View source for Whitney Wolverine

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{infobox weapon
| name               = Whitney Wolverine
| image              = 
| origin             = US
| type               = [[Semi-automatic pistol]]
<!-- Type selection -->| is_ranged          = yes
<!-- Production history -->| designer           = [[Robert Hillberg]]
| design_date        = 1953
| manufacturer       = Whitney Firearms Inc., subsidiary of Bellmore Johnson Tool Co.
| unit_cost          = 
| production_date    = 1956–1957
| number             = 13,371 <ref name=OlyManual/>
| variants           = Nickel Model (~900 produced)
<!-- General specifications -->| spec_label         = 
| weight             = {{convert|23|oz|abbr=on}}
| length             = {{convert|9|in|abbr=on}}
<!-- Ranged weapon specifications -->| cartridge          = [[.22 LR]]
| cartridge_weight   = 
| caliber            = 
| barrels            = 
| action             = [[Blowback (firearms)|Blowback]]
| rate               = 
| velocity           = 
| range              = 
| max_range          = 
| feed               = 10-round magazine
| sights             = 
| part_length        = 4.625 inches (117.5 mm)
}}

The '''Whitney Wolverine''' is a semi-automatic [[.22 LR]] caliber [[Semi-automatic pistol|pistol]] created in 1956. Notable for its advanced, "space-aged" looks and then-new [[aluminum]] construction, it has a 10-round magazine, a barrel {{convert|4.625|in}} long and a weight of only {{convert|23|oz}}.<ref name=oldestname>{{cite magazine |title=The Oldest Name in Guns Comes Back |magazine=[[Guns (magazine)|Guns]] |date=August 1956 |pages=24–27, 66–69 |url=http://www.gunsmagazine.com/1956issues/G0856.pdf |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304110716/http://www.gunsmagazine.com/1956issues/G0856.pdf |archivedate=2016-03-04}}</ref>

==History==
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]].<ref name=Card>{{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.}}</ref> Only 13,371 of these .22 semi automatic pistols were made in its short period of production between 1956 and 1958.<ref name=Taglienti>{{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 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

Its name, ''Wolverine'', was after Hillberg's favorite football team, the [[Michigan Wolverines|University of Michigan Wolverines]]. The ''Whitney'' name was used because the factory was located near the old [[Eli Whitney]] factory site.<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

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).<ref name=OlyManual/><ref name=oldestname/>{{Inflation/fn|US}}

==Revival attempts==
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<ref>{{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}}</ref> with a polymer frame, instead of aluminum.<ref name=OlyManual>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref name=Horman>{{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.}}</ref> However, as of January 2017, Olympic Arms had shut down production and the Wolverine is no longer available.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

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.<ref name=Xavier>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref>

==References==
{{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}}

==External links==
*[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]]