 

[Mardet65]

i would!.......

U. S. Navy skeet team huh . . . wasn't it kind' a hard to hit those skeet with the deck bobbing up and down all the time?

 

[bobski]

airdale....airfields. dry feet. lol.

 

[Chipdeadloss]

I just recently acquired a 1960 - 1970's J. C. Higgins, Model 21, Ted Williams Shotgun and was wondering what its value might be. Its in excellent condition and has a feature that I'm not familiar with . . . an adjustable choke setup attached to the end of the barrel. Can someone give me an idea of how it operates? Obviously I'm not experienced with choke shotguns. Thanks.

Oh my, an excellent pump for sure. Twin operating rods on the action. Can be "slammed fired". A gun that to this day I regret letting it go. It replaced my first gun. A 3 shot clip bolt action Kessler 12 gauge I got at 13 yrs. old. Traded it in on the JC Higgins pump and that's when I started shooting trap. Mine didn't have the "polychoke" system on it. Straight barrel might have been IM MOD? Besides trap I took a lot of decoying ducks and geese with it. Take care of it and it will give you a lot of pleasurable shooting.

 

[Chipdeadloss]

Oh my, an excellent pump for sure. Twin operating rods on the action. Can be "slammed fired". A gun that to this day I regret letting it go. It replaced my first gun. A 3 shot clip bolt action Kessler 12 gauge I got at 13 yrs. old. Traded it in on the JC Higgins pump and that's when I started shooting trap. Mine didn't have the "polychoke" system on it. Straight barrel might have been IM MOD? Besides trap I took a lot of decoying ducks and geese with it. Take care of it and it will give you a lot of pleasurable shooting.

Uh oh! Pardon me for going off half cocked. No, the JC Higgins mod. 21 didn't have two action rods. Just one. I somehow was thinking of the Remmington 870 I replaced the Mod. 21 with. And the Mod. 21 couldn't be "slam fired". But it sure was a great gun. I apologize for the misinformation.
i

 

[jwsmith1959]

The only gun I ever blew up was a JC Higgins 21. Taught me a valuable lesson. A friend bought a couple at a garage sale and wanted me to do a thorough cleaning. I did not do a complete check up on one of them and wanted to test fire both of them before taking them down all the way. I dropped in a LE 00 Buckshot load and a broken firing pin that was protruding from the bolt face caused an early ignition. The detonation blew the front end of the hull off and mangled the brass base pretty badly. It spit small pieces of brass out that peppered my right arm. It wound up bending the carrier. Unbelievably, a new carrier and firing pin along with a good cleaning and it was good as new.

I know it wasn't a complete blow up...but close enough.

I always do a thorough check of any firearm I shoot now...especially unfamiliar ones.