Back in March I was finally able to buy a Model 1891 Remington Target pistol in .22LR. And even better was it was custom built by New York gunsmith Arthur Hubalek. Hubalek was a watchmaker and an avid shooter, and became friends with Harry Pope, one of the most famous barrel makers of the late 1800's and early 1900's! Pope took Hubalek under his wing and taught Hubalek how to make extremely accurate barrels.
Later Hubalek began his own gunsmithing and barrel making business, and advertised himself as "The .22 caliber barrel expert." A bold statement for someone new to barrel making, but his claims proved to be legitimate as his barrels won many matches.
This Model 1891 has a Hubalek barrel, but also a much reworked grip frame and trigger also. Hubalek added about 1" to the existing tangs, and made the two piece tangs that were stock into a one piece grip frame! Amazing work, and the grips are wonderful. Not just the fell, but the quality of wood shaping also.
Then last weekend i was at the big Colorado Collectors gun show and stumbled onto yet another Model 1891 Target pistol! But this time done by the master himself, HM Pope! Like the Hubalek this pistol was also highly modified for Olympic offhand shooting. I'm told Pope reworked and barreled about 8-10 of these for some shooters on the US team in the early 1900's.
This one has original grips, but has a HM Pope marked barrel with Pope's left hand twist. Barrel is also threaded for a silencer for indoor match shooting. It sports aftermarket adjustable sights, a lightened hammer, trigger tuning, and a over travel stop for the trigger. It's also in beautiful shape, except for a small chip in the grip that I'm filling currently.
And the two together for comparison.
Later Hubalek began his own gunsmithing and barrel making business, and advertised himself as "The .22 caliber barrel expert." A bold statement for someone new to barrel making, but his claims proved to be legitimate as his barrels won many matches.
This Model 1891 has a Hubalek barrel, but also a much reworked grip frame and trigger also. Hubalek added about 1" to the existing tangs, and made the two piece tangs that were stock into a one piece grip frame! Amazing work, and the grips are wonderful. Not just the fell, but the quality of wood shaping also.
Then last weekend i was at the big Colorado Collectors gun show and stumbled onto yet another Model 1891 Target pistol! But this time done by the master himself, HM Pope! Like the Hubalek this pistol was also highly modified for Olympic offhand shooting. I'm told Pope reworked and barreled about 8-10 of these for some shooters on the US team in the early 1900's.
This one has original grips, but has a HM Pope marked barrel with Pope's left hand twist. Barrel is also threaded for a silencer for indoor match shooting. It sports aftermarket adjustable sights, a lightened hammer, trigger tuning, and a over travel stop for the trigger. It's also in beautiful shape, except for a small chip in the grip that I'm filling currently.
And the two together for comparison.
