Gunsmith Harlan G. Howe

G

Gunplmbr

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Does anybody have any information on a gunsmith named Harlan G. Howe? I know about Griffin & Howe and James Virgil Howe. I just can't find much out about him and his guns. I've seen a few of his guns sold at auction for 1500.00 or so. I'm just trying to see what I can learn about him. Any help would be greatly appreciated
 
Harlan G. Howe, son of...

James V Howe, of Griffin & Howe. He was located in NY state and his work generally resembled a G&H rifle of the day (1940-50ish). The dollar value of G&H rifles have gone up over the years, whereas, Harlan G's rifles not so much, probably because of his lesser reputation. I've seen several of his rifles in the fifteen hundred to two thousand for an average; and eight hundred to three thousand as an extreme spread.

Hope this helps...
 
Mr. Howe as I knew him lived on Marshall Ave in West Hempstead NY. The Howe's house was 2 doors down from my grandparents. I remember as a kid in the early 70's going down to look at Mr. Howe's work. He was a master machinist and did some amazing work. I was most interest in his KY long rifles. As an 11year old I was saving my pennies to purchase one. Mr. Howe died before I saved up enough money to make a purchase. Mr. Howe made several 1/2 scale models of full size firearms that he made. They were amazing. He had a pistol that had to be fired with a toothpick because that is all that would fit between the trigger guard and trigger. I also remember an 8 cylinder engine that was probably 15 inches long. It ran on gasoline. He machined every part.

Even after Mr. Howe died and I was older, I would still go visit Mrs. Howe and admire Mr. Howe's work. Dad told me that Mr. Howe at one time made rifles for an US Olympic team. He was a neat man as I remember him.

I would still like to acquire one of Mr. Howe's long rifles mainly because I knew the man. Please let me know if you ever see one available.
 
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