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Need info on Hopkins & Allen "military" .22rf

Shansei45
I'm in the process of auctioning off my 22rf collection over on the auction side, but need more documentation regarding this unusual little rifle.

HOPKINS & ALLENS, THE AMERICAN MILITARY RIFLE. Research guide books I have give scant info and NO pictures of this gun. I've never seen one in my more than 7 decades of collecting.

1HAAMERICANMILITARYRIFLE.jpg

Stampings on barrel, shown below.

8HAAMERICANMILITARYRIFLE.jpg

9HAAMERICANMILITARYRIFLE.jpg

Below is a VERY informative ad another collector found and forwarded to me. It has the MOST info of any printed material I've found so far. There are numerous pics of their JUNIOR repeater bolt-action, but none in single-shot bolt...

HOPKINSandALLENRIFLEAD_edited.jpg

Note their mention of a cleaning kit in the ad? The buttplate has a steel trapdoor covering a storage well in the butt.

I would appreciate ANY info you might be able to find in ANY research books you may have. Thank you in advance.

Best regards ~ ~ ~ Shansei45
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Comments

11 comments

Date Votes
  • rufe-snow
    H & A went out of business,( bankruptcy), during the First World War. I believe it was in 1916. They had a contract to make Mauser Model 1889 military rifles for the Belgian Government. Because of the German occupation of Belgium, H & A couldn't get paid for the rifles.


    If the above is correct, it explains why their are so few of the .22 rifle your inquiring about. As the First World War started in 1914, H & A probably curtailed their civilian production at that time.
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  • Shansei45
    rufe-snow, I had previously read a quote from an unknown source that "this rifle was one H&A submitted for military trials." I could never find any OTHER source of such info. Your comments here may explain part of that "military trials" story...

    We have to keep in mind that this ad is 7 years PRIOR to the start of WW I. Ergo, the demand for military-type .22rfs for youngsters, the military acadamies so prominently mentioned, all must have began at this early point and continued on up into the 1920s.

    The Remington No.4-S, the Meriden Cadet, etc., are in this same time frame. Winchester was about the ONLY major gunmaker who made a couple of samples of a kid's musket and quickly dropped it.

    I'm hoping to learn more about a production figure on this H&A oddball since it appears to be MUCH more rare than I first thought.

    Thanks for your input.

    Best regards ~ ~ ~ Shansei45
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  • yonson
    Another factor in the bankruptcy of H & A was that the vessel carring the shipment of rifles to Europe was lost at sea, an event from which H & A was unable to recover.
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  • Shansei45
    Thanks for the feedback, yonson. One would almost need each year's catalog produced for H&A from 1907 (they mention in the ad to ask for their 1907 catalog) all the way through 1914 Editions. Amy may have them at Cornell. I'll write and ask her.

    Best regards ~ ~ ~ Shansei45
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  • dcs shooters
    You got the same info last December, 45broomhandle. Was'nt the THR info enough [?] It seams there is no more about the rifle.
    The ad you show does not show a repeater as other ads show a tube feed rifle.
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  • Shansei45
    dcs shooters, yes but if it were enough info on this oddball I would not be asking for more. There's a LOT of info missing about this gun. Has anyone ever seen another???

    I've checked Cornell and even her info is VERY limited. Of all her H&A catalogs ONLY ONE mentions this rifle in the index she shows. I'm gonna' order it anyway, and hope she can dig out some more info from her library.

    Her listings mention a "Hopkins & Allen Memerobilia Society" which I ran into problems trying to research. Wikapedia has some kind of weird advertising which comes up on your monitor and only way to get rid of it is to restart your system.

    Will post anything I can find from the Cornell literature.

    Best regards ~ ~ ~ Shansei45 (which by the way is also a 45Broomhandle)
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  • tipups
    Jim Perkins fine book AMERICAN BOYS RIFLES lists a Hopkins & Allen Boys Military Rifle being made 1914-15. The rifle is a rolling block. No mention of the ''American Military Rifle'' on barrel. The other markings of the barrel are listed. He also lists a Junior Repeater Rifle made from 1906-15 As the only bolt action made by Hopkins and Allen. No mention of the American Military Rifle designation on that barrel either.
    From your photograph the rifle is the Junior model. H&A could have built the model at the end of production and tried a new name to sell it because of the trouble in Europe at the time. Might be quite scarce or unique.
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  • tipups
    After looking again, the Junior has a tube mag and no sling.
    I think that you have a unique model and NOT listed in the standard reference books.
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  • Shansei45
    tipups, I checked with Cornell Publishers for info and found they have a reproduction copy of the H&A 1907 Catalog, which I'm ordering. I may learn more after I get that info, and if so, will definitely post here.

    Thanks for the feedback.

    Best regards ~ ~ ~ Shansei45
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  • kannoneer
    I like the fact that the gun can be quickly disarmed IN CASE OF CAPTURE BY THE ENEMY! The 'real English military pistol grip' is also a hoot. I have a modest collection of reference books and I can find no mention of such an arm. I think you've got a real winner there Shansei, thanks for sharing.
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  • Shansei45
    kannoneer, I'm hoping the H&A 1907 catalog will give even more detail of the gun than what is in the above advertisement. In that above ad they mention the cleaning kit, so I've added this photo of the rifle's "trapdoor" buttplate covering the storage well for that kit.

    7HAAMERICANMILITARYRIFLE.jpg

    AND, the "military" rear sight is a real nightmare-looking piece I've NEVER seen before in my 7 decades of collecting!

    Thanks for the feedback.

    Best regards ~ ~ ~ Shansei45
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