Harrington & Richardson

S

sabre2

New member
I'm hoping to get some information on a H&R revolver a friend asked me to check out. It is a blued, five shot, top break, .32 S&W ctge., premier revolver. The cylinder is stamped in two places 6 70 Which may be a date code.
It seems to be in good condition overall, but the cylinder seems a bit wobbly. I am not very knowledgeable on revolvers, so I don't know what is acceptable. The barrel is about 2.9in.
Thanks for any info.
john
 
Hey John,

Do a check on gunbroker.com or one of the auction sites. That'll give you an idea of what they're selling for.
In a nutshell, H&R made those little revolvers for many many years and they're not worth much. I've got one and it's pretty dependable but the trigger pull on those guns were just awful.

EW
 
H&R is long gone. Their revolvers were low end firearms that are considered to be the classic 'Saturday Night Special'. H&R did make an .32 S&W M35 Premier revolver during W. W. II. They made a 'Premier' in .22LR and I believe .38S&W too.
Unfortunately, what your buddy has is a slick paperweight. Gunparts has a few parts, but they're really not worth fixing and there's no collector value. It's sad in a way. H&R revolvers are a part of history that nobody cares about.
http://www.e-gunparts.com/products.asp?chrMasterModel=1560zNEW MODEL PREMIER&MC=
 
If your friend is certain of the 6 70 marking on the cylinder I have to ask if it is fluted or not? The Premier IIRC was a depression era version of the Victor. They were small 5 shot vest pocket revolvers. The same basic revolver was made in a bobbed hammer and hammer version, blue and nickel with a front sight only. They usually go for $85.00 and under. The loose/wobbly cylinder should lock up at full hammer cock. If it does not, I don't suggest shooting it. Can you describe the logos on the grip panels?
 
First pistol I ever had was a H&R 929. Nice size, cute gun. Took it out to the range to practice with after an intruder came into the house.

Found out pretty fast that I shot a lot better than the gun. In other words, it stunk in the accuracy dept. But becasue of that I ended up getting a target gun to see how good I could get, an nice High Standard Trophy.
Talk about rags to riches. I guess I should thank that piece of crxp H&R because it got me into bullseye shooting. A silver lining you might say.
 
Eventually there may be some collector value... maybe in a 100 years. It will happen after most every one tossed their H&R's and there aren't many left. H&R are what they were when they were manufactured >>cheap guns. Cheap guns stay cheap guns for the most part.

An analogy: You buy a house for 100K and it appreciates in 20 years to 200K. (100K change in value.) Buy one for 25K and it only increased to 50K (25K increase) or it fell down :) over the same time period unless something happened to the desireabilty of the land that it sits on.

High Standard may be a good comparison as they made some cheap or inexpensive guns. Their revolvers have never sparked much interest in the collector arena. But,their semi-auto target grade guns have appreciated in value and are for the most part very desireable. H&R never made anything remotely close to something that would be considered high-end or target grade. Hence, they are probably doomed in the collector market.
 
re: grip logos

Sir William,
There are two logos on the grips. On the grip screw is a marking that looks like the Japanese crysanthamum flower mark. At the top of the grip is a circle around a square with smaller circles inside. It may be a depiction of obiting planets or electrons. The cylinder is fluted. There is a fixed rear sight that is about 1/4in. wide and is part of the break open latch. The hammer is not bobbed.
 
It may be a depiction of obiting planets or electrons. The cylinder is fluted.
Click to expand...
I always thought it was a target depicting the type accuracy you could expect from the gun
 
OK. I have a clearer idea of what you have. This is the H&R medium frame. These were made in large volumes from the depression, WWII and until OEM parts were depleted in the mid-50s. They were decent service revolvers for pillow pistols and drawer placement. I usually see these with good finish on one side only. They have been placed somewhere and left for decades. Quality was good for the money. I suspect that the logo at the top of the grips is the target with bullet holes. The grips should be a somewhat fragile/brittle hard gutta percha. If they seem to be plastic, they are probably replacements. I have a friend who carries a Premier in 38 S&W in his pocket.
 
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