"Some refinements were made to the "DEFENDER SPECIAL" between its inception circa 1935 and 1939, resulting in a couple different looks or variations, on the base platform.
Then in or around 1938 - 39 period, recognizing that a European war was imminent, H&R began developing another version of the DEFENDER, based upon the SPORTSMAN lower frame, but with a modified upper frame which has features of the AUTO EJECTING series - i.e. it had a fixed, semi-cicular front sight and for the rear sight, two small projections arising from the barrel latch. This crude sighting system is identical to that on the AUTO EJECTING series of this era - and seems to be a throw back - when compared with the DEFENDER SPECIAL sights - this sight system was probably a cost containment measure. This "DEFENDER" series doesn't seem to have been very popular although widely advertised at the time. There is no record of a model number having been assigned to this variant - 4" and 6" barreled pieces are known, both of these are NOT marked on the barrel with a model name or number, but match pictures found in a period advertisement. This variant appears to be very rare, although serial numbers indicate several thousand may have been produced.”
