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Whitney Wolverine .22 LR?

SouthernGent
Does anyone have any info on the Whitney Wolverine .22 semi-auto?

Another inherited gun and this one needs some repair work. I cannot find any info other than the reintroduction of the "new" Wolverine soon.

Is it worth getting repaired?
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Comments

10 comments

Date Votes
  • Herschel
    They were in production in the 1950's. They were probably ahead of their time in design and materials but did not stay in production for very long. I suspect getting parts would be a problem.
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  • mrmike08075
    WHITNEY FIREARMS INC.
    NORTH HAVEN CONNECTICUTT USA
    LIGHTNING or WOLVERINE

    designed by ROBERT HILLBERG in 1954, while he was working for BELLMORE-JOHNSON TOOL COMPANY, the WHITNEY pistol was made in a small factory in STATE STREET, NORTH HAVEN. only 10,000 were made in a single production run, distribution exclusivly being in the hands of J.L. GALEF of NEW YORK. the buisness concern was sold to CHARLES E. LOWE COMPANY in 1956, and a few additional guns were made largely from componants remaining from "WHITNEY" production. guns remained in stock and available for purchase until the early 1960`s.

    the pistol was a rather complex design. the light alloy frame carried a well raked butt and a tubular reciever. into the reciever went a cylindrical "slide" into wich the breechblock was pinned at the rear end, terminating in a cocking grip. the front portion of the slide was occupied by the BBL, wich passed through the front end and was secured to the reciever by a screwed collar. the breech end of the BBL was of enlarged section, so as to ride inside the slide and centralize the BBL, and the recoil spring was held between this ection and the front of the slide.

    on firing, the breechblock recoiled, taking the slide with it and compressing the recoil spring. cutouts in the slide allowed for ejection of the spent case and the feeding of a fresh cartridge from the butt magazine. the "full-floating" firing pin or striker, a flat stamping, was held in the breechblock without the assistance of a spring.

    the pistol was initialy called LIGHTNING, but early models were also marked WHITNEY on the left of the reciever and WOLVERINE WHITNEY FIREARMS on the right. the name WOLVERINE was dropped at or near SER# 24,000, after the LYMAN SIGHT COMPANY sued over patent-name infringement (they marketed WOLVERINE telescopic sights). the left side inscription than became CALIBER .22 PATENT PENDING THE WHITNEY FIREARMS COMPANY HARTFORD CONN USA. it was then sold simply as the WHITNEY AUTO-LOADER until the end of distribution.

    very interesting handgun...

    best regards, mike.

    What other dungeon is so dark as ones own heart, what jailer so inexorable as ones own mind.
    contact me at the shop at waltsgun@aol.com best regards, mike.
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  • ATF
    I bought my first .22 pistol about the same time the Whitney came out 1955.It and the Ruger MK 1 were the same price $39.50.There was no comparsion between the JUNK Whitney and the Ruger MK 1. [:)]

    Eagle_Guns.gif
    standard.jpg
    standard.jpg
    When a worm wants to relax,does he go fishing? "And remember a wet dog doesn't fly at night" ATF,Eagle Guns
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  • sheepdip
    Was reading somewhere that the Whitney was going to be made again by someone.
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  • MVP
    Olympic arms has reproduced the Whitney Wolverine but this time they use a polymer frame and look almost identical to the older version. The original magazines will work in the old style and the new style by Oly Arms. I beleive Oly Arms has parts for the old models but they are more of a collectable then a shooter.
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  • I.Shute
    Olympic Arms is making the new Whitney Wolverine and has a supply of parts for the originals also.

    You can call them at 800-228-3471

    Whoops!
    Guess I got pre-empted.
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  • ATF
    I hope for their sake it's better than the crap they made the first time. [:(]

    Eagle_Guns.gif
    standard.jpg
    standard.jpg
    When a worm wants to relax,does he go fishing? "And remember a wet dog doesn't fly at night" ATF,Eagle Guns
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  • mpolans
    Hmm... Not on Olympic Arms' website (www.olyarms.com) Anyone have any pics? I always thought they looked cool but never shot one.
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  • hughbetcha
    I owned a wolverine for more than twenty years and it always functioned well. I would rate it as least as good a design as the RugerMK1. I just sold it about two years ago for 300.00 bucks which is much more than blue book, to someone who is certain it will be a collectors item. In some ways the gun was ahead of its time, not just in looks, but the way could be disassembled. I did not like the sights and would rate it inferior to the Ruger in this regard.
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  • Shansei45
    I visited the olyarms.com site and they have a reference to having Whitney's in stock but no mags. They have a link for a Whitney page. When you click on that it comes up blank. If you search the GB Forum archives you'll find the same thing going on about promises to start selling, magazine problems, etc. dating back to 2002. And there's one being auctioned right now on GB. If you want to take a look it's item # 29006983. Here's one of the pics from that offering.
    [img][/img]257229.jpg

    "Those who dance are considered insane by those who can't hear the music." George Carlin
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