Whitney Wolverine

The Whitney Wolverine is a semi-automatic .22 LR caliber pistol created in 1956. Notable for its advanced, "space-aged" looks and then-new aluminum construction, it has a 10-round magazine, a barrel 4.625 inches (117.5 mm) long and a weight of only 23 ounces (650 g).[2]

Whitney Wolverine
TypeSemi-automatic pistol
Place of originUS
Production history
DesignerRobert Hillberg
Designed1953
ManufacturerWhitney Firearms Inc., subsidiary of Bellmore Johnson Tool Co.
Produced1956–1957
No. built13,371 [1]
VariantsNickel Model (~900 produced)
Specifications
Mass23 oz (650 g)
Length9 in (230 mm)
Barrel length4.625 inches (117.5 mm)
Cartridge.22 LR
ActionBlowback
Feed system10-round magazine

History

The Wolverine was engineered by Robert Hillberg, who learned about aluminum casting during WWII while working with aircraft guns and later became research engineer for High Standard Manufacturing Company.[3] Only 13,371 of these .22 semi automatic pistols were made in its short period of production between 1956 and 1958.[4] There were approximately 500 nickel-plated according to company records, the rest finished in varying shades of anodized blue. The plastic grips came in either a black, dark brown or white; the white grips are found mostly on the nickel-plated models. Investment casting of the frame by Alcoa was a new idea for the gun industry at the time; now it is widely used by almost every major gun manufacturer.[5]

Its name, Wolverine, was after Hillberg's favorite football team, the University of Michigan Wolverines. The Whitney name was used because the factory was located near the old Eli Whitney factory site.[6] A victim of extremely poor marketing in the beginning, financial problems and then being under priced by $2.00 by both Ruger and Colt with their new semi-automatics .22, the company was doomed.[7]

The original retail price was $39.95 blue and $44.95 nickel-plated (equivalent to $430 and $484 now).[1][2][8]

Revival attempts

Two companies have attempted to revive the Wolverine model originally design by Whitney, with one of them having succeeded.

Olympic Arms manufactured and sold a version[9] with a polymer frame, instead of aluminum.[1][10] The Olympic Arms version of the Wolverine model Whitney pistol began production in 2002. Its one-piece polymer frame was available in a range of colors: black, brown, tan or pink.[11] However, as of January 2017, Olympic Arms had shut down production and the Wolverine is no longer available.[12]

Samson Manufacturing Corporation had planned on creating their own version, but it never came to fruition. Samson stated that they had the original molds and dies, and had a huge inventory of original parts from the 1950s that they obtained from the original manufacturer.[13][14]

References
  1. Whitney Wolverine Owner's Manual (PDF). Olympia, WA: Olympic Arms. July 2005. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  2. "The Oldest Name in Guns Comes Back" (PDF). Guns. August 1956. pp. 24–27, 66–69. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016.
  3. Card, James (4 September 2012). "Robert Hillberg, 1917–2012". Gun Digest. F+W Media. Retrieved 19 June 2014. History will surely remember Robert L. Hillberg as one of the foremost firearms designers of the 20th century.
  4. Taglienti, Antonio (2008). The Whitney Wolverine: .22 caliber semi-automatic pistol. Woonsocket, RI: Mowbray Publishers. ISBN 978-1931464352.
  5. Bodinson, Holt (July 2009). "Space gun Redux: return of the Whitney Wolverine". Guns. Retrieved 21 June 2014 – via The Free Library.
  6. Wood, J.B. (29 July 2013). "Writer Gets His Whitney Wolverine After Long Wait For Unusual .22". The Gun Mag. Second Amendment Foundation. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  7. "Rise and Fall of the Whitney Wolverine". Rock Island Auction. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  8. 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  9. "Whitney Wolverine". Olympic Arms. Archived from the original on 30 September 2017.
  10. Tartaro, Joe (5 August 2013). "Gun Review: At Long Last, the Whitney Wolverine". Bearing Arms. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  11. Horman, B. Gil (20 June 2014). "Olympic Arms Whitney Wolverine .22 LR Pistol". American Rifleman. National Rifle Association. Retrieved 21 June 2014. This polymer revival of R. Hillberg's 1950s rimfire 'ray gun' is sleek, light and fun to shoot.
  12. Eger, Chris (26 January 2017). "Longtime AR Maker Olympic Arms Going Out of Business". Guns.com. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  13. Xavier (10 January 2006). "Whitney Wolverine Range Report". Nurse With a Gun. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  14. "Coming Soon - The Whitney Wolverine!". Samson Manufacturing Corp. Archived from the original on 31 May 2007.
  • Taglienti, Antonio J. (2008). The Whitney Wolverine .22 Caliber Semi-Automatic Pistol. Andrew Mowbray Publishers, Inc. ISBN 978-1-931464-35-2.
  • Smith, Walter Harold Black (1968). The W.H.B. Smith Classic Book of Pistols. Stackpole Books. p. 791.
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