H&R "Defender 38" Top Break Parts Needed!

[Redcoat3340]

I've got a very good condition Harrington & Richardson "Defender 38" top break with a broken firing pin.
The gun is great and it's one of my best 38sw revolvers.
But both I and my smith are having trouble finding a replacement for the firing pin (which is in a groove on the hammer and pinned in).
Tried Numrich and google but no joy.
Anyone have any knowledge of who might have parts for this mid-1940s jewel...or a gun they want to sell...or better yet a spare hammer assembly (sure, everyone has one of them hanging around.)
I'm going to try a better smith than my local one...but I thought I'd ask for some advice here first.

(I kinda got hooked on 32sw...have S&W "Perfected," 38/200 British "Victory," .38/32 Smith Terrier, S&W 33-1, the aforementioned Defender and a snub-nosed Defender, as well as a Colt Police Positive.
Clearly none of these is for-real carry (but could be with the right ammo, kinda) but as semi-historic neat little guns they can't be beat.

Here's the Defender (barrel), the Perfected (which had BOTH a top break and cylinder release) and the Terrier.

 

[MachIVshooter]

But both I and my smith are having trouble finding a replacement for the firing pin (which is in a groove on the hammer and pinned in).

Are you confusing it with the S&W? The firing pin on early Defenders is part of the hammer, same style as it's predecessor auto ejecting models. Later defenders had flat face hammer and a frame mounted firing pin like the 999 Sportsman. I'm not aware of any H&R with a hammer mounted firing pin that is a separate piece.

 

[Redcoat3340]

I should have taken a pic of the problem before I posted. So here, a bit late, is the hammer and firing pin of the Defender 38.

 

[jar]

Can't help with the replacement firing pin if Numrich doesn't have one but here is my even earlier Pre-Defender. Mine was most likely made in 1937 and is from before H&R had dating letters in the serial number and in my case the serial number is just 3 digits "234".

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[MachIVshooter]

Must be an intermediate variant, maybe a wartime cost cutting/production increasing measure. Admittedly, I'm not nearly as familiar with the top breaks that came after WWI.

Looks like a simple enough piece to reproduce out of flat spring steel stock even with basic tools.

 

[beag_nut]

Just my opinion, but a competent smith could easily make a replacement pin, since it looks like (in spite of the poor pics) to be a flat piece of steel, which can be hardened and tempered after fabrication.

 

[jar]

Here is how the firing pin should look.

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[Redcoat3340]

Jar,
That's the way my firing pin used to look! Thanks for the pic, I'll use it to show my new smith.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Some of us (at TSJC) had to make replacement firing pins for various guns as part of our exit examination. It's a pretty simple task. Hope you smith is up to it.

 

[Gordon]

You can barely see the pin on the hammer that holds the firing pin on on jars gun, as it was polished after installation. Notary real hard project for a real Smith

 

[Monac]

Can't help with the replacement firing pin if Numrich doesn't have one but here is my even earlier Pre-Defender. Mine was most likely made in 1937 and is from before H&R had dating letters in the serial number and in my case the serial number is just 3 digits "234".

That's the early model H&R Defender with the fixed sights. Later on, they switched to giving it adjustable sights like the .22 Sportsman/999. I have a book about non-1911 US handguns of WWII, and apparently a lot of Defenders were issued as guard guns here in the States, and as crew armament for Liberty ships.

The grips on yours are in great shape. They were made of a plastic called cellulose acetate (aka "Tenite") which is good stuff unless you keep in an enclosed space for a prolonged period. Then, somehow, it gives off a gas which forms acetic acid (the weak acid in vinegar) which causes the grips to warp and crumble. Film collectors (cellulose acetate was used as "safety stock" for films for many years) call this "vinegar syndrome", because the gas smells like vinegar, and film cans are a perfect environment for it to develop.

That has nothing to do with Redcoat3340's gun, but I find it so interesting I can't resist repeating it.

 

[jar]

That's the early model H&R Defender with the fixed sights. Later on, they switched to giving it adjustable sights like the .22 Sportsman/999. I have a book about non-1911 US handguns of WWII, and apparently a lot of Defenders were issued as guard guns here in the States, and as crew armament for Liberty ships.

The grips on yours are in great shape. They were made of a plastic called cellulose acetate (aka "Tenite") which is good stuff unless you keep in an enclosed space for a prolonged period. Then, somehow, it gives off a gas which forms acetic acid (the weak acid in vinegar) which causes the grips to warp and crumble. Film collectors (cellulose acetate was used as "safety stock" for films for many years) call this "vinegar syndrome", because the gas smells like vinegar, and film cans are a perfect environment for it to develop.

That has nothing to do with Redcoat3340's gun, but I find it so interesting I can't resist repeating it.

Yes, it has the fixed sights that are part of the latch. The serial number on this one is 234 and found on the front strap, under the grip, on the cylinder and on the extractor. There is no model number or "Defender" on the gun. Mine was most likely made in 1938

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I have a copy of a 1940 ad sheet for the "Defender 38" and it is definitely marketed towards security issue and also towards the British market since it shows both 38S&W and 38/300 as standard cartridges.

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The grips though appear to be nylon instead of Celluloid in both feel and sniff tests. I also accumulate fountain pens and so have quite a few Celluloid examples of both cellulose acetate and cellulose nitrate. My suspicion is also confirmed by an image from Jim Hauff's book.

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He goes on to say

"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.”