Harrington & Richardson 410 and 20 gauge shotguns

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Gus Chiggins

Gus Chiggins

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British Columbia, Canada
I was browsing the local gunstores online last week and came across a couple of H&R Pardner shotguns on consignment. They were asking $80 for the .410 and $65 for the 20 gauge. There was only a couple of grainy pictures to go by and at those prices I decided to chance it and bought both sight unseen. I got home off my road trip and went and picked them up. The .410 came first and it looked brand new. Happy. Then they brought out the 20 gauge and it's a youth model. I burst out laughing at how small it was but it too looked unfired. I'm thinking it might have a stout recoil but it has a nice recoil pad on it. For the missus of course ;^) It's one of the first times she's been interested in a gun I brought home. 20220402_111131.jpg 20220402_111321.jpg 20220402_110958.jpg 20220402_111103.jpg
 
I got a .410 H&R free from the gun shop I worked at at the time. They were clearing out the gunsmith rack, (the gunsmith that had done the work for them forever had just died) so I was tasked with calling on all the ones remaining in the rack. The owner of the .410 had died, and when I contacted the current owners of his house, I was told his family had not given them their address. The boss said make it disappear. So I did.
My older son shot his first critter with it, (a woodchuck) the younger one also shot his first shot out of it, (the game was a milk jug fill of water) and the older one carried when he checked his traps on the farm. I gave it to him when he was 18.

You got a heckuva deal, Gus! :thumbup:
 
outstanding buy op!
I’ve got a 20ga with a modified choke barrel and a pachmayr decelerator pad installed. I paid $110 out the door for it in dec 2019. I love this thing. Very handy and easy to carry around. I’ve shot everything from squirrels, rabbits, ducks , geese and even took a doe back in November with it.
The cheap winchester bulk packs of slugs that (in days past were $12 for the 15 pack) shoot like a rifle out to 70yds out of mine. I’ve always got my eye out to pick up another.
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The gun we had in the house when I was a kid was a .410 H&R Model 88, same as the Topper/Pardner. It's the gun I learned to shoot with, and I very foolishly sold it years ago. have always preferred that action, which opens with a thumb lever next to the hammer, over all other types. I've devolved over the years to a Savage 301, which is a foreign remake of the H&R, but it doesn't have the same cachet in my mind. The original H&R guns are quite hard to find for less than 100$ these days, so as others have said, great deal.
 
I would gladly pay double that for a 20g. I am on the lookout for one for my Boy Scout troop. We do shotgun shooting with the scouts and they always go straight to the single shots. My 12g is to big for some so I’ve been looking for a 20. Used to own one. It’s a great gun. You did well.
 
Gus Chiggins said:
I was browsing the local gunstores online last week and came across a couple of H&R Pardner shotguns on consignment. They were asking $80 for the .410 and $65 for the 20 gauge. There was only a couple of grainy pictures to go by and at those prices I decided to chance it and bought both sight unseen. I got home off my road trip and went and picked them up. The .410 came first and it looked brand new. Happy. Then they brought out the 20 gauge and it's a youth model. I burst out laughing at how small it was but it too looked unfired. I'm thinking it might have a stout recoil but it has a nice recoil pad on it. For the missus of course ;^) It's one of the first times she's been interested in a gun I brought home. View attachment 1069817View attachment 1069818View attachment 1069819View attachment 1069821
Click to expand...

Might look up serial numbers to figure out, their age.
If over 20 years old, might opt for replacing age hardened rubber recoil pads w new?
Brownells has a fair selection of them.
 
Great score and nice single shots. In the last year I also picked up a couple of singles, a .410 and a 20, Both Savage 940 series, and both gifted to me from different sources and in nice shape. The bad part was someone had chopped the 20ga barrel off at 16" so I found a good replacement for it. The barrel cost was OK though since the gun was free.
 
Ed said:
I would gladly pay double that for a 20g. I am on the lookout for one for my Boy Scout troop. We do shotgun shooting with the scouts and they always go straight to the single shots. My 12g is to big for some so I’ve been looking for a 20. Used to own one. It’s a great gun. You did well.
Click to expand...

Would the 20 gauge your looking for need to be a break action?
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Bolt action 410 & 20 gauge shotguns could be had for $150 - $250 of course most would have mostly full chokes.
Might opt for one with adjustable choke.

Or opt for a >$500 new Henry Arms single shot.
For about $300 you could get a Rossi TriFecta the Rossi breakaction with a rimfire barrel, a shotgun and centerfire barrels all fittef to that particular action.
 
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Really good deal!! I thought I did okay when I seen the Cooey 840 16 that I just bought, for $199. CND. Always loved the allure of the sixteen, ever since my dad and I hunted with a neighbour who had one and shot the only bird of the day. Both him and my father have since past.on to the life ever after. I will think of them every time I take it out hunting or to shoot. It does seem to kick a lot less than the other 12 gauges I own(semi and pumps).
 
auto-ejecting, single-shot shotguns are timeless, everyman pieces. when i returned from overseas a dozen years ago i needed to quickly acquire a trunk-gun that was inexpensive, easy and lawful in pretty much every state for a long road trip. i found a 20ga, 20” h&r single-shot at a pawn shop, then added some gameshot, a buttstock ammo sleeve and a recoil pad from a big box store down the street, all done inside an hour and for under $150. i broke it down and secured it all in a locked gym bag that nobody ever noticed. welcome home to america.
 
After my mother in law passed about 6 years ago (pre-deceased by her husband 20 years prior) Mrs. Fl-NC found 2 unfired H&R singles- a 410 and a 16 gauge in a closet. The 410 is in the gun cabinet and rides on the 4 wheeler in the fall when I am doing my preps for deer season for snakes. The 16 gauge is on a rack on the wall, just hanging there.
 
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