Need help IDing Harrington & Richardson Revolver

[Double Maduro]

Last week I was in North Dakota with my wife cleaning out her mother's house so it could be sold. Her mom died in June.

One of the things we found was a small Harrington & Richardson revolver and I would like some help in identifying it.

It is marked on the top strap;

HARRINGTON & RICHARDSON ARMS COMPANY
WORCESTER.MASS. U.S.A. PAT. OCT.8.1895.

On the left side it says;

22 RIMFIRE

It is a small 7 shot top break revolver and is nickle/chrome/stainless with a blued trigger guard. It is hammerless has what appear to be hard rubber grips and the serial # is 235275. I believe the first number is a 2, it is worn and my wife has her loop at work.

Any help at all will be appreciated.

Is 22 rimfire black powder or is it just an old way of saying .22?

Thanks,
DM

 

[gunfan]

It is likely. Take it to a gunsmith and have the chambers of the cylinder checked. They'll be able to tell you the cartridge for which the handgun is chambered.

Scott

 

[Old Fuff]

You failed to say if this is a solid-frame revolver, or a top-break. That information is important. I presume that it's a top-break.

When the trigger is in the forward position can you rotate the cylinder, or is it latched in place? (in any case it will be latched when the trigger is pulled and held back).

It may be chambered for the .22 Long cartridge rather then the more common .22 Long Rifle. In any case you can fire .22 Shorts in it.

Do not shoot .22 Long Rifle "High Velocity" or "Hi-Speed" ammunition, which will likely rule out the stuff they sell at Wally-World.

Edited to add: On reading the 1st. post I see that it is a top-break. Most likely it will handle standard velocity .22 Long Rifle. Now the important question is, "how is the cylinder latched?"

 

[J Miller]

Double Maduro,

Go to this forum and post about it. They are very good at this.

http://www.armscollectors.com/ph/list.php?f=17

Hopefully you have the gun in your possession as you will need to describe it in great detail, inclusive of the serial number.

Joe

 

[Onmilo]

If everything checks out I would recommend shooting nothing more powerful than CB Longs or standard CB caps in one of these old revolvers.
These old guns weren't meant to stand the test of time and if you wish to keep it around for a while don't shoot any standard or high velocity loadings in it.
the only Harrington Richardson top break revolver that will hold up with modern ammunition is the Model 999 Sportsman and you ain't got one.

 

[Old Fuff]

Not necessarily ...

The revolver in question was manufactured from the 1890's through the late 1930's. Later production guns (made after World War One) are safe enough with standard velocity .22 Long Rifle cartridges. Earlier ones "probably are," but that isn't certain. So the key question is, "when was this particular gun made?"

For the record, the same gun was also chambered in .32 S&W, which while being on the low end of performance and pressure ratings is higher in both factors the the standard loadings of .22 L.R.

 

[BluesBear]

Is 22 rimfire black powder or is it just an old way of saying .22?

No it's the way of saying .22 rimfire.
BB Caps, CB Caps, Shorts, Longs and Long Rifles, all are .22 rimfire cartridges.
(as is the inside lubricated .22 Win Auto, .22 Remington .22WRF and .22WMR)

As opposed to the many bottlenecked .22 centerfire cartridges.


One has to remember that as the 19th century became the 20th, there were many calibers available in both rimfire and central fire.


Standard Velocity .22 Rimfire cartridges were originally designed to be safely used in older black powder firearms.

 

[Double Maduro]

Thanks for all the replies.

J miller,

The arms collectors site got me 2 responses, thanks.

I still haven't had time to clean it up yet, maybe this weekend.

DM

 

[J Miller]

DM,

I found the Arms Collectors site when I was trying to deterime the year of manufacture for a H&R Sportsman my mother gave me.
It looked almost brand new and I thought maybe late 50s or 60s. Boy was I off. It was made in 33.
I was advised to shoot only standard velocity ammo from it. And I have begun doing so.

They are nice little guns when they are in good shape. My only complaint about the one I have is the horrible serrations on the trigger. You could use it to contour steel with. OUCH!

Joe

 

[BluesBear]

At the Antiques & Collectables Gun Show in Portland last month there was a guy from California that had an incredible H&R display. He's a walking encyclopedia of all things H&R.

He's a member of the Oregon Arms Collectors so they may know how to get in touch with him.