Whitney Wolverine

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.{{cite news |last1=Card |first1=James |title=Robert Hillberg, 1917–2012 |url=http://www.gundigest.com/vintage-gun-history-articles/robert-hillberg-1917-2012 |accessdate=19 June 2014 |work=Gun Digest |publisher=F+W Media |date=4 September 2012 |quote=History will surely remember Robert L. Hillberg as one of the foremost firearms designers of the 20th century.}} Only 13,371 of these .22 semi automatic pistols were made in its short period of production between 1956 and 1958.{{cite book |last=Taglienti |first=Antonio |title=The Whitney Wolverine: .22 caliber semi-automatic pistol |publisher=Mowbray Publishers |location=Woonsocket, RI |year=2008 |isbn=978-1931464352 }} 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.{{cite magazine |last=Bodinson |first=Holt |title=Space gun Redux: return of the Whitney Wolverine |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Space+gun+Redux%3a+return+of+the+Whitney+Wolverine.-a0200505184 |magazine=Guns |accessdate=21 June 2014 |date=July 2009 |via=The Free Library}}

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.{{cite news |first=J.B. |last=Wood |title=Writer Gets His Whitney Wolverine After Long Wait For Unusual .22 |url=http://www.thegunmag.com/writer-gets-his-whitney-wolverine-after-long-wait-for-unusual-22/ |accessdate=21 June 2014 |work=The Gun Mag |publisher=Second Amendment Foundation |date=29 July 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407182905/http://www.thegunmag.com/writer-gets-his-whitney-wolverine-after-long-wait-for-unusual-22/ |archive-date=April 7, 2016}} 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.{{cite web |title=Rise and Fall of the Whitney Wolverine |url=http://rockislandauction.blogspot.com/2014/05/rise-and-fall-of-whitney-wolverine.html |website=Rock Island Auction |accessdate=20 June 2014 |date=30 May 2014}}

The original retail price was $39.95 blue and $44.95 nickel-plated (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|39.95|1956}} and ${{Inflation|US|44.95|1956}} now).{{Inflation/fn|US}}

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{{cite web |url=http://www.olyarms.com/shop/ww.html |title=Whitney Wolverine |website=Olympic Arms |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170930210058/http://www.olyarms.com/shop/ww.html |archive-date=2017-09-30}} with a polymer frame, instead of aluminum.{{cite book |title=Whitney Wolverine Owner's Manual |date=July 2005 |publisher=Olympic Arms |location=Olympia, WA |url=https://www.vintagegunleather.com/gun-manuals/pdf_O/olympic_whitney_wolverine.pdf |accessdate=20 June 2014}}{{cite web |last1=Tartaro |first1=Joe |title=Gun Review: At Long Last, the Whitney Wolverine |url=http://bearingarms.com/gun-review-at-long-last-the-whitney-wolverine/ |website=Bearing Arms |accessdate=20 June 2014 |date=5 August 2013}} 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.{{cite news |first=B. Gil |last=Horman |title=Olympic Arms Whitney Wolverine .22 LR Pistol |url=http://www.americanrifleman.org/article.php?id=34935 |accessdate=21 June 2014 |work=American Rifleman |publisher=National Rifle Association |date=20 June 2014 |quote=This polymer revival of R. Hillberg’s 1950s rimfire 'ray gun' is sleek, light and fun to shoot.}} However, as of January 2017, Olympic Arms had shut down production and the Wolverine is no longer available.{{cite web |url=https://www.guns.com/news/2017/01/26/longtime-ar-maker-olympic-arms-going-out-of-business |title=Longtime AR Maker Olympic Arms Going Out of Business |first=Chris |last=Eger |date=January 26, 2017 |website=Guns.com |access-date=10 October 2021}}

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.{{cite web |author1=Xavier |title=Whitney Wolverine Range Report |url=http://xavierthoughts.blogspot.com/2006/01/whitney-wolverine-range-report.html |website=Nurse With a Gun |accessdate=20 June 2014 |date=10 January 2006}}{{cite web |url=http://www.samson-mfg.com/Whitney.htm |title=Coming Soon - The Whitney Wolverine! |website=Samson Manufacturing Corp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070531231836/http://www.samson-mfg.com/Whitney.htm |archive-date=31 May 2007}}

{{reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book |last=Taglienti |first=Antonio J. |title=The Whitney Wolverine .22 Caliber Semi-Automatic Pistol |year=2008 |publisher=Andrew Mowbray Publishers, Inc. |isbn=978-1-931464-35-2}}
• {{cite book |last=Smith |first=Walter Harold Black |title=The W.H.B. Smith Classic Book of Pistols |year=1968 |publisher=Stackpole Books |page=791}}

{{refend}}

• [https://www.rockislandauction.com/riac-blog/rise-and-fall-of-the-whitney-wolverine/] Rock Island Auction
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Blm6-H_j84 Whitney Wolverine] Forgotten Weapons
• [http://stevespages.com/pdf/olympic_whitney_wolverine.pdf Manual]
• [http://www.freepatentsonline.com/3060810.pdf Whitney pistol`s patent US 3060810]

Category:Semi-automatic pistols

Category:Semi-automatic pistols of the United States

Category:.22 LR pistols

Category:Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1956