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The “HAUBERT, H.” – Dummy Training Rifle

This training rifle is somewhat of an anomaly. The butt plate is marked as follows:

HAUBERT, H. DUMMY TRAINING RIFLE

It appears to be identical to the Model B-M-30 “Senior Drill Team” Trainerifle that was produced by the Parris Mfg. Co. following WWII. Due to the fact that there is a fixed rear sight this rifle was probably made about 1960. This “training rifle” is certainly a drill rifle. It would be interesting to know who Haubert, H. was and what connection he had with the Parris Mfg. Co. It seems likely that Haubert purchased a small quantity of these drill rifles from the Parris Mfg. Co. and had his name stamped on the butt plate.

US NAVY TRAINING RIFLE – Model 1903-A3 Springfield

The following images are from “The Springfield 1903 Rifles” by William Brophy.

DETROIT COMPOSITION COMPANY TRAINING RIFLE

This training rifle was made by the Detroit Composition Company. Nothing is known about the company at this time. It is patterned after the 1903 Springfield rifle. It weighs 6 1/4 lbs and is 43 ½ inches long. This is slightly lighter in weight but very close to the Springfield dimensions. This is one of the better reproductions of 1903 Springfield rifle. The barrel muzzle, front barrel band, and front sight are made in one piece out of cast iron. This casting also has a stacking swivel and a bayonet lug. The receiver, rear barrel extension, and the rear sight base are also cast as one piece. There is no barrel section running through the stock. The trigger guard is formed from a steel strip. It has a functional bolt with an operational safety. The bolt handle, safety, and cockling knob are made of cast iron. The bolt body is a steel shaft. When the bolt is operated, it cocks the striker and the trigger will release the striker shaft when the safety is released. There is no cartridge chamber or firing pin. The rear sight has a functional slide. The butt plate is also made of cast iron and has the name and address cast in place. The stock is made of walnut and very well shaped and finished. There are no serial numbers or markings on any part of the rifle other than the butt plate. It was originally purchased from a man who stated that it was made early in the 1900’s for the Detroit Armory. I would speculate that they were made between 1915 and 1920. It seems probable that a relatively small number of these training rifles were made at the start of WWI and used by trainees at the Detroit Armory. To date, no advertisements or contracts have surfaced for these training rifles.

From the paper, Non-Firing Drill and Training Rifles, by By Malcolm MacPherson

The next installment: Indiana Quartered Oak Company

DAISY SPORT TRAINER

The Daisy Museum in Rogers, Arkansas was helpful in providing information on the Sport Trainer. Daisy introduced a line of sport trainers in April 1966 and produced them through 1969. There were five lever action models ( 626, 630, 631, 632 and 633). The 634 was a bolt action model and the largest of the line at 33 1/2”. This line was designed to compete for a market share with the Parris Mfg. Co. The Model 634 retailed at about $4.00. The design of the Model 634 is similar in many ways to the Parris Mfg. Co. TraineRifle models, although most of the parts are a slightly different shape. The short sheet metal barrel and the bayonet lug are nearly identical in shape and location to the Parris models. There is a short cartridge that retracts into the bolt face when the bolt is closed that is similar in principle to the Parris models. The model 634 uses two metal clips on the bolt face to retain the cartridge instead of a screw through the side of the bolt on the Parris models. It is uncertain which company first started using the retracting cartridge. The early Parris Mfg. Co. TraineRifles did not have this feature and it is uncertain when this practice started, as the early production information has been lost. The Parris Mfg. Co. was producing their TraineRifle models in the early 1950’s, which is well before the start of the Daisy production.

There are two features on the Daisy 634 that are significantly different from the Parris models. The base of the bolt handle guides the bolt in the receiver and becomes the locking mechanism when the bolt is rotated closed. This approach is more like a modern bolt action rifle. The butt stock has a pistol grip which also makes it look more like a modern rifle. It is uncertain if Daisy or Parris produced the metal parts that were used on their trainers or got them from a sub contractor. Due to the similarity of many of the parts, it is possible that both companies purchased the metal parts from a third party. I suspect that both companies produced the wooden stocks for their toy rifles and assembled them in their respective factories. The side of the receiver is marked:

DAISY MFG. CO.
ROGERS, ARKANSAS

There is a round paper label on the right side of the butt stock that is marked:

DAISY SPORT TRAINER

The model 634 was equipped with a rubber bayonet. It has been verified that Daisy purchased these from another company. The design of the bayonet mounting lug is identical on the Daisy and Parris rifles that were produced in the 1960’s. The early Parris TraineRifles had the bayonet lug mounted on the barrel rather than being inserted into the end of the forearm. The grip design of both bayonets are nearly identical. The Daisy bayonet is the same length as the Parris bayonet but the blade is double edged. I suspect that both Daisy and Parris Mfg. Co. contracted with the same firm to supply their bayonets. The following pictures clearly show the shape and marking of the Daisy bayonet.

Next installment: Haubert, H. Dummy Training Rife

From the paper, Non-Firing Drill and Training Rifles, by By Malcolm MacPherson

Rubber Bayonets and Kadets of America

Rubber Bayonets

I have spent considerable time and have made many contacts in the toy field and have found no definitive information relating to the production of rubber bayonets that were used on the Parris Mfg. Co TraineRifle and Daisy Sport Trainer. The Daisy Sport Trainer Model 634 was produced from 1966 through 1969 and all of this production had a bayonet lug on the fore arm and carried a rubber bayonet. The first illustration of the Parris Mfg. Co. rubber bayonet appears in their 1954 catalog. It is shown as a separate item but indicates that it can be attached to the #4, #2A and MO-1 TraineRifles, which were all lever action cork guns. All models that were later offered with a bayonet attached carried a B prefix (B-MO-1). There is no mention of the Model 23 or 30 bolt action TraineRifles in the 1954 catalog. In their 1956 catalog both of these bolt action models were offered with a bayonet attached. It is unknown when the Parris Mfg. Co. stopped providing a bayonet with their toy rifles. It seems likely that production stopped about the time of the Vietnam War in the early 1970’s.

During the 1960’s most of the companies that had been producing rubber toys had converted to the use of vinyl materials rather than rubber. This presents a problem as the bayonets are clearly made of rubber and this material is identified in some of the advertisements. There were several companies that had produced rubber toys prior to WWII that stopped producing any toys by the early 1950’s. It appears that the Auburn Rubber Co. which was located in Auburn, Indiana, is the only company that continued producing rubber toys into the time period in question. It is known that they produced toy rubber knives. However, there is no record that they produced any rubber bayonets. Unfortunately, there are no identifying marks on either the Parris or Daisy rubber bayonets. The Auburn Rubber Co. began utilizing vinyl material about 1954 and by 1957 was
primarily using this material for their toy production. Although this would have been very late in their production of rubber toys, I believe that there is a high degree of probability that both of these bayonets were produced by the Auburn Rubber Co.

It is hoped that additional information or advertisements will be discovered that will confirm this suspicion. In recent years, Parris Mfg. Co. has only produced a Kadet model (29-1/2” long) and a slightly shorter version of the M-30 model that is 42″ long. This model has less detail than the earlier M-30 rifles.

Some odd Trainerifles have surfaced that are marked differently or that have no identification of any kind. Most of the Trainerifles that have been produced have a decal on the right hand side the butt stock. The design of this decal has changed at various times but they all identify the as a Trainerifle. All of the full size Trainerifles that were produced in Clarinda, Iowa had a butt plate that is stamped with the name and the Clarinda, Iowa, address. Some of the models produced after the company moved to Tennessee have metal butt plates and do not. These butt plates may or may not have any identification markings on them. Unmarked specimens that were produced by the Parris Mfg. Co. are easily identified by the characteristic bolt and action which has remained unchanged since the 1940’s. White stocks became available for all models about 1958. Currently Parris is marketing several different toy rifles that carry the Parris name but are being produced in China.

The decal shown below has a distinctive BB on the Trainerifle logo. This does not appear on the early Trainerifle logo’s. Since it has the Kadets of America symbol it probably was used between 1960 and the early 1970’s. There is no documentation that clearly identifies the meaning of the BB letters. It is known that the Parris Mfg. Co. produced a lever action toy rifle that shot either corks or BB’s. Although the model No. 11 bolt action was designed to fire corks, there is no evidence to suggest that any of the later bolt action drill rifles had a mechanism to fire BB’s.

Soon after the move to Savannah, Tennessee, the Parris Mfg. Co. started using a wooden cartridge in the front of the bolt. This was spring loaded and retracted into the bolt body when the bolt was closed. As the bolt was opened the gold colored cartridge reappeared. It also applied pressure on the bolt to hold it in the closed position. In later production the wooden cartridge was replaced by a plastic cartridge. Often a cartridge is incorrectly called a bullet. I suspect that this was the case here. It appears that all of their early toy drill rifles had a bayonet lug. The BB may stand for – Bullet & Bayonet.

Kadets of America

It appears that the development of the different size Drill Rifles is associated with the formation of the Kadets of America organization. This organization was founded in the spring of 1953 by Cecil Parris to encourage boys and girls to become interested in being members of an organized drill team. There was a complete line of Kadets of America merchandise. This included Official Kadet Trainerifles. In their handbook it states that the Official Kadet Trainerifles had nickle plated metal parts. It appears that only the barrel, bolt body and bolt handle were nickle plated. During the same period they were also producing Trainerifles that had painted metal parts for the general toy market. Obviously the “Official” designation was a merchandising ploy to enable them to sell more drill rifles and related accessories, but it also appears that Parris believed that young people would benefit from a paramilitary experience. The following brief history appears in a 1960 copy of the Kadets of America Handbook.

I located the cover sheet and back page of “The Kadet News” which was a bi-monthly newsletter of the Kadets of America. It is dated June, July 1958 and has a picture of founder Cecil Parris on the cover. The Kadets of America stopped functioning in 1970. They very likely went out of existence due to the antiwar sentiment relating to the Vietnam War.

Next installment: The Daisy Sport Trainer

From the paper, Non-Firing Drill and Training Rifles, by By Malcolm MacPherson

PARRIS MFG. CO. -TOY DRILL RIFLES

My only interest in the Parris Mfg. Co. toy rifles is in their bolt action models that were generally patterned after the 1903 Springfield rifle. However, some general information is useful in understanding their development. It appears that Cecil Parris was the driving force in developing their toy gun market. He was younger that William Dunn and had a strong sales background and it would have been natural for him to have wanted to expand their market. In 1943 Parris approached Maurice Greiman about designing a toy gun that would fire small corks and the successful development of this first “pop gun” started them in their toy business. When Parris purchased the company in 1949 they already had a well-established toy business.

With each toy rifle you got a well-designed document that gave the standard military manual of arms and showed pictures of their line of toy guns. Unfortunately these documents were not dated but those that show the Clarinda, Iowa address were printed between 1944 and 1951. In one such booklet, they show two “clicker” models that were non-firing toys and seven models of different sizes that were “cork shooters”. They also show a “cork shooter” pistol that appears to have been patterned after the Colt Woodsman automatic pistol. This pistol was sold under the name of “Strait Shooter”. There were two different groups of rifles, one called “Trainerifles” and the other called “Cowboy Pla Guns”. Both used the same lever action cocking lever and had similar profiles. The main difference was that the Trainerifles came with a canvas sling attached. They also produced a “Shoot- Rite Gun” which was also cork firing. This was available singly or as a complete “Indoor Trainer Kit” which included movable “Ro-Target” that spun when the cork hit the target. This gun was substantially more refined and had front and rear sights. It is interesting to note that this booklet does not show any toys guns patterned after the 1903 Springfield rifle. At this time they were still producing a Drill Rifle similar to the full size military training rifle. I would assume that they felt that this model was too large to be appropriate for the toy market and as such was not included.

It should be noted that from the very start of the production of bolt action toy drill rifles there were minor variations in their size, shape and marking. All of these models carry the TRAINERIFLE designation. Although you may find drill rifles that vary slightly in length, it appears that there were only five different sizes of bolt action toy rifles produced. The smallest is the SMALL FRY TRAINERIFLE which was 23 ½” long and had a different type of bolt action. It had a trigger mechanism that made a clicking sound when pulled and is definitely a toy. This model appears to have gone out of production soon after the company moved to Tennessee. Production records no longer exist so it is impossible to determine precisely when specific models were introduced, modified or dropped from the line. For a short period of time about 1960 they list a model No. 11 cork shooting drill rifle. This is the only bolt action drill rifle designed to fire any form of projectile.

In the earliest listing of toy rifles made by the Parris Mfg. Co. in Clarinda, Iowa the prefix A is used on several of their earliest models. The prefix B has been verified to indicate models that had a rubber bayonet attached. The prefix K was used on models specifically designed for the Kadets of America. The Kadets of America were organized in 1953 and stopped functioning in 1970. The prefix M appears on bolt action models patterned after the 1903 Springfield military rifle. It appears that at various times the letters K and M were “mixed and matched” on the same models. (K-23, M-23, K-M-23). The number designations appear to be a means of identifying the relative size of the non-firing toy drill rifles. The smallest being #20 and the largest #30. It should be noted that their model No. 11 fired corks and does not have an M designation.

The following bolt action drill rifles all have the same action as the original military training rifles made by Parris-Dunn. They were introduced into the toy line in 1955-56 and were offered with a rubber bayonet at this time.

Approximate Overall Length and Model Designation

• 30″ K-21
• 33″ K-23
• 39″ M-K
• 43″ (Full Size replica) M-30

The early model K-23 illustrated below was made about 1956. What is unique with these early models was that they were designed to carry a rubber bayonet. You should note that on this model the barrel is longer than on later models and that it has a metal tab on the barrel near the forearm. This metal tab fits into small recess in the end of the bayonet handle. The barrel length is 3 9/16″ from the muzzle to the inside of the tab. The barrel length of later models ranges from 2 1/2 – 3″, which is too short to mount the bayonet. If the barrel has no tab, the toy drill rifle was not designed to carry a bayonet. It is uncertain when the change occurred but it is probable that after 1970 no bayonets were available.

The following appears to be a later variation for mounting a rubber bayonet on the muzzle of a K-23 Parris Mfg. Co. Toy Drill Rifle. You will note that there is a small bar inserted into the wood below the barrel. I suspect that this was the system that was used during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s as this would have been less expensive than mounting the tab on the barrel.

The next installment: Rubber Bayonets

From the paper, Non-Firing Drill and Training Rifles, by By Malcolm MacPherson

PARRIS-DUNN CORP. – CIVILIAN DRILL RIFLES

Following the completion of their military contracts for the Parris-Dunn Training Rifle in 1943, they continued making a similar model for the civilian market. In 1949, William Dunn retired and sold the company to Cecil Parris. Parris renamed the company the Parris Manufacturing Company and continued to produce toy guns and drill rifles in Clarinda until 1951. In 1952, he moved the company to Savannah, Tennessee. The company is still located in Savannah and continues to produce a variety of toys.

The earliest information concerning the civilian production of Parris-Dunn Corp. drill rifles is a flier showing what they called the Victory Trainer. This came in a Standard and Deluxe model. The Standard model has a fixed wooden bolt, a simplified trigger and a raised wooden platform for a rear sight. It was the same size and shape as the Parris-Dunn Training Rifle. The Deluxe model appears to be identical to their military contract Training Rifle. Both of these models have a metal butt plate marked:

In March of 1946 the Parris-Dunn Corp. celebrated the production of their 2 millionth gun. This number included (335,000) military contract training rifles, (200,000) similar civilian models, and (1,465,000) drill rifles and other assorted toy guns. Mr. Greiman indicates that they had production capabilities to produce over 3000 guns a day.

Parris-Dunn TraineRifle
This specimen is the only Parris-Dunn marked toy TraineRifle that I have located that is the same general size and shape as the military models. It appears to be a composite of features taken from both of the military models. It has traces of the original Parris-Dunn decal remaining on the right side of the stock. The stock has the identical profile and thickness of the Victory 1942 Army model. The radius of the curved surfaces on the top and bottom of the stock is slightly greater than the Army model and is more similar to the Navy model. This tends to make the sides of the stock to look more flat. The finger groove on the fore arm is 7-1/2″ long as compared to 6-1/2″ on the military models. The front and middle bands are painted on the stock, the barrel is made of wood and there is no bayonet lug which are all features found on the Army model. The wooden barrel on the TraineRifle is 3-5/8″ long as compared to a 3-1/4″ length on the military models. The swivels, receiver and bolt are identical to the military models. The trigger, trigger guard and adjustable rear sight are identical in appearance and function to the Navy model. The butt plate is the same size and shape as the Navy model but has different markings. This marking is also found on the Standard and Deluxe models of the Victory Trainer which were made for civilian drill groups following the completion of the military contracts in 1943. I would guess that this TraineRifle was produced between 1945 and 1948. It appear that Parris-Dunn was attempting to use up the parts that were remaining from their military contracts and decided to add a full size TraineRifle to their toy line. It is interesting to note that this size TraineRifle never appears in any of the Parris-Dunn advertising but surfaces in the Parris Mfg. Co. advertising in 1955-56.

Parris Mfg. Co. M-30 TraineRifle
This toy bolt action training rifle was made by the Parris Mfg. Co. It was part of a line of toy rifles that they produced after the company moved from Clarinda, Iowa to Savannah, Tenn. It was the largest in the line and was probably developed primarily for use by the Kadets of America drill teams. It has many of the same characteristics of the earlier Parris-Dunn TraineRifle. The following illustration shows their similarity.

There is a significant difference in the weight and quality of the materials. The stock is made of pine and stained to look like walnut. The front and middle bands are painted black on the wood surface and there is no recess in the top of the front band. There is no metal butt plate. The face and a strip around the butt are painted black. The barrel is a thin metal tube also painted black. The trigger assembly and trigger guard are made of thin sheet metal. The trigger makes a clicking sound when pulled. This is accomplished by snapping a lever over a thin wooden strip. The stacking and sling swivels are very similar to those on the original military training rifles. This model was designed to carry a rubber bayonet and has a thin metal strip attached to the under side of the barrel to hold the bayonet in place.

One unusual detail is the adjustable rear sight. This sight appears to be identical in material and workmanship to those used on the military contract training rifles. I am certain that every attempt was made to reduce the production costs of these TraineRifles. Most of the TraineRifle production had a decal on the side of the stock. Even when a decal was not applied or has worn off, they are easily identified as being very different from those produced by Parris-Dunn. They were produced from 1955-56 until at least 1970. The current M-30 model that they produce is a much simplified and a slightly shorter version but it retains the familiar bolt action.

The next installment: Toy Drill Rifles

From the paper, Non-Firing Drill and Training Rifles, by By Malcolm MacPherson