Sears used the JC Higgins name on firearms from the 1940s until 1961.
1958 to 1961
You will need to give us more information. Sears used the Ranger name of their JC Higgins shotguns and rifles. We may be able to get you a range of years, but not a specific year- there are simply no records.
A JC Higgins .22 caliber rifle, model 103.229 is about 55 years old as of 2014.
http://www.histandard.info/PDF/Sears%20Shotguns.pdf
If the replacement has to be an identical JC Higgins, start looking in pawn shops, estate auctions, used gun dealers, flea markets, and gun shows. Sears stopped using this brand name over 30 years ago, so you can't get a new one.
It is the caliber of the cartridge used by Great Britain for many years in their military rifles. It is a rimmed cartridge.
Sears sold firearms for over 100 years. Most were made by other companies (Remington, Savage, Marlin, Mossberg, etc.) for Sears but marked with the Sears trade names of J C Higgins or Ted Williams.
There really was a John Higgins, but the 'C' was added by a Sears marketing executive. He had nothing to do with sporting goods, but was head of the Sears Roebuck accounting department for many years. His name was used on sporting goods sold by Sears from 1908 to 1961, but he was not paid a royalty for its use. Probably because with the middle initial added, it wasn't his legal name.
J.C. Higgins 3-speed bikes were primarily produced during the 1950s and 1960s. J.C. Higgins was a brand sold by the Sears, Roebuck and Company, and the bikes were often made by various manufacturers for Sears. The 3-speed models were particularly popular during this era, catering to consumers looking for versatile and practical bicycles.
No way to answer. Which shotgun? We need a model number- Sears sold shotguns for over 80 years, and there were a LOT of different guns, different values.
The j.c. higgins model 103.228 was made in the early 1950s. Most likely in 1950 as the 103.229 model was made in 1951.
Your Sears model 53 rifle is indeed a Winchester model 70 rifle.These were fine made rifles that would be very good to hunt with!I am not sure what years winchester made these rifles for Sears though.