H&R revolvers

[DeanWinchester]

Anyone have decent luck with these little guys?

Picked one up on a whim. Going outta business sale. $80, I thought, what the heck.
I already load and cast for the .32 S&W Long for a friends old hand ejector.
It's in pretty nice shape. A small bit of freckling on the hammer. Easy enough to remove. I reckon it'll be none too accurate with such a short barrel but might make a fun way to waste some time.

[dtknowles]

They are what they are, kind of cheap and not at all pretty. I never liked them. I always preferred S&W. Actually never owned one. Hey you got it go shoot it and tell us what you think. You ain't going to find a shootable S&W for $80.

Tim

[rintinglen]

They are serviceable guns that go bang, but the rough actions and harsh triggers make them less than beloved by the fanciers of fine metal work. I had one for a while and ended up giving it to my father-in-law when he was living in a bad part of town. A 5 shot 38 S&W is not the ideal that appears in thought when one thinks of home defense, but as a truck driver often gone for long periods, he was concerned that it would be stolen. A hundred dollar S&W going down the road would have hurt financially, while a 25 dollar gun would have been an affordable loss. He kept it in a cheap wall-mounted clock that had a broken face plate while he lived in that apartment, and though his home was burgled twice, the revolver went undetected.
In later years he retired to his avocado grove and carried the gun, loaded with my home-brewed shot loads for use against rattle snakes and has killed quite a few over the years. He is 94 now and still has the little gun.

[crazy mark]

Sure they are somewhat cheap but they are usually a good shooting gun. People who look down on them need to realize that not everybody wants a Smith or Colt. They are a good buy and I haven't gotten a bad one yet. I have them from 22 LR up to 38 S&W. They are nice plinkers and nice close range protection pistols.

[WRideout]

In the 80's I bought a 22LR H&R pistol, mostly due to the price. It was the only gun I ever owned that actually hurt my trigger finger after an extended range session. If you only shoot it once in a while, it's probably OK. My Mod 19 Smith is getting broken in enough now that I am getting a little spoiled.

Wayne

[GoodOlBoy]

actually the couple I have ever shot did real well for point shootin. Don't try to aim one though, you'll just get mad

GoodOlBoy

[EMC45]

I had that exact same one in .32 S&W-L. Shot well. Sold it to a buddy of mine and he likes it a lot. I do prefer the Smiths, but that will get you going in .32.

[Harry O]

I have bought several of them (when they were as cheap as the one you got -- they are usually asking double that now). I got them to hand out to close relatives that needed a bedroom gun. I always gave them a couple hundred rounds of handloads to go along with it, too.

The gun is honest, not fancy. The older ones don't break. The newest ones have a steel post that the mainspring is wrapped around and there is a triangular plastic piece between the post and the hammer. That is a weakness. When it breaks, it ties up the gun. The older ones don't have the plastic piece.

It is also very expensive to get a replacement part (the post and plastic part are one piece). Retrofitting the older pieces is about the same cost (post, mainspring, hammer) and is a better (more reliable) fix.

[bedbugbilly]

I had a H & R "side kick" (I think model 929?) with a six inch barrel. It was a nine shot 22. It was a rugged little gun but it shot so low (forget about sight compensation or aiming high) that you could plow with it. I was surprised as I had read a number of threads about folks who had them and how well they shot. I gave it back to the dealer that I got it from in a trade.

I think you did well on the price - I'd have snapped it up as well just to play with. They certainly weren't Colts but they sold a lot of 'em and they were rugged and dependable. I have noticed that there seems to be some interest in collecting these revolvers - probably because they are affordable and there were a number of models, calibers and barrel lengths. The H & Rs I've run across in LGS seem to be priced at around $125 up. Worst case scenario, you certainly ought to be able to get your $80 plus a little extra "coffee money" if you decide to sell it.

Let us know how she shoots please. You just might be surprised how much you like it!

[bedwards]

I had a 22LR from the 70s, think it was the 976?. It always worked well shot well. Gave it to my son years ago. He still likes it.

bedwards

[6thtexas]

I always wanted one of their breaktop .22s

[MT Gianni]

I had a dual cylinder that got out of time and started to spit lead on a couple of cylinders.

[c1skout]

I've got a 929 that my family gave me for Father's day one year. Then 10 or so years later they had a local smith fix the ratchet hand for another Father's day! My single six sees more use these days, but I still take the H&R squirrel hunting a few times a year. I wouldn't pass up a good deal on another.

[HeavyMetal]

In my safe I have an H&R Defender in 38 S&W a 5 shot gun, it came to me by way of an older family member who passed about 10 years ago.

It was an issue (?) gun when he was guarding aircraft plants during the war ( II that is) I never knew if he had to purchase it for the job or if it really was issued but he did carry it for the job.

After the war I think it just hung out in his sock draw because when I got it it was pretty much unfired!

Nice comfortable gun good blueing with some speckles bore and chambers spotless! An interesting point was the adjustable sites!!

Front for elevation and rear for windage I picked up some cowboy loads for it and banged off 40 rounds or so with it and was impressed with better than average accuracy and total lack of recoil.

it also shot to point of aim with out adjustment on my part.

Bet I don't have 100 rounds through it, I did buy dies and a single cav RN 150 grain mold for it but mostly it's gonna be a safe queen except for family outings at Thanksgiving.