M37 machine gun. Moving on from High Standard, Hillberg had the opportunity to develop his idea for a futuristic .22LR sporting pistol design when in 1954 he became the co-founder of Whitney Firearms in North Haven, Connecticut, with Howard "Howie" Johnson (of the Bellmore Johnson Tool Company in Hamden). Production of the Whitney Wolverine commenced in 1954, but poor marketing lead to the demise of Whitney Firearms in mid-1957. From that time on, until 1980, Hillberg was the Chief Engineer for Bellmore Johnson Tool Company. He also provided firearms consulting and design services from his office in Cheshire, Connecticut. From 1980 to 2012, he was as an independent expert witness in court cases relating to firearms. In the late 1980s, Hillberg and Robert Schuets, owner of Olympic Arms Inc., worked together to bring the Whitney Wolverine back to the market. Olympic Arms introduced a polymer-framed version of Hillberg's pistol in 2004, and he received one of the first production models. At the time of his death, Hillberg was a retired deputy sheriff and was a member of several police organizations. After a lifetime designing firearms from machine guns to pistols, shotguns and rifles, when asked what was his proudest accomplishment, Hillberg replied “The Whitney pistol.” Guns Browning BPS shotgun COP 357 Derringer Colt Defender Mark I Modern pepper-box rifle Hillberg Carbine Winchester Liberator Whitney Wolverine Wildey Partial list of patents Hillberg holds numerous patents for firearms, including: 1958 for a firing pin with plastic sleeve (High Standard Manufacturing Company) 1958 for a manual charger 1959 for a gas operated firearm with gas piston surrounding a tubular magazine (High Standard Mfg. Corp.) 1962 for a sear mechanism disconnected by breech block motion 1966 for a multi-barrel firearm with rotatable and reciprocable hammer (Olin Mathieson Corporation) 1970 for shotgun barrel construction (Bellmore-Johnson Tool Company) 1971 for a firearm with falling breechblock (Colt's Inc.) 1972 for shotgun barrel construction 1974 for a folding gun stock 1980 for a firearm grip assembly 1980 for a firearm hammer block safety mechanism 1981 for a firearm magazine safety mechanism 1982 US Des. 262567 for a rifle design 1983 for a multi-barrel handgun firing mechanism 1983 for a handgun strut assembly References 1917 births 2012 deaths University of Minnesota alumni Firearm designers Insurgency weapons People from Anamosa, Iowa