March/April 1983 - American Handgunner

A modern day John Browning...HARRY E. SEFRIED II:G~ D Ptvv E~.~~~Recently retired as chief engineer at Sturm,Ruger & Company, he worked for Winchesterand High Standard, and designed H&Rs Sentinelrevolver-a best seller for many years.Sefried holds a highly-prized Smith & Wesson revolver engraved by the late LouisDaniel Nimschke, who was the company's master engraver (Circa J850- J900).Shown in the background are some of Sefried's collector-type handguns.AMERICAN HANDGUNNER . MARCH/APRIL 1983Charles E. PettyMany years ago, when I began my researchon High Standard pistols, Iheard stories about Harry H. Sefried 11­stories about his adventures and misadventures.Most of the people with whom I spokeconfirmed or embellished one tale or another,often because they had been personallyinvolved. His capacity for getting intoscrapes, and his practicaljokes, are legendaryamong those who know him. There arealso touching stories of the hard times inSefried's life, and of his generosity tofriends in need. He won't talk about those;but he cheerfully admits to some pretty talltales.Sefried recently retired as chiefengineerat Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc., but heis still active as a forensic ballistician andpursues many other interests-fishing,hunting gun collecting, music (he is an accomplishedguitarist and singer), motorcycles,classic cars-and being a raconteur,second to none.Sefried was born in East St. Louis onAugust 10, 1921. He inherited from his fathera love of guns, motorcycles and adventure.His dad was known as Big Mac atthe motorcycle racetracks around home,and young Harry became known as LittleMac.During World War I, Big Mac had beendecorated for delivering a vital message toGeneral Pershing, by riding his motorcyclemany miles across France while underheavy German fire. He was woundedtwice, and was able to complete the rideonly by plugging a bullet hole in themotorcycle gas tank with his finger. Afterthe war, Big Mac was an active motorcycleracer and daredevil and his son followed,with his first motorcycle at age 14. He wasracing at 16, and performing in thrill showsat 18. His interest in guns was assured bythe gift of a Stevens .22 Crack Shot, whenhe was only 6.EARLY TRAININGYoung Sefried credits much of his earlytraining to two men for whom he workedin East St. Louis. One was Frank Eichele,who ran an auto repair shop and did somegunsmithing on the side. The other, HarryStenzel, was a locksmith who also did gun. Continued on page 7053