"Proprietary"-branded Sakos and Others

[stonecreek]

We're all aware that many other firearms manufacturers used Sako actions and that quite a few retailers had contractors build rifles on Sako actions that they sold under their own trade names. Browning's Safari series (built in Belgium by FN) might be the most well-known, but there were Sakos from H&R, Marlin, Beretta, Anschutz, Dumoulin, O'brien, Winslow, North America Arms (Canada), Imperial (Canada), and maybe others. "Proprietary" Sakos were sold by Sears and Wards -- plus more recently GO Wholesale and Cabelas. There was also a "King Ranch" model, but I'm not sure how it was distributed. NRA had a Sako as their "gun of the year" once.

More broadly, lots of large American retailers sold their own branded firearms made by many different companies and branded with the name of their sporting goods line. For Sears it was at first J.C. Higgins, then the retired baseball player Ted Williams lent his name to their brand. Sears sold firearms manufactured by Winchester, Marlin, Savage, and possibly more under its brands. With Ward's most of their sporting goods and ammunition were branded "Hiawatha", although their guns were mostly "Western Field. Ward proprietary guns were made by Mossberg and others, including the German company Hyem. J.C. Penney even had a line of sporting goods, and I've seen the name they used but can't recall it at the moment. Not sure if Penney ever sold firearms under their name, however.

Maybe others will know of regional retailers who had their own proprietary brands. Would be interesting to compile a list. Speak up if you own or know of some of these.

 

[Spaher]

Lest we forget Western Auto stores sold guns & their line was called “Revelation”.
I bought my Western Flyer there & ammo sold loose/ by the round if needed. My go-to .22 LR & .22 short supply house.

 

[icebear]

And, or course, the Coltsman.

Personally, I'm partial to the H&R guns. They had nice wood and excellent checkering. Cheekpiece was too high but that was the style when they were built.

 

[stonecreek]

Thanks to Spaher and Icebear for reminding me of Western Auto's "Revelation" and Colt!

I'm guessing that Chicago's Marshal Fields might have had their own brand of guns but not being from that part of the world am not personally familiar.

 

[paulsonconstruction]

Coast-to-Coast Hardware & Tru-Value Hardware sold guns but I can't recall how they branded them. IIRC, they were made by Mossberg & Savage/Stevens for the most part. I bought my first firearm when I was 13 years old from a local hardware store called People's Hardware. Put it on "lay away" & made payments from the money I earned mowing grass. Cost me $39.95 + 2% sales tax. Walked home in the open with it, right through town & nobody even blinked. SWAT team would be called in & BATF would make several arrest if that happened today!

 

[kevinlg]

Somebody say H&R ??

 

[Jeffy1]

Very nice kevinlg

 

[stonecreek]

With Ward's most of their sporting goods and ammunition were branded "Hiawatha", although their guns were mostly "Western Field.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1043722795

Hey! I found a rifle branded "Hiawatha", a Savage 110. It is labelled as "Model 510 Series" and presumably produced for Montgomery Ward, but does not have the Ward name on it.

 

[stonecreek]

J.C. Penney even had a line of sporting goods, and I've seen the name they used but can't recall it at the moment. Not sure if Penney ever sold firearms under their name, however.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1037372261

Evidence that J.C. Penney really did have their own line of guns!

 

[paulsonconstruction]

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1043722795

Hey! I found a rifle branded "Hiawatha", a Savage 110. It is labelled as "Model 510 Series" and presumably produced for Montgomery Ward, but does not have the Ward name on it.

Recoil pad & skip line checkering! Must be the Deluxe model.

 

[bloorooster]

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1043722795

Hey! I found a rifle branded "Hiawatha", a Savage 110. It is labelled as "Model 510 Series" and presumably produced for Montgomery Ward, but does not have the Ward name on it.

I didn’t realize the 110 model went to far back!
My first memory of them was the black plastic rifles from the 80’s-90’s

 

[stonecreek]

I didn’t realize the 110 model went to far back!
My first memory of them was the black plastic rifles from the 80’s-90’s

From the references I can find the Savage 110 was first produced in 1958. It has likely been sold under quite a few proprietary brand names, as have many Savage models -- not the least of which are their own "sub brands" of "Stevens" and "Springfield". It was never clear to me why Savage used those sub-brands for their plainer models, but I suppose it was to attempt to elevate guns with the "Savage" brand above the economy lines for marketing purposes.

 

[stonecreek]

Dang! Ain't the internet a marvel! Just a quick google search and I came up with the motherload of cross references to proprietary brands and their manufacturers. I haven't seen so many manufacturer cross references since looking up an oil filter for a John Deere.

Seems that J.C. Penney's store brand was "Foremost". If you want a trip down memory lane (for those of us who spent hours salivating over the gun illustrations in the Sears & Wards catalogs), check out this website:

House Brand Conversion

And another similar one:

Hoosier Gun Works : Online Catalog : Firearms Cross Reference

Hoosier Gun Works, Dealing in gun parts, 100000 gun parts, 2000 gun stocks, 1000 magazines, 500 barrels. Enfield and Mauser. Military and comercial.> <META name=

hoosiergunworks.com

The first site doesn't have the Sears Model 52, but the second one does identify it as "Sako L46".
Neither site shows the Ward (Western Field) Model EIN 750, which is built on the Sako L57.

 

[pecosbill]

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1037372261

Evidence that J.C. Penney really did have their own line of guns!

I was with my dad when he bought a Browning Auto-5 in the early 70's from J. C. Penny, but wasn't branded something else.

 

[stonecreek]

I was with my dad when he bought a Browning Auto-5 in the early 70's from J. C. Penny, but wasn't branded something else.

Are you sure it wasn't the one made by Savage on the expired Auto-5 patent? IIRC, Charles Daly also imported an Auto-5 shotgun, made in Japan, I think. But the one from Penney's could have been an FN-made product.

 

[pecosbill]

Are you sure it wasn't the one made by Savage on the expired Auto-5 patent? IIRC, Charles Daly also imported an Auto-5 shotgun, made in Japan, I think. But the one from Penney's could have been an FN-made product.

I'm fairly certain that it was a Browning, since that was pretty much all my dad shot. I remember the store having Browning O/Us and rifles too.

 

[ERP]

I bought a Remington BDL 7mm from JC Penny in the 80's.
They had a lot of rifles for sale, but I stuck with the name brand.

 

[bigcountry4me]

Are you sure it wasn't the one made by Savage on the expired Auto-5 patent? IIRC, Charles Daly also imported an Auto-5 shotgun, made in Japan, I think. But the one from Penney's could have been an FN-made product.

May have also been a Remington model 11. I remember seeing these in some of the retailers we are talking about.

 

[bigcountry4me]

May have also been a Remington model 11. I remember seeing these in some of the retailers we are talking about.

I stand corrected, I’m thinking of adds from the 40’s, not from the 70’s. The 11 was discontinued in 1947.

 

[Rocky]

I purchase a Winchester lever action 22 magnum from Penny's, I believe back in the 70's. I paid a whopping $170 for it.